We were lucky to catch up with Julie Ngo recently and have shared our conversation below.
Julie, so great to have you with us today. There are so many topics we want to ask you about, but perhaps the one we can start with is burnout. How have you overcome or avoided burnout?
Anyone who has turned their hobby into something such as a side hustle or a full time job knows that it can feel like a chore over time and that is typically the main cause of a burnout. My business of baking and decorating cakes started out as a hobby and when I decided to turn it into a side hustle and got back to back orders, I slowly began feeling burnt out. Every order started making me feel drained and it would just be a cycle of telling myself to do it and get it over with. I didn’t want to feel this way anymore about a passion I once loved, so I ultimately decided that I needed to set boundaries for myself. I took mini breaks and established short hiatuses in order to regain my composure, and during that time I was able to gather my creativity and spark new ideas that made me want to continue baking and decorating. If anyone is going through the same issue, I highly suggest taking breaks. If you are afraid that you will receive backlash from your supporters, then they aren’t your real ones. True supporters would be understanding if they really did appreciate your work!
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I am Julie from Julicious Cakes and I specialize in creating fully customizable cakes for any sort of occasion. I am known for having a delicious chiffon cake recipe and tasty whipped icing that similarly imitates cakes that come from Paris Baguette/85 Degree Bakery. The most special aspect of my job is being apart of people’s special events and knowing that my work is possibly a center piece at someone’s event. It’s one of the reasons why I strive to put so much effort into the presentation of my cakes!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I believe that the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in my journey was having creativity, understanding, and determination. A piece of advice I can give to individuals who are early in their journey of how they can best develop is to be stubborn about throwing in the towel. The majority of people that don’t make it is because they decided to give up. It’s possible to make it nearly anywhere with a great amount of effort and it’s true that nothing comes easy in this field. There will be many moments where it’s difficult to push on ahead, but it is those ups and downs that lead you to the success that you envision.
Tell us what your ideal client would be like?
The definition of an ideal client for me is pretty simple. I hope for someone with kindness, respect, and understanding. As a small business, not everything ends up perfect sometimes. Having a client with all three of those qualities makes me feel less anxious and it does help me perform better when working on an order. Luckily, everyone who has ordered from me have reflected these characteristics and I am so grateful.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julicious_cakes/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/61568555937079/about/?_rdr
Image Credits
ava evans photography
julie ngo
johnny ngo
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
