We were lucky to catch up with Kierra Harper recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kierra, thank you so much for agreeing to open up about a sensitive and personal topic like being fired or laid-off. Unfortunately, there has been a rise in layoffs recently and so your insight and experience with overcoming being let go is relevant to so many in the community.
The only time I have got to experience the unfortunate reality of being laid off, was during the pandemic of 2020. I was working at a really popular bakery in Atlanta, Ga and I actually really liked my job. I got to bake and decorate cakes, and it was a part of my beginning of really learning more about the cake decorating process.
As most know, Covid-19 hit the world really hard, and changed our lives- some more brutally than others. The city of Atlanta definitely felt the shift in day to day living, and it affected many businesses. Our bakery had to let us go for the time being, so that left me without a job, unfortunately.
Although I was let down about losing a job I liked, I wanted to take a moment and look at the world around me. So many families and individuals were experiencing so much trauma and loss. And I was here– only losing a job. I understand how that can be seen as “Don’t be sad, there’s someone going through much worse than you somewhere”, a mindset I know may not be the healthiest, but for me at that time, it’s was true.
Despite losing my job, I was blessed enough to already be with and around family. I now had extra time to help family more, and start my solo baking and cake decorator journey. I used the little money I still had coming in to sharpen my skills and experiment with different techniques and desserts to make. I even got to try my hand a gardening, and learned I had a little bit of a green thumb!
I said all this to say, I took the a moment to allow my self to feel disappointed and even sad about losing my job, but afterwards, I looked at the many ways that I was still blessed. How can I move forward? What’s my next step? “What can I learn now?”
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am a home based baker and cake decorator. I primarily make cakes for special events, such as birthdays, baby showers, weddings and even photo shoots! I have been baking for almost five years now, and I grow to love it more and more, every year.
I love to make special cakes for people’s special events in their lives. Food plays a major part in bringing people together, so I feel especially honored when I get to contribute to an event that means so much to someone. When my clients come to me, they typically have a unique vision or theme in mind, and we get to collaborate ; their vision paired with my baking skills.
Lately, I’ve found that there’s a decent market for creating fake cakes for those who just need a cute little prop for content or photoshoots! I’ve met so many young ladies that love to celebrate their birthdays, and start to plan months in advanced. A part of that planning includes these really cute photoshoots, and sometimes they really need a prop cake just for that. If that sounds like you, let’s collaborate! Tell me your vision, and I’ll make it.
A new service that I’m working on is my ‘Kak’d Bakes Klub’. A cake membership service, where members receive a small 6 inch personal cake, and flavors change monthly! I noticed that people tend to order the same cakes flavors consistently. And if that sounds like you, there’s no shame in that! The cake membership ‘s club, is hopefully way to get people to try new, bold, and creative flavors. You never know, you may discover something you’ll love! The Kak’d club cost if $45 per cake, and there’s no subscription required. You can opt in and out when you want to.
If you would like to learn more, please check out my website here: https://www.kakdbakery.com/post/introducing-kak-d-bakes-cake-club
Or If you have any feedback, please contact me via email: [email protected]
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?
1. Humility: When first starting something new, I think it’s important to understand that your work may not look or be the best. Do not let that discourage you, or even stop you from posting or promoting yourself. Don’t take it as a sign that you’re not meant to do this. Everyone has to start somewhere. Sometimes in our excitement to start, we have over inflated egos or expectations and don’t value that rough starting phase that’s often necessary. There’s nothing t0 be ashamed of, this builds resilience.
2. Cultivating your Environment: Something that really works for me when completing orders, is setting my kitchen and environment to what I find the most comfortable. It sounds silly, but I have to have my favorite comfort show on in the background while I work. Never anything new that I haven’t seen, or anything too interesting, that way I won’t be distracted. I also put my phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’. This really just helps me clear my head my head going in, and set a comfortable and predictable environment. I still work full time, so sometimes I have to leave work, and get started on orders. So, being able to take a moment and then make sure my work environment is comfortable and to my liking is so important to me. For some people, listening to podcast or music may be their thing; for others, they may prefer to work in silence. Find what works for you!
3. Being comfortable with being uncomfortable: When first starting out, you have a tendency to rely heavily on your family and friends as a support group. In some ways this is great. If you’re blessed enough to have loved ones to support you, please continue to enjoy that. At some point, I realized that I was relying too heavily on family and friend as my main customers. I wasn’t really marketing, as much as I should, to strangers because I was nervous. Would they like my treats? Would they be willing to pay for my cakes? Would they recommend to their family and friends?
Once I took a leap and made an actual effort to put my self out there, create a business page and website, try an in person market, I began to feel more validated as a business owner.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
Yes, I’m in the space of wanting to network and connect with others more. Ideally, I would love to collaborate/ partner with someone who can help me cultivate ways to combine what I do, with serving others somehow. Different and creative ways to give back to people who could really use a pick me up or just a little treat to help make their day.
The best way to contact via email at [email protected] !
*An alternate way to contact me is to place an order and we discuss over order pick-up or delivery! (Wink Wink, Nudge Nudge lol!)*
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kakdbakery.com/
- Instagram: @kakdbakes
- Other: Email: [email protected]
Image Credits
Photographer: Emalee Evans
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
