We were lucky to catch up with Leigh Smith recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Leigh, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
For as long as I can remember, I always baked for friends and family. Then, in 2010, I started my baking business in Massachusetts where I had a booth at farmer’s markets. Then in 2014 I moved to Nashville and it took a few years after that to refine my business model and resume my baking business. Baking has always brought me joy because I like trying new things and experimenting with different flavor combinations. I admit that I had some doubt along the way about whether my “purpose” was meaningful. But, after working with so many clients, I have realized that my purpose is to share joy with others. And the way I do that is through baking them something special from scratch. When I am fortunate enough to be asked to make a celebration cake for a client’s special event, nothing beats seeing the happiness on their face when they first see something made especially for them. It truly lights up my day when a client tells me how much they and their guests enjoyed one of my bakes.
Let me share a sweet story with you that perfectly captures my purpose. Picture a little boy sitting in his car seat in the back of his Mom’s SUV. He is turning three years old and today is the day he and his Mom are picking up the dinosaur themed cake he requested for his birthday. This sweet boy is wearing an appropriately coordinated T-shirt covered with dinosaur pictures on it. As I get closer to the car with his cake, he can give me the full name of each dinosaur on his shirt. His Mom asks if he’d like to see his cake. As I remove the top of the cake box, his little eyes grew wide in anticipation and then a huge smile crossed his face as he saw the handmade dinosaur figures on top of his cake. Nothing can replace that feeling because THAT feeling is what it is all about for me. For that moment in time, I brought joy to this little boy and made his day happier.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
In 2018, I launched a baking business called EastLeigh Desserts. In the beginning, EastLeigh Desserts started by offering baking classes in the community. From there, it has evolved into a dessert catering business that specializes in wedding and special occasion cakes as well as custom dessert bars for any occasion whether it’s a wedding or a corporate event.
When I started my business, I admit I was a bit daunted by trying to find commercial space in which to create my baked goods. For the longest time, I thought the only way to have a successful baking business was to have a store front and offer everything a stereotypical bakery was supposed to offer. To me, that felt overwhelming. And, in all honesty, that model didn’t feel right for me. So, I envisioned having a commercial kitchen in my home where I could create cakes and other desserts as clients wanted and needed them. To achieve this meant selling my home in East Nashville and moving to another location in South Nashville where the home came equipped with a basement that was ready to be converted into an inspiring baking space.
From there, I began focusing on weddings. Over the years, I have been able to offer clients a personalized space for consultation/cake tastings. As business grew, I expanded to begin providing dessert bars to corporate clients.
There are so many things to love about baking. The endless ways to use your creativity. The constant learning of new skills and techniques. Meeting and getting to know new people. All of these things are inspiring to me but ultimately nothing replaces seeing or hearing about a client’s happiness when they enjoy their cake/dessert and knowing they trusted me enough to make their event special.
And now, I’m putting together the finishing touches to an online “bakery on demand” storefront where clients will be able to choose from some of our most frequently requested products. So, be on the lookout for our “Baby Cakes Sampler Boxes”. Sometimes, clients don’t want an entire cake as they sometimes feel it might be too much to eat at one time. The “baby cakes” sampler contains from 2-4 individual cake servings in different cake flavors. For instance, if you want a taste of traditional Southern cakes, you may want to try the Southern sampler and enjoy a bit of pineapple upside down cake, red velvet cake or banana pudding cake.
I am so grateful for all of the support I have received over the years not only from my lovely clients but also the friends, family and co-workers who have all offered their support in so many ways. I would not be here without all of them.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Three things that have helped me are:
1) Don’t be afraid to pivot. If something isn’t working, change it.
2) Don’t be afraid to fail. If you’re not willing to take a risk, you won’t grow. Not every decision you make is going to be the right one but if you don’t try, you’ll never know.
3) Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Mentors help a lot. Learn as much as you can in your field. Find someone in your field who has the success you want. Learn from them.
As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
I just finished the book, “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill. The title is a bit misleading because once you dive into the book, it’s all about cultivating the right mindset for success. I don’t know if I would’ve been as attracted to a book entitled, “Think and Grow Your Mindset” but add the word “rich” in there and it changes the interpretation of the title. In our culture, I think the word “rich” can be very polarizing. Some demonize the rich and some celebrate them. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting an abundant life and the secret is anyone can have one. But, the book teaches you about the power of your thoughts. You have to believe you can achieve what it is you want as your thoughts become your beliefs which then translate to actions. This book talks about having a passion for something, believing in it but also being willing to follow that passion by taking action towards achieving it. The book does not say it will be easy or that all you have to do is visualize it. You must take action. But so much of the work really comes from changing your mind set.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://eastleighdesserts.com
- Instagram: @eastleighdesserts
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eastleighdesserts
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/leigh-smith-787149164
Image Credits
Denise McCann Photography
