We recently connected with Lex Holley and have shared our conversation below.
Lex, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
I can’t say I found my purpose; my purpose found me. I was sixteen when I started baking; it began as a cheap Mother’s Day gift. I made my mom a floral cupcake bouquet; I was sold after seeing how happy it made her! I started watching YouTube videos on decorating cakes, ran to Michael’s Craft Store, and bought a TON of baking supplies. It took me years to build up the confidence to believe this could be an actual career and not just a hobby. I had so many friends and family tell me how gifted I was, but it didn’t matter because I didn’t believe it for myself. It wasn’t until the pandemic that God said to me in a dream to quit my job and start focusing on building my cake business. I was scared crapless, for lack of a better word. I had a lot of security at that job, was comfortable, and had nothing else lined up, but I took the leap and haven’t regretted it since.
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’m a cake decorator and content creator specializing in cupcakes, but I also enjoy making buttercream cakes and cakesicles. I’m most proud of how adventurous I’ve become with baking new creative flavors beyond the average vanilla and chocolate. What sets me apart from other bakers and content creators is me; no one can do what I do exactly like me.
In a generation of social media and budding entrepreneurs, hundreds and thousands of people do exactly what I am doing, and plenty of them are doing it better! But God has put in me something technique, skills, and pizazz can’t trump. There is more than enough room for me in what seems to be an oversaturated market. My goal is to build a community, not a list of clients. My business goes beyond cake transactions; I’m confident I will find my people, and they will find me, and together we’ll build a community of cake fanatics who gather in love, happiness, and support of one another. It’s not just cake; it’s community.
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 skills I’ve found the most beneficial in my journey are the art of not being afraid to be caught trying, resilience, and Google.
The art of not being afraid to be caught trying, so many people delay their purpose because they don’t want to be seen “trying.” I wrestled with this fear of being seen trying for years, and the only thing that flipped the switch from fear to faith was doing it afraid. I had to weigh the pros of trying v.s. the cons of never knowing. Ultimately, I wasn’t willing to live with regret, so I took the plunge and posted my first video.
Resilience is not something we’re all born with. It’s a learned skill; you have to decide to continue despite the failures and choose to allow those failures to work for you, not against you. It isn’t easy, but the payoff is more valuable than quitting and playing it safe.
And last but certainly not least, Google! As funny as it sounds, there have been so many times a simple Google search has saved me from frustration and stagnation; it’s led me to entrepreneurial Q&A heaven. Anytime I was frustrated because I didn’t know how to do something, I felt like God placed the exact article or video to teach me how to do that very thing I was looking for and more and that’s the best part of invinting God into your business He will take the guess work out of it, becuase it’s not on you it’s on Him now and He never fails so you can rest assured that if you put in the work and faith He’ll make it happen and give you the tools and support to do so.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
My most significant area of growth is trusting God with my business, Im naturally a hard worker and a recovering perfectionist, so I like to take fate into my own hands. I’ve always wanted to make things happen through hustling, but I’ve found that you won’t have to work half as hard when God’s favor is upon you. No amount of work can trump God’s favor; He will open doors you’re nowhere near qualified to walk through just to glorify His name. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still learning to surrender my business fully to Him, especially when He calls me to rest, but every time I have, I’ve never regretted it.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: fueledbyflour
- Facebook: fueledbyflour
- Twitter: fueledbyflour
- Other: TikTok: @fueledbyflour
Image Credits
Lex Holley
