We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nora Contreras. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nora below.
Nora , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I would say my resilience was built by my past experiences, the good the bad and the ugly. My life has been in no way easy, but I am thankful for the life I was given. When I was young, my father was sentenced to thirteen years in prison. I grew up with only my mother, and two older brothers. It was us against the world, or so I thought. I had to grow up way faster than most, my childhood was stripped from me. My mother remarried, and it was hard for all of us. We had a hard time getting along with our step father, but after a few years it got easier. After my brothers graduated high school they became drug addicts, the only people I could truly lean on no matter what was no longer there for me. Drugs took my position in their life. It was a constant battle for many, many years. They almost dragged me down with them. When I moved to college I also struggled with addiction, in many different ways. I used this as a crutch, to not actually deal with the life I was dealt. I met my now husband, and he changed my life for the better. He showed me that there are healthy ways to deal with the things I have been through. I then became unexpectedly pregnant, while in college. I thought my life was ruined, but little did I know this was the start of my new beginning. Soon after he was born I started an at home baking business as a side hustle, while still working full time. Last year I took the leap to finally go all-in, I started putting my all into my baking. My side hustle has now became my full time job, and I get to spend my days taking care of my son. After realizing I survived my childhood and came out the other side my best self, I realized I am resilient and thankful.
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?
Ever since I was a little girl I always loved baking and cooking. After following a different journey for the first part of my college career I decided I wanted to invest in this baking career whole heartedly. I transferred to AB Tech to gain my Baking and Pastry Arts Degree. I started this journey as a side hustle in 2021 because it is what I loved to do. I was still working full time in the restaurant industry in the mean time. In September of 2022 I went full time into my baking business. I started attending the local farmers market, I also donated to my elementary school just to help get my name out there. In January of 2023 my business doubled, almost out of no where. There was a very slow build up from September to December. My main focus now is building my dream brick and mortar bakery. I am working on gaining a bigger clientele, to help fund this dream. I am also working at gaining the same salary I had when I was working full time in the restaurant industry. My home bakery is named ‘Flour y Flora Bakery’, this kind of reflects me personally and my style. I am half hispanic, and love to tap into my roots when I can, I also love florals. Flour is the main ingredient in almost any baked good, and flora means flower. My brand style is very modern, floral, and boho themed. I do work with other styles and techniques, floral boho is just my favorite and my most creative. I do have a huge support system that helps. I do all the work myself, but my family assists with deliveries and advertisement.
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?
Marketing and advertising is definitely the number one skill you need to learn in this industry, especially just starting out. Early on clients always told me ‘post regularly’, ‘post everything you create, even if you don’t like it’, ‘always advertise for yourself’, ‘don’t be afraid to put yourself out there’. I was always afraid to advertise for myself, because I was afraid people didn’t want to hear my opinion, they wanted to hear my customers opinion. Posting regularly, and consistently definitely helped build a bigger following on social media. This allowed for many new clients to see my work, even if I didn’t necessarily like it, they loved it. Perseverance is another quality that you need. There were so many times I wanted to give up, business would have slow moments. When I first started full time in September I barely had any business. There are also going to be days where nothing is going right. I’ve had break downs in my kitchen multiple times, even before big vendor events. No matter how many cakes you have made, or how many times you have practiced things can go wrong. I’ve always been told “if something can go wrong, it will go wrong so always be prepared for it”. I’ve learned it’s not about not making mistakes, its about how you handle them. It’s about how you get back up, and keep going.
Another thing would be to always invest in yourself. No matter how versed you are in the baking world, new techniques and styles are constantly being created. Take new classes, even if they aren’t free. Invest in going back to school if you need to, invest in new equipment or tools. You have to spend money to make money. and scared money will never make it.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
I think it is better to be more well rounded, and improve in areas you aren’t as strong in. I used to refuse to take fondant cake orders, which turned a lot of business away from me. After some time and more practice, it became a strength. I’ve learned working with fondant and using fondant details gives an overall better look to certain cake styles. You can manipulate fondant in ways you can’t manipulate buttercream. Fondant gives a very sharp look to details on cakes. Of course I can make a beautiful cake out of just buttercream, but I have made some amazing cakes with fondant. This has helped grow my clientele, and grow my skill set. You can never become better if you don’t step outside of your comfort zone. This is not suppose to be easy, and it’s definitely not for the weak minded.
One example of this was an order I received from an equestrian. It was a horse cake, with fondant details. At first my answer was immediately no. But she was a consistent client so I gave in and finally said yes. This cake turned out beautifully, and it has been my most popular cake style this year. The same design has been ordered at least ten times already, and I have more orders for later this year. I am actually going to use this as one of my relevant work photos I send in for you!
Contact Info:
- Website: flouryflorabakery.com
- Facebook: Flour y Flora Bakery
Image Credits
All of these photos only belong to me, Nora Contreras.
