Meet Rachel Barrett

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rachel Barrett a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Rachel, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?

It has absolutely taken me a lifetime to develop a sense of confidence and self-esteem. Part of this journey has been the mistakes and missteps, which is most certainly how you learn to do anything right. But truly, age has been the biggest asset. What I have learned is that I will only ever feel truly accomplished when I set the standards upon which I challenge and judge myself. When I look outwards for validation or reassurance of my worth, I will always be left feeling that I am not good enough. Now that I create my own metrics for success, I am consistently proud of myself. I am only 3 years into running my business Cake Queen LA, and am of course still learning and growing, I hope to always be. But I have worked for decades in the pursuit of artistic and professional success and I do feel very confident in both my skills and the quality of what I am creating for my customers.

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 the artistic force behind Cake Queen LA, a micro bakery based in Los Feliz, Los Angeles, crafting bespoke organic cakes and cupcakes. Every order is a collaboration with my customer, curating the perfect pairing of flavors and designs for their palette and style. Because every order is baked fresh, using the highest quality ingredients and significantly less sugar than traditional bakeries, my customers receive the most flavorful and special cake for their occasion. I have recently launched some new large tiered cake sizes as my wedding business has expanded significantly over the last year. Seasonal flavors rotate throughout the year and I am so excited for the new spring flavors to hit the menu next month.

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?

I have a creative vision that I am committed to and it is this personal style which draws customers to me. I advise everyone to stay true to themselves as they pursue their artistic dreams. Authenticity is key. Perhaps the skill I am most proud of is my attention to detail while multi-tasking! This is so challenging but the biggest asset as a baker and business owner, and as a mother too. You have to always be prepared but also on your toes as there are always so many variables making life, day to day and sometimes hour to hour, unpredictable. Lastly, time management is huge. Being able to create your own schedule seems like a dream but you have to be disciplined to really mind the clock, plan accordingly and stick to it.

If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?

Currently, I am trying to figure out how to keep this business growing and reach more customers. I have an incredible client base with so many folks coming back every year for their (or their child’s) birthday cake. But this means most customers only hire me once a year. I have been relying on word of mouth and instagram and those have been incredible and essential in my expansion since I first launched 3 years ago. But those methods can also be inconsistent and slow growing at times. I am not ready to open up a brick and mortar but I do want to strategize getting my cakes out into the city in more visible ways and into the hands, and mouths of more Angelenos.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://cakequeenla.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/cakequeenla

Image Credits

Rachel Barrett