Meet Sydney Rogers

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

Sydney, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
I have found that throughout my life, my optimism has come from different places. My relationship with God is a huge reason for my optimism and it helps inspire me to keep fighting the good fight, no matter the circumstances I face. I think that hope and optimism go hand in hand a lot of the time as well, and the relationship I have with God gives me the hope I need even in situations where I am struggling.

The other main source of my optimism is seeing people help one another. I value sacrifice so much and when people put the needs of others above themselves, it is truly a beautiful thing. Even small acts of kindness and mindfulness can go a long way and have a lot of power. Ultimately, I believe there are an infinite amount of ways to help others and all of them are meaningful.

Seeing or hearing about selfless acts that either better humanity as a whole or change one person’s day/life, makes me optimistic and gives me hope.

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 am an entrepreneur that loves music, food and bringing people together to create unforgettable memories in a welcoming, safe space. In 2018, I started my business, Baked Up, in an effort to combine all these passions of mine together. My goal was to curate unique experiences that would help cultivate a community that was excited to come together to enjoy different kinds of art with old friends and new friends and ultimately – feel free to be themselves. I have always been extremely creative, and by starting my business and brand from scratch, I have given myself the perfect project to continue to foster my creativity and share my talents with others. One thing that I think makes Baked Up special is that we do incorporate food at every event – mainly delicious desserts!

My passion for baking and cooking first cultivated from the wonderful experiences I had in the kitchen with my parents starting at 7 years old. Since that young age, I have continued to hone in on my craft and grow my skillsets by challenging myself to do bigger and better things. To be able to incorporate my love for food, specifically desserts, into my business model and branding means so much to me. Between baking cakes for Steve Aoki to throw on stage, getting recognition from artists I have made cookie cakes for like Kaskade and DJ Pauly D, or even making Rice Krispie treats to pass out for free at all of our events, I am grateful for every opportunity I am able to bake and share amazing desserts with other people.

Another reason why our Baked Up brand and events are special is that we curate them with an intense focus on supporting our community and being collaborative with other companies and creatives. It has always been important to me to give artists who might have been overlooked and/or never given a chance the opportunity to share their art in a live setting. Every year, we continue to offer a platform and various opportunities for hundreds of different DJs to express themselves through their music at our events. In addition to this, we collaborate with other companies constantly on not only our events, but their events as well – helping them with promotion, bookings, donating desserts, and more. I am very grateful for my business partner, Abel Trinidad, who has continued to help me support our community and grow our company in a positive way daily – don’t know where I’d be without him!

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?
There have been a plethora of important qualities, skills, and areas of knowledge that have been impactful in my journey – but the ones that have influenced me the most have been leadership and collaboration, creativity and innovation, and accountability. I have realized throughout my years of owning a business how important it is to not only work hard but to focus on practicing and improving these specific qualities and skills so that you can better deal with situations, people, etc. I always believe there is room for improvement and I am constantly trying to be a better version of myself so that I can be a better leader in my professional and personal life.

My advice on developing or improving these qualities, skills, and areas of knowledge to people who are just beginning their journey would be to check out other companies and creatives that they admire that are doing the same thing they are. Take notes of what you admire that they do well and what areas you think need improvement, and then from there you can brainstorm how you want to operate. For example, an awesome way that I learned how to develop leadership qualities and skills was by joining a local electronic music event company that I admired prior to me creating my own business. I saw how the team leaders operated and led their respective promotion teams, and from there I made notes of what they did that inspired others to get their responsibilities done and what practices they used that didn’t get results. Being a good leader is crucial in any industry and by observing/learning from companies you respect and admire (and even ones you don’t), you can start to decide what you need to do to be the type of leader you want to be.

Another way to develop or improve these skills more directly is to get a good mentor. Currently, in addition to owning and operating my company Baked Up, I work as a Brand Ambassador for New Belgium Brewing. My boss, Ana Lopez, is a huge inspiration to me and is constantly leading our team by example, which is more important than some people like to admit. Having someone that can teach you the right things one on one and keep you accountable for achieving the goals you set is a game-changer.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?
One of my favorite books that has played an important role in my development is How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. I think Mr. Carnegie does a great job of breaking down simple ways to get along better with people and make them feel special as well as different tips that can benefit one’s personal life and career by understanding the basic nature of how people operate, what things are important to us all and how to utilize that knowledge to make a difference in our relationships. It is crazy to me that even though that book was published in 1936, all of the principles he covers are extremely relevant today. Some of the fundamentals/tips he speaks about are “Give honest and sincere appreciation,” and “Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.”

I have read this book several times throughout my life and I highly recommend it to everyone; it is fantastic.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Bad Luc, Paxton Conners, Tyler Kidd, Boy Boy Girl Girl, New Belgium Brewing Texas

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