Meet Vanessa Ross

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Vanessa Ross. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Vanessa below.

Hi Vanessa, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

“Feeling sorry for yourself” just wasn’t a way of life growing up in our house.

Doesn’t mean I didn’t try. After all, I was a teenager once.

But, it really just means that even if you are upset, disappointed or frustrated you still have things that need to be done.

Wallowing in self-pity was not permitted.

My parents just always saw things through and weren’t quitters. If there was a problem they tackled it head on and found a way to fix it or to deal with the issues.

When I was a teenager I was a competitive diver. One afternoon I was practicing for tri-counties when I messed up and hit the water really, really hard.

It hurt, but I was more embarrassed than injured, and was on the side of the pool crying hysterically. My mom came over to me and pointed out that everyone screws up once in a while and not to let my emotions rule me. She told me to get “back on the board” and fix the mistake. I did, and went on to win tri-counties that year!

I have adopted that philosophy in life. Yeah, some things are difficult and some things hurt but mistakes happen. We need to learn from them, adjust and go on.

I do that with cakes.

Sometimes things just don’t go to plan.

I rarely have time waste feeling sorry for myself, so I just get back on the board and fix the mistake.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I started decorating cakes years ago after finding a “learn to make flowers” kit in a craft store.

I remember watching the designers in the bakery near my grandmother’s house as a kid and always wanted to learn so I bought the kit and taught myself.

I loved it from the start!

Not long afterwards I saw a show in TV called Ace of Cakes. The things that Duff could do with cakes was astounding and I would watch the show and take notes! Then the cake challenges aired on TV and my mind was officially blown!

I ordered books and began to learn to work with fondant.

Over the years I have created crazier and crazier edible art that defies gravity and blows people’s minds. I love when someone looks at my cakes and is completely astounded!

I don’t know that I’ll ever be as good as Duff, but I’m working on it.

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 to say that never giving up has to be the most important trait.

I have many ideas that fail but I just knead the fondant and start over.

Sometimes I have to do something else and just let my brain work on the problem before tackling it again.

I think my biggest piece of advice would be don’t get complacent.

It’s easy to do in this industry. So many people want the basic sheetcake that you can get in the grocery store which is exactly why I don’t offer them.

I decided years ago that I was not going to try to compete with huge corporations. My work is custom therefore if you can get it in the grocery store I don’t make it.

I realized years ago that I can’t make cakes for everyone and need a network of local bakers that I can refer poeple to if I am booked.

I am happy to send people to another baker that I know and trust.

There are so many trends that exist with cakes. Some are crazy easy and some are super difficult but I love to be pushed out of my boundaries. I love the challenge of learning new skills and expanding my abilities.

I have many customers, for whom I have been making cakes for years, that trust me and know that I will go above and beyond on their design. Many just give me a theme and a budget and let me run with it.

Having that level of freedom to be creative is the best feeling!

I love showing up with a cake that far exceeds their expectations and and watching them gasp with shock and surprise.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

The economy has to be the biggest issue I am dealing with these days.

Four years ago it cost me $22 just to make a batch of Swiss meringue buttercream. Today it costs me almost $70.

I partner with an Amish farm for the eggs and a local grocery for the butter to save money but costs are still through the roof.

It makes being in business extremely difficult.

Many people tell me to “just raise my pricing” but when I ask what they’d be willing to pay it is nowhere close to what I’d have to charge.

I run a business that uses consumbles vs office space therefore my overhead is much higher than someone who works from home on a computer.

This being said, I still do my best to offer people options.

For instance, if a couple comes to me for a wedding cake for 100 people, depending on the design, it could be as much as $850 to $1000. If their buget does not allow for that I will give them another option of going with a smaller cake and cupcakes to save money.

Most of us are feeling the pinch of the economy these days and I do my best to respect people’s budgets.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://vanessarosscakes.com
• Instagram: @vanessarosscakes
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/vanessarosscakes