We were lucky to catch up with Victoria Mahdieh recently and have shared our conversation below.
Victoria , so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?
Being grateful and counting your blessings, is a great contributor to optimism. I start each day giving thanks for all that God has done in my life. It truly helps to see the bright side of things. Even though every day is not filled with ‘sunshine and roses’ , staying optimistic is having faith that God will work out our circumstances for the good.
Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. Psalm 23:6
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
The best part of my job is being able to bring joy to my clients and their special events. Following along with each milestone, is an extra bonus. To be able to design special cakes/cookies for each stage of life- from engagements to weddings to showers and baby’s first birthday,- is pretty cool, and an honor. Although all of my orders are customized to the theme of each client’s event, I will be launching a new phase soon (on off seasons) that will focus on luxury tastes more than design. Of course, each design now is equally delicious, but I will be able to offer smaller tasty bites that are not as labor intense, thereby making it easier for someone to indulge themselves even if they don’t have an event planned.
After all, isn’t a chocolate ganache fudge cake worthy of a simple Friday movie night? Everything doesn’t have to be fancy, just scrumptious!
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?
Quality,, quality, quality…from work ethic, to workmanship to holding yourself to the highest standards. Don’t cut corners and always strive for the best. Learn from your mistakes-we all make them, but instead of getting discouraged, use those mistakes to build yourself and your product stronger and better. Use the tools available, social media is great for this- to hone your skills and keep up with new trends in your field..
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
While I do feel that going all in on your strengths will definitely benefit your business, I feel it’s equally important to invest and improve in areas that might be intimidating or that you don’t feel strong in. That is the only way to grow and increase your skills. Doing things you didn’t think you could do, only helps you to grow and overcome insecurities. My business motto is always ‘never say no’. Although, so many times, when faced with a new challenge or something I’ve never done before, I say, sure I can do that, only to turn around and. think to myself, “Why did I say I can do that??!” But I always figure it out, maybe not perfectly, at first, but striving for perfection, gets you there. And the next time, it will be even better. There is a lot of pressure to create beautiful designs that are equally delicious-whether it’s 1000 logo cookies for the Chamber of Commerce, a bougie design for a famous person, a four tier wedding cake, or a special littles birthday, each event is just as important as the next, and has to deliver! Just keep going, because with each new challenge comes a new skill. (and new clients!)
Contact Info:
- Instagram: SugarBar Tampa
- Facebook: SugarBar Tampa
- Other: Email: [email protected]
