Most people admire their parents from afar, looking up to them and observing their everyday life. But it’s almost always just that, observing. Priscilla Anderson, a senior, decided she would do more. 

        After observing her mother while she baked cakes for the family, Anderson decided to take on a huge role and help in the household baking. As her mother baked, Anderson marinated in every step of the process, just like a sponge cake hungry for syrup. Through this process, Anderson learned to bake and fell in love with it in the process. “I told my mom that I wanted to help her bake one time, and then I just fell in love with it,” she states. Anderson started as a student and grew into the shoes of a skilled baker.  

        After perfecting the art of cake-making, Anderson decided to branch out with other treats-specifically brownies. She quickly learned that brownies were not like cake: brownies had to be cooked for less time, have a denser texture, and be mixed differently. After much trial and error, Anderson finally perfected her brownies and began her baking business, where she would face challenges yet would eventually overcome them. 

        On that topic, Anderson faced a major setback when trying to follow inspiration pictures and copy the exact design onto her baked goods. Instantly, she learned that it would be a challenge to copy the design exactly while keeping her brand and name intact, so she came to terms with the fact that nothing would be identical to the pictures clients provided.  “A struggle was trying to get it exactly like [the picture], but I figured out that I don’t have to follow it and can do something different so it makes it my own.” she says. With that, the concept and basics of the design and inspiration would stay, but her touch on the treats was important to her, so every order contained a twist of her own.

        As a student running a business, Anderson has had to learn to balance her time between her business, school work, extracurriculars, and sports. Anderson struggled to juggle requested treats at first, but soon learned that important time management skills, such as taking orders in advance to minimize her struggles, were needed. She directed her focus to everything but baking during the weekdays, but once the weekend arrives, her time is primarily dedicated to baking and getting customers their treats, especially with the holidays around the corner. 

        Anderson specializes in baking; however, there’s so much more to her business. Anderson has to get creative with designs, especially around the holidays, and she has to put her personal twists onto her treats. Anderson says that she takes inspiration from other bakers and businesses, but the creative ideas usually just come to her head. “I think about something and I put my mind to it,” Anderson says.

        As Halloween approached, Anderson had to get creative with her marketing and decided to bake spooky treats. “I didn’t want to be so plain making just the same treats over and over again, and I wanted something to get people’s attention, so I wanted to make Halloween treats and start advertising Halloween,” explains Anderson. Taking inspiration from her original brownie recipe, her holiday brownies are disguised as mummies and ghosts to get into the holiday spirit. To accompany the brownies, Anderson baked cake pops disguised as ghosts, which have done good for business and have been her favorite to bake because of how easily they mold into shape. 

        Despite Halloween taking the spotlight thus far, upon being asked if she noticed any seasonal trends or preferences, Anderson answered with “No, not really.”

        On the financial side of business, Anderson has had an increase in profits due to the seasonally themed treats, claiming that people want the treats because they look cute, piquing the interest of potential customers. 

        While Anderson is a very skilled baker, she recognizes that she grows as a baker every time she bakes, “I keep improving every day… I feel like as I do more orders and people order more from me, I do better…”.