Wow! 2 years already? How has time flown by this quickly?
It is hard to believe that just two years ago, this business was getting started. And when I say getting started, I mean starting from ground zero. Jenetta’s Simple Treats started with nothing but a thought of “I really enjoy making cupcakes.”
My passion and love for decorating was not something that I knew was there. It was found by chance. You see, my son was having his first birthday. We were pretty tight on money so I decided that we would purchase a custom smash cake and sugar cookies from a local business, but I would try to make the rest of the treats. So I checked my pantry and started to thrift the supplies I knew I was going to need. I had a half box of basic food coloring, some random piping bags, off brand tips that I found on an auction site, cupcake liners from Amazon, and a mini cupcake pan that I found for free on Facebook. Now it was time to practice.
On July 3rd, 2022, I baked and piped my first ever cupcakes. Since the 4th of July was the next day and my colors were limited, I went with a Red, White, and Blue theme. Though my red was more pink and my frosting was melting on my cupcakes, I was incredibly proud of myself. I had baked a few dozen mini cupcakes and had them decorated all over our very small kitchen. But what to do with them? I didn’t want to throw them away as that seemed like a waste. So I posted on my local military small business page that I had cupcakes that needed homes. I packaged up a dozen mini cupcakes on paper plates, and asked for a dollar per plate. Thankfully, I was able to get rid of them pretty quickly.
Shortly after selling what I had already made, I started getting messages.
“Do you happen to have more?”
“Can I pay you to make some for next weekend?”
“These tasted great! I am having a gathering tomorrow…”
“Do you have other flavors?”
“I would have totally given you more!”
“Do you make custom orders?”
The sense of pride I felt as my phone started going off was intense. At this point in time, I had been a stay-at-home-mom for a year after being a music teacher. In short, I had survived some serious postpartum depression and was recovering every day. But I hadn’t felt much of a “purpose.” I needed to be more than “just a mom.” And these comments sparked a fire.
Later that evening, I secretly pulled opened our family laptop and starting looking up costs for packaging. If I was going to make more, I wasn’t going to hand them to people on a paper plate. But then I went on a DEEP DIVE! Next thing I knew, I was laying in bed late at night secretly opening a Square account and creating a potential logo on Canva.
Within a few weeks, I spoke with my husband and my mom about opening a home business. They were both pretty surprised and had the same response…“Are you sure?” I was very upfront and forward with them. I let them both know that I was in the early stages. That though I had been doing research, I knew nothing about how much it would cost to get up and running, how to set up a business with the state, the cost of packaging, where these items would be placed, marketing, or anything about running a business! And remember… we were tight on money.
I explained to both of them that for the first time in a long time, I felt like my anxiety had drifted away. It was something about the process from start to finish of making those cupcakes on July 3rd that allowed my heart rate to slow, my breathing to steady, and my mind to rest. A feeling that I wanted to capture and hold on to forever.
Since that first conversation, our family has had two rules:
1) If it is no longer fun, stop.
2) It is not about the money.
So that was it. I was provided the blessing from my family. I was provided some amazing support from friends and family in ways of encouragement as well as Amazon Wish List items to get me started. I began researching how to register and secure a business within the state of Nevada. I started watching YouTube videos and practicing different techniques. And on July 30th, 2022, I officially opened Jenetta’s Simple Treats.
There was a ton of growing that took place that first year. But the changes that happened this second year would assure to not only myself, but to my friends and family that this business is here to stay.
On August 3rd, 2023, JST purchased a trailer! Our plan was to not only convert this trailer to a mobile pop up trailer, but to use the trailer for our upcoming military moves. This was such a big and scary purchase. We knew that a lot of money was about to be dedicated to converting this trailer and bringing our vision to life.
The largest part of this past year was the fact that the business (and family) had to prepare for a cross country move and a long distance relationship. My husband Jason was selected to commission as an officer for the United Stated Air Force. This was a goal he had been working on for a year and the news finally came that he was selected. But this meant that the business, being just over a year old at the time, had to pack up and move from Nevada to Florida. Navigating how to make this “new life” work has not always been easy, but it was the best decision at this time for our family.
You see, my son and I would head to Florida. We would stay here, grant him stability, go to preschool, and allow the business to flourish. The other side of the coin had the potential to cause a lot of stress on our family. So this was the best way. We would be apart until the fall of 2024.
I was lucky enough in Nevada to have an amazing military community with many who already knew my name. I was able to help start the Nellis Small Business Pop Up and help other businesses get started and grow their own business. But now I was moving to an area that knew nothing about me. And I had to pivot the way I marketed myself.
But while being here, I significantly grew my business.
- I had not one, not two, not three, but FOUR large business orders. Three of the businesses did client gifts and the fourth was for a meeting.
- I made my first 2-tier and 3-tiered cakes! This was a really big deal as I had never envisioned doing cakes when I first opened the business.
- I was hired to do weekly deliveries to a local vacation rental house for their clients.
- JST was able to financially contribute to the family for the first time! This business has zero debt and grew very quickly. But this meant that any profit I was making was heading right back out the door to keep up with the business needs and updating the trailer. This was such a big deal because though we said the business would not focus in on the money, I truly wanted to start contributing to our family’s financial goals and needs.
- I shipped product for the first time! In Nevada, this was not allowed by their cottage laws but Florida law allowed this service.
- I added additional items to my menus which included: heart cakes, cake jars, personalized chocolate covered cookies, bento party boxes, and additional sized cakes.
- And that trailer…is scheduled to have its grand opening on August 4th, 2024.
So many amazing things happened within the last year.
We are already looking forward to next year and all the amazing things that are ahead of us: Moving to North Dakota in September, purchasing a home, JST having an official office and room within our house, and most importantly, all being back together again.
JST has many goals and plans for this next year. But for now, my family and I are going to enjoy and relish the final weeks we have in the Destin community and all it has done to help the little business grow.
So Cheers to the dream.
The continued dreams.
And the dreams to come.
-Jenetta
Jenetta's Simple Treats 