Community Highlights: Meet Lianna Fertig of Enticing Cakes

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lianna Fertig.

Hi Lianna, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
8 years ago, I was halfway through college with no set plan on what I wanted to do. All I knew was it had to be something creative. I’ve lived on my own since I was 17 so I was working at a restaurant, a shoe store, and a law firm paying my way through. I met a great little network of people at these jobs. One of the girls I worked with was expecting a baby and I helped plan her shower. This sparked my interest in event planning and I began planning events for anyone that would let me to build a portfolio. I was creating these events on a budget, so when it came to the cake I decided to make it myself. Little did I know, this would be the start of Enticing Cakes. ⁣ ⁣

I soon began to receive messages asking if I was the cake lady. Creating cakes then became a fourth part-time job. Soon after, Enticing Cakes culminated into my full time aspiration as a profession. After years of pouring every extra ounce of time into building a business, I still felt like I wasn’t in a place where I could do it full time and quit a side job. I felt frustrated that I was going to be a part-time server for the rest of my life. I went through a period of self doubt thinking I should just use my degree and work for someone else. It sure seemed less exhausting. ⁣
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It wasn’t until Covid appeared and I lost that safety net of a second job and Enticing Cakes was all I ⁣had – there was no parachute to save me. This was a huge turning point in my business. The moment I put every ounce of energy into my business instead of spreading that energy into the safety of a back up plan is when my business started to reach its full potential.

I have now pivoted my business to expand past just making custom cakes. I have a food truck, 7 franchised DoorDash and UberEats locations (ghost kitchens), offer wholesale dessert to local restaurants, and the next venture is creating an Amazon store for bakery supplies and shippable treats such as chocolate covered Oreos and gift boxes.

In one year I went from being a one woman show to having 1 full time and 6 part time employees. It’s amazing what you can achieve when your pour everything you have into your passion and I hope I can inspire others to do the same.
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Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Entrepreneurship is not for the faint hearted. It takes a lot of grind before you can see the shine. I think the most difficult aspect is having zero sense of an instruction manual. Any other career path you take, even something as difficult as becoming a brain surgeon, at least has some step by step plan of what to do next to achieve your goal.

Entrepreneurship is a bumpy road filled with anxiety, failure, trial and error, and 50 little fires to put out everywhere and the only one with the extinguisher is you. There is no company policy already set up on how to solve a problem or how make something work.

There are so many tiny details that go into making a business function smoothly. I remember making my first cake and even after watching a very detailed video thinking I had everything I needed, I realized I didn’t have a cardboard circle to put the cake on and cut it out of the top of a pizza box.

There are so many roles to keep track of it feels like 50 tabs are open in your brain at all times and you can never close them. It helps having employees now, but at first I was the one who ordered the inventory, made the cakes, did the cleanup, handled client intake emails, made a website, designed business cards, set up licensing, managed invoicing and taxes, handled social media and marketing…. the list goes on and on.

Every aspect is detailed, time consuming and you feel like a real amateur at first. You spend hours of research on how to make a website, hours comparing pricing to get the best cost of goods, years developing a social media page that looks professional, etc.

But, eventually, with time and consistency, you figure out a system for each little part in the machine. Then once the machine is built, you copy and paste and have something you’re really proud of.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a home-based bakery + food truck that specializes in custom-made cakes, cupcakes, and desserts for all occasions. I also accommodate to most allergies and even make cakes for dogs!

Everything is made from scratch and a little piece of edible art. I work with someone one-on-one to design just about anything you can think of. I have even gotten the opportunity to make a few cakes for celebrities such as Lebron James, Pauly D, Jake Paul, Lil John, as well as a few influencers and Kent State University.

The food truck has 30 fun flavored cupcakes that rotate monthly and the cupcakes are also sold on DoorDash and UberEats

I get a lot of joy out of being a part of life’s most celebrated moments. Every cake I make is custom and personalized and it makes me happy knowing that whoever receives it feels special. Someone took the time to go the extra mile and plan ahead instead of running into a grocery store and taking a generic pick of what’s available.

I also love the local connections I build. For example, I get excited for repeat families that order a cake for their kid every year. I’m invested what they’re into each age. Like the little girl who wanted a unicorn cake, then a llama theme, next year it’s an emoji cake etc. and it’s fun to think I’m going to do this every year until one day I’m possibly making her wedding cake.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I am really into self development books, podcasts, and social media accounts. A HUGE part of entrepreneurship is staying inspired because there’s no one holding you accountable to show up every day.

My top two favorites are “You are a Badass at Making Money” by Jen Sincero and “Shoe Dog” by Phil Knight, the creator of Nike.

The first book is an audiobook and it’s my number one recommendation if you are just starting to dive into the self-development genre. It’s funny, and gives you a really good perspective on making money for yourself.

The second one makes the list because I love his story on how he was just a small town guy with this “crazy idea.” It’s very relatable as an entrepreneur because when you first start out everyone thinks you’ve lost your mind and can’t see your vision. It’s a very well-written and inspiring book coming from someone who created one of the most successful brands of all time.

Contact Info:

• Email: Lianna@enticingbakery.com
• Website: Www.enticingbakery.com
• Instagram: @enticing.cakes
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/enticingbakery/?ref=bookmarks 

Image Credits
Eric Mull
Stasi Kountis