Today we’d like to introduce you to Sumayyah Bilal
Hi Sumayyah, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
It’s always interesting to look back on my life and see the seeds entrepreneurship sown in different ways. In this current iteration of my life, I’m known as a baker/chef who specializes in cheesecakes, cupcakes, wedding cakes, other scratch-made desserts, and even savory food items – but it’s been quite an unexpected journey getting to this point!
I’ve been obsessed with cheesecake since I was a very small child. I remember there was a restaurant my parents used to take me and my brother Khalid where we always got a kids meal, which came with a choice of dessert. I got the individual cheesecake every time! My mom used to cook and bake a lot at home, and she included us in that process as much as possible, asking us to help prep things for her to cook. We had a lot of cookbooks that mom used (The Joy of Cooking, Good Housekeeping, etc.) and eventually I started reading through the recipes to imagine what might be tasty and fun to make.
My parents were always amazing at recognizing our interests and encouraging us to foster them. I was always a very musical child, and I remember getting a keyboard as a gift for my 8th birthday, and an Easy Bake Oven around that time too. When Khalid and I were too little to use the oven and stove unsupervised, my mom bought us a microwave cookbook that we could use while we were home on our own before she got off work. I remember finding a recipe for a microwave sweet cheese pie, which was the closest thing to cheesecake in the book! I made it for a family celebration where my siblings were in town, and everyone LOVED it. I fell in love with the feeling of making something special, giving it to someone, and seeing their eyes light up with delight! That’s what continued to drive my passion for baking throughout my life.
I soon became the dessert person for every family gathering, and continued to bake all through childhood. One summer when we lived in South Philly, my mom encouraged me to sell my bakes to her coworkers. So I would prepare and package everything in the morning, then walk down to her job with a bunch of slices of cake and cookies to sell. I remember making $80 in one day – which was a killing for a kid! My parents have always been my biggest supporters in all of my endeavors, and they were among the first to recognize my talent and the entrepreneurial spirit I didn’t even know I possessed.
Shortly thereafter, Khalid and I started selling snacks to our classmates at our small charter school in South Philly. Every weekend, my dad would drive us 45 minutes to the nearest wholesale store to stock up on the staples our customers needed: drinks, candy, gum, chips, cookies, and batteries (for everyone’s CD players). I actually learned a lot about supply and demand and competition through this little business of ours. Khalid and I sold different items with very little overlap, so people knew they had to come to one or the other of us for something they wanted.
Through high school I continued to bake and even sell some of my treats, mainly for fundraisers for our school band program. I guess you could say that was the first combination of my two passions: music and baking. I went to college and majored in music education, and continued to bake for friends on campus. I actually kept cheesecake equipment in my car – springform pans, spatulas, parchment paper, and even cookies for the crust! Once I started my career as a music teacher, I still baked for family events and even just to bring dessert in to share with my colleagues. I started working to perfect my cheesecake recipe & techniques to make the perfect cheesecake around 2018, and that’s when Codetta Bake Shop came to be.
We had just a few orders from friends and colleagues in the first two years as I experimented with different products and flavor profiles. Then in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit and I started baking a LOT more from home to relieve stress. I started selling my treats, cupcakes in particular, on Instagram and it completely blew up. I left my teaching job in the fall of 2020 to pursue running the bakery full time, and we’ve been blessed to enjoy growth ever since.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Honestly, yes and no. If I look at the day-to-day, there’s ALWAYS struggles. From staffing struggles and supply chain issues, to difficulty finding funding to scale the business, I’m no different from any other black entrepreneur in the challenges I face. That being said, I’ve learned over the years to take a step back and look at the “macro,” if you will. When I consider the overall trajectory of my entrepreneurial journey, I see how my lived experiences prepared me to face these struggles in a unique way that gives me a competitive edge in the marketplace.
I lean a lot on my background as a public school teacher to conduct my business, whether it’s communicating with my base, scheduling orders, interacting with team members and colleagues, or making sure I’m getting orders out in a timely manner. I’ve also had a ton of support from my parents and Khalid, who have all been a source of light in the most difficult times. When my dad passed in early 2023, that was a true test to my dedication to building this business. That was the biggest emotional and financial hardship I’ve faced in this journey. I really leaned on my mom, Khalid, and the community I had already built for support, and doing so inspired me to keep going even though I was in the throes of depression and uncertainty after losing someone so close. Now, I’ve clarified and strengthened my purpose, and I believe I can handle any adversity I’m faced with.
As you know, we’re big fans of Codetta Bake Shop. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Codetta Bake Shop is a Black Muslim woman-owned scratch-desserts bakery specializing in handmade cheesecakes, cupcakes, cakes, and MUCH more for all occasions! We truly care about our customers’ experience of both the food and the people that we present to the world. Our commitment to using fresh, high-quality ingredients is what sets us apart from others in our field. We’re proud to be able to stay true to our roots and create an atmosphere where people feel valued and cared for.
We recently expanded and are now offering savory catering options! We’ve done dinner catering (buffet-style and/or elevated small bites) as well as corporate lunch catering (grab-n-go options). We can accommodate different dietary needs as well.
We are currently building out our very first storefront in the heart of Downtown Baltimore, and we hope to bring an artist/cultural hub to the residents of this city we love so much! You can learn more about our project and support us at https://tinyurl.com/futureofcodetta.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
The biggest lesson I learned through the COVID-19 pandemic was to PIVOT! There are times when you get a push in a different direction than you ever could have anticipated, and sometimes when it’s strong enough you just gotta go with it. My mom used to say all the time, “You’re going to go from being a teacher who bakes, to a baker who teaches.” The pandemic created the environment where that transition happened much more quickly than anybody expected. But honestly, it was the right move at the right time, and I’m thrilled that I trusted the push.
COVID also taught me to focus and be resilient. I had to map out a clear trajectory and develop a plan to make sure my business was successful. I’ve gotten much better at that, and the plans have clarified and become MUCH bigger since 2020 – but I still use that focus to keep myself and my team on track.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.CodettaBakeShop.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/CodettaBakeShop
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/CodettaBakeShop
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sumayyahbilal/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/codetta-bake-shop-baltimore
- Other: https://tinyurl.com/futureofcodetta
