Today we’d like to introduce you to Charlotte Evans.
Hi Charlotte, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I didn’t get into pastry until my early 30s. Prior to that, I was musical director and pianist for musical theater companies across the country. I learned to play the piano when I was 4 and was basically raised to be a musician. I had no experience in the culinary world (except a spattering of waitressing jobs) and never even baked as a hobby. But I loved watching Cupcake Wars, Top Chef Desserts, and anything on the Food Network. I eventually got burnt out in the music world (that’s a whole other story!), dropped everything, and decided to go to pastry school. My family thought I was nuts. I knew I always wanted to work with cakes, but again, I had no experience or training. After pastry school, I worked in a French restaurant and hotel as a pastry cook. While I’m grateful now for those experiences and how well-rounded they made me, I knew it wasn’t the avenue I wanted to go down. I then spent two years working at a local cake shop, learning the tricks of the trade, and really building my skills.
I’ve always been a leader. As a musical director, I was one of the top people running the show. To be honest, I’ve never really liked having people tell me what to do! I knew I always wanted to have my own cake business. There came a point at the cake shop where I started to feel under appreciated and wasn’t being challenged enough. Once I felt like I wasn’t growing anymore, I decided to leave and focus on my business full time! This was in the fall of 2019. We all know what happened shortly after that. I actually credit COVID for a lot of my success. My business soared during COVID. People weren’t able to celebrate with each other so instead, they were splurging on fancy and fun cakes. Since then, I really haven’t looked back!
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?
I think the biggest struggle is being able to balance business with home life. I basically left my 9-5 job for a 24/7 job! People don’t realize how much work goes into running your own business. I do everything, I play all the roles. When I’m not decorating or baking cakes, I’m answering emails and writing up invoices. Going on supply runs. Budgeting. Advertising. Social media! I felt myself getting burnt out very quickly. I really try to take two days off each week (Sundays and Mondays) and to turn my phone off at 5pm.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I specialize in custom cakes but I also make a vast array of others treats. Cupcakes, cake pops, cookies. I also make French macarons on a regular basis. I’m known for not only having beautiful looking treats, but also the best tasting treats. So often you will find bakeries that have a beautiful showcase but lacking in flavor. I’ve always achieved to be superb in both. I make everything from scratch and I never back down from a challenge! I love playing with flavors and use my culinary background to perfect my recipes.
I also stand out for my creativity. A lot of my customers, bring ideas to me, no photos. And they let me design. That’s where I really shine. In bringing concepts to life.
How do you think about luck?
I don’t believe in luck. I believe in hard work. If you want something to happen, you have to put in the work!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.confectionsbycharlotte.com
- Instagram: @confectionsbycharlotte
