Unscripted: Cassandra’s Taste of Sweets
Welcome to my kitchen, where you’ll feel like you’re right at home!
Unscripted
By Keith Edmonds
FWIS Contributing Writer
My guest today is one of our local bakers/business woman who is making her way into our home’s with a dose of southern “Deliciousness” in her products that will touch your soul as well as your taste buds. Cassandra Thomas is a woman that has a tremendous feel for what she does and serves to her patrons. Her psssion for what she does, and sense of “community effort” by incorporating her family in this thriving business, is what drew me to feature her in today’s UNSCRIPTED.
UNSCRIPTED: Tell us a about what brought you here, and how your business came to be?
CT: “Well, I have been baking for about15 years and was inspired by my grandmother in Alabama. It started out as a hobby because growing up, I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with her baking. In 2020 I lost a dear friend to COVID and one of the things that she shared with me was get out of your comfort zone and do YOU! That’s what really started me to seriously start thinking about doing this as a business and what that would look like. So I decided to begin with a touch of southern style added to my flavors and things began moving forward.”
UNSCRIPTED: So what was the vision to what Cassandra’s Taste of Sweets would look like?
CT: “After a long discussion with my husband, he really encouraged me to push my dreams forward into what our business would look like, and how we would market ourselves to the Fort Wayne community. I always put my family first, but he said it’s time to make room for YOUR DREAMS which I’m so thankful for. If I may say this, HE is the visionary behind the business because of his belief in me.”
UNSCRIPTED: Now I know that a project like this (business) has a lot of moving pieces, who assists you in this undertaking?
CT: “With this being a part-time position, my family has really come onboard to help me get things done. My husband and children stepped up (along with my 4 year old grand-daughter who’s the CEO lol) They all have accepted their part in making this business what it is, and will become by doing whatever is asked of them and that’s huge for the success of Cassandra’s Tastes and Sweets!”
UNSCRIPTED: The success of any business is due to the clients that you serve. How do you build up your clientele?
CT: “My clientele comes from my connections through my local church (True Love Baptist) and from being employed in Fort Wayne Community Schools where I am a secretary. Just recently, we connected with Farmers Market (where I met you) and that’s another lane we’re traveling down for clients. But the church and word-of-mouth is what has really driven this business forward!”
UNSCRIPTED: How do you decide what projects you’re going to take on, and which ones you’ll say NO to?
CT: “We look at our client base and how many people will be attending the event and what their particular product needs may be. Also, what type of products are they asking for, and how much time will be needed to make it; so it really varies. The Farmers Market will be asking for a certain type of product which will be different than say, a ladies event may ask for. Season or time of year, also go into what products we’ll be doing and get requests for so that goes into the decision-making process as well.”
UNSCRIPTED: Advertising is a huge component towards the success of any business, how do you promote your business to raise public awareness?
CT: “We advertise via our website, Facebook and the various types of vending events throughout the city to keep our name and product out there. We would LOVE to have our products in stores and restaurants, but first we’d have to get into a commercial kitchen. Once we do that, then the skies are the limit! We’ve looked at several building locations, but need the funding to secure a building of that nature. Hopefully we will secure it through grants to absorb our overhead costs. We believe that it’s faithfully coming to us sooner rather than later!”
UNSCRIPTED: To bring this to a close, what are 3 things that you’d like for our readers to know about Cassandra’s Tastes of Sweets LLC that maybe they do not know?
CT: 1) Good Quality,
2) Great Customer Service,
3) Delicious Product
“If you have those 3 then you’ve got a winner! If any of those are missing then your business will not take off! There are many that can make good products but if they’re missing the customer service part, then the positive word won’t spread, and your business will suffer.” One things for sure, Cassandra’s Taste of Sweets is a business that will only suffer the “fruits of success” as they continue to serve the Fort Wayne community!”