# Brand Building: A full-time attorney's bakery started in his home kitchen and now ships desserts nationwide.

An episode of [Money Making Conversations Master Class](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1264705641), 15 Jul 2025, 28 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/b1db7263-d1a3-4d00-8976-af62012aab44/c570e81f-fb56-4775-9d94-b3140167842f/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=35a10561-3e1b-4d05-a529-af62012aab6a

Listen and subscribe to Money Making Conversations on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, www.moneymakingconversations.com/subscribe/ or wherever you listen to podcasts. New Money Making Conversations episodes drop daily. I want to alert you, so you don’t miss out on expert analysis and insider perspectives from my guests who provide tips that can help you uplift the community, improve your financial planning, motivation, or advice on how to be a successful entrepreneur. Keep winning! Two-time Emmy and Three-time NAACP Image Award-winning, television Executive Producer Rushion McDonald interviewed Monty Garside. A full-time attorney turned baker and founder of Confectionist Bakery. Here are some key highlights from the episode: 🎙️ Guest Background • Monty Garside is a practicing attorney with over 20 years of experience in litigation. • He founded Confectionist Bakery in honor of his grandmother, Ruth Ilene Burns Garside. • The bakery started in his home kitchen and now ships desserts nationwide. 🍰 Bakery Journey • Inspired by nostalgia and family traditions, Monty began baking after his grandmother passed away. • His first successful cake was a pound cake that tasted exactly like his grandmother’s. • He was encouraged to start a business by a client who was the daughter of a professional baker. 🧁 Products & Flavors • Specializes in cheesecakes, pound cakes, layer cakes, and pies. • Unique flavors include: • Peach Cobbler Pound Cake • Amaretto Pound Cake • Banana Pudding Layer Cake • Sweet Potato Pound Cake 🚚 Shipping & Operations • Operates out of a commercial kitchen in Atlanta. • Cakes are wrapped and frozen for freshness and shipped nationwide. • Orders typically take 2 days to process and 3–5 days for delivery. 💡 Business Insights • Challenges included pricing products appropriately and managing holiday demand. • Emphasizes the importance of: • Quality product • Excellent customer service • Knowing your target audience • Target customers are busy professionals who appreciate homemade, Southern-style desserts but lack the time or skill to make them. 📈 Advice for Entrepreneurs • Don’t be afraid to try something new. • Control what you can—especially product quality and customer service. • Trust yourself through the ups and downs. #SHMS #STRAW #BEST Money Making Conversations Master Class with Rushion McDonald is America's premier entrepreneurship, business leadership, financial literacy, and wealth-building podcast featuring successful entrepreneurs, executives, founders, celebrities, and industry experts sharing actionable insights for professional and financial success. Business Podcast Entrepreneurship Small Business Business Growth Financial Literacy Wealth Building Black Entrepreneurs Minority Business Leadership Executive Leadership Business Funding Marketing Strategies Personal Development Startup Advice Sales Training CEO Interviews Founder Stories Professional Development Economic Empowerment Business Success Networking Brand Building Innovation How to start a business Small business funding Entrepreneur success stories Business leadership podcast Wealth building strategies Black entrepreneur podcast Minority business development Marketing for small businesses Business growth strategies Startup funding opportunities Executive leadership training Financial literacy education Success mindset podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:05] Speaker 1: Welcome to the show.
[0:06] Speaker 2: I am Rashwan MacDonald, the host of Money Making Conversations Masterclass,
[0:10] Speaker 2: where we encourage people to stop reading other people's success
[0:13] Speaker 2: stories and.
[0:14] Speaker 1: Start planning their own. Listen up as I interview entrepreneurs.
[0:18] Speaker 2: From around the country, talk to celebrities and ask them
[0:21] Speaker 2: how they are running their companies, and speak with non
[0:24] Speaker 2: profits who are making a difference in their local communities. Now,
[0:28] Speaker 2: sit back and listen as we unlock the secrets to
[0:30] Speaker 2: their success on Money Making Conversations Masterclass. My next deest
[0:36] Speaker 2: is a full time attorney turned baker. He founded Confessionist
[0:41] Speaker 2: Bakery in his home kitchen. He begins selling his cakes
[0:45] Speaker 2: to friends and family during the holidays season, just like
[0:49] Speaker 2: his grandmother used to do way back in the day,
[0:52] Speaker 2: and now serves customers all over the country. I met
[0:55] Speaker 2: him at an event at an event, That's why he's
[0:58] Speaker 2: on the show today. Confession This Bakery leaves us a
[1:01] Speaker 2: tribute to the life and memory of Ruth Eleen Burns Guarside.
[1:07] Speaker 2: Please welcome to Money Making Conversation Master Class. Monte Guarside.
[1:11] Speaker 2: How you doing Monte, I'm doing great. I'm doing great.
[1:14] Speaker 2: Thank you for having me. I appreciate it, so real
[1:16] Speaker 2: longer to be speaking with you. I appreciate that compliment.
[1:19] Speaker 2: But let's get to the real deal. You know, I
[1:21] Speaker 2: saw I was at this event. It's an event live
[1:25] Speaker 2: remote for popcorn remixed there Gamet Popcorn Company, and they
[1:29] Speaker 2: were as part of the campaign, a promotional campaign.
[1:33] Speaker 1: Give it away two of your cake.
[1:35] Speaker 3: Yes.
[1:35] Speaker 1: Now. I saw one of the cakes was a banana
[1:38] Speaker 1: pudding cake.
[1:39] Speaker 3: Yes.
[1:40] Speaker 1: And then the other cake was a sweet potato the
[1:42] Speaker 1: pie cake.
[1:43] Speaker 3: Yes. Right now.
[1:44] Speaker 2: The lady who wanted the banana pudding cake, she locked
[1:47] Speaker 2: on that thing like she had won a thousand dollars.
[1:50] Speaker 2: In fact, she didn't lead the event. She took your cake.
[1:54] Speaker 2: She put it in her car, turned her car on,
[1:57] Speaker 2: turned the air condition up high, all the doors, and
[2:01] Speaker 2: came back to the event. So she didn't want anything
[2:04] Speaker 2: to go wrong with your cake.
[2:05] Speaker 4: I have a funny story about that. I didn't realize
[2:09] Speaker 4: that she had left, or I assumed that she had left.
[2:11] Speaker 4: And so about thirty minutes after she won the cake,
[2:14] Speaker 4: I saw her and I was like, oh, no, she's not.
[2:16] Speaker 3: Holding the cake. That means she put that cake in
[2:18] Speaker 3: her car.
[2:18] Speaker 4: And I walked over to her to tell her, Hey, listen,
[2:21] Speaker 4: that cake is going to droop on you if you
[2:23] Speaker 4: don't go turn your car on and turn the A
[2:25] Speaker 4: C on it. Before I could open my mouth, she said,
[2:27] Speaker 4: it's already in the car. The all she knew, I
[2:32] Speaker 4: was dealing with a pro.
[2:34] Speaker 2: Pro And then she said, and I got gazed, so
[2:40] Speaker 2: when she was not running out and I commend that.
[2:42] Speaker 1: But it's a beautiful cake, as well as the sweet
[2:44] Speaker 1: potato potcake.
[2:45] Speaker 2: But when I got you, or when I met you, Monty,
[2:48] Speaker 2: you know great personality. I was so happy that I
[2:51] Speaker 2: met you and watched a man who's working on the craft,
[2:53] Speaker 2: he said, Rashan, I'm right down the street. I distributed
[2:57] Speaker 2: my cakes all over the country, and that was key
[3:00] Speaker 2: because I know you're Atlanta base and my show is national,
[3:03] Speaker 2: and I don't want to frustrate anybody who listening to
[3:05] Speaker 2: the show or watching the show going.
[3:08] Speaker 1: Hey, I don't live in Atlanta. I can't participate.
[3:11] Speaker 2: But the part I did get at the event is
[3:14] Speaker 2: that you're an attorney. Yes, Now tell us about your
[3:18] Speaker 2: backgrounders as an attorney.
[3:20] Speaker 4: Yes, so I've been practicing law. I'm in my twenty
[3:25] Speaker 4: third year of practice. I'll be it'll be twenty three
[3:27] Speaker 4: years in September, and I work primarily in litigation.
[3:33] Speaker 3: In the past.
[3:34] Speaker 4: I work in house now, so I work for a company.
[3:36] Speaker 4: So I have just one client, which I love, but
[3:38] Speaker 4: I've worked. I've done a lot of entertainment work in
[3:40] Speaker 4: my private practice over the years as well, music and film.
[3:44] Speaker 4: But now primarily I do litigation, hindle litigation matters for
[3:48] Speaker 4: the company I work for.
[3:49] Speaker 1: Here, just educate me. When you say you do litigation,
[3:52] Speaker 1: what exactly does that mean?
[3:54] Speaker 4: That is disputes that involve either a judge or an
[3:59] Speaker 4: arbitrator or a media or things like that. So I go,
[4:03] Speaker 4: I'm in court a lot, although we do a lot
[4:05] Speaker 4: of it virtually now, and I'm in arbitration a lot.
[4:08] Speaker 2: Cool, So I want to get that out the way.
[4:11] Speaker 2: He's has a full time job now on a full
[4:14] Speaker 2: time job. He's also has launched his company, Confessionist Bakery.
[4:18] Speaker 2: Tell us about Confessionist Bakery.
[4:21] Speaker 4: Yes, so we are a dessert delivery and catering company.
[4:26] Speaker 4: We are entering our eleventh year in business and we
[4:31] Speaker 4: we provide We make cheesecakes, we make pound cakes, and
[4:35] Speaker 4: make layer cakes, a couple of pies and a couple
[4:40] Speaker 4: of other small, small desserts and we deliver them throughout
[4:43] Speaker 4: the metro area Atlanta area, and we also ship nationwide.
[4:49] Speaker 4: So we've been we've been doing that, Like I said,
[4:52] Speaker 4: my eleventh year. We just across the eleven year mark
[4:56] Speaker 4: in April.
[4:57] Speaker 2: Now this always sounds I got to ask you question,
[5:00] Speaker 2: how do you ship a dessert ar cake nationwide?
[5:04] Speaker 3: Right?
[5:05] Speaker 4: So the first thing, first things first is you have
[5:08] Speaker 4: to preserve it properly. And I learned this technique from
[5:12] Speaker 4: my grandmother who during the holidays was to bake I
[5:17] Speaker 4: mean hundreds of cakes and she had it no refrigeration,
[5:24] Speaker 4: no means of uh, you know, freezer space or anything
[5:27] Speaker 4: like that.
[5:28] Speaker 3: It's all in her her own kitchen.
[5:30] Speaker 4: And so she used to wrap them a specific way
[5:34] Speaker 4: and seal them up and package them so that they
[5:38] Speaker 4: could they would last just sitting wrapped up for you know,
[5:42] Speaker 4: two or three weeks with that before they before they
[5:45] Speaker 4: had So it.
[5:46] Speaker 3: Starts with that.
[5:48] Speaker 4: We usually freeze them so that we can maintain the
[5:52] Speaker 4: integrity of the product. At first, wrap them and then
[5:56] Speaker 4: we depending on what the item is, we may cover
[5:59] Speaker 4: them in and and tenfoil or something like a luminum foil,
[6:03] Speaker 4: and then we pack them in so that they do
[6:07] Speaker 4: not move in the container, so they'll be a little
[6:09] Speaker 4: bit smudged, because that's just you can't avoid that. But
[6:13] Speaker 4: they they are intact and fresh, they'll taste just like
[6:18] Speaker 4: they just came out of the oven and cooled off.
[6:20] Speaker 1: Oh that's awesome.
[6:22] Speaker 2: So just like a two day delivery or express delivery
[6:25] Speaker 2: options as well.
[6:26] Speaker 3: There are there.
[6:26] Speaker 4: We do have some express delivery options and most people
[6:29] Speaker 4: we try and let people know, Look, it's gonna take,
[6:31] Speaker 4: you know, two days to process your order, and it's
[6:33] Speaker 4: gonna take probably another three to five to get to you,
[6:36] Speaker 4: just because you can never be one hundred percent sure
[6:38] Speaker 4: how long it's gonna take. But it usually even kicks
[6:41] Speaker 4: I've shipped out to the West Coast usually arrive.
[6:44] Speaker 3: In you know, four or five days at the longest.
[6:46] Speaker 1: Based on the order.
[6:47] Speaker 2: Great, we won't get into the menu yet, but let's
[6:50] Speaker 2: talk about you are the atturney and then you started
[6:55] Speaker 2: in your kitchen. Now, but what got you started? You know,
[7:00] Speaker 2: because of the fact that I'm noted for my process.
[7:04] Speaker 2: I have a format called Rashwan's Kitchen, and I never
[7:08] Speaker 2: I never cooked at home. I have six sisters, two brothers,
[7:11] Speaker 2: my mom refused to let me in the kitchen. It
[7:14] Speaker 2: wasn't until I went to college and I worked at
[7:16] Speaker 2: a Jewish deli I started learning how to cook and so,
[7:20] Speaker 2: and I didn't learn how to bake cause Steve Harvey
[7:22] Speaker 2: pranked me on his talk show in twenty twelve. That's
[7:26] Speaker 2: when I learned how to bake and so and baked
[7:29] Speaker 2: off of memory of what I remember my mom.
[7:32] Speaker 1: Doing in the kitchen. Tell us your history and your
[7:35] Speaker 1: launch point for your baker.
[7:36] Speaker 4: You know, there are some real similarities in what you
[7:40] Speaker 4: just said there, the first one being that your mom
[7:43] Speaker 4: would let you in the kitchen.
[7:45] Speaker 3: I asked my grandmother.
[7:46] Speaker 4: I was in college and I was in town visiting,
[7:49] Speaker 4: and I asked her, Hey, why don't you show me
[7:51] Speaker 4: how to make a pound cake.
[7:53] Speaker 3: Her exact words to.
[7:54] Speaker 4: Me were, as long as you have me, you don't
[7:56] Speaker 4: need to know how to make it right. So she
[7:58] Speaker 4: never actually actively showed me how to bake. So fast
[8:03] Speaker 4: forward some years after she passed, I really got nostalgic
[8:09] Speaker 4: about the things that she used to bake and cook
[8:14] Speaker 4: for holidays. She did all the cooking for all the
[8:16] Speaker 4: big family gatherings, and I got real nostalgic and I
[8:19] Speaker 4: just finished law school and I had I invited her
[8:24] Speaker 4: and other family members over to my house to have
[8:27] Speaker 4: another thank traditional Thanksgiving dinner that was ended up being
[8:31] Speaker 4: the last dinner that I had that that she was
[8:33] Speaker 4: allowed that I had with her, and and so I
[8:39] Speaker 4: just got more and more nostalgic about it after her passing,
[8:42] Speaker 4: and I said, you know what, one of these days,
[8:45] Speaker 4: I'm gonna I'm gonna figure out how to bake. And
[8:47] Speaker 4: I waited several years. Happened to be gifted by my
[8:52] Speaker 4: mother a mixer one year, just because my mom thought
[8:57] Speaker 4: I needed one and not knowing that I wanted to bake,
[9:01] Speaker 4: And so I used it to make my very first cake.
[9:05] Speaker 4: And it was a disaster. So the detail oriented attorney
[9:11] Speaker 4: in me could not I just couldn't conceive that I
[9:15] Speaker 4: got it that wrong. So I threw everything out. I
[9:19] Speaker 4: went back to the store, I got better equipment, better pans.
[9:24] Speaker 4: I scoured the internet for the right recipe, and I
[9:28] Speaker 4: stumbled upon one. And it was somebody's food blog, you
[9:32] Speaker 4: know back of people still blogged, you know, years ago.
[9:35] Speaker 4: And the guy starts the blog by saying, if you
[9:37] Speaker 4: us miss this recipe, this is my grandmother's recipe if
[9:40] Speaker 4: you use this recipe, but never did another poundcake recipe.
[9:43] Speaker 4: So I said, all right, I'm going to see And
[9:44] Speaker 4: as I'm reading the ingredients and then the steps, I
[9:52] Speaker 4: realized in that moment that I had watched my grandmother
[9:55] Speaker 4: bake that pound cake probably fifty times, and my childildhood,
[10:01] Speaker 4: I had just never stood by her and watched it
[10:04] Speaker 4: first step to last. That I had seen every step
[10:07] Speaker 4: on different days in different years. But it all kind
[10:11] Speaker 4: of coalesced in my brain as I'm reading this recipe,
[10:16] Speaker 4: and I said, I think this is going to be it,
[10:19] Speaker 4: and so I tried it. I followed it to the letter.
[10:23] Speaker 4: I called my mom first. This was my This grandmother
[10:27] Speaker 4: was my mom's mother in law. It is my dad's mother.
[10:29] Speaker 4: But my dad is deceased, so I couldn't call him.
[10:32] Speaker 4: So I called my mom and I said, I do
[10:33] Speaker 4: you remember? And I asked he a couple of questions,
[10:35] Speaker 4: and she gave me a couple of tidbits that seemed
[10:38] Speaker 4: to be consistent with the recipe I was reading, and
[10:41] Speaker 4: I said, I'm going to try this. So I did it,
[10:43] Speaker 4: and I made it. After it cooled, I sliced it up.
[10:49] Speaker 4: I took a bite, and the first thing I did
[10:51] Speaker 4: was cry. It tasted exactly like my grandmother's poundcake recipe,
[10:58] Speaker 4: and I knew I was onto something then. And that
[11:01] Speaker 4: was the very that was my first successful cake.
[11:04] Speaker 3: On my second attempt, was it?
[11:06] Speaker 1: Did you put icing on it? Was it a plane cake?
[11:09] Speaker 3: It was a plain pound cake on our menu we
[11:11] Speaker 3: call it the original?
[11:12] Speaker 1: Okay, now was it?
[11:14] Speaker 5: Was it? Just?
[11:14] Speaker 2: It was no lemon, no strawberry, just a plain crowd
[11:18] Speaker 2: vanilla extract pound cake.
[11:20] Speaker 3: She used to do those in her sleep.
[11:22] Speaker 4: She would she would have them and just put them
[11:24] Speaker 4: in the freezer, and we would come up from Florida
[11:27] Speaker 4: to visit. She would make sure we left home that
[11:31] Speaker 4: she she sent went home with us.
[11:33] Speaker 2: Okay, that's the very first with their mante Okay, I'm
[11:36] Speaker 2: talking to Monte Garson, attorney turned baker. This a big
[11:41] Speaker 2: time baker, his company Confessionist Bakery. Now that's your first
[11:45] Speaker 2: time tears came to your eyes. Now when did you
[11:49] Speaker 2: start picking up speed where you started distributing it to
[11:53] Speaker 2: your friends and family?
[11:55] Speaker 3: Right?
[11:56] Speaker 4: So, the day that I made that very first cake,
[12:01] Speaker 4: I happened to be going to a meeting with a
[12:03] Speaker 4: client and I mentioned I was all excited that I
[12:07] Speaker 4: made this cake and she said, oh, I'd love to
[12:12] Speaker 4: try it. So I let her try it, and she said,
[12:16] Speaker 4: you know, you should really turn this into a business.
[12:19] Speaker 3: And I was like, whoa, what talking about that's that's
[12:21] Speaker 3: not that's not what I found out. I'm just happy
[12:25] Speaker 3: I know how to make a pound cake.
[12:27] Speaker 4: Come to find out, her name was Angela Madison.
[12:33] Speaker 3: Angela grew up.
[12:35] Speaker 4: The daughter of a baker who had a baking business
[12:40] Speaker 4: out on the West Coast, so she was speaking from
[12:43] Speaker 4: a place of knowledge and she actually helped me start
[12:47] Speaker 4: the business. I was very I had much trepidation about
[12:52] Speaker 4: about doing it, but I trusted that if it was
[12:55] Speaker 4: good enough for her to say it, I should be
[12:58] Speaker 4: selling it. That I stepped up on faith, and the
[13:00] Speaker 4: one thing I've learned in my legal career, I've done
[13:03] Speaker 4: a lot of things that I've had never done before,
[13:08] Speaker 4: and by this point I had had learned that you
[13:10] Speaker 4: should never be afraid to try something new.
[13:15] Speaker 3: And so I, you.
[13:16] Speaker 4: Know, I stepped out on faith and said, Okay, if
[13:19] Speaker 4: it's that good, I'll I'll try it. And so my
[13:24] Speaker 4: one of the questions I asked myself was what's going
[13:27] Speaker 4: to be different about your cake. Why would anybody buy
[13:30] Speaker 4: your cake versus somebody else's Because I have dozens of
[13:33] Speaker 4: people in my family hunts and aunties, and a couple
[13:36] Speaker 4: of uncles that can that can bake too, So why
[13:38] Speaker 4: would they, you know? And so that's what brought about
[13:43] Speaker 4: the different flavors that we have on our menu, is
[13:45] Speaker 4: if I can start offering flavors that you won't find
[13:50] Speaker 4: at your auntie's house, that could be the thing that makes.
[13:54] Speaker 1: People want to tell us some of those flavors by friend.
[13:56] Speaker 3: Oh well, let's see, we've got a peach cobbler pound cake, got.
[14:01] Speaker 2: Real pitches in it, said again, real paches and your peach,
[14:05] Speaker 2: real peaches.
[14:06] Speaker 3: Cooked and slow cooked over over the oven.
[14:09] Speaker 4: I mean, we've got like an amaretto pound cake. We've
[14:16] Speaker 4: got you mentioned at the top of the show, the
[14:20] Speaker 4: Nana pudding layer cake.
[14:23] Speaker 1: Beautiful cake, by the way, beautiful, thank you.
[14:25] Speaker 3: Thank you.
[14:25] Speaker 4: That's one of our best sellers. It's aesthetically pleasing, but
[14:28] Speaker 4: it is delicious. My personal favorite pund cake on our
[14:32] Speaker 4: mini is a soup potato pundcake. That was the first
[14:34] Speaker 4: flavor I tried, the first new new flavor I tried
[14:37] Speaker 4: hearkening back to my soup potato pie being the first thing.
[14:41] Speaker 5: Please don't go anywhere. We'll be right back with more
[14:44] Speaker 5: Money Making Conversations Masterclass. Welcome back to the Money Making
[14:54] Speaker 5: Conversations Masterclass, hosted by Rashaan McDonald.
[14:58] Speaker 2: What are some of your challenges did you have to
[15:00] Speaker 2: deal with in launching this business. Everybody has a great idea,
[15:04] Speaker 2: That's what this show is about. Money Making Conversations master
[15:06] Speaker 2: clact give advice, pitfalls.
[15:09] Speaker 1: I would have done it different. You're an attorney, talk
[15:12] Speaker 1: to us.
[15:13] Speaker 4: One of the first challenges was charging people money. Not
[15:19] Speaker 4: just charging people money, but charging people the right price.
[15:23] Speaker 4: Because in my own mind, I'm thinking, well, I have
[15:25] Speaker 4: all these members of my family that can do this,
[15:28] Speaker 4: so I really shouldn't be charging too much. And I
[15:33] Speaker 4: remember Angela telling me, you know that she was giving
[15:36] Speaker 4: people samples and they were like, You're not charging enough,
[15:39] Speaker 4: and I.
[15:39] Speaker 3: Was like, I just can't. I couldn't get past it.
[15:42] Speaker 4: And then my very first Christmas trying to keep up
[15:46] Speaker 4: with all the orders from friends and family that were
[15:48] Speaker 4: coming in and I was behind schedule and I was
[15:50] Speaker 4: making mistakes and melting down. After I got through that,
[15:56] Speaker 4: I said, I don't have a problem charging my price anymore.
[16:01] Speaker 2: Now that's important for people to understand that because you
[16:04] Speaker 2: got the pricing. This I'm talking to Monty guard Side
[16:08] Speaker 2: his business ball. He's still a full time attorney. But
[16:12] Speaker 2: there's another successful baking business called Confessionist Bakery. How do
[16:18] Speaker 2: you identify your customers and how do you find your
[16:21] Speaker 2: customer because it's all about scaling that you just started
[16:24] Speaker 2: in your home. Are you still cooking in your home?
[16:28] Speaker 2: Are baking in your home?
[16:29] Speaker 4: And oh no, no, we so we cook out of
[16:32] Speaker 4: a commercial kitchen space that uh, and we rent that
[16:35] Speaker 4: space as needed and we can you know, I can
[16:38] Speaker 4: pretty much book it and then and then head straight
[16:40] Speaker 4: over there. So that's part of the reason why it
[16:43] Speaker 4: takes two days. We asked for two days processing time
[16:45] Speaker 4: so that we can make sure that because everything is
[16:47] Speaker 4: made to order and made fresh, so we can get
[16:50] Speaker 4: that time scheduled, get in and do what we need
[16:52] Speaker 4: to do.
[16:53] Speaker 3: And uh, and we baked a few things.
[16:55] Speaker 4: I mean, we kind of have we kind of know
[16:57] Speaker 4: what people are going to order, right so on the
[16:58] Speaker 4: weekends we the little time in there and stock up
[17:01] Speaker 4: on product and then store it, you know appropriately, and
[17:04] Speaker 4: then so it's it's not as daunting as I may
[17:07] Speaker 4: have made it sound to start.
[17:08] Speaker 2: No, everything's daunting. That's why you charged. And I was
[17:11] Speaker 2: letting anybody that kitchen gets warm, okay, and the cake
[17:14] Speaker 2: minimum is forty five minutes in that oven, not that
[17:18] Speaker 2: we're not even talking about decorations or adding nice seine
[17:20] Speaker 2: and all that stuff, and it's all fresh. So as
[17:24] Speaker 2: a baker, I whatever you charge may not be enough.
[17:27] Speaker 1: What I saw, not what I.
[17:29] Speaker 3: Saw, especially press of eggs right what I.
[17:32] Speaker 1: Saw, the live remote.
[17:34] Speaker 2: Whatever you're charging, pay it because it's well worth it.
[17:38] Speaker 2: Only thing I didn't get and I'm still disappointed, and
[17:40] Speaker 2: I'm going to order that a cake from you. Is
[17:43] Speaker 2: the taste I want to get that taste, slice it up,
[17:46] Speaker 2: share my staff, share it with my family. But customers
[17:49] Speaker 2: are very key. How do you get your customers? How
[17:53] Speaker 2: do you market yourself? Monty?
[17:56] Speaker 4: I have an interesting story about that, if you, if
[17:58] Speaker 4: you allow me a moment here. So, one of the
[18:02] Speaker 4: things that my initial business partner helped me do when
[18:06] Speaker 4: we first got started was.
[18:10] Speaker 3: Drafting a business plan.
[18:11] Speaker 4: And we we we sat a in a room and
[18:15] Speaker 4: actually word for word, talked through every element of it
[18:19] Speaker 4: and One of the components was identifying our customer and
[18:22] Speaker 4: we had a that was one of the longest conversations
[18:24] Speaker 4: we had was specifically about that segment, was identifying who
[18:28] Speaker 4: we wanted to target, and what we came down to
[18:31] Speaker 4: was people who are who have an understanding of what
[18:36] Speaker 4: it is that we make because of a prior childhood experience,
[18:40] Speaker 4: or that they know what home style desserts tastes like,
[18:44] Speaker 4: southern desserts taste like, and then identifying people who may
[18:49] Speaker 4: be familiar with that but don't have the time or
[18:52] Speaker 4: the skill or the resources to do it for themselves.
[18:56] Speaker 4: And that really was where we honed in. So instead
[18:59] Speaker 4: of worrying about, you know, folks at the at the
[19:02] Speaker 4: at the at the church fish Fry, worried about people
[19:06] Speaker 4: who were like us, who were professionals, who are busy,
[19:10] Speaker 4: have busy schedules, who don't necessarily have time to go
[19:13] Speaker 4: spend in the kitchen, who may be living away from
[19:16] Speaker 4: home and don't have access to mom and grandma, you know,
[19:20] Speaker 4: right away, but want to taste what they have, And
[19:23] Speaker 4: that was really our target customer base, and then everything
[19:27] Speaker 4: that comes from that is just it's just kind of gravy.
[19:30] Speaker 3: Wow.
[19:31] Speaker 2: Which is important to hear that because you got to
[19:33] Speaker 2: start somewhere, You made your first powder cake, threw it out.
[19:37] Speaker 2: Now as you up and running, there are some best
[19:39] Speaker 2: moments in your business and there are some worst moments.
[19:42] Speaker 1: Can you share some of your best.
[19:43] Speaker 2: And worst moments that you've had to overcome and also celebrate.
[19:49] Speaker 2: Since you've been in business as a baker, you know
[19:51] Speaker 2: you kicking butt over there as an attorney, full time
[19:55] Speaker 2: checks coming in. We talking about a hobby that is
[19:57] Speaker 2: kind of like and sometimes God out a because it
[20:01] Speaker 2: does dive into your time, especially when artists come in unexpected.
[20:05] Speaker 4: Sure, sure, and and I consider all that a blessing
[20:09] Speaker 4: because honestly, the reason why I had such a close
[20:13] Speaker 4: connection to my grandmother to start this business was because
[20:16] Speaker 4: cooking and baking, as I later came to understand, was
[20:19] Speaker 4: her love language.
[20:22] Speaker 3: And so.
[20:24] Speaker 4: For me it was a way to reconnect with her
[20:28] Speaker 4: in a way that just it just felt good and
[20:32] Speaker 4: it felt right.
[20:33] Speaker 3: And so.
[20:35] Speaker 4: To answer your question about best moments, honestly, the best
[20:38] Speaker 4: moments are kind of like the young lady you described
[20:42] Speaker 4: who who was not letting that that nana.
[20:45] Speaker 3: Putting a layer cake go.
[20:48] Speaker 4: I realized that my grandmother was looking for that feeling
[20:51] Speaker 4: that she gave people when they tried her.
[20:53] Speaker 3: Food and her desserts.
[20:55] Speaker 4: And so that is a really it's a confirming and
[20:58] Speaker 4: warming moment for me. When I get to see people
[21:02] Speaker 4: really truly enjoy what we do. It reminds me of
[21:06] Speaker 4: my grandmother, reminds me of my childhood, and it reminds
[21:09] Speaker 4: me that that person feels exactly how I wanted them
[21:12] Speaker 4: to feel. So those really kind of encapsulate my best moments.
[21:17] Speaker 4: My worst moment.
[21:18] Speaker 3: Is very, very specific, very specific.
[21:24] Speaker 4: I'm not proud of this, but I shared it with
[21:26] Speaker 4: people because I think the young people today call it
[21:30] Speaker 4: crashing out.
[21:31] Speaker 3: I had a crash out moment that first holiday season.
[21:36] Speaker 4: My red velvet cake was like the thing that people
[21:39] Speaker 4: really wanted at that time.
[21:40] Speaker 2: That's a hard cake to make, by the way. That's
[21:43] Speaker 2: a hard cake to make, by the way.
[21:45] Speaker 3: It is. It's easy for me now, but it is temperamental.
[21:48] Speaker 2: That's a lot of ingredients. A lot of people don't
[21:50] Speaker 2: know about red velvet. That's a lot of ingredients.
[21:53] Speaker 3: Don't get them right.
[21:54] Speaker 4: That it's just and so I was struggling with the
[21:56] Speaker 4: balance and some of my ingredients and it was causing
[21:59] Speaker 4: my red velvet cake to not all come out of
[22:01] Speaker 4: the pan every time. And so I'm about two cakes behind.
[22:07] Speaker 4: I got somebody showing up to my little townhouse, uh
[22:10] Speaker 4: you know, in like four hours, and.
[22:13] Speaker 3: I still have another cake.
[22:15] Speaker 4: It's just I was just feeling the pressure and I
[22:17] Speaker 4: made I made this thing, and I.
[22:19] Speaker 3: Think I probably didn't let it cool and quite enough.
[22:23] Speaker 4: I slapped the thing on the on the on the
[22:25] Speaker 4: on the cake plate or the cake pad. I gave
[22:27] Speaker 4: one player of icing in get the second one on
[22:32] Speaker 4: another layer of ice, and the third one half the
[22:35] Speaker 4: layer sticks in the pants so it just tears and
[22:38] Speaker 4: then lands on top of the other two layers, which
[22:41] Speaker 4: means that cake is no good. I have no interest
[22:45] Speaker 4: in eating it. I can't sell it. And there's and
[22:49] Speaker 4: I'm and I and I and that was I had
[22:51] Speaker 4: to go back to the store because I was and
[22:55] Speaker 4: in that moment, I realized, you're.
[22:57] Speaker 3: Not gonna make it, and I I, let's just say,
[23:04] Speaker 3: let's just say I.
[23:06] Speaker 4: Beat that red vevet cake into a thousand pieces. It
[23:14] Speaker 4: was dumb to do that one, because I then had
[23:18] Speaker 4: to clean up all. You know, red velvet has red
[23:20] Speaker 4: dye in it.
[23:20] Speaker 1: Oh, absolutely.
[23:21] Speaker 4: So there's flex of red cake on the blinds, on
[23:27] Speaker 4: the floor, on the counter, on my apron, and on
[23:33] Speaker 4: my faith. It was just and so I had to
[23:36] Speaker 4: It took me like forty five minutes just to clean
[23:38] Speaker 4: that up. So that's another forty five minutes that I lost.
[23:41] Speaker 4: I mean, it was just, it was, but it taught
[23:45] Speaker 4: me that you cannot lose it. You can't, You just can't.
[23:51] Speaker 4: Nothing productive came from that tantrum.
[23:55] Speaker 2: And that's that's the very key. You know, more work,
[23:57] Speaker 2: that's what came out of it. More work and more frustration.
[24:01] Speaker 2: Let's talk about it was a dream that you launched,
[24:05] Speaker 2: and most businesses are started on a drink or a
[24:09] Speaker 2: love or passion. But it's still a business and a
[24:13] Speaker 2: lot of people lose that. That's why I launched this series.
[24:16] Speaker 2: Just want to make a conversation masterclass so people can
[24:19] Speaker 2: understand that everybody may have had your experience, this is
[24:23] Speaker 2: how they overcame it. Because I try to bring successful
[24:25] Speaker 2: people on my show. If you had to give people
[24:28] Speaker 2: an advice on how to start a business, what would
[24:33] Speaker 2: you give me?
[24:35] Speaker 4: Oh man, that's a great question. I would say a
[24:40] Speaker 4: few things, some of which we've touched on one, don't
[24:45] Speaker 4: be afraid to try something new, I would say two,
[24:53] Speaker 4: control what you can control. And specifically as relates to
[24:58] Speaker 4: my business, the one thing I knew I could control
[25:01] Speaker 4: was the quality of my product and the quality of
[25:04] Speaker 4: my customer service. Those are things that I could put
[25:07] Speaker 4: my hands on without those two things. If you're in
[25:11] Speaker 4: a product service you know, product based business, even in
[25:15] Speaker 4: the service based business, if you don't have those two things,
[25:18] Speaker 4: it does not matter how good you market, It does
[25:21] Speaker 4: not matter how good you look, it does none of
[25:26] Speaker 4: that matters. If your product or your service are bad,
[25:30] Speaker 4: you can make it will forgive more mistakes than than
[25:35] Speaker 4: it won't. And so making sure that your your product
[25:38] Speaker 4: and your service are outstanding, and then just trusting yourself.
[25:46] Speaker 4: There's gonna be good days. Bad days are gonna be successes.
[25:49] Speaker 4: There are gonna be failures. They're gonna be ebbs and
[25:51] Speaker 4: flow in your income and your revenue, and you have
[25:56] Speaker 4: to weather all of that. So those will be you know,
[25:59] Speaker 4: the things that I think, as far as advice I
[26:03] Speaker 4: would give to young.
[26:04] Speaker 2: Well, so it's product, firsthand outstanding. If I had to
[26:09] Speaker 2: say that publicly, his ap presentation is packaging or his
[26:14] Speaker 2: first class, so I can say that I've seen the
[26:19] Speaker 2: the end results of your experience in the kitchen and
[26:23] Speaker 2: deliver it.
[26:24] Speaker 1: How can we get in touch with you?
[26:26] Speaker 2: How can my fan base get in touch with you
[26:27] Speaker 2: to maybe order a cake or try not to peruse
[26:31] Speaker 2: your menu?
[26:32] Speaker 3: Sure? Sure so.
[26:33] Speaker 4: Our Our website is Confectionist Bakery at l dot com.
[26:38] Speaker 4: You can always find us there. You can find our
[26:40] Speaker 4: online menu, you can order online that way. We're on
[26:45] Speaker 4: social media. All of our social media handles are Contact Bakery,
[26:50] Speaker 4: c O, n F E C T Bakery and so
[26:53] Speaker 4: we're on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, slash.
[26:58] Speaker 2: X my friend. This was fantastic. I'm so happy I
[27:02] Speaker 2: was able to meet you at the event, so happy
[27:04] Speaker 2: to understand that there's a person out there who's living
[27:08] Speaker 2: a full time experience but building a part time experience
[27:12] Speaker 2: that one day may be your exit plan away from
[27:15] Speaker 2: your full time experience as an attorney. Congratulations Confessionist Bakery
[27:21] Speaker 2: based in the Atlanta community but delivers nationwide. Thank you
[27:25] Speaker 2: for coming on Money Making Conversations Masterclass, Monty Garsid.
[27:28] Speaker 3: Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it.
[27:31] Speaker 2: This has been another edition of Money Making Conversation Masterclass
[27:34] Speaker 2: posted by me Rushaun McDonald. Thank you to our guests
[27:37] Speaker 2: on the show today and thank you our listening to
[27:40] Speaker 2: audience now. If you want to listen to any episode
[27:42] Speaker 2: I want to be a guest on the show, visit
[27:45] Speaker 2: Moneymaking Conversations dot com. Our social media handle is money
[27:49] Speaker 2: Making Conversations. Join us next week and remember to always
[27:52] Speaker 2: leave with your gifts. Keep winning.

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.