In this episode of "Tea Time with the Central Virginia Business Coalition," hosts Heather and Mike interview Ashley, owner of Sweet Indulgence Bakery. Ashley shares her journey from domestic violence survivor to business owner, highlighting how her bakery empowers women rebuilding their lives. The discussion covers the bakery’s mission, challenges, community support, and the importance of buying local. Ashley also offers business advice, clears up baking myths, and encourages listeners to support Sweet Indulgence’s unique, impactful work in Central Virginia.
Transcript:
Certainly! Here is the transcript with only the speakers Heather, Mike, and Ashley. I’ve removed last names as requested:
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Mike 00:01:20
And I'm Mike, owner of Visiting Angels of Lynchburg.
Heather 00:01:22
We're here today with Ashley with Sweet Indulgence Bakery. Thank you for joining us.
Ashley 00:01:27
Thank you for having me.
Mike 00:01:28
Ashley, are you ready to spill the tea?
Ashley 00:01:30
Absolutely.
Mike 00:01:30
All right. So what's the story behind Sweet Indulgence?
Ashley 00:01:35
It's a loaded one. But in a nutshell, I am a domestic violence survivor. And when we started here, throughout that period of my time, the only piece of me that I did not allow to be taken was my love for baking and my passion. I grew up at my grandmother's table, learning to bake at that table. And that table actually sits in my bakery today. We still gather around it as a team. but I decided that I wanted Sweet Indulgence to be a place of safety for other people like me. Women.
Ashley 00:02:06
So we employ women who are rebuilding from domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking. That is our entire staff. A lot of them are single mothers. We even have a kids room so they can bring their kids and they don't have to pay for childcare.
Mike 00:02:17
I like it, so what, what inspired you to take the leap and start this business?
Ashley 00:02:25
So it started in my home because I was not allowed to work outside the house when I was in that relationship. And so it started there. And then when I left, it was literally the thing that kept my head above water. it just kind of again, it was the only part of my identity that I knew to be true. And so that's where I started. So I just kind of walked from there. And then God has literally just opened the doors and, and led us on this path and made it very clear this is what we were supposed to do.
Mike 00:02:50
So was there a moment where you knew this is what you were meant to do?
Ashley 00:02:54
Oh, yeah, 100%.
Ashley 00:02:56
it was, I think when I left, after I left, I it took me about a year. I got a job at a catering company as a part time cake filler. they had an overbooked weekend where I was kind of thrown in to do a Taj Mahal cake for this wedding cake, and I knocked on the park and I was immediately promoted to executive sous chef. So I went in six months from part time cake filler to an executive sous chef. And the job prior that I had that told me that I'd fired me and told me I didn't belong in the industry. So that was kind of like a yep, I belong here. And you were wrong. And I'm doing this, I like it. Yeah.
Heather 00:03:29
So let's talk about challenges. I know we all face them. What are some of the challenges that you faced in starting your business?
Ashley 00:03:37
business wise, it was really getting people to know we exist because we don't have a storefront because of who we employ, and I, we're working on a storefront, but that has its own problems because of who we employ.
Ashley 00:03:50
the other challenge, too, is just honestly my own ego. once we started to get there and we started to get successful and started getting all these awards and just, I let that kind of get to my ego, and I lost my focus. we actually almost closed this year. We were supposed to close November 30th, and we're no longer closing for good if we even rebranded. So we have a new brand now that better, better correlates our mission and communicates our mission. But yeah, it was the biggest challenge is getting people to know that we exist and to honor and respect our boundaries. A lot of people, not a lot. Some people do get upset that we don't allow them to just walk in, but we've decided that the people that get upset and don't understand or respect the boundaries of the people that we don't want to serve anyway. Right.
Heather 00:04:31
So what keeps you pushing forward? Like through the challenges? What's what's keeping you going?
Ashley 00:04:36
These girls, the people that we employ. I've realized how much it matters.
Ashley 00:04:40
At one point, I was filing. I was trying to write an application to get one of the TV chefs to come in and see and help us figure things out. And one of the application questions my staff actually had to answer, and what basically what their opinion of was me. And so when I got to read what they wrote, it made me realize that all these things that I was questioning doesn't matter. mattered a whole lot. And then one of my staff, when she shared her story for the first time, had said that one of the biggest things that she loves is being able to come into work and know that if she asks for a day off to spend time with her daughter, she's not going to be told no. and so allowing them to prioritize their family. Awesome. So it matters.
Mike 00:05:21
Awesome. So Central Virginia is a great place to have a business, but what made you choose to open a business in central Virginia?
Ashley 00:05:27
I didn't really choose to think God chose that. My husband got a job here, with Liberty, and now he's actually deployed and currently stationed in Norfolk.
Ashley 00:05:36
But, so I started in my home here, and we didn't know if it was going to take off here or not, and it did. And we've just followed that path that that God has kind of laid in front of us. So I'm just following what he tells me to do. It's his business at the end of the day.
Mike 00:05:51
I got you, I got you. How long have you been part of the CV?
Ashley 00:05:53
ABC five. Almost six years. I think this February will be six years.
Mike 00:05:58
Okay. And how is the CV? ABC supported your journey?
Ashley 00:06:01
Oh, man. That's also a loaded question. You guys have been there for all the highs and lows. And not just you two in particular, but the CVC as an organization. So many times the businesses have rallied around us when we were struggling to help us get sales and meet quotas that we needed. they've helped push, push our push our advertising and just in general just shown up for our women and just really been there recently.
Ashley 00:06:25
I've made a post about our kids room needing to be improved because it was really sad, and now it's so full, we don't have room for everything that was donated.
Heather 00:06:33
It's like it's awesome.
Ashley 00:06:34
It's been like 48 hours. So now we're talking about what else we could do to like, you know, expand the kids room for the kids.
Mike 00:06:40
So I like it, I like it.
Heather 00:06:42
What do you feel is so important about supporting local?
Ashley 00:06:46
as a small local business, I feel the effects when we're not supported. understanding that you might pay a little more. But as cliche as it is, those memes that you see. Oh, well, that that order paid for somebody's meal, it really does. You know, like, when you support us, it helps me to provide things like the child room because that costs money for me, not to them, but to me. And I will do it to help provide Essa accounts and to make a better quality life and pay them a living wage, so that they're not just stuck.
Ashley 00:07:17
At minimum wage, like most bakeries do.
Heather 00:07:21
So, are you ready for the rapid fire round the rapid fire questions?
Mike 00:07:27
The most divisive question we ever ask. Sweet tea or sweet tea?
Ashley 00:07:30
Black coffee.
Mike 00:07:31
Black.
Heather 00:07:32
Well, no, I don't like the black coffee.
Ashley 00:07:34
But I love black coffee. I'll drink if tea is my only option. I'll do, Sweet tea.
Mike 00:07:38
Okay.
Ashley 00:07:39
I live in the South, but, you know, I.
Mike 00:07:41
Know they might kick us out. I know, cause we're both imported. So, what's your favorite local business other than your own?
Ashley 00:07:48
Ooh. Bootleggers actually is one of my all time favorites. And then I actually really like mission House. I spend a lot of time at mission House.
Mike 00:07:55
Right. what's the best business advice that you've given or received?
Ashley 00:07:59
actually, that I've received came from you, Mike. That, yeah. So that competition happened at the bottom, and cooperation and support happens at the top. so that was my best.
Ashley 00:08:10
And the one that I've given is just practice what you preach. It's important. Practice what you preach. I preach a lot that everybody from my janitor to the CEO are equally important. You can't operate one without the other. They're all. They're all human, and they all are valued.
Heather 00:08:24
So what is a miss kind of related to your industry that you want to kind of put out there?
Ashley 00:08:30
And I'll try to keep my soapbox small. Okay. Red velvet cake is not chocolate cake.
Mike 00:08:34
It's the cake is a lot.
Ashley 00:08:36
Somebody says, red velvet cake. My husband drops my hand and walks away because he knows I'm going.
Mike 00:08:40
I'm like, not allowed. It's not allowed in our house.
Ashley 00:08:42
It's not a chocolate cake. It is a buttermilk cake. And it actually became it started back in the Victorian era, and it had a red hue because of the way the buttermilk interacted with the non Dutch processed cocoa. And then in World War two, during food rations, they quit using cocoa and started using beet juice to to get the actual food color.
Ashley 00:09:01
Yeah, to get the natural food color.
Mike 00:09:02
I hate red velvet even more.
Heather 00:09:04
I learned something new. It's actually my husband's favorite.
Ashley 00:09:06
Red velvet cake is a buttermilk based cake, and its velvet texture comes from the cocoa powder that should only have 1 to 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder in your recipe. And that cocoa powder is simply their one for color and to help interact with the flower to create that velvet texture.
Heather 00:09:23
All right.
Mike 00:09:23
Look at that.
Heather 00:09:23
That was I learned. I've learned something today.
Mike 00:09:26
That was not an answer I was expecting.
Heather 00:09:28
What is one of the things you wish you had known before getting started in your business?
Ashley 00:09:32
Just how important collaboration is? understanding that I wasn't alone because it's not just collaboration for transactions. It's. It's more than that. Like I said, we had a lot of highs and lows this year, and there were times where businesses were literally crying with me or sitting next to me and praying with me. I've developed these relationships and these friends and these these people that have walked through it.
Ashley 00:09:55
And then you've got business owners that understand and that have been there.
Mike 00:10:00
What is the best way for people to connect with Sweet Indulgence Bakery?
Ashley 00:10:04
Go to our website. Because if you just walk in, we'll turn you away. we have but yeah, go to our website or you can call us, but we're in lots of local cafes and we are looking for more partnerships. So yes, these are our Pop Tarts. These are some of our most popular.
Heather 00:10:20
This is how you need to connect. Yes, you need to contact and get a pop tart or what is it, cinnamon buns.
Ashley 00:10:27
Or cinnamon rolls? This is our orange cardamom roll right now. It's what we have for the winter. But yeah, just go to go to the several different cafes that we're in. You can go to our website to see what cafes we're in. Mike you do have to share those.
Heather 00:10:38
I'm going to get a strawberry one, so. Well that's awesome. And what's the best way for them to contact you?
Ashley 00:10:45
it'll be our website.
Ashley 00:10:46
And then if you go to our website, you'll be able to be hit that way. If that order now button. And that's going to put you directly in contact with me, or you can give us a call. It'll probably be me. The answers, because my staff does not like to answer the phone. Awesome. One of them will run to the back when it rings.
Mike 00:10:59
Yeah. Fantastic, by the way.
Heather 00:11:04
Thank you for joining us on tea time today. We hope that you've learned more about this small, local business, and we hope that you will tune in next week as we spill the tea with another local business in central Virginia.
Mike 00:11:15
Supporting local is delicious.
Time Stamps:
Podcast Introduction (00:01:07) Hosts introduce the show, themselves, and guest Ashley Beasley of Sweet Indulgence Bakery.
Ashley’s Story & Bakery Mission (00:01:35) Ashley shares her background as a domestic violence survivor and the bakery’s mission to employ women rebuilding their lives.
Starting the Business & Finding Purpose (00:02:23) Ashley describes how Sweet Indulgence began at home and her journey to realizing her calling.
Career Breakthrough & Validation (00:02:54) Ashley recounts her rapid promotion in catering, proving her place in the industry.
Business Challenges & Rebranding (00:03:29) Ashley discusses challenges like lack of storefront, public awareness, and the need to rebrand to better communicate their mission.
Motivation & Staff Impact (00:04:31) Ashley explains how her staff’s stories and needs keep her motivated through difficulties.
Why Central Virginia? (00:05:21) Ashley explains moving to Central Virginia due to her husband’s job and following opportunities there.
Support from CVABC (00:05:51) Ashley details the support received from the Central Virginia Business Coalition and local businesses.
Importance of Supporting Local (00:06:42) Ashley discusses the real impact of supporting local businesses and how it benefits her staff.
Rapid Fire Questions (00:07:21) Ashley answers quick questions about drink preferences, favorite local businesses, and best business advice.
Industry Misconceptions: Red Velvet Cake (00:08:24) Ashley debunks the myth that red velvet cake is chocolate cake and explains its true origins.
Lessons Learned: Value of Collaboration (00:09:28) Ashley shares the importance of collaboration and community among local business owners.
How to Connect with Sweet Indulgence (00:10:00) Ashley explains the best ways to order and connect with the bakery, emphasizing their website and local café partnerships.
Episode Wrap-Up (00:11:01) Hosts thank Ashley and listeners, encouraging support for local businesses and previewing the next episode.
Key Words:
Tea Time with the Central Virginia Business Alliance and Business Coalition, Heather, Mike, Sweet Indulgence Bakery, Ashley, local business stories, Central Virginia, domestic violence survivor, baking journey, empowerment for women, human trafficking, safe space, community support, single mothers, kids’ room, visibility challenges, rebranding, business growth, employee support, Liberty University, CVABC, local products, meaningful benefits, living wages, community collaboration, competition and cooperation, red velvet cake, emotional support, business partnerships, local cafes, pop tarts, seasonal rolls, support local businesses.