When Rosy Reyes first opened Sweet Tooth Bakery in Las Vegas, Nevada, she did not let her fears get in the way of achieving her dream.
Being a native Spanish speaker, Reyes was initially nervous about running her own small business and interacting with people of many different cultures.
“The challenges that I faced were my own fears,” said Reyes.
However, partly thanks to the Nevada Small Business Development Center, Reyes was able to overcome these reservations and reach new levels of success with Sweet Tooth.
“[The] SBDC (NxLeveL) has helped me a lot because it gave me the tools to run a successful business,” said Reyes. “SBDC is a program where they believe in the growth of hard working Hispanic people. I strongly recommend it.”
By attending the NxLeveL business development classes, Reyes was able to learn a large amount of information about how to optimally run Sweet Tooth as well as stay motivated to try her very best. Reyes also found the multitude of real business owners sharing their stories to be quite reassuring, and a major factor in overcoming her fears.
Reyes noted that customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive so far, and is another major reason she continues to push her business to new heights.
“I keep in touch with my clients constantly to assure that everything is going well,” said Reyes. “If there is any negative feedback, it is used as a way to improve and grow as a businesswoman and person.”
Although Reyes’ knack for working hard and putting her all into her business was the key factor to Sweet Tooth’s success, she attributes these values to her mother, who was a major inspiration.
“My mother was a persevering, energetic, ambitious and hardworking woman,” said Reyes. “She always believed that having her own business would give her the freedom to create anything she wanted, and to always have money in her pocket.”
In particular, she notes that a large, eight-tier cake made for a casino contract has been her largest success to date.
“This was the most intensive cake I had ever done with over 500 handmade fondant flowers and over two weeks of preparation,” said Reyes.
For other potential small business owners, Reyes’ top tips are: never give up, stay motivated and focused on goals, always nourish yourself with knowledge and positive thoughts, be involved in activities to help others to grow and be kind and courteous. Aside from this, Reyes admits there are some things she would do differently if given the opportunity to open her business for the first time.
“The main thing that I would have done differently would be to increase my knowledge of the business and management side before opening my business,” said Reyes.
As for the future, Reyes simply wants to continue to make customers happy by providing quality cakes.