First Name: Bree Miller
Company: Bree's Cakes
Location: Los Angeles, CA (the bakery is located in Reseda, CA)
Website: https://www.breescakes.com/
IG: @breescakes
Hobbies: Other than baking it’s being a mom, I have a two-year-old daughter and I am expecting my second child next month. I also enjoy playing soccer, drawing, and cooking.
How have you Escaped the Expected?
I was a kinesiology major in college and I initially thought I wanted to be a physical therapist and work in sports medicine. I always felt like I had to choose a major and go to school but when I was in college I started baking as a hobby as it provided a creative outlet for me. It wasn’t until my senior year in 2012 that I realized I wasn’t happy with what I was doing so I decided to drop out of school to pursue a baking career. I’m sure my family looked at me like I was crazy since no one in my family baked.
Do you remember what was going through your head when you made the decision to drop out of school?
It was really just a leap of faith, I was still a beginner at the time and didn’t really know what I was doing but I had fallen in love with baking and knew I really enjoyed doing it.
How did you approach learning how to bake and building your business?
All my baking was self-taught. I would watch Youtube videos and tv shows on the Food Network religiously and I just practiced, practiced, practiced, and practiced. I then started posting on social media and from there it took on a life of its own.
What has been the most challenging part of your journey?
There’s been a lot of them. I would say continuing to be passionate about something even though things don’t always go your way. You have this ultimate dream in mind and for me, my dream was to have my own storefront and now I have that there’s a bunch of other challenges that you don’t predict. So you just have to stay passionate about your dream and stay focused on the ultimate end goal, because everyday there is going to be a new challenge and it’s not all ups you are definitely going to have some downs when running a business.I think being persistent and consistent is the best way to be successful.
What has been the most rewarding?
Seeing all my hard work pay off. There was a lot of tired nights and long days and a lot of sacrifices, so seeing it all come together and come to life has been the most rewarding.
Any advice for someone wanting to “Escape the Expected”?
I would say go for it, my mom has always told me to say yes and then figure it out. You literally have one life to live and if you’re stuck doing something you aren’t passionate about and you don’t love, you will never be happy. For me if this doesn’t work out I will find something else that makes me happy because something that’s really important to me is...happiness.
