Today we’d like to introduce you to Maliya Benjamin,.
Maliya, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I just want to start off by saying how super honored I am to be featured in Voyage Magazine. We started off decorating and by we I mean me, my cousin Rina and my friend Ginie. Our very first event was a “Peaches and Cream” surprise birthday dinner! So I thought well why don’t I bake some peaches and cream cupcakes to go with the theme! Mind you. I’ve never baked anything from scratch… I thought, how hard could it be? Well, it wasn’t easy! After trial and error, I found the perfect recipe.
I was so happy! On the day of the event, I made fresh cupcakes but I needed to make frosting and I didn’t want to buy it, so I made it! Needless to say, the cupcakes ended up being glazed then frosted but there was no more time to fix it! For those of you who don’t know the difference glaze is what you drizzle on a donut! Lol. But everyone loved the cupcakes! From their Taaj’s Sweet Treats was created named after my son, who loves sweets! I no longer do event planning. I leave that to my cousin, who is the owner of Dazzling Events by Ri. I solely focus on Taaj’s Sweet Treats. Perfecting all my skills on baking and decorating treats.
Has it been a smooth road?
It hasn’t always been smooth! It’s going to be five years since my business has started and I can honestly say since December of 2019 and up until now, I have been booked and busy constantly by the Grace of God! The first four years were hard because I would go the whole summer and would probably have maybe four orders that entire summer, then the school would start so it would be worse parents are trying to get back afloat from spending to get multiple kids ready for the new school year so the last thing their thinking about is spending money on custom treats. But I would look on social media and see all the treat makers and bakers booked and busy all year round constantly some having to turn down orders because they were overbooked! I wanted to be in that position so desperately I put all my faith in people and not God and that was the problem! I also had to realize and understand that a lot of the bakers I followed it took years for them to get to where they are! Sometimes you get blinded by all the social media hype and forget that your journey is made to be different! Once I started praying over my business and putting my faith in God to grow my business… its been busy ever since.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Taaj’s Sweet Treats – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
My business name is Taaj’s, Sweet Treats LLC. I specialize in cupcakes and treats. I have a variety of flavors all made from scratch and have taken me years to perfect to my liking and my clients. My signature flavor would be Vanilla bean. I pride myself in making sure that all my baked goods have high quality and fresh ingredients. I bake so much Vanilla bean cupcakes I have memorized the recipe down to the T. Lol. I am also known for my rice Krispy treat squares, jumbo marshmallows, and chocolate-covered strawberries dipped in high-quality chocolate all the way from California!
I’m most proud of my customer service. I’m able to communicate so well with my clients no matter what the problem is! It’s being able to make sure your clients are happy with their order and if they aren’t because of my mistake, I have no problem with rectifying the situation! Whether it’s giving them a dozen free treats with their next order or adding a credit. Your business grows through word of mouth as well because when your clients are happy, than their willing to send future clients your way and then you start building a cycle of recurring clients and that’s what all business owners want to accomplish. What sets me apart besides my customer service and my attention to detail when decorating my treats for events no matter what the theme is!
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
What I love best about my city is that I’m not just limited to my city. The people in my city have connections to all types of people outside my city and that brings me clients, from everywhere! What I like least about my city is the heat! The sun and chocolate are not the best of friends lol.
Contact Info:
- Email: TAAJSSWEETTREATS@GMAIL.COM
- Instagram: Taajs_sweet_treats
- Facebook: maliya benjamin
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