Daily Inspiration: Meet Celinda Damiana Cruz-Arce

Today we’d like to introduce you to Celinda Damiana Cruz-Arce.

Hi Celinda Damiana, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am the CEO of Celly’s Sweets. I am a Latina Baker and Floral Designer born and raised in the city of Highland Park, Los Angeles. I specialize in custom birthday cakes, gourmet treats, dessert tables and custom floral arrangements for any occasion. I started this business in the beginning of 2020 when the pandemic hit. My university got shut down and I was working two jobs at the time.

I remember it was a month before Valentine’s Day when I had the crazy idea to post rose arrangements and chocolate-dipped strawberries on my mom’s Facebook. A week before, I started to tally out the amount of orders we had and we ended up getting 50+ orders on our first Valentine’s Day. I figured it can be something more than just a hobby. I created the separate email/Instagram for Cellys sweets, created our first logo, created our own website, I started to practice on all my desserts I wanted to add to the menu/party packages, I did my research on Ingredients, inventory and different roses. I did all of this in a spam of three months because we had to prepare for our first Mother’s Day 2020 event. We ended up with 160+ orders and the rest was history! We are now booked back to back, working with amazing influencers/chefs in and out of LA but most importantly sharing my story to let you guys know it’s possible. Talking about my business 25/8, creating a safe community with you guys and promoting my posts has given me the opportunity to get to where we are right now.

Being able to work from home and being able to teach others how I manage to be successful through social media is insane. I love walking into a room and people ask me “What do you do?” and I’m like “I’m a cake and floral designer” and they look at me like “huhhhhh, what’s that”… the conversation that goes after that is amazing. I put my love, sweat, tears and so much energy into my business so best believe I’m going to go all in every chance that I get.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Getting to where I’m at today was definitely not easy for me. It has took a lot of sleepless nights, baking classes, tears, smiles, chaos but most importantly patience. You need to learn to have patience before anything. When I first started my business, I invested a lot of money into my materials and a lot of my time. I was working a full-time job, I was a full-time student at CSUN and I was doing my business part-time on the side. I was not afraid to invest in my business because I knew that it would benefit me later. I started my business from the bottom and look at where we are now. I had no clients, no baking experience, no materials but I knew I couldn’t let myself down. Overcoming these challenges was not easy but I always remember I’m not alone. I have an amazing family, clients and boyfriend who continue to motivate me and support me every day. What I’ve learned along the way is that scared money doesn’t make you any money. Don’t be afraid to invest in yourself and in your business. Make sure you are happy because at the end of the day, you are the one putting in the work. If you do not know something, do not have that fixed mindset. Always be a learner and teach yourself the things you do not know. Do not be afraid to ask other business owners questions on how they started their business if you don’t have an idea on what you want to do. Remember there is always room for improvement.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in custom birthday cakes, gourmet treats, dessert tables and custom floral arrangements for any occasion. My bakery/floral business is known to be OVER THE TOP when it comes to my floral arrangements, custom cakes and gourmet treats. What I am most proud of and excited about is that my business continues to grow every single day. I get to work with different chefs/influencers around the world, I get to collab with other businesses but most importantly, I am the face behind my business. I love to use my voice to advocate for my community and to help other businesses be successful. Two months ago I was able to speak on a business panel with US Congress and share my business story with them. I was able to share how I use different social media platforms for my business and how it is important to use your digital tools to help your business grow. My biggest accomplishment of 2023 so far has been getting flown out to Florida for a business conference. When I first started this business, I never saw myself, let alone another company flying me out and having everything paid for. They wanted me to represent their company and share my story to other big corporations. I’m talking about companies like Yahoo, Google, TikTok business, YouTube TV.

What sets me apart from others is that I love to see everybody win and at the top. The sun will shine for everybody. I love being able to motivate others and help others grow their business. I love experimenting different desserts and adding new things to menu for everybody to try. I started with chocolate-dipped strawberries, bouquets and custom candy boxes. My second year I added custom birthday cakes, weddings cakes and gourmet dessert tables. I also taught myself how to make cookies/sugar cookies. I added sugar cookies and sugar cookie kits to my menu for the holidays.

For this new year, we are seeing what new items to incorporate into our menu and for the holidays.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
The best apps that have helped me make my business easier are Canva, Cricut, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Amazon and Michael’s. These apps have helped my business grow over the years. I mainly use Canva to edit all of my flyers or posts that I’m going to post throughout the week. I use Cricut to customize all my cake toppers or banners that I have to do for parties. All of the other social media apps mainly help me with staying in contact with my clients and being able to keep a safe space for my clients. For example, I would edit my availability on Canva Sunday night and be ready to post it Monday morning on Instagram. This would help my clients see the dates I’m available so they can plan ahead. Amazon Prime has also made my life easier by delivering all my items for my orders right in time. Something that helps me do my best in life is also spending time with my family. Social media is not what life is all about. Being able to have social media and still spend time with your loved ones is really where the love is at.

If you’re looking for an amazing podcast, I would definitely recommend How did we get here with Nayomi Mendoza. She and her family own the cuernavacas grill in DTLA. Her podcast is dedicated to showcasing small businesses, entrepreneurs and becoming a resource for the new generation. You guys should check out the episode I did with her last year in December 21, 2022. She gave me the wonderful chance to come and share my story on her podcast. Thank you again queen.

Another podcast that is amazing is Real One’s with Jon Bernthal.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cellys_sweets/?hl=en
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/cellyssweets?lang=en

Image Credits
@Cellys_Sweets