Today we’d like to introduce you to Katia Perez.
Katia, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
It must’ve been in December — just like any other day, I had been scrolling through my TikTok’s “For You Page” when I saw a tutorial for a rose bouquet by Ralph the Baker. I thought it looked pretty easy, but obviously any tutorial is going to look easier than it actually is, so I saved the video and never went back to it. That is until February rolled around and I needed an idea on what to give my boyfriend for Valentine’s Day. I thought to myself, “why don’t I make those chocolate-covered strawberries?” So I went to Walmart and bought the supplies needed, but being the time it was, there were hardly any candies, chocolates, nor strawberries left.
At that time I wasn’t as aware of which products were the best and whatnot, so I grabbed these blue candy melts— which is what I thought would work— and it was really hard at first, so I tried it several times… only for it to come out ugly. I had fun doing it nevertheless, and my mom suggested that I could start a side hustle to help pay for school. It was a great idea, so I got right to it.
I created three samples and uploaded them onto Instagram as a business account and began promoting my business: Edible by Katia. I didn’t actually start selling until the 15th of March, so to build up to this day, I had the help of my wonderful friends and family who helped to spread the word about my business, so when the launch day came around, I had about a hundred or so followers.
It’s pretty insane now, I get new people every month, and I definitely am doing way better when it comes to handling orders and managing my time. I wake up very early in the morning to start making orders and have a set schedule to make sure I get through everything before I go and buy more supplies for the next day’s set of orders.
I’m really proud of myself for how far I’ve gotten, and I’m eternally grateful to those who have helped me get to this point in my life.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has definitely not been a smooth road, but I feel as if I’m getting closer to that point. I’m better with time management and I’ve also learned to work much quicker.
To work much quicker, I’ve learned the importance of cleaning as I went along so as to not be faced with a pile of dishes and such at the end of my set. Though this does entail not taking a break at times during orders, I am able to finish faster, so it is definitely worth it. It also helps me structure my actions, as I have a clean workspace that enables me to be focused on the next task at hand rather than be distracted by a mess.
Having a schedule also helps me, as I don’t feel tempted to take pictures in between order sets, which would prompt me to editing them in between orders— prolonging my time and making me stressed later on.
A major turning point in my business had been the hectic Father’s Day weekend, Friday to Sunday. On Friday, I had already made the mistake of taking ten custom orders outside of the Father’s Day special, so I had already had much to do on my plate. As soon as I put out those orders, I immediately went to the store to get supplies. I came back home to dip about five-hundred to six-hundred strawberries in one night. That sounds easy in theory but in practice, it was terrible.
By the time I finished, I was staying awake in between winks and my back became still and sore from being hunched over for so long. The first day is always the worst, it never felt like it was going to end. The worst part had been the lettering, for I only had one mold so I needed to wait for the chocolate to freeze for every order, which certainly wasted valuable time. I had no other choice so I just kept going at it and eventually packaged all the orders. Right when everyone picked up orders the next day at 3pm, I went straight to the store again to do it all over again. I was running on what little energy I had from the other day since I had no time to sleep. I recall only eating one proper meal that weekend, and that certainly didn’t help me.
Sunday was equally terrible. It was about five in the morning and I had about two-hundred and fifty strawberries left to dip, but I really needed sleep so I decided to take an hour nap, wake up at six and just get right to it.
My nap lasted fifteen minutes.
I had been so anxious about falling asleep, fearing that I wouldn’t wake up on time that I scared myself into a panic attack. I started calling anyone I could and my boyfriend answered and calmed me down, told me to center myself and take on each task one at a time, that I’d get through it. And I did, finishing up the dippings around seven in the morning, but I still needed to place the letterings, package everything, and write everyone’s names down and such. I finished finally at ten and freshened up for pickups at eleven.
Once everything was handed out and completed, I took the biggest nap ever on the living room couch for hours. I woke up to head to my room, only to pass out on my bed again. Thus concluded the worst weekend ever.
I made a total of seventy-five orders that weekend, and I normally only take about six to seven in a day.
This event really placed my abilities into perspective as well as my mental health, and it really helped to ground me in where I am deciding to take my business in respect to upcoming holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and of course the New Year.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Edible by Katia – what should we know?
My business is Edible by Katia, and I sell handmade chocolate-covered sweets including strawberries, bananas, Oreos, and much more. What really helped to set off my business where my photography and marketing skills. I’ve been in photography since I was very young, I must’ve gotten my first camera in 1st grade when my parents bought me a film camera. That later became a digital camera in 7th grade, and that is when I started using photo editing apps like PixArt to make Tumblr-approved collages and whatnot— trends of the past. This would translate into my other socials as I continuously made an effort to appear unique and stand out. This experience definitely helped my business as I already had experience with editing and keeping up with trends; knowing what looks good. I used a setup when I first started with this white box that’s used to take pictures of small items such as clothes or jewelry, and it really helped to establish a professional page that would ultimately attract new customers.
With the first three samples that I made, I knew they were ugly, but I really made an effort to edit them so that they could fit the idea that I wanted to produce. I specifically chose a white bordering that would frame every post so as to reach a tidy and organized appearance on my feed.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
My success really comes from the community I’ve built and come into, from my friends and family to my customers and fellow vendors, I’m forever appreciative for all my connections, as they have reinforced my presence in a professional manner that has opened up opportunities for me, such as this very interview. It really makes me proud to see customers posting my boxes, enjoying what I’ve worked so hard to produce, and seeing collaborations I’ve come into work out perfectly according to plan speaks to my accountability and professionalism.
Seeing people come back to order from me really speaks to my effort and to hear that the structure I’ve made for ordering makes all the difference in my business’s approach really makes me proud of myself.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: instagram.com/ediblebykatia
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/ediblebykatia
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