Story & Lesson Highlights with Elisabeth Lords of Brea

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Elisabeth Lords. Check out our conversation below.

Elisabeth, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
My little bakery is in a strange but exciting phase right now. In order to achieve the growth that I want to see, I have made some pretty big changes to my business model in the last year. For one thing, I have decided to move away from local markets, which were my bread and butter until very recently. Instead, I’m focused on bringing my products into brick-and-mortar stores. Luckily, it’s been working out so far, and my fresh-baked goodies are regularly available at six locations in Orange County and Los Angeles!

The jump itself is scary enough, but then there’s the worry that what I make isn’t good enough to sit on actual shelves beside established brands. Total impostor syndrome, I know it. But with each new partnership, I gain a little more confidence, and I get a little closer to my goals.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Well first off, hey y’all! My name is Elisa Marie, and I’m the owner and founder of Elisa Marie Baking (EMB if you’re cool) in Orange County, CA. I was born and raised in the South as a literal preacher’s daughter, and I’ve spent over a decade working in professional kitchens and commissaries from Chicago to Chino. Well, okay, maybe not Chino. But close!

Some of the happiest moments of my life were spent in my Momma’s kitchen learning how to make delicious food by hand – just like every Momma and Grandmomma that came before me. But in a world that’s getting faster and less personal by the day, I worry that we might be losing sight of that essential connection to our past. Elisa Marie Baking exists because I wanted to do my part to preserve, not just my own family history, but my firm belief that there’s still an important place out there for the simple joys of simpler times.

All of my baked goods begin with a real family recipe that I very gently adapt to more modern tastes. But there are a few things that I’ll never change. We don’t use mixes, we don’t add preservatives, and we don’t take shortcuts – ever. When you bite into an EMB treat, you’re tasting a handmade, carefully crafted piece of my childhood. And, hopefully, it will bring you back to a piece of yours. That’s what EMB is all about!

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who taught you the most about work?
My Momma and Daddy, hands down. They raised three rambunctious kids while working full-time jobs and moving around to wherever the church sent us. But they never shied away from rolling up their sleeves so they could keep the lights on and the fridge full. We never had very much, but thanks to them, we always had enough.

They showed me how to work hard, but also to never miss a chance to find a little joy in your life. To make somebody laugh by being silly, to sing a song when you’re feeling joy, or to say “I love you” as much as humanly possible. I can’t count the gifts they gave me that shaped the person I am today.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Oh gosh…part of running a small business is giving up like ten times a day at least. When you’re growing, it’s easy to get bogged down with small picture stuff and forget why you’re doing it all in the first place. Your head gets all stuffed up with questions and worries. Did I do payroll right? Did I pay that bill on time? Are the brownies I just burnt going to affect my PnL for the year? And yes, you should be worried about those things. But it’s so easy to fall into the obsessing trap and it can be so, so hard to get out.

Once you get to a certain point, you realize that you’re not just doing it because you love it with all your heart. You’re doing it because other people have come to love it too. Of course, there’s my customers, without whom EMB just wouldn’t exist. I also have an amazing team working through it right alongside me. And I’m genuinely blown away that they have jobs because I built this thing. That’s the most awesome and humbling part of it all, really.

Shoutout to my assistant, Sofia and my driver, Lucie! I’m lost without you, girls!

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
Absolutely. I couldn’t do it any other way! That’s a talk I had with my husband right at the beginning. If I was going to do this, it had to be 100% as myself. And let me tell you, that’s not always the most flattering angle! Take my YouTube show, Elisa Marie Bakes. I fix my hair, I do my makeup, I try to be as professional as possible while showing you how to make croissants from scratch. But I’m also gonna burp on camera, and I’m gonna forget to tell you what temperature to pre-heat your oven, and there’s absolutely nothing I can do about my witch cackle of a laugh.

There’s nowhere to hide when you’re your own brand. But even though that can be a scary place to live sometimes, I think it’s worth it to know that I’m running my own business as my authentic self. What you see is what you get. And if I can toot my own horn a bit, I think what you get is pretty darn neat.

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
You kind of have to when you’re starting your own business. Unless you’re already a known commodity, you’re basically starting with nothing. No one knows you from a store-bought sheet cake, so no one has a reason to trust you. But like my husband always tells me, you have to “keep going”. Get in front of people however you can and show them how awesome you really are.

When you’re feeling unseen, you’ve got to keep your goals small and attainable. If one more person knows about you at the end of a day than at the beginning, then you take that as a win. And when that doesn’t happen, and you feel like your phone’s never going to ring again, then that’s when you have to believe in yourself more than anyone. Because that’s only going to be true if you quit.

I’m not where I want to be yet, but I’m a long way off from where I was. I celebrate the good days, and work my way through the bad ones. Sometimes I get to win a ribbon at the fair or do an interview like this one. Other times, I can feel like I’m never gonna get unstuck. But no matter what, I know I have to do one thing.

Keep. Going.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.elisamariebaking.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elisamariebaking/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElisaMarieBaking
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@elisamariebakes