ABBEVILLE — Alisha Boudreaux was a stay-at-home mom for most of her adult life, until 2019 when she re-entered the workforce to make ends meet for her family working as a bartender. During 2020, her place of work was shut down three times due to the pandemic. On Christmas Eve of 2020, when Boudreaux found herself out of work again, she said enough was enough and decided to turn her sweet hobby of baking into a business.
"Cakes have always been my hobby. I love to do them, but I never really took it seriously," says Boudreaux, owner and operator of The Bakery Gateaux. "But at the start of this year, I knew that I needed to find something that I wouldn't have to worry about being constantly shut down."
Having only been operating The Bakery Gateaux for a few months, Boudreaux has been able to make a living off of her passion of baking and decorating extravagant cakes, all from her home kitchen.
"My island is my work space and most of my tools are inside here," says Boudreaux. "All of my kids and my fiancé knows to stay off of this island."
Not only is Boudreaux a business woman and extreme baker, but she's also a mother of seven children and a soon to be wife. She is able to juggle all of her roles and manage a business by sicking to a strict schedule that allows her to work efficiently and still spend time with her family.
"It's a schedule, a really strict one," she says. "From 9 am to noon it's cakes, and then noon is lunch time and clean up. I usually work a little more and then I go get my kids from school, come home, make dinner and then it's cake time again until I go to bed."
Boudreaux says that her favorite part about her job, besides the fact that she gets to work from home, is her customer's reactions when they finally see their order.
"I never offer pictures ahead of time because the best part for me is their initial reaction," says Boudreaux. "I love when I get to deliver a cake and really get to see the wow factor. It makes me feel really good."
Although Boudreaux has a lot on her plate, she says she doesn't regret turning her passion into her profession and encourages anyone who is still struggling from the pandemic to think about what truly makes them happy and go for it.
"Just don't give up and believe in yourself always," Boudreaux says. "When you find what you truly love to do, it shows in your work."
You can check out some of Boudreaux's cakes by visiting her Facebook Page.
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