Meet Elise Akin | Chief Donut at Bake and Skate

We had the good fortune of connecting with Elise Akin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Elise, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I like risky moves, especially in my business, because it shows that there’s something worth risking. We hear all the time that “being an entrepreneur is so risky”, but I think it’s quite the opposite: I think putting my career in the hands of someone else is so much riskier. I would never fire myself, and I have the freedom to change my trajectory any time I want. Especially during this whole pandemic shenanigan, it has made me realize how thankful I am to run my own business where I’M in control. Yes, there’s not a set salary with my business, there’s not a definite number of orders I’ll receive, there’s not a guarantee that people will want to order longboards at any given season, but I know this is what I want to do, and I absolutely love waking up each day and risking it.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Hi! I’m Elise, and I paint longboards and bake yummy vegan desserts. I am constantly excited about running an unconventional business, because it’s helped show a lot of friends that their crazy business idea could work, too. I’ve had the absolute honor of sitting down with so many of them and talking them through their business dreams and figuring out how to make it work. Was it easy? Oh sweet sassy molassey, no. Not every day, but it’s so worth it. I get to love my customers the way I want to. I get to help create the longboard they’ve been dreaming of. I get to shake things up whenever I feel I need a change. Those good things also come with having to figure everything out for myself, instead of having a corporate manager tell me what to do and how to do it. I’ve learned about loving difficult customers, I’ve learned about the importance of hand-written thank you notes, I’ve learned about how long shipping times can take during a global pandemic, but mostly I’ve learned how to be a better person. I want the world to know that my shop has the sole intention of treating each customer like they’re the only customer we’ll ever receive. I want the world to know how much thought and energy I put into each thank you note. I want the world to know that it’s so important to be open to where Jesus wants to lead your business, because if you want Him to open new doors for you, you have to get your hand off the doorknob.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
First, we’d swing by Mellow Mushroom and get pizza (because they have the best dairy-free cheese out there. And yes, I am open to sponsorships, Mellow.) Then, we’d go watch the airplanes fly over us at this parking lot near the airport and listen to Ben Howard and James Blake the whole time. At some point, probably every night, we’d go to Painted Duck and try to get better at mini bowling. Then we’d go walk around Oakland Cemetery, because it’s eerie and beautiful at the same time. Then, we’d go to our photography studio and take some funky portraits (shameless plug, my fiancé is an incredible photographer). Then we’d go to the manager special section at Kroger probably, because why not? A gold mine in there. We’d go to the Whole Foods in midtown and get Kombucha and chocolate and watch the sunset from the rooftop area. Then we’d bring them back to our loft and play Monopoly Deal for hours and hours.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would personally like to thank all the old businessmen who told me I wouldn’t do well by opening a bakery/longboard shop, because it’s too unconventional, and that I should just stick to opening a bakery instead. As sarcastic as that sounds, all those comments pushed me further to wanting to prove to myself that an unconventional business could be the key in our generation to changing the norm of what a business has the potential to be. (Also my fiancé is my biggest cheerleader, and I wouldn’t be who I am today without him.)

Website: www.bakeandskate.com
Instagram: @bakeandskate

Image Credits
Christian Garcia, Bella Rob, Sadie Rob.