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

Hi Railyn, every day, we talk about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Well I’ve always had an interest in baking since the age of 4, I was the little helper in the kitchen. I come from a family full of cooks, so I think It was something I inherited. My story is pretty sweet, the ideas have been super easy. The business name was created 8 years ago, we were just sitting on it waiting for the perfect time. My parents always had the vision of me owning my own but they just didn’t know what.
The name came from my great uncle, who called me “Shine” so, A Rai of Sunshine it was. The business idea came about over the summer. We were trying to figure out what I could do over the summer break. I was supposed to audition for theater camp, which was not an interest of mine but I needed something to do. I practiced singing “Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keys for days, I guess my mom caught on.
A day before auditions my mom gave me 2 options, theater camp or to bake a dish once a week and you guessed it, BAKING it was! It took a while for us to start baking because we caught COVID and other things came up. When we started it was up from there. The first dessert we baked was a lemon pound cake, it was a hit. This cake was actually the start of my baking business, which is now my best seller.
Leading up to school starting my mom saw an event for young entrepreneurs in our community and signed me up as a vendor. At the time all we had was a name and nothing else, not even a plan. I remember us sitting in the living room trying to come up with a logo and flyer for this event. It literally took less than 5 minutes to create my logo. My mom took my picture in front of some white bulletin paper and turned it into a cartoon, which is now my logo. We wanted the color scheme to be fun, youthful and professional.
I must say with the help of God, family and friends, we raised enough money to start up my business. We were literally able to get everything I needed and wanted for my business. A Rai of Sunshine was launched August 8,2022 on my 11th birthday. I had everything I needed for my first vendor event except enough cake, we SOLD OUT in 2 hours! What started off as baking once a week, turned into a fun growing business. I am now on my 6th vendor event with many more to come.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

My dream is to have my cakes in stores around the world. A Rai of Sunshine is a brand, it’s bigger than just baking pound cakes. I eventually want to venture into fashion and event hosting in the future. We currently specialize in homemade pound cakes. We have four flavors at the moment, our best seller is our “Lemon Crunch Delight ” pound cake.
A Rai of Sunshine is currently on a POP-UP tour, where we POP UP, vendor events in different cities and states. I really enjoy vendor events, they are really fun believe it or not. I like selling my product, meeting new people and making money. Our goal is to travel the world with our product, be a light and bring awareness to youth entrepreneurship. What sets me apart is being a young entrepreneur on a mission. I don’t have too many peers that find interest in what I’m doing and that’s ok. I pray before I make all of my cakes, God always comes first.
I am most excited about the future of my business, it’s moving pretty fast. Being a business owner can be challenging but being a young business owner can be even more challenging. I know that some people may not like my product but I also know that more people will like it than not like it. I would like the youth to know that you can be anything you want to be, no matter the age or race. “You were created to SHINE”-Rai

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to? 
I would recommend Addictive Bites catering. They are located in Douglasville Ga. Monica is the owner. Their food and desserts are amazing plus she’s my cousin.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to thank God, my mom, dad and siblings for sacrificing their time to help with the business. All of the Saturdays, late nights and early mornings for the pop ups. Between God and family this business would not even be possible. I thank my mom for all that she does for the business, she goes extremely hard. My family for encouraging me, helping financially with the start-up cost of my business, I thank you all so much. Last but not least my “Sunshines” you all are the best because of your support we SELL OUT every pop up. We at A Rai of Sunshine are so blessed and grateful for this opportunity.

Instagram: a.rai.of.sunshine

Facebook: A Rai of Sunshine

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