Meet Komeh Ottison | CEO & Master Cake Artist

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

Hi Komeh, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
To be honest, I didn’t have any intentions of owning a business. My plans in life were to become an attorney. I had finished law school and was studying for the bar when my new venture in life started. Once deciding to take a different path, I began to process all the things I needed to do to make sure this would be a career and not a hobby. I began to learn more about the field, what it takes to own a business and what it would take to be successful in the industry. Once I gathered the knowledge, I began to develop CakEffect.

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.
Art is my passion. As a little girl, I always loved to draw and create art pieces. When we moved to Alabama, I went to the Alabama School of Fine Arts, where I was able to further my passion. I then majored in Commercial and Advertising Art. So before entering into the world of cake art, I had a lot of training in the arts. When working on a cake I strive to bring the reality or that wow factor.

I am where I am today because of hard work, dedication and the willingness to learn. Though the art talent was something I already possessed, there were other things that I needed to learn to be successful in business. When in business you need to understand the field, but you also need to have financial literacy and knowledge of business ethics. Upon learning the industry, I learned about handling finance, how to run a business and staff management. In the beginning I didn’t have a staff. I did everything, took orders, answered emails, answered phones, baked, cake art and smiled. Once I grew out of my first shop, it was time to get a staff. Staff management can be one of the most difficult things about running a business. There are so many personalities that you have to learn and learn how to deal with. Each person is different, yet you have to figure out how to handle each one individually and maintain a positive environment.

CakEffect was my baby and now CakEffect has grown and still growing today. I have created a brand that offers quality products and Cake Art that will be remembered. With growth and expansion, CakEffect has ventured into new options. We now offer lunch options and some of the best chicken salad around. We are now aiming to have our signature chicken salad in stores soon.

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.
My best friend comes in town, we are definitely going to CakEffect! We’re both home bodies so we might not do too much hanging out. But if we were looking for good music and food, we would go to Perfect Note. We both love Mexican food, so we would either go by the Mexican food truck not too far from the house of Mama Coco’s. Also, Michael’s Steak and Seafood is also another great dining experience in the area. And another one of my favorite food trucks is really not a food truck , but Lemonade Junkeez has some of the best lemonade hands down! The Green Apple is my favorite!

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?
My mother was my inspiration, support and mentor. My mother encouraged me to strive to be the best and to be successful in the field. She would always say that knowledge is power and rewarding. So, I studied and learned and still learning to this day. It’s an ever-changing industry, there’s always something new learn. My mother taught me to be resilient and to always stay positive no matter the situation. When I began this journey, my mother would always tell me how proud she was of me. She passed before she could see how far I’ve gotten in the industry and to see me on Food Network, but the one thing I know is that she would have been full of joy, happiness and pride to see where her baby has gotten to today.

Website: cakeffect.com

Instagram: cakeffect

Facebook: www.facebook.com/cakeffect

Other: IG: www.instagram.com/cakeffect

Image Credits
Komeh Ottison