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

Hi Tamesha, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The most important factor behind my success is God. Without God, everything wouldn’t be perfectly placed in my life. From my family, friends, supporters, and connections I’ve made, none of that would be possible without the grace of God.

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?
How we started: I started my business in a small apartment in Sept. 2017. As a traveling audit manager, I had just had my baby in September 2016. I knew my job/lifestyle no longer was suitable for raising a newborn. Since I breastfed her, I was determined to not quit because of the career I had, so I traveled with my baby, pumped in between shifts, worked, and paid sitters to travel with me. I was so unhappy doing this, so I started a hobby making candy apples for my family and friends. I knew one day that I would have to find another job in order to raise my daughter how I saw fit. At the time, my job did what they could to accommodate me and my needs, but I knew there would come a time where I could no longer keep working the way I had been. In 2017, I offered candy apples for sale to the public. Everyone loved them, so I kept selling them on the weekends since I worked Monday-Friday. In 2018, there were major layoffs at my old job of people who had dedicated their lives to the company were released with, and some without, severance packages. That motivated me to take my business even more serious, as I had already dedicated almost 13 years to this company.
From then on, I prayed for increase in my clientele, revenue, & services offered in my business. In 2020, Covid came and that scared me as I thought my business was over. To my surprise, everything I had prayed for was happening. I was sent to work from home, as travel was cut out. My clientele and revenue increased, and I had more time to offer different services outside of just candy apples.
In that year, my largest revenue, at the time, occurred. However, I still had no intent of leaving my career at that point. I prayed again, and later that year (Nov-Dec 2020), my job announced that my position was ending. I had to figure things out, QUICK! I took a leap of faith and quit Dec. 14th, 2020. I am most proud that this year makes 3 years of full-time entrepreneurship.

Who we are:
A Family-owned and operated bakery, Calhoun’s Sweet Treats is a premier bakery in Memphis, TN. We strive to model economic empowerment to underfunded communities by being the example of doing and achieving more with one treat at a time. Since 2017, our candy apples, baked goods, and treats have combined our love for great food with modern baking techniques. We initially started by offering only candy apples, but since have expanded with chocolate covered treats, popcorn, baked goods such as cakes, chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes, brownies, and confectionery artist supplies. Always made with love, Calhoun’s Sweet Treats cakes and cupcakes are known for their great flavor and moistness, cookies that are soft with the right amount of crisp with each bite, creatively decorated candy apples and chocolate covered treats.
We offer a sense of hope to working women that a balance between your career and family can be obtained. As women, we’ve been groomed to believe that we have to choose between career and family time, but we strive to show that these two things go hand in hand. After a long day of work, it’s ok to take a moment to treat yourself and/or family with our delicious treats while incorporating family time.

Our Mission:
Calhoun’s Sweet Treats is a huge advocate of community advancement and growth. We have participated in and hosted several give back initiatives over the years. We have a YouTube channel to offer free courses to women with a child(ren) like me so that they can have other ways to make ends meet or possibly leave their job to start a bakery business. I’m located in a disadvantaged area in my community, but I strive to offer hope that businesses can thrive regardless of the location. As time goes on, I look back at the neighborhood I grew up in. It’s so run down, so my goal for Calhoun’s Sweet Treats is to go back to those neighborhoods to create a connection between thriving businesses and underfunded areas.

Our Goal:
My ultimate goal is to bring corporations and small businesses to those areas so that we can create a sense of hope for low-income households and thriving businesses to offer job opportunities, increase in property value, and community growth.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
In Memphis, there are so many things that you can do in order to have fun. As a tourist, the first stop is always Beale St. There are many places downtown to eat, shop, and visit to learn history in Memphis. If you are looking for something sweet, order ahead at Calhoun’s Sweet Treats (www.cstsupplyshop.com) so that you can get a taste of Memphis made cakes and treats. There are attractions such as Top Golf, Dave & Busters, Main Event, a host of locally owned restaurants, and local events to attend.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
In addition to God, I would like to give credit to my daughter, Daliyah. Without her, I would have never decided to change my career path. I started my bakery to allow more time with my family.

Website: www.cstsupplyshop.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/calhounsweettreats

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calhoun-s-sweet-treats-837997283/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CalhounsSweetTreats/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@meshacalhoun

Image Credits
All images are rightfully owned by Tamesha Calhoun

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