Having a baby doesn’t mean you have to put your dreams aside.
With a Heart’s Desire grant, Jazmin Williams was empowered to grow her baking business and realize her dreams.
Putting her career on hold
Jazmin had a job as a trained chef. With years of experience in restaurants and catering halls, she had intended to return to her job after delivering her baby. But complications from a C-section derailed her plan.
Between her recovery, breastfeeding her newborn, and the expense of childcare, Jazmin needed to stay home with baby Kyler.
She started offering baked goods and savory meals to family and friends, and when they told her how much they loved the treats, Jazmin got the push she needed to start her own catering business.
Asking for support
What started with a handful of orders and making doughs from home by hand, evolved into a small business. “The community began supporting me,” Jazmin shares.
She knew she had so much more to offer, but couldn’t afford the supplies to grow her business. She turned to her NFP nurse: “I had a discussion with my nurse where I was discussing my passions and my goals and I did disclose to her that my ultimate goal was to start my own catering company to make delicious treats to share with people across the globe.”
Making ends meet for her family of three was difficult enough. Saving up for her own laptop and electric mixer would have taken at least a year, if not more. With her NFP nurse encouraging her, Jazmin applied for the Heart’s Desire Awards.
“The Heart’s Desire Program is a great help because, for so many people in my community, things like this are not feasible to us. We have these dreams and we just continue dreaming. And having that boost to fulfill that dream is amazing.”
Seeing immediate business results
After being granted $900 through Heart’s Desire, Jazmin was able to double her production with an electric mixer.
“The mixer helped my business substantially because I was able to go from making two cakes per hour to four cakes per hour. It led to mass production and my orders being fulfilled faster.”
When Kyler was 8 months old, Jazmin went back to work full-time to fund her main goal of building a business. She shared her baked goods with coworkers and management offered her a contract to bake the cakes for their regular employee birthday celebrations
Since her cakes were ready to decorate as orders came in, she was able to maintain her nine-to-five job while building the business.
Working towards her goals
After she and her family relocated to Orlando, FL, Jazmin secured a job in loan servicing. She knows she’ll need a business loan for her business one day, and plans to learn everything she can about the industry so she’s more prepared when the time comes.
“For now, because I have secured a good position, I will continue to work here until I feel my business can support me and my family full-time.”
“My ultimate goal is to work for myself, whether that’s with a food truck or a catering hall.”
Jazmin is proud of how far her business has come since she had her baby. Without the help of Friends of NYC-NFP, she wouldn’t have been able to grow as quickly or feel as confident in her dream.
“I’m getting a little choked up here even thinking about it. I am extremely grateful. I did apply for multiple grants before. Putting the application in and getting approved for the Heart’s Desire Award…I don’t have any more words.”
Securing a better future
Working alongside new and expectant moms, NFP nurses help NYC moms identify their long-term career goals and brainstorm action steps together. Friends of NYC-NFP steps in to break financial obstacles and empower moms to advance their careers.
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