Conversations with the Inspiring Maria Castro

Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Castro.

Maria, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Fifteen years ago, I used to be a very happy waitress, single mom of my oldest son by that time (11 years old), I was working at the bar area of a very nice restaurant in LA. In those days, I met this awesome guy that now is my husband, we got married and after a year, I became pregnant of twin boys… right after we moved to San Diego, CA, my husband never let me get back to work. I had to dedicate 24/7 to my babies, after a couple of years living in San Diego, my husband got an offer with relocation to San Antonio, Tx, so ended up moving… we were living there a few years, until my babies started going to Kindergarten and I started to feel lonely, my kiddos at school and my husband at work (Aircraft mechanic), so I started to get desperate to try to keep myself busy, until one day, I was walking by, out of Michael store and saw an ad offering Baking classes, so I went in, and register, without any money but I used my credit card to pay fees, books, tools, etc. I never told my husband about it, and he didn’t even notice that I was taking those classes, personally, I started to feel excited about I was learning, until a week later, I made my first cake and took it home, I showed it to my husband, and he was amazed about that cute cake asking who made it. I finally explained everything I did to take this class, he’s like ‘Money from where?’ ‘My credit card’ I said, and of course, he started asking how am I going to pay it back, I said I will start selling at the swap meet, which I did (terrible experience though), anyway, he wasn’t happy, until he noticed I started selling cakes little by little and started seeing my talent. Suddenly, he started getting excited about my business that he started helping me, buying me some tools, cleaning, judging my work in a nice way, etc… once I started to increase my sales a little more, he got another offer moving back to Tucson, Az, where he used to live a few years before I met him, so again, we ended up moving… right away, I started posting my cakes on FB, Craiglist, bought my business cards, and started to get new customers. I noticed my talent started improving more and more, until now, that I have a very good reputation about my creations, that I can tell that everything I went through really worth it! Now, I work from home full time and still taking care of my twins (almost 14 years old now). Something I always wanted to be is a model, in my younger years, I tried so hard to study Fashion designer, but for whatever reason, I never made it! So, that’s my hobby, at least, when I have some spare time, I take some nice pictures by myself!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Honestly, I don’t really recommend this kind of career to nobody unless you feel passionate about it! It was hard at the beginning because there is a lot of competition outside, that sometimes made me feel to give up, but my husband was always was there to help me, supporting me in a way that he made me see my talent, value my work, keep consistency in my recipes, prices and the most important, keeping my regular customers happy, which those are the one that helps me to keep growing my business.

Too much stress that sometimes I didn’t even notice how beautiful work I did until I sat down and check my portfolio and asked myself: Did I do that? Wow… I’m very thankful to God for this talent he gave me, making my beautiful creations, which are custom cakes, cupcakes, cake pops, and cookies! Very proud of myself!

What should we know about Twinkies Creations by Maria Castro? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I specialize in custom cakes, cupcakes, cake pops, and cookies. I’m getting more and more recognized in Tucson, for my cake pops… there are many vendors in this town, but most likely cakes. I’m pretty sure, I’m the only one in Tucson, makes these four things along. I can see the quality I offer compared with other vendors… and I think what set me apart from others is being a perfectionist!

What do you feel are the biggest barriers today to female leadership, in your industry or generally?
In my industry, I think the biggest barrier is the stress, less sleep and work many hours, sometimes in order, that at the end, sometimes I don’t even make enough money… those are the main reasons many women give up on this career, once they tried! They get excited buying tools, pans, inventory, that little later, they’re selling everything because this career is not for everybody, it’s for whoever feels passionate about it! That’s me!!

Pricing:

• $35 each dozen of cake pops, cupcakes, or cookies
• prices on cakes vary depending on size and work from $65
• Smash cakes $65 itself or $45 ordering a cake

Contact Info:

• Phone: (520)4749186
• Email: urbmaria@aol.com
• Instagram: Twinkies Creations by MC
• Facebook: @Twinkies Creations by Maria Castro

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