By Casey Adams
Cove Leader-Press
What began with a 2-year-old’s birthday party, a $20 package of decorations and a mom determined to make the celebration special has turned into a growing small business for Layla Hayes of Copperas Cove.
Standing in her kitchen recently, Hayes moved smoothly through the process of making lemon cake pops, working with the practiced efficiency she has developed during the few short months since launching Mama Made Sweets.
Nearby, her husband and young son played together while she worked — a scene that illustrated exactly why Hayes wanted to create the business in the first place.
“I think it’s important for me to raise my son,” Hayes said. “I love my son. I want to raise him, and I want to be there with every milestone and everything.”
Hayes, 24, said the idea for Mama Made Sweets was born in May while she was preparing her son Lucas’ second birthday party.
His favorite television show was “Bubble Guppies,” but Hayes discovered there were few readily available party supplies for the theme. Her husband was away on a work trip, and she did not want to spend a large amount of money hiring someone else to make the treats.
So, she decided to figure it out herself.
Hayes made Lucas’ cake and tried making cake pops for the first time.
The children loved them.
She later brought cake pops to a friend’s birthday party, where friends began encouraging her to sell her creations.
Soon, someone offered Hayes $100 to create an entire cow-themed party package.
“That was literally my very first order,” Hayes said. “It was just because I wanted to make cool treats for my son’s birthday.”
She had no previous baking experience.
“I really would say I’m not a baker, but my kid needed treats for his birthday,” Hayes said. “So I’m like, I can be a baker. I can be a chef. I can be whatever — party planner, balloon artist, you name it. So, gotta figure this out.”
She taught herself through online videos, experimentation and plenty of trial and error.
Her first attempt at selling cake pops was decidedly modest.
Hayes placed a cooler in her front yard with a dollar-store chalkboard advertising cake pops. She made about $13 that day.
She kept going.
Today, Mama Made Sweets offers cake pops, cakes, cupcakes, chocolate-covered pretzels, Oreos and party packages. Birthday cake is among her most popular cake-pop flavors, along with Fruity Pebbles and strawberry cheesecake. Hayes said lemon is one of her personal favorites.
Customers can also find a self-service cake-pop stand outside her home several days a week, where they can choose treats and pay through cash or electronic payment options.
Word of mouth has been instrumental in growing the young business.
Hayes said friends frequently recommend her to others, and customers who began as strangers have become familiar faces — and sometimes friends.
“I think that’s my favorite part about this, is just meeting new people because you never know who’s gonna come and order something,” Hayes said. “You never know who you’re gonna meet or why it brings them here.”
That community has taken on particular significance for Hayes.
Originally from a small town in California, she met her husband while he was serving in the Marine Corps. They married when she was 19 and he was 20.
After her husband left the Marine Corps, the family moved to Texas about a year ago. Hayes said she arrived without her own family or established group of friends in the area.
Mama Made Sweets has helped change that.
Being able to earn money of her own after spending several years as a stay-at-home mother has also given Hayes a new sense of independence.
Affordability is another cornerstone of the business.
Hayes remembers wanting an attractive dessert table for Lucas’ birthday without spending more than the family’s budget allowed. She wants other parents to be able to celebrate their children without feeling that custom treats are beyond their reach.
“If that’s your only reason why you don’t want to get these treats because they’re too expensive, like, let me know,” Hayes said. “I can work with your budget.”
The name of that business traces directly back to the little boy who started it all.
Hayes said she imagined someone asking Lucas who had made the treats at his birthday party.
His answer was simple.
“Mama made the sweets.”
And Mama Made Sweets was born.
Those interested in finding out more can contact her at mamamadesweets00@gmail.com or fill out a Google form on her Facebook Page, Mama Made Sweets.
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