Today we’d like to introduce you to Raven Simpson.
Hi Raven, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Sweet Cakes by Ray honestly was never part of my plan. Looking back now, I can clearly see God’s hand in every step of the journey, but at the time, I was simply taking the next step in front of me.
My love for food and edible art started long before I ever baked a cake professionally. Growing up, one of my favorite things to do was watch Food Network with my mom. We spent hours watching shows like Cake Boss, Ace of Cakes, Cupcake Wars, and anything else that showcased the creativity behind food. I became fascinated by how people could turn ingredients into art and create moments of joy through desserts.
In 2016, while working at a hotel in Nashville, I told one of the chefs, who also owned a cake business, that I wanted to learn how to make cakes but had no idea where to start. He took me to what was then Nashville’s only cake supply store, and I spent my last $100 on supplies. Those supplies became the foundation of what would eventually become Sweet Cakes by Ray.
The first cake I ever made was for my best friend’s 21st birthday in May 2016. Shortly after that, I made a cake for my sister’s best friend and then a Memorial Day cake for my sister. After seeing those first few cakes, my sister encouraged me to officially start a business. She even helped me brainstorm names. During Memorial Day weekend, while sitting on a couch at Club Compound in Atlanta, Georgia, we created the Instagram page, and Sweet Cakes by Ray was officially born.
What started as a creative outlet slowly grew into something much bigger. Over the last ten years, I’ve had the opportunity to celebrate birthdays, weddings, graduations, baby showers, corporate events, and countless life milestones. Through every season, God continued opening doors and placing people in my life who encouraged me to keep going, even during moments when I wasn’t sure I wanted to.
One of the biggest surprises along the journey was teaching. It was never something I planned to do. In fact, it wasn’t even on my bingo card. But I felt continuously called to share what I had learned with others. In February 2020, I hosted my first large-scale class, Trap & Bake, a 90’s theme cupcake decorating class. Even after the challenges of COVID, that calling never left. Today, teaching has become one of the most rewarding parts of my business through private experiences and monthly cake decorating classes.
As I’ve grown, I’ve realized that my work is about much more than cake. It’s about creating moments, memories, and experiences that bring people together. What began as a single birthday cake has evolved into a celebration brand centered around connection, hospitality, storytelling, and joy.
This year, I celebrated ten years in business with my 10-Year Anniversary Gala, which was a full-circle moment for me. It reminded me that the journey has never been about perfection. It’s been about faith, obedience, community, and continuing to say yes to the opportunities God places in front of me.
Ten years later, I’m still here, still creating, still teaching, still celebrating, and still grateful for every person who has been part of the journey.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Has it been a smooth road? Absolutely not.
In fact, there were times I wasn’t even on the road anymore. I wandered into the gravel, the dirt, the mud, and just about everything in between. Looking back, that’s what makes reaching ten years in business so rewarding. This has easily been one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done, but also one of the most meaningful.
One of the biggest challenges was that I wasn’t just growing a business—I was growing up at the same time. I started Sweet Cakes by Ray in my early twenties while navigating life after college, figuring out who I was as a woman, working full-time jobs, and trying to build a business with no formal business background. My degree is actually in Professional Studies with a concentration in Healthcare Administration, so entrepreneurship wasn’t something I was trained for.
Then there was COVID. Like so many small business owners, I genuinely didn’t know if I was going to make it through. I watched businesses that had been established longer than mine struggle to recover or close altogether. It was a scary and uncertain time for everyone. Looking back, I truly believe God’s hand was over my business during that season because somehow we made it through.
One thing I learned during that time is that people never stop needing reasons to celebrate. In fact, during some of the hardest seasons of life, celebration becomes even more important. Whether it’s getting a new job, starting therapy, graduating, surviving a difficult season, or simply making it through the week, I believe those moments deserve recognition. That’s become a huge part of my mission today: encouraging people to celebrate wins both big and small because those small victories eventually become the bigger ones.
Beyond the business challenges, there were personal challenges too. I’ve battled self-doubt, fear, burnout, and periods where I questioned whether I was qualified or deserving of the opportunities coming my way. As someone who advocates for mental health, I’ve learned firsthand how important it is to acknowledge those struggles and keep moving forward anyway. Some of my biggest obstacles weren’t external—they were the conversations I had with myself.
Another challenge has been learning balance. For a long time, I believed success meant keeping my head down and working nonstop. Eventually, that mindset led to burnout. Over the years, I’ve had to learn that rest is productive, boundaries matter, and taking care of myself is just as important as taking care of my business.
As Sweet Cakes by Ray has grown, I’ve also had to learn how to trust others with my vision. This business is my first baby, so inviting people onto the team and allowing them to help execute something I’ve built from the ground up has been both challenging and rewarding. It has taught me leadership, communication, and the importance of community.
Through every obstacle, I’ve continued to show up. Not perfectly, but consistently. And I think that’s the biggest lesson I’ve learned over the last ten years: success isn’t about never falling down. It’s about getting back up, learning the lesson, and taking the next step forward.
The road hasn’t been smooth, but I wouldn’t trade the journey for anything.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
At my core, I am a creative who uses food, hospitality, and celebration as my medium.
While many people know me for cakes, what I truly create are experiences. Through Sweet Cakes by Ray, my goal has always been to help people feel seen, celebrated, and connected through life’s most meaningful moments. Whether it’s a birthday, wedding, graduation, baby shower, corporate event, or personal milestone, I believe celebrations have the power to bring people together and create lasting memories.
Over the years, my work has evolved beyond custom cakes into curated dessert experiences, cake decorating classes, luxury dessert activations, and celebration-focused hospitality experiences. I love the challenge of taking a client’s vision, story, or milestone and translating it into something people can see, taste, and remember.
One thing I often say is that your eyes eat first. Of course, taste is incredibly important, but presentation matters too. I believe the experience begins long before someone takes their first bite. From the design of the desserts to the styling of the display, every detail should feel intentional. The dessert table itself becomes part of the storytelling. That’s why I place such a strong emphasis on presentation, visual impact, and creating an atmosphere that feels immersive and memorable.
What I’m most proud of is the impact. Ten years later, people may not always remember exactly what flavor cake they had, but they remember how they felt. They remember being celebrated. They remember the moment. Knowing that something I created became part of a family’s memories is something I never take lightly.
I am also incredibly proud of the community that has grown around Sweet Cakes by Ray. Through my classes, events, and experiences, I’ve had the opportunity to teach, encourage, and connect with people from all walks of life. Watching someone gain confidence in themselves through creativity is just as rewarding to me as delivering a beautiful cake.
What sets me apart is that I don’t see myself as someone who simply sells desserts. I approach every project through the lens of experience, hospitality, and storytelling. I’m always asking myself, “How do I want people to feel?” The answer to that question guides every creative decision I make.
As I enter my second decade in business, I’m continuing to expand that vision by focusing on luxury hospitality, experiential design, and creating celebration experiences that leave a lasting impact long after the event is over.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I definitely consider myself a risk taker, although I think I’ve become a bigger risk taker over time.
For me, entrepreneurship is risk-taking. You cannot build something from nothing, grow into new spaces, or create opportunities that don’t currently exist without taking risks. If fear is leading your decisions, it becomes very difficult to grow. One thing I’ve learned over the years is that almost every successful person I admire has failed far more times than they’ve succeeded. The difference is that they kept going.
I’ve always been someone who asks, “But what if it works?” While many people focus on what could go wrong, I’ve learned to become equally curious about what could go right. What if the opportunity works out? What if the idea succeeds? What if the risk changes your life?
That mindset has shaped both my business and my personal life.
Some of my biggest risks have been saying yes to opportunities before I felt fully prepared. I’ve taken on cake designs I’d never created before, taught classes before I felt completely ready, launched new experiences without knowing exactly how they would be received, and accepted invitations to rooms where I felt completely out of my league. But every time I took the leap, I learned something valuable about myself and my capabilities.
One of the greatest lessons entrepreneurship has taught me is that confidence doesn’t always come before action. Sometimes confidence is built because you took the action first.
I also believe entrepreneurship requires an incredible amount of faith. Running a business means making decisions before you have all the answers, investing in opportunities before you know the outcome, and continuing to move forward even when the path isn’t completely clear. There have been many moments over the last ten years when I didn’t know exactly how things would work out, but I knew I had to keep taking the next step.
For me, risk-taking and faith go hand in hand. Every major decision I’ve made in my business has required both. I don’t think you can build something meaningful without believing in something bigger than yourself. Faith is often what carries you on the days when the numbers don’t make sense, when the outcome feels uncertain, or when the vision hasn’t fully materialized yet.
Some of the biggest opportunities in my life have come from taking a step before I could see the entire staircase. Looking back, those moments taught me that faith isn’t about having guarantees—it’s about trusting God enough to keep moving forward anyway.
Risk-taking has also required me to overcome fear, self-doubt, and the stories I told myself about what I was capable of. For a long time, those internal obstacles were bigger than any business challenge. As I’ve grown, I’ve learned that courage isn’t the absence of fear—it’s moving forward anyway.
Even today, many of the opportunities I’m pursuing require me to stretch beyond my comfort zone. Whether it’s teaching, expanding into luxury hospitality experiences, creating large-scale events, or stepping into leadership roles, every new level requires a new level of trust in myself and in God’s plan for my life.
One of my favorite examples is that I went skydiving for my 26th birthday. While it was an incredible experience, it also became a metaphor for how I approach life. Once you’ve jumped out of an airplane, you realize you’re capable of more than you think. That experience reminded me that growth usually lives on the other side of fear.
Looking back, some of the best things that have happened in my life and business came from moments when I took a chance on myself. Because at the end of the day, you never know what’s possible if you don’t take the leap.
Pricing:
- Custom Celebration Cakes: Starting at $125+
- Signature Cake Decorating Experiences & Public Classes: Starting at $99 per guest
- Private Cake Decorating Experiences: Starting at $850+
- Curated Dessert Experiences: Starting at $1,500+
- Luxury Dessert Activations & Experiential Hospitality Installations: Starting at $4,500+
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sweetcakesbyray.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweetcakesbyray?igsh=MTVjdG41ZzBsOHNoNw==
