We had the good fortune of connecting with Lana James Lee and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lana James, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Baking has always been a part of growing up. When I stopped taking art classes as a child, baking became my creative outlet. I would experiment with new flavors and techniques. For example, how to make cakes more moist and how to stack the layers correctly so the weight is evenly distributed and the cake is leveled. I enjoyed researching trending designs, color combinations, and decorating techniques for flowers made of buttercream. Online videos have made it easy to learn from others who are on the same journey.

It started as a hobby — baking for family and friends. When I started receiving requests for specific cookie and cake designs, I thought, “why not?”. Celebration cookies and cakes bring me a lot of joy because I’m creating something special for someone on special occasions.

A couple of years ago, I learned about Cake4Kids, a non-profit that works with volunteers to bake cakes for underserved youth in San Diego. I make it a goal to donate a cake once a month.

As far as the process of starting a business itself, there are many tools online that help you maneuver through forming LLCs and understanding the licensing process for cottage bakeries. What started as a hobby has turned into a fun little business, and I’m glad I did it. It sounded scary at first, but there are a lot of helpful people as long as you’re willing to do the research, do the work, and ask questions.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My Itty Bitty Bakery is an approved and registered licensed food bakery based in San Diego, CA. We specialize in custom-decorated royal icing cookies and celebration cakes.

What sets us apart from others is that I believe in one simple philosophy when it comes to baked goods: high-quality ingredients make high-quality confections. We specialize in classic flavors like chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and lemon and make it the best version you have ever tasted. Our baked goods are 100% hand-made, has been tested and refined to bring you delicious AND beautiful products you’ll love. We treat each order as if we’re baking it for our family.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
There are two favorite places on my list, the Comic-Con museum in Balboa Park and Stella Jeans Ice Cream in North Park.

I visited the Comic-Con museum for the first time a couple years ago, and I absolutely loved it! I’m a big comics and superhero fan, and every single exhibit was so cool. They had displays on every from Marvel characters to costume sewing.

Another favorite is Stella Jean‘s Ice Cream which is a Filipino owned ice cream shop that rotates through seasonal flavors inspired by popular Filipino flavors. My personal favorite is the Ube Pandesal flavor.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I thank my family and friends for always showing their support. They were the happy guinea pigs when I was experimenting with flavors!

Website: https://myittybittybakery.com

Instagram: @my.itty.bitty.bakery

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/my-itty-bitty-bakery-san-diego-3?uid=Gxne-3bz1bV5INFhnC_i_A&utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)

Image Credits
Photos by Lana James Lee

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