Meet Hannah Hoenig | Owner of Sweet Celebrations by Hannah

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hannah Hoenig and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hannah, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
In everything I do in life I really try to be as nice and understanding as possible. Along with working in other fields I have always had a second job working in the service industry and there were times that I would get extremely burnt out. Some days I would leave work so angry due to people’s treatment, attitude or poor tips. I had a mental shift one day where I told myself “I have absolutely no clue what is causing this person to act this way. Perhaps they have something terrible going on in their life. Maybe they can’t afford to tip much more at this moment but coming out is helping them feel better on this day” Once I had that shift in my head, everything changed and I felt as though rather than being irritated by them I felt like I played a small part in making their day/ experience better, in return making me happy. I really try and hope I make all my customers feel that way. I believe that’s why I have the sweetest most incredible, returning customers. I don’t want to be a cold company that is cut and dry. I want my customers to feel my sincerity and gratitude. I know it sounds cheesy but I hope that when dealing with me they feel happier and lighter after. The profound affect a little bit of kindness can go is always on my mind. I have even started “Bake it forward” where customers can nominate someone monthly whom they believe is deserving of a little extra kindness and once a month I pick someone to gift a box of cookies to. I like to believe these little actions go a long way.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My name is Hannah and I am the owner of Sweet Celebrations by Hannah. My custom sugar cookie company-like many things- came into existence during Covid times. I am a self taught cookie artist and even though making art on cookies was a completely new concept to me, I have been an artist my whole life. Specifically loved drawing portraits of people. Which has become a novelty in my now business! Adding in portrait cookies came from my love of gifting! I think it is a hysterically special gift to receive. Even though it’s more intricate, they are my favorite orders to receive! My love for hosting, gifting, art, and sharing love for food are all of my character traits that I have so fortunately been able to place into a full time job for myself.
In all honesty the most important factor behind my success and the success of my brand to me would be my community. I would be absolutely nothing without my community whom of which have showed me so much love. It’s humbling. I truly hope that I get it across enough just how grateful and indebted I am to them! I do my best to express that gratitude often in various ways! A lot of my customer base comes from word of mouth. Social media also plays a huge factor and anytime someone likes, reposts, shares my product it does wonders for my company. Therefore not only do I continuously strive to improve by the day I hope I make my customers feel like friends and family! I am lucky enough to witness and go through hand in hand many occasions/milestones with each of my customers over the years. I know my product is considered luxury and not for everyone so I make sure that I am providing exactly what they’re paying for. I also love having holiday pre-sales where I can offer multiple options of all different price ranges for everyone to enjoy! Leaving no one out.

While owning a business is incredible within itself, it is a journey! There have been plenty of times I have wanted to throw in the towel. I’ve even gone as far as looking at other job postings. In those moments Im instantly reminded why I am so fortunate to be doing what I am doing. If I need a break from feeling burnt out, I have the luxury of taking on less. I also have the luxury of doing more of what makes me happy, design wise, or freedom with my schedule. I can make my company whatever I’d like it to be to satisfy myself. And that is incredibly fortunate. Then there are times that if I’m not feeling a particular order I have to remind myself that this order is going to make someone’s day and I have the capability of doing so! That in itself is enough sometimes. Because I know if I were on the other end of the exchange I would be soooo excited for this extra addition in celebrating any occasion!
Another large part of this journey I’ve taken on is learning how to have work/life balance!
When first starting the business ( and up until recently) all I did was grind, and I mean up to 14-16hrs of work a day. It felt like that was the thing to do/ the right of passage in order to build a successful business and there was almost an appeal to it! I was exhausted but felt so satisfied after accomplishing a hard hard week. I definitely did not know the word no yet. You always hear things about how you need to put everything into your passion and that means X amount of hours a day! “Who needs sleep, sleep when you’re retired”. “Beyoncé has the same 24hrs you do” haha-yada yada. That couldn’t be further from the truth! My health severely declined in the first year. My social life severely declined. And again I thought these are all sacrifices that needed to be made. It doesn’t. Sadly however if I were to go back in time and tell myself that, I probably still wouldn’t listen. Years later and I now know just how important balance is and I like to think I’m finally starting to master it.

I am a parent to the most incredible daughter. Im happy she is able to witness my hard work, what I’ve built and sees how I am ever evolving. I hope she now realizes you truly can do absolutely anything if you want it. Never in my life would I have thought that I’d be a baker and have my own cookie company. Especially when I’ve never decorated a cookie in my life until a month before starting my own business. For me especially that has transformed my outlook on what a person is capable of accomplishing. There is no limit. I hope that my daughter sees that I’ve created an environment for myself that makes me happy. That allows me to live my life how I want. I can only hope she chooses the same for herself in her future!
There are many many talented cookies artists around. I do not feel as though we’re in competition with each other. We all have something special to offer. I just hope my customers feel as though they’re receiving the “mom and pop shop” experience and are left feeling happier after communicating and working with me! The kind messages I receive from them after the fact make my day completely!! So I guess you can say my gratitude plays a big role in my brand!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
So many incredible spots in this area, it’s hard to narrow down! If my friend were to come visit we would absolutely take a stroll down the beach and head into the village to grab some coffee or matcha at Revolution roasters! For some drinks later on, there is no way we would skip going to Hennesseys Tavern, where they have all the best regulars and entertaining bartenders! If we were craving an espresso martini or insanely delicious Thai food, Same Same is where we would be headed next. I always force my friends to workout with me. We would definitely stop into 10th Planet and take one of AJ Matthews classes! Then we would probably get dolled up and go to Coco cabana rooftop bar! The sunset market in Oceanside on Thursdays is an experience I think everyone should have atleast once! Torrey pines can not be forgotten either!

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’d love to give a ginormous shout out to my husband and daughter who believed in me every single step of the way and have been patient with me on the long nights and busy weeks! I love you! Also to my incredible customers. I would be no where without you! Thank you for your continuous support and kindness!

Website: https://Sweetcelebrationsbyhannah.com

Instagram: Sweetcelebrations_byhannah

Other: Tik tok-@sweetcelebrationsbyhannah

Image Credits
Megan Ballard