September 2021

Creative
Meet four mothers who turned
their crafty ideas into a business
Mothers have a way of turning lemons into lemonade!
These savvy mamas took the losses brought on by the pandemic
and made something fabulous by starting businesses. by Jennie Blevins
Teresa Maciel
Teresa Maciel’s business is “The Sweet
Flow.” She gave birth to her son, Isaiah,
in 2018 and was a stay-at-home mom
for about a year before getting a job in
data entry. After starting the job on a
Monday, everything shut down for the
pandemic, so she was out of work by
that Friday. She had to develop a way
to make ends meet, so she started her
business.
Maciel sells cupcakes and
cakesicles, as well as cinnamon rolls
and Mexican sweet bread. Her love
of baking began years ago when she
baked for her family. She says she
still has a long way to improve her
business and plans to take classes.
Maciel also loves art, which helps with
baking the desserts because people
“eat with their eyes first.”
Maciel had to bake late at night
when she began the business. Now
that Isaiah has started daycare, she is
free to bake during the day.
Sometimes Isaiah bakes with her.
“It’s really sweet,” she said. “I’ll give him
a little bowl of flour, and he will play
around with it. He’ll grab my rolling
pin. He’ll come up and ask me if the
goods are for the customer.”
Maciel’s boyfriend helps her out a
lot. “There’s a lot of behind-the-scenes
stuff that he’ll do. He’ll make sure I’m
keeping in contact with people and
meeting deadlines, and if I’m busy and
Isaiah needs attention, he will give it to
him. It gives me a lot of time to focus
on what I’m doing. I could not do it
without him.”
Inspiration for the baked goods
comes to Maciel from a variety of
sources. From a purse she saw at
Kohl’s that inspired a painted cakesicle
design to Instagram–she sometimes
takes one element and turns it into
something else. It’s a journey, she says.
She also participates in pop-up events.
Maciel has received a lot of
support from others who have small
businesses as well. “Everyone you
meet is in the same boat and has been
where you’ve been and are willing
to help each other out and give each
other support or advice,” she said. “It’s
humbling and heartwarming to see
people come together. I’ve met a lot
of great people doing this. I’ve been
blessed to get into the community.”
“We learned how to build web
pages and make ads. Over time
we became a close-knit village,
helping each other through this
shelter in place and building
lasting friendships.”
Belinda Godwin
Belinda Godwin, the owner of Cakepop
Cutiez LLC, started her business in
June 2020 in honor of her daughter’s
birthday. Belinda has five children and
is a full-time behavior analyst studying
for her Ph.D. She makes cake pops,
chocolate-covered Oreos, chocolatecovered
marshmallow pops, cake
balls, and hot cocoa bombs. Her
daughters Rain, 9, and Loki, 7, inspired
the business and Zoey, Godwin’s fouryear-old,
also comes up with ideas for
the goodies.
Her daughters contribute to the
business. “They give suggestions or
draw things out and then ask, ‘can you
make this”? Godwin said. Her husband
delivers the goodies, so the whole
family is involved.
Godwin has taken classes and
plans to take more to improve her
business. She is constantly learning
new things and coming up with
designs for special events such as
Easter.
Godwin sells her wares at fairs and
farmers’ markets and also caters events
such as baby showers. “It’s really fun,”
she said. “I love to create new things. If
someone has an idea to shoot by us, I
will happily learn how to do something
for an event.”
28 montereybayparent.com MONTEREY BAY PARENT • september 2021