Justin Ellen found himself at a difficult crossroad when he was 17 — should he pursue his passion for baking full-time, or go to college to further his education?
At that time, the youngest contestant of Netflix’s popular baking show was making custom cakes from home as a side-hustle, while also juggling with school.
He was bringing home at least $5,000 a month, but he couldn’t help but compare himself to his peers.
“The thing that got me down was like, I was seeing all my friends [apply for colleges].”
Nonetheless, the young celebrity baker stuck to his guns, believing that “everyone has their own path.”
Just two years later, the full-time entrepreneur and owner of cake business, Everything Just Baked, is earning more than $100,000 a year — and he’s not turning back.
In March this year, he made his debut on Netflix’s “Is It Cake?” — a baking contest where cake artists create edible replicas of everyday objects, such as bowling pins and sewing machines.
The show, which premiered on the streaming service on March 18, was in the Top 10 most-watched list in the U.S. for four weeks. It also raked in more than 100 million hours of views from around the world.
But the path of success is not without failures, Ellen tells CNBC Make It. Sheer hard work and wise words from loved ones also helped prod him along.
‘Who made this cake?’
As a digital native, Ellen knew from the start that having a social media presence would be crucial in building his business. But it took a lot of practice — and courage — to make himself known.
“In the beginning, my social media wasn’t great … not great photos, they were very blurry. But as I kept on progressing, I realized they have to be super clean.”
Ellen also saw that Instagram was “really pushing” video content on the platform and that’s when he decided to turn the camera on himself, sharing snippets of his life as a young baker.
“I was definitely shy in the beginning because it was just awkward for me … but the more you do it, it’s like, oh well and honestly no one cares if your hair’s a little frizzy today,” he shared.
“Honestly, it makes you more relatable. People want to know the person behind the brand and if they enjoy you, they’re gonna want to spend money with you.”
Even so, Ellen said that posting on social media was something he “didn’t take seriously” at the start.
“I was just posting for fun. Eventually, [through] word of mouth … people kept asking ‘Can I order a cake?’”
Ellen also slowly built his following and clientele by baking whenever he had the chance, even if it was for family events.
“It doesn’t even have to be a huge cake … just make something small because you don’t know who’s going to be there. Someone’s going to eat it and ask, ‘Who made this cake?’”
Before he knew it, he had over 50,000 followers on Instagram and was earning about $5,000 to $9,000 a month in high school.
“I realized, wow, this could be a serious business.”
