“I just like dessert!” said Cassandra Williams when asked what motivated her to start her own bakery, Love by the Slice, over 23 years ago. “Looking at it, making it…that’s something I could do for a lifetime.”

A self-described visionary, Cassandra learned early in life that going into business for herself was her best option. With a talent to notice details and trends other people may not, Cassandra created Love by the Slice in 2002 with the intention of using her business to impact her community and its future, for the better.

“We want to be known as a business that cares,” said Cassandra. “We care about what we’re leaving behind for the next generation.”

Born and raised in the Hilltop of Tacoma, WA, Cassandra went from running her business out of shared and commissary kitchens to her own physical location in the same area she grew up in. From acting as a mentor to her employees to offering free coffee and pastries to the homeless population/those in need who walk through the bakery’s doors, Cassandra said she wants everyone who interacts with her business to know somebody cares about them.

“We give them what we have,” she said. “[We want to be] a safe space where they can come free of judgment and know there are people in the community that care.”

But like many small businesses, the journey was not without its share of blood, sweat, and tears, said Cassandra. One of the most notable examples was the work and bootstrapping it took to find a permanent location for Love by the Slice as its operations and customer base continued to grow.

The other example was keeping the location once they got it… in 2019, six months right before the past Washington State Governor Jay Inslee issued a mandatory closure of nonessential businesses to combat the COVID-19 Pandemic.

“The only way to solve it was to go forward and put in plans to do so,” Cassandra said. “Every time we met something that might take us out of here… we worked to develop solutions that sustain us in the long term.”

So, Cassandra and company got to work.

When Cassandra started her bakery in 2002, having access to her own brick-andmortar location, she adapted by delivering orders to her customers’ doorsteps. Cut to the COVID-19 Pandemic era, Cassandra said she re-adapted by acting once again as a dessert delivery service to help keep operations afloat.

“People were like, ‘Oh, we can still get cupcakes? Delivered to our doorstep?!?” Cassandra said.

“We were bringing the resources that helped them maintain a quality of life they were accustomed to.”

Love by the Slice would go on to provide door-to-door delivery services for the next two years, until the pandemic had subsided and they were able to return to regular operations. Between providing delivery services and relying on years of accumulated reserve funds and savings in cases of emergencies, Cassandra said this is a lesson to small business owners that they need to have a combination of an ability to pivot and backup funds.

“You have to have money and you have to be able to pivot,” she said. “It can be the difference between your business dying or your business staying alive.”

Transitioning to the present day, Love by the Slice has nine permanent staff members and is preparing for its next steps, as it has expanded its customer base to shipping all over the country to California, Georgia, Washington D.C., and New York.

One of these next steps was to create a technical guide/manual that Cassandra could share with wholesale market retailers to better understand the services Love by the Slice provides. Tabor 100 was able to assign Cassandra a consultant, Katrina Simmons (Artistic Resumes & Cover Letters), through its technical assistance program. As a result, Cassandra now has a tangible guide that lets her customers and partners know who they are investing in.

“Something that can tell people about our business is huge,” Cassandra said. “It gives us an exponential reach that helpsyou grow faster, expand faster, helps you secure more business more quickly, which all impacts revenues.”

When asked about the legacy of Love by the Slice, Cassandra emphasized the importance of community care, impact, and supporting the next generation.

“Look back and remember there were people who were less fortunate and find ways to help them reach their destined place,” she said. “I want my sons to know that we care about our community….bringing love and joy and peace.”

For more information on Love by the Slice, please visit www.lovebytheslice.com

For more information on Tabor 100’s technical assistance program, please visit www.tabor100.org