We recently had the chance to connect with Shakira Upshaw and have shared our conversation below.
Shakira, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What battle are you avoiding?
As life gets challenging, we all battle the things that once made us feel whole and satisfied. For me, it has been the battle of not walking away from my passion. With so many things happening, its easy to get away and hard to reel it back in to the way it used to be. Its difficult at times to find the purpose or the spark again but its worth the fight when its a God given gift.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Shakira. I am the proud mom of 5 amazing children. I am the owner of T2S Creations. I am a luxury cake designer that specializes in custom cakes, cupcakes and cookies. I am a self taught baker that began my business in 2019 after simply not being able to afford a custom cake for my oldest daughter who was turning 8 at the time. I was determined to make it happen for her and that I did! I have always had a love for baking and with the encouragement of my support system, decided to take the leap. Looking back now as a more experienced baker, that cake was a mess but it was the start to something way more than I could imagine at the time. I remember sitting with my mom as a teenager watching baking shows on Food Network and imagining being able to do those things. And now living that reality is definitely a surreal moment. Over the last 6 years, I have done so many different events and tried my hand at so many things. But I can truly say with trial and error and success, I have found my niche!
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
My great grandmother would always tell me whatever I touched turned to gold. No matter what I did or was involved in, her words never changed. She would not only say it to me but anyone that would listen and those words have will stick with me forever.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
To remain humble, patient and resilient. Success can only come after you have had failures, losses and/or setbacks, both personally and professionally. You can be meeting goals and everything going the way you desired one moment and the next moment everything can be falling apart and you don’t know how to stop it. You have to be able to withstand when it looks impossible and trust that God will carry you through if it is in His will. Over time, I have learned to celebrate every moment. We get away from celebrating small moments of success because we are so focused on the big goals. I may not be at the target sales I desire to be at after 6 years in business but im still in business after 6 years. A win is still a win!
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
I would have to say yes and no. I have endure a lot privately the last few years and it has caused me to shield most of the world from seeing how those things have truly impacted me, both personally and professionally. But who I am to my core will never change. You will pretty much get the same consistency from me. I show up and I make my presence count as much as I possibly can. As I continue to heal, my desire is that the real me will show up more and more every day.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What will you regret not doing?
Seeing myself accomplish all that I possibly can with T2S Creations. The thought of completely walking away has been entertained heavily because life has lifed in the biggest ways. But the idea of not being able to reach my full potential would leave me in a state of regret that woukd take a long time for me to fully forgive myself for. So quiting is not an option and I look forward to the next phase in my journey!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.t2screations.com
- Instagram: t2screations
Image Credits
Personal photo – Trale Williams
Business photos – Shakira Upshaw
