Family Recipe & Entrepreneur Program Help Baker Bounce Back after Lay Off @NJShorePatch

Seannee Harris combined a cherished family recipe with education to launch dessert business.

Dees Cakes at Dessert WarsSeannee Harris comes from a traditional family that places a high value on education, but when she was laid off from her auditing job at Merrill Lynch in 2008, she capitalized on a third generation family cheesecake recipe and took classes through the New Jersey Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to launch Dees Cakes in Freehold.

Although she’s only been in business for a year, Harris’s cheesecake was a judge favorite at the Dessert Wars competition at Branches Catering in West Long Branch May 24.

“We didn’t take the title, but we felt like such winners that day. It was an overwhelming positive response,” said Harris.

Entering Dessert Wars was part of a business plan that includes pursuing wholesale business first.

“The whole point of wholesale business first is for me to build capital behind the scenes until I can open my own retail store,” said Harris. …

To read more about this entrepreneur’s intelligent approach, go to Manasquan Patch.

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