Sugar Rush
Years ago, when Goldee Salcedo resigned from her full-time job, she took her next big step. She heeded her passion and enrolled at the Heny Sison school of Culinary Arts where she learned and honed her skills in baking. And while Goldee’s dream is slowly shaping up, Nico Garcia, then a virtual stranger, on the other hand was acting in commercials, and had plans on entering local politics. But their paths crossed and destiny built a bridge that connected the two.

Nico shares, “Goldee and I met in church so I’d like to think that the Lord really brought us together. Her sister, who serves in the same mass as I do in St. Alphonsus de Liguouri Parish in Magallanes, introduced her to me.”

But it’s not “love at first sight”. Goldee reckons, "It took a while for our love to blossom. We were friends for a good amount of time before we got together." 

 

  

 

Years after they first met, Nico and Goldee remain sweet with the way they treat each other, and the way they bond through the one of the few things they have in common—love for desserts. “We both have a sweet tooth,” Nico says. “Our comfort, go-to desserts are Sonja’s Choco Cream Pie, DQ’s dilly bar and our favorite blizzard combination, KitKat and Oreo, because we just can’t have one or the other.” 

 

The duo’s shared delight over desserts soon inspired the creation of their very own saccharine haven, Sweet Sally Desserts, a home-based cakes and desserts business.

Today, Nico and Goldee keep a steady list of patrons, through word of mouth and even through their online store (www.sweetsallydesserts.multiply.com). Sweet Sally (named after Goldee’s grandmother) has already churned out favorites and bestsellers like the sinful Triple Chocolate Cheesecake and their yummy Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake among the many other cheesecakes, cookies, cakes, pies and tarts available.

 

  

 

Business with Pleasure
When Goldee started “testing” her creations on family and friends when she was still in culinary school, she was surprised and elated about the good feedback. “The more people told me that they liked my products, the more courage I had to make a business out of it so I started taking orders.” Goldee shared.

She has always loved baking. She used to bake chocolate cake and brownies with her mom as early as grade school. “And I brought them to family events where my mom would try to get family members to order from me. But it wasn’t until Nico came in as a partner that I made the Sweet Sally Desserts business official.”

Indeed, partnering up with her boyfriend was exciting, yet nerve-shattering for Goldee at first. There were questions about being ready, or being matured enough to handle a business with someone you have strong feelings for. “I just never thought I’d be doing business with a partner but Nico and I have great chemistry and working with him makes work much more fun.” 

As the couple continues to nurture their “baby”, they also learn to be more mature by giving their full commitment to each other and their business. While Goldee did most of the baking, Nico helps out with the large orders and spreading the word out. “I’m in charge of marketing and everything else, we do together.”

Life for the couple, however, isn’t sweet all the time.  “Inevitably there are times when we don’t see eye to eye on things—whether it be our method for producing certain products, our packaging ideas, the sourcing of our materials, our means for marketing our business.” Goldee adds, “And these incidents can really test our tempers and our patience for each other.” Apart from their usual lovers’ quarrel and disagreements, there’s also the challenge of keeping up with the competition. 

 

But instead of letting all these get them down, they actually make the couple more mature and more in love with each other.“You get to see the strengths and weaknesses you have as individuals and as a couple and learn to work around it, which is good for both your business and personal relationships,” she says. Nico adds, “We are more patient, tolerant and accepting of each other.”

 

 

 

Sweet Success
During the early days of their business and romance, the couple envisioned a small-scale business that delivers quality and A-list desserts. And they wanted to test their products and the market before committing to something bigger. Both enjoyed not having to invest too much. And both loved working from home. 

However, as time passes by, Nico and Goldee cannot ignore the itch to someday make it big. They hope to open a Sweet Sally Desserts store in the near future. And along with their growing business is their deepening respect for each other and their relationship. They are hoping to get married soon. “We already have ideas for our wedding cake. We love the creations of Chef Duff and Charm City Cakes so it’ll definitely be very ‘Ace of Cakes’!”

In the end, Nico and Goldee’s success story truly proves that business and romance can mix because, as Nico says it best, “it’s always nice to work with someone you love.”

 

Check out their sweet treats at http://sweetsallydesserts.multiply.com/ .

 

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