Destina Solis, a senior at SHS, has been growing her business, Destina’s Sweet Treats, over the course of four years. Her homemade baked goods have been extremely popular with students at Selma High. Students loved her treats so much that she decided to dedicate more time to baking and turn her passion into an official business.

“I’ve enjoyed it [baking] since a young age,” stated Solis. “In second grade I started to bake and grew a love for it.”

She had a cake pop stand at her school carnival when she was in fourth grade, so selling sweets is no new frontier for Solis. Her love for baking is seen through the quality of her products, the thoughtful presentation, and her desire to provide the best for her customers. Over the years, she has created a reliable reputation of providing goods that her customers know will exceed the basic bakery items found at the store. 

Owning a business while simultaneously being a student comes with a lot of pressure and stress. She has to balance homework, varsity cheer, and her business, which has taught her time-management skills.

“Handling my business and school is hard,” expressed Solis. “I often get overwhelmed with the responsibilities I have, however, I wouldn’t trade it for anything because my business is something I’m very passionate about.”

Being a young entrepreneur is challenging, as you have more responsibilities and have to learn certain skills that many people don’t acquire until later in life. It teaches valuable lessons and brings many rewards.

“One thing it has taught me is managing my time and money,” shared Solis. “Also, not everyone is going to like what you do, but you just have to keep going and don’t let anyone stop or discourage you from reaching your goals.”

Her love for baking has maintained her business, but the pandemic is what propelled it to what it is today. She explained that when Covid-19 first hit, she was able to invest more time, thought, and effort into her business. Amidst difficult circumstances, Solis was able to make something good out of it by taking advantage of extra time to cultivate and grow her business.

Looking to the future, she plans to use her business to pay for college.

“With my passion to pursue nursing, I hope to continue to put time and effort into my business in order to pay for school and get my life started,” she stated. “However, in four years anything can happen, and I put it all in God’s hands.”

As of now, she is still putting her hard work and effort into Destina’s Sweet Treats where she has weekly flash sales that you can find on her Instagram page (@destinas_sweettreats).

“I also do big orders like weddings, Quinceaneras, birthday parties, and much more,” shared Solis. “Feel free to check out my page for more information and to check out my amazing work!”