Netflix ‘Is it Cake’ contestant Justin Ellen is making the 6-digit mark in business

When Justin Ellen received a “random” instant message on Instagram and asked if he would like to be a part of a Netflix show called “Is It Cake?” – he thought it was “very sketchy”.

It was only when they said there was an interview that he realized, “OK, it’s legal,” said the youngest participant in the popular baking show.

After a Zoom interview and a month of waiting, Ellen – who was 18 at the time – was selected to attend.

It was very overwhelming, he admitted.

“Because I was super young … and I realized I had to fly and stay in a hotel alone. The filming lasted a whole month. I’ve never been away from my family for that long,” he told CNBC Make It.

Ellen even had to skip her high school diploma over the recording of the show.

“Is it cake?” is a baking contest where cake artists make edible copies of everyday items – such as sneakers and handbags.

At first glance, the 19-year-old did not seem to have as much experience as the other participants. The young baker first started creating hyperrealistic cakes two years ago. One of his opponents started baking even before Ellen was born.

But before he appeared on Netflix, he already ran his own successful cake business, Everything Just Baked.

“Last year, we made $ 100,000 in sales,” said Ellen, who is from New Jersey.

“With [the] Netflix [show] When I get out, I’ve got a lot more queries… my calendar is flooded. I’m super grateful for that. “

Ellen learned to bake from her mother and grandmother when he was only 7 years old. They used to bake together on holidays like Thanksgiving.

From bread to pies and cookies, they baked everything – but oddly enough, “never cakes.”

But he grew rapidly from being an assistant, and when he was 14, he went down the rabbit hole with cake tutorial videos on YouTube and was inspired to start his own creations.

“I’ve just seen videos of others doing it, YouTube is a great thing. You just have to really practice and take the time to learn,” he told CNBC Make It.

“I’ve failed many times … I think it’s such an easy cake, and then everything goes wrong.”

Still, Ellen was not deterred. He was in high school when he started immersing himself in baking – which was “definitely hard” because he didn’t have much free time on his hands. He remembers participating in a baking competition and coming to school at 5 in the morning to practice.

“I was super busy. [But] if you are truly determined, you will find the time, Ellen said.

The biggest challenge Ellen faced as a young entrepreneur was knowing her worth – he priced his cakes as if he were trading with his own purse.

“Back then, I did not realize how valuable my art is. I asked my mother, and my mother is like me, she’s cheap. Like, ‘I do not get a $ 100 cake.’ But today, people easily pay for it. «.

When he first started, he sold a six-inch cake for $ 60, but now it is “easily $ 150 for the same size.”

From January this year, he started earning up to $ 12,000 a month after running his business full time.

“I realized that people buy designer purses for thousands of dollars. You have to make your customers understand the value of your brand and what you give them because the cake tastes great and [I] use high quality ingredients. “

Although the prices of his cakes have more than doubled in price over the years, that has not deterred him from building a “very profitable business.”

“Art is super valuable and people will pay for it. Honestly, my price goes up a little bit every day … depending on my mood,” he said.

And if a customer asks why his cakes cost so much? “I just want to be honest and say, every day I develop in my skills so the price has to go up. You pay for someone’s expertise … it took me 5 years to learn how to do it.”

Dreaming big has definitely paid off for Ellen. What he had imagined came true – he now sells cake mixes and baking tools online. Occasionally he holds classes also for aspiring bakers.

Ellen added that he accepts about 6 orders a week and they are “bigger orders now.” On a typical day, he would get up at. 8.00 and work on his orders in his home kitchen on his own.

“Honestly, most of my clients do not choose hyperrealistic cakes, they are more like wedding cakes.”

His parents are now “definitely convinced” that he has made the right decision to pursue baking as a career – in fact, Ellen, who started as an assistant in the kitchen, is now the boss.

“My mother works for me now,” he said happily. “She helps me a lot with the backend stuff … like deliveries.”

Although he wonders what he has been able to accomplish as a mere 19-year-old, the young entrepreneur is not done dreaming.

“Non-stop, I think about my business and new ways of lifting it. I want a contract-based studio … but my ultimate goal is to be like Wilton, the cake decorating company.”

Headquartered in Illinois, Wilton produces a wide variety of baked goods, decorations, baking tools and ingredients that are popular with bakers.

“My goal is to be just like that … [Everything Just Baked] is minority-owned, black-owned, and I think we need representation, because there are like no major minority brands in the bakery community. “