Sweet Moments, Baked Fresh: Savor the Moment
What are the small things in life that make you smile every time you think about them? Is it the first sip of a fresh cup of coffee in the early morning? An affectionate pet falling asleep on your lap? Or perhaps it is a warm embrace from someone who loves you?
For Tanya Dickens, taking the time to slow down and savor the little moments of life is important. Despite her busy lifestyle of owning a business, raising five children, and being active in her community, she finds the time to slow down and appreciate the little joys in life. That's the thought that inspired the name behind her family-owned bakery, Savor the Moment.
However, Tanya’s story begins in Florida where she opened her first business, a hair salon, when she was only 23 years old. When she was 25, she moved to North Carolina to work for an international company. Despite this being a great job opportunity that allowed her to make connections around the globe, her mind was always thinking about her passion for being an entrepreneur and owning her own business.
One day while she was on vacation, Tanya received a phone call that would kickstart her next business venture. One of her clients from the salon, who happened to own a bakery, was retiring and offered to sell Tanya the business. Tanya had previously enjoyed baking and selling her own cakes from her home, so the decision felt clear.
“Everybody in my family was just so excited about it, and it was one of those situations where it was almost too good to just pass by; it was turnkey” Tanya explained, “She was leaving all the inventory. She used to teach decorating classes, so she had an extensive number of tools.”
Thanks to the encouragement of her husband James, the support from her mother Sibyl, and the youthful energy from her five adopted children, in 2017 Tanya opened the first location of Savor the Moment Bakery in Greensboro, N.C. At first, Tanya and her family focused on wedding cakes and birthday cakes, working 12-hour days, and sometimes staying at the shop until 2 A.M. Even though Savor the Moment began with an event space that would host bridal showers and birthday celebrations, the business shortly had to adapt to a new model when the COVID-19 pandemic began.
“The great thing about having experience of being an entrepreneur for so long is learning how to pivot,” explains Tanya. “Because of the pandemic, the only things that were open were restaurants. And the only thing people could do for pleasure was eat.”
With new safety regulations in place that discouraged large gatherings and other safety precautions to reduce the spread of the virus, Tanya stopped receiving orders for large-scale events. Another challenge that came with the pandemic was supply chain issues and the rising cost of ingredients and packaging items. Knowing that people had a limited disposable income, Savor the Moment created promotions and specials to give as many people as possible the opportunity to indulge in a sweet treat.
“One thing that COVID also taught us is you must have multiple streams of income,” says Tanya. “You can't just focus on people walking in.”
Tanya and her mother decided to focus their attention on creating individual servings and portions that were more cost-effective and began experimenting with various recipes. They took inspiration both from the traditional cheesecake and the strawberry crunch cake. After 6 months of adjusting and testing different flavors, the signature Crunch Cheesecake was born. It is such a unique product that Tanya says that it’s a hard concept to explain to people. They have to taste it to understand.
“It was timing and that new product that really kind of propelled us to a larger audience,” Tanya said. “We had to figure out how to do curbside. We had never done curbside before. Then we added the chocolate crunch cheesecake. Now we have 16 signature flavors.”
Tanya’s goal has always been to turn Savor the Moment into a franchise. As a High Point native for the last 10 years, she’s been hoping to start that franchise dream in her adopted hometown. When the opportunity to open a second location in High Point arose, she eagerly moved forward with her vision.
Today, Savor the Moment’s High Point bakery offers its 16 signature Crunch Cheesecake flavors, as well as a build-your-own cheesecake bar, where patrons can select their own crunch toppings, drizzle, and more. Their catering division makes these cheesecakes portable and bite-size, making them the perfect addition to your next event. Between the two locations, Tanya now has a staff of 15 employees and is now able to spend more time with her family.
Her entrepreneurial skills and dedication to hard work are useful both in business and while home-schooling her five adopted children. Even though all her children have different interests and passions, she is happy knowing that she has instilled that confidence in them to go out there and start a business of their own.
“We started homeschooling our kids in 2009,” she recalls. “Entrepreneurship was always central because I had been an entrepreneur since I was in middle school. And what entrepreneurship gave me as a young person was a lot of self-confidence and the ability to know that I can pave my own way.”
Tanya and James’s oldest daughter, Jasmine, is currently a student at NC State, where she is studying design and entrepreneurship. She used her creativity to help paint a mural outside the downtown Greensboro store. Their oldest son, Austin, bakes the cheesecakes baking around 800 slices a week. He trains staff and helps Tanya’s mother run the bakery all while studying and doing a dual enrollment program. Yet he still finds time to help at the bakery three days a week. Rebecca, their second daughter, is also in a dual enrollment program and will be taking college classes next Fall. She was also able to successfully apply for a Historically Underutilized Business certification as well as make Savor the Moment a certified vendor of Guilford County Schools.
Their daughter, Nicole helps around in the High Point location, sometimes even helping open the store. She also has her own business, Candy Coated Creations, where she does treats that they sell at the bakery. Even the Dickens’ youngest son, Kashad, who is 13 can be found helping Tanya’s mother with the bakery’s duties. At a young age, he knows the recipes for most of the bakery’s treats, and his entrepreneurial spirit is already forming as he is beginning to show an interest in making jewelry for men and teens.
Every one of her children has a different focus, but it is this sense of individuality and entrepreneurship that resulted thanks to the close bond the family has with each other and their home environment.
“And that's the beauty of homeschooling,” Tanya says. “I was able to identify what their interests were and kind of gear them to that.”
Seeing the importance of cultivating a sense of empowerment in her kids, Tanya and Rebecca will be hosting a summit this summer, “Kid-prenuership” to inspire both adults and children to discover what they’re passionate about and become the entrepreneurs of tomorrow. The 2-day event will consist of a variety of workshops and will allow vendors to showcase their items and goods. The summit will allow attendees to make connections with other like-minded individuals and learn how to scale their own businesses.
“One of my passions is working with other entrepreneurs,” Tanya says. “I'm very intentional about building relationships. Last year I created a program called The Business Breakfast Club. I wanted to bring different entrepreneurs together.” Through this program, Tanya has been able to connect and network with other local business owners and entrepreneurs in the Triad where they meet quarterly to share ideas and plan collaborative events.
“The biggest thing for me is having a support system,” Tanya says. “I think we create those relationships wherever we are in life, to have that community and feel like a sense of belonging and support.”
Tanya also hopes to instill the value of community service in her family. Ten years ago, her family began volunteering with the Bountiful Harvest Community Garden at West End Ministries, a grassroots nonprofit organization that provides various outreach programs in the greater High Point area. Despite her busy schedule, Tanya is currently the treasurer for West End Ministries. It is no surprise that this past year, Tanya was honored with the title Woman of the Year at the Inspire: Celebrating Women's Leadership Awards Luncheon for her passionate leadership and commitment to the Guilford County community. She has recently been invited to serve on the Board of Trustees for the Children's Home Society of North Carolina, an organization that connects children in the foster care system with caring families and homes.
“We have over 900 kids that are in foster care. And we also have 25% fewer foster homes to put them in. As a human being, I'm concerned about that. As a foster and adoptive mom, I'm concerned about that” she says. “I don't think that we're created just for our household or just for our kids. I think it's a much bigger assignment of like, what can you do for the greater good of the community that you live in?”
So the next time you find yourself spending quality time with your loved ones, volunteering with an organization you love, or simply taking the last bite of a delicious crunch cheesecake, remember to take a mental photograph and, just like the Dickens family does, remember to savor the moment in front of you
“Entrepreneurship was always central because I had been an entrepreneur since I was in middle school. And what entrepreneurship gave me as a young person was a lot of self-confidence and the ability to know that I can pave my own way.”
Tanya Dickens, owner of Savor the Moment.
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