“I started [Sprinkled By Audrey] because I really like baking. [Originally], I would bake for my friends’ birthday parties, [but that evolved when] my friend’s parents [encouraged me to start selling my baked goods because] they told me they would buy them from me,” sophomore Audrey Markovich said.

Sprinkled By Audrey, Audrey’s independent baking company, began in the spring of 2020, when she had more free time to bake and develop her skills. Audrey primarily runs her business through social media, selling cakes and cupcakes for birthday parties and other events. Sophomore Ginger Howard is a frequent customer of Sprinkled By Audrey and supports buying home-baked goods instead of grocery store items. 

“I like that Audrey does everything herself. She puts a ton of effort and time into everything that she bakes. It’s very respectable because she spends so much time making all of her baked goods,” Howard said. “It’s good to know that her [products] are 100 percent from her kitchen. It tastes so much better than any store.”

In addition to quality, Audrey is known and praised for numerous complex designs on her confectionery.

“I’m really proud of my first two-tiered cake for a girl’s sweet sixteen party. I also made three to four dozen cupcakes to go with that. I think the cakes I make are pretty accomplishing,” Audrey said.

Much of Audrey’s success and determination has come from her mother, Jenny Markovich. She has supported Audrey’s business and assisted her growth as a baker. 

“I love that she gets to be creative. She’s always been a really creative child. She used to draw, color and paint a lot. She wasn’t doing that as much in middle school and high school. [Baking] is a neat way for her to express her creative side,” Jenny said. “I’ve always admired that she had that. It’s great for her to learn how a small business operates, to communicate with customers,

 meet their timelines and make sure she can manage her time well.” 

Audrey uses her communication and planning skills when she receives an order through text or Instagram DM to her account, sprinkledbyaudrey. She discusses details with her client and completes her orders over the weekend to fit baking into her busy schedule.

“I get orders maybe once or twice a week, but sometimes I get no orders. When I don’t have any orders I bake for an organization called Cakes for Kids through [the National Charity League], and I post everything I bake for them as well just to grow my account. It started as making cakes for kids who have never had a birthd

ay cake in their life, but then the organization grew into making baked goods for the Ritter House and old people’s homes,” Audrey said.

Audrey looks forward to growing her baking career and continuing to sell baked goods to the community. 

“I think I will keep going with my Instagram throughout high school and hopefully expand more. In college, I probably won’t be baking for it as much, but I think that having my own business in the future would be cool,” Audrey said.