From the depths of her kitchen she rises to the top. Laura Andert, baker, decorator and owner of Laulie Cakes.

Laulie Cakes is a business that Laura started years ago in her very own Kitchen. She was a stay at home mom who ran across a simple dilemma: no bakery that she went to was able to bake the cake that she had envisioned for her daughter’s birthday. That was when she first picked up her spatula and began baking. That was when Laulie Cakes was born.

“I was a little scared. It was really exciting when the store opened,” Laura said. “You kind of feel like you’re crossing the finish line.”

With only a few decorating classes behind her, Laura’s business began to boom, though she had no formal training in culinary arts. She feels that by not having any experience except for her few classes, she has a creative advantage over other bakers.

“I think that culinary school teaches you to think inside the box,” Laura said. “When you don’t have that training it helps you to be able to think outside the box. Your brain has more free- dom as opposed to learning by the rules.”

Laura didn’t need a degree, she had talent and love for the game. Even though she was new to this sugar coated world, her instructor knew that there was something inside her that would drive her to the top.

“She was very talented. I run my own business and I knew if I could do it, she could do it,” Kym Grannemann, her instructor, and co-worker said.

Talent couldn’t take her all the way. Her dream became a reality after months of planning. Laulie Cakes opened in September 2011. Laura still faces challenges every day. She often finds maintaining the balance between her work and her family to be one of the more difficult aspects of owning her own business.

“The main struggle is between work and home,” Laura said. “It’s a challenge that turned into a passion.”