Image description: At a diagonal is a white rectangular plate. On the plate are three sugar cookies, from L to R is an elote with sugar as cheese and red sprinkles as the chile, a pink concha in the shape of a heart and a churro cookie in the shape …

Image courtesy from Juana Rosales, owner of Dulce Bella Sweets

By Rocio Villaseñor

Small businesses have relied more on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic to continue to sell and promote their products. One baker, formerly from Cicero, reached the highlight of her career, baking sugar cookies for Latina-celebrity Eva Longoria and friends, thanks to the power of social media.

“I was so shocked, in complete disbelief. I’m a very emotional person. So, I was crying tears of happiness because I couldn’t believe it,” Juana Rosales, 31, owner and baker of Dulce Bella Sweets, said over the phone about her reaction when she received an email from Longoria’s personal assistant asking to place a Galentine's order for 38 sugar cookie sets.

In the email, Longoria’s personal assistant mentioned to Rosales that Longoria likes to support small businesses. , “I saw [Longoria] in a different light like that was a sweet gesture for her to do,” Rosales said. “It’s a goal I never even knew I had.”

‘Dreamer’ Mentality

Rosales is a DACA recipient who refers to herself as a ‘Dreamer’. She came to Cicero from Guanajuato, Mexico at the age of two or three years-old but recently moved to Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood.

Rosales says she has had an entrepreneurial mindset since childhood. “Growing up Latino your parents were always hustling, finding a way to provide for the family,” she said. “A lot of the reason why I continue to push forward is because of my parents.”

She therefore incorporates her Latino culture into her desserts especially familia and love.

She started baking to relax and make the sweets table for her daughters’ birthday parties. Rosales says she never saw herself as a baker but she started receiving requests to sell her creations. So in 2017, she decided to launch her small business, Dulce Bella Sweets, on Instagram as she continued working her full time job.

Her business is named after her oldest of two daughters, Isabella. She says they are her motivation. “I want to make this into a bigger thing for my daughters in the future.”

Rosales says obtaining her Associate’s as an ultrasound technician is on standstill due to the financial hardship of having to pay everything out-of-pocket. But, she says she still wants to get her degree. With her remaining credits, she hopes to take business classes to help with her business.

Using the Power of Social Media

Screenshot from FIERCE by mitú Instagram repost of Rosales’s cookies

Image courtesy from Juana Rosales, owner of Dulce Bella Sweets

According to Rosales, baking cookies for celebrities has been the highlight of her career. It all started with an Instagram repost by FIERCE by mitú. Rosales explains that from time to time she tags Fiercebymitu on her dessert creations. “I’ll tag them just in hopes they’ll see it or repost it. [Then] a few days later, my Bad Bunny cookie set that I had tagged them on they reposted [it], and other cookies I had made,” Rosales said. “It was like a big surprise. I was completely being a fangirl because I always followed that page.”

Rosales believes the FIERCE by mitú feature and repost of her desserts led to Longoria reaching out to place an order.

“My friend has sent me a picture and she’s like ‘look Eva Longoria liked your picture,’” Rosales said. “I talked to my mom and was like ‘Oh my God mom a celebrity ordered from me!’ My parents have always been very supportive. My mom was proud of me [and said] ‘mi hija la emprendedora.’”

Rosales had a high following before the FIERCE by mitú feature but since this exposure, her following has increased and she has received order requests from the Los Angeles area. She also shared that a lot of her followers were sending sweet messages congratulating her on this great opportunity and success.

Giving Back

Rosales shared that her dream goal since she began Dulce Bella Sweets has been to open a store front with a studio space to have decorating classes and pop-up markets to support and network with other creatives.

When she first started baking, she also wanted to help out the Latino community in whatever way she was able to. Rosales has donated sweets to Mujeres Latinas en Accion’s Baile de las Calaveras and Humboldt Park’s back-to-school backpack drive last summer. “If I can donate a little bit of my time with my treats, and make someone happy, I’m more than willing to do that.”

Rosales has also donated to the Dreamers Unidos Scholarship fundraiser.

Rosales’ message to other small business owners and creatives is to network and “use the tools that are available” like social media. “My little exposure that I got from Fiercebymitu post got me an order from a celebrity, which is still mind-blowing...Do something you enjoy doing no matter what other people think [about your prices.] You have to know how to value your work.”

She also advises other ‘Dreamers’ who want to launch their own business to “find your own way through. If there’s something that you have a passion for, go for it,” and to “stay true to yourself and don’t give up.”

Rosales has her own website, but can be found at dulcebellasweets on Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok. Her business now offers cake pops, sugar cookies, chocolate covered strawberries, Rice Krispy treats, and decorating kits that include blank sugar cookies, icing and sprinkles. She also does pop-up events but will wait for “things to get a little bit better” before the next one.

Rocio Villaseñor is a freelance journalist. Follow Rocio on twitter here.