via Flickr
Sisters Nikki Howard and Jaqi Wright had to find a way to pay the bills when they were on furlough during the 2019 government shutdown. So they started baking cheesecakes, turning it into a business called The Furlough Cheesecake, bringing them unforeseen fame and success!
Social media and word-of-mouth reviews got their business booming. But it was the help of two Black women that led them to wild success.
Mahisha Dellinger, the founder of hair-care line CURLS, connected the sisters with Kinna Thomas, a senior buying manager for cakes and pies at Walmart.
Best of all, they’re keeping the name The Furlough Cheesecake! “Because it means something,” Wright said. “You know, we were furloughed, but now we’re in control of our destiny. So we couldn’t let go of the name.”
There’s a silver lining to the tragedy of the 2019 shutdown, in which hundreds of thousands of families suffered. And despite Trump’s antics, these resourceful and entrepreneurial women ultimately succeeded.