Joely Vargas-Anderson, Owner of Jelly's Sweets
Joely Vargas-Anderson is living the sweet life! The Puerto Rican pastry chef, who currently works at Magnolia Bakery Chicago, where she’s been serving as the General Manager for almost a decade, is a big-time hustler. She finds time to nurture her passion with her own business as the owner of Jelly’s Sweets, where she creates picture-perfect confections, from rose cupcakes to Toy Story-themed cakes.
”My side hustle has been a side hustle for 10 years, but I enjoy it so much, even when life gets exhausting,” Joely tells me. And that’s not all she has up her sleeve. Stay tuned for her edibles lines, aptly titled Baked by Jelly’s Sweets – coming soon!
Keep reading to learn more about this mujer de magia. Trust me: You’ll be inspired to channel your energy into what truly makes you happy.
Grace Gavilanes: Tell us about your day job and side hustle! How did you get to where you are now?
Joely Vargas-Anderson: I’m currently the General Manager at Magnolia Bakery Chicago and have been with the company for 9 years. I had the opportunity to be featured in multiple news segments, like NBC, ABC and Fox. I was also fortunate enough to be included in the travel team where I was able to open franchise stores worldwide. Baking and decorating have always been hobbies of mine, I never envisioned it becoming my career or business. I was working as a Teller Supervisor at a bank when one day I closed the vault on my finger, I was out of work for a month while I healed and, in that time, I had a lot of thinking to do. My cousin was looking into culinary schools and invited me to go with her to the Arts Institute. We had a tour and got to bake and cook and I instantly fell in love. I knew that’s what I needed in my life, so when I finally went back to work, I also went to culinary school part-time. I attended Triton Community College where they have an amazing culinary program that has expanded over the years. When I graduated with my degree in Baking and Pastry Arts, I decided to leave my comfortable, high-paying job with medical benefits and vacation to start from the very bottom, making minimum wage at Magnolia Bakery – sometimes you have to make some sacrifices to do what you love. I quickly moved up in the company and now oversee a team of 30 and growing!
Joely and her brother.
As for my side hustle, this started again, as a hobby. I grew up watching my mom make sweets for friends and family – I always had the coolest birthday cakes! My brother and I would sit at the kitchen while she decorated cakes and we would help by eating the leftover pieces of cake and icing, ha! Baking was relaxing for me, so I would buy a bunch of baking and cake decorating books and I would just try my best not to burn the house down. One year for my bestie’s birthday she asked me to make her a cake. I decided to do something I had never done and made her a two-tier topsy-turvy fondant cake. It blew everyone away! They all told me that I should start a business and I honestly didn’t see that for myself until that night. So, I went to school, worked at the bank and made cakes on the side. That’s when Jelly’s Sweets came to life. My side hustle has been a side hustle for 10 years, but I enjoy it so much, even when life gets exhausting.
GG: What does being Latina mean to you? How has your Latinidad influenced you?
JVA: The word Latina is so broad because there are so many cultures and traditions in one. Family, music, food, strong women, and a deep culture that is shared throughout many generations. I’m truly proud to be part of that and moving to Puerto Rico definitely helped me reconnect with my Latin roots. I was born in Chicago, but my family is from Lares, Puerto Rico. My first language was Spanish, and I went to ESL classes until second grade. My mother moved to the US at 18 and didn’t know much English, so when my brother and I started school, we would teach my mom English. Until this day, she speaks to us in Spanish and we reply in English. In my teens, we moved to Puerto Rico; that was a struggle for us for sure, especially when I didn’t feel fluent or Latina enough. I had to learn to perfect my speech and reading skills. I would freak out having to read my Spanish papers in front of the entire class, but all of that made me so much stronger as a Latina. I learned so much living there, I was able to see my family and grow deeper in love with who we are. I went to my first parties and learned to dance and appreciate salsa, merengue and bachata, while falling in love with Marc Anthony, Olga Tañon, Juan Luis Guerra, and many more Latin artists. I spent time with my grandmother and aunts and learned to cook. I was taught values and traditions that are important to our culture – things I will teach my future children.
““Family, music, food, strong women, and a deep culture that is shared throughout many generations. I’m truly proud to be part of that.””
GG: How do you stay connected to your culture and community?
JVA: I stay connected to my culture with music, food, travel and books! I’m in a bi-racial marriage and we both take the time to learn each other’s cultures and that’s very important to us. I’m lucky enough to have married a man that believes he, too, is Latino [laughs]. He loves the music and can differentiate each type of dance. He even finds amazing Latin artists for me to listen to, even when he doesn’t fully understand the language.
Traveling and eating is a big one, both things I can’t live without. I love to travel to other Latin countries and learn their culture. I was fortunate enough to spend 4 months in Spain and let me tell you, that was an unforgettable experience. I learned to communicate with them, train [new Magnolia Bakery employees] in Spanish (that was a struggle), learn about their lives, and walk through all their adorable streets that have so much history. They would take me out and show me where they hang out, what they eat, what they do for fun and I got so many friends out of it! We all stay connected through social media, so I’m glad that exists! I love reading books that are written in Spanish, I also love Latin authors. Some favorites are Paulo Coelho, Julia Alvarez, Sandra Cisnero and Laura Esquivel. I stay connected to my community by supporting small businesses created by Latinos I find most of them through social media.
GG: What is your proudest accomplishment?
JVA: My proudest accomplishment would be finding an amazing husband with the absolute best family I could ever ask for and having so many friends and family truly believe in me and my business. It’s one thing having support, but someone believing you can do anything is the biggest accomplishment.
GG: Which Latinx content creators are you currently obsessed with?
JVA: Here are a few accounts I’m obsessed with. First would be @lillyluvscakes, I worked with her on the Magnolia Travel Team and she’s so damn talented. We still keep in touch and help each other with our at-home businesses. @artelexia is an adorable Mexican gift shop, check it out! @workshopapothecary features Latin artists, giving them the opportunity to sell their sweets and handmade goods. @brownbadassbonita has become another favorite of mine, she sells empowering merch and quotes. Her videos are also very inspiring for the brown community.
GG: Imposter syndrome is a very real thing in our community. How do you combat those feelings?
JVA: Imposter syndrome is a very real thing. I, for one, struggle with feeling that I got to where I am due to luck, seeing other businesses being more creative or more talented makes me feel as if I will never be able to do enough to get there. In my field, it’s important to stay relevant and maintain positive networking relationships. I’ve learned to put my pride aside and ask for constructive criticism from peers in order to continue my growth and development.
