Woman Fired From Job In 2008 Started Own Business From Home That Became A Runaway Success; Now A Multi-Million Dollar Venture

After being fired from her advertising job, Melissa Ben-Ishay turned her love of baking into a multimillion-dollar company under the Baked By Melissa brand. She became a well-known content creator after her Green Goddess Salad video went viral on social media. She has also published the New York Times best-selling cookbook Come Hungry. Ben-Ishay's is the story of how efforts in the right direction lead to success. (Photo Courtesy: All pictures instagram.com/melissabenishay)

Melissa Ben-Ishay was fired from her advertising job in 2008, but the optimist in her recognized the potential in every challenge. She chose baking for business, which she refers to as her "love language." She wanted something precious in her life, and so she took chances to achieve it. Ben-Ishay started Baked By Melissa with co-founders. The brand started out making signature bite-sized cupcakes. (Photo Courtesy: All pictures instagram.com/melissabenishay)

When Ben-Ishay first started the business, she made cupcakes in her little apartment in New York City. She delivered the orders herself. A year later, she launched the first Baked By Melissa store in the Soho area of Manhattan. Her brother, Brian Bushell, had a key role in seeing its potential early on and served as its CEO for eight years. (Photo Courtesy: All pictures instagram.com/melissabenishay)

In 2019, Ben-Ishay was named the company's CEO. But she had no intention of becoming the CEO. Nevertheless, the difficulties motivated her to succeed, as the business saw record-breaking sales. She guided her staff through the uncertain days during the pandemic, frequently working from home while raising two small children. (Photo Courtesy: All pictures instagram.com/melissabenishay)

With 13 retail sites in Boston and New York City, the company has expanded from a small operation to a multimillion-dollar enterprise over the years. Her company has sold over 400 million cupcakes and collaborated with well-known companies like Oatly and Entenmann's. (Photo Courtesy: All pictures instagram.com/melissabenishay)

Creativity is harder to teach, as sometimes you either have it or don’t. Ben-Ishay made efforts to think outside the box and did not fear whatever the problem was, and that is where another big success came for her. Ben-Ishay embraced TikTok because she thought it was an effective tool for business.  (Photo Courtesy: All pictures instagram.com/melissabenishay)

She claims that she shared a salad on social media one day out of the blue, and it received millions and millions of views. She went from being a baker to a content creator when her Green Goddess Salad video went viral, establishing her as a culinary artist. She published her cookbook, Come Hungry, earlier this year which immediately shot to the top of the New York Times bestseller list. (Photo Courtesy: All pictures instagram.com/melissabenishay)