About Dijah Bakes

My name is Khadijah Muhammad. I was born and raised right here in Tampa, Florida. I am a high school graduate from Tampa Bay Tech HS. My career interests at that time were nursing and helping children. I went to Hillsborough Community College and attended for two years then soon realized that wasn't truly what I wanted to do. I admired my mother and wanted to follow in her footsteps. I learned that I had to find my own purpose. I worked at call centers but I felt so complacent and unfulfilled. One day my mother invited me to bake a vanilla pound cake with her. I wasn't really interested in being in the kitchen but that day changed my outlook. She taught me and I immediately fell in love with making something out of nothing. I also loved seeing my family enjoying what I created. Baking with my mother helped me bring out a natural gift that I didn't even realize I had. I remembered being in the kitchen with my grandmother and helping her when I was a child. I didn't take baking seriously in the beginning. I just considered it a hobby and side hustle. It was my mom baking cakes for free and I saw the opportunity to make money from it. I would sell cake slices while I worked at the call center. I was known as the cake lady. It went from slices to people ordering whole cakes. I didn't even know I was creating a clientele. I was just a young girl who baked and made extra money on the side using my talent. I soon got fired from my job due to other reasons and that broke me. I was so used to working and financially providing for myself that I went into a depression. I really felt purposeless. Losing my job made me realize I didn't know my real purpose for being. I soon made the irrational decision to move to Atlanta. I packed my car , didn't have anywhere to stay but I knew I wanted to get away from home. I was back and forth from Tampa to Atlanta for about two years. Moving to Atlanta allowed me to see that I could create something for myself. Seeing my brothers and sisters out there making moves inspired me. I worked as a pizza delivery driver, uber driver, and a cleaner while in Atlanta. All those jobs allowed me independence and made me realize that I did not want to work a corporate job again. I still suffered during that time and even wanted to commit suicide because I felt there was no reason for me being here. I asked God to help me find my purpose. I eventually moved back home to Tampa September 2017. I strengthened my relationship with God and fought my depression and suicidal thoughts. When I came back home I worked for a restaurant part time. I also worked at a cleaning company and soon decided to start my own. I baked cakes on the side and did some network marketing. I still felt all over the place with no real purpose but I had faith that God would help me find it. I continued to work and one day someone dropped a seed in my ear that I should focus on one thing. I decided that baking was the one I loved the most and was naturally great at it. I only knew how to make the pound cake but I wanted to learn how to bake other desserts.