3 days ago
EDITORIAL: San Angelo bakery owners rise from setbacks to success
SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — It's 5 a.m., and Jessica Acosta is up and ready to begin baking. The ovens are on, the cookie sheets are greased and the flour has yet to spill. Jessica prepares chocolates, from dark to semisweet and milk.
Other ingredients include sweet, buttery toffee bits, nutty and crunchy kataifi, a crispy shredded phyllo pastry and fresh fruit. Half-pound cookie pies, pint-sized milkshakes and various types of desserts make this place one-of-a-kind. The smell of stuffed cookies flying out of the oven fills the shop.
The time comes, and the doors open wide, with patrons ready to see what the ever-changing menu behind the plexiglass has for that day. This has been a daily scene in the bakery for the last year, but it hasn't always been like this.
'The American Dream' is something many Americans have grown up with and tried to achieve. One of the ideas in this dream is to be an entrepreneur and a successful business owner.
For some people, especially women, this dream can be intimidating because of the emotional and mental strain of the associated risks or the challenges of navigating the related policies and regulations. Founder Reports discovered that 87.7% of entrepreneurs struggle with at least one mental health issue, with 50.2% saying they deal with anxiety.
Not only is mental health a factor in the strain on women entrepreneurs, but so is emotional labor.
As described by Diann Wingert, a psychotherapist-turned-business-coach, 'Emotional labor refers to the non-financial efforts, such as customer service, marketing, sales, and onboarding, that often go unseen but are essential for business success.' She says that, typically, women tend to carry the emotional labor burden not only in business but in their home lives, contributing to mental health challenges.
Sabrina Acosta's childhood baking experiences with her grandmother inspired her journey. Initially, she imagined a cupcakery and started one at the Sunset Mall in 2018.
'I was like, okay, this is amazing. I love this, but this is just way too much work. Like I can't do this by myself,' Sabrina Acosta said.
The kiosk was successful but exhausting, so she shifted to custom orders from home. Eventually, the business paused due to her full-time job as a flight attendant.
Being an entrepreneur is a full-time job, as is being a mom.
Many women who are business owners are also moms, going home to their other job. According to Entrepreneur, 71% of women entrepreneurs are also primary childcare providers. These women often have no rest and bring the stresses of each situation into the other. Surveys of mothers reveal that 68% report experiencing anxiety, with 35% saying that their anxiety is moderate to severe.
Sabrina Acosta can attest to that. The second time she began Sugar High Bake Shop, it wasn't born from a business plan or a big investment: it began as a desperate attempt to save her child.
In late 2022, Sabrina Acosta's teenage son, who wished not to be named, was battling a chronic illness and awaiting a kidney transplant. The family was overwhelmed not just by the emotional toll but also by the financial one. Sabrina Acosta said she was living in the hospital with her son and couldn't work a full-time job. To help cover travel expenses and medical costs, Sabrina and Jessica Acosta began selling baked goods on a small table outside the Sassy Fox Boutique. What started as a fundraiser turned into something much more.
It turned into their full-time jobs, their livelihood. From a fundraiser to a full-fledged business.
The journey to launch the bakery was anything but easy. With their finances short from medical bills, long hospital stays, and every credit card maxed out, the Acostas had nothing left.
'I sold my car to start this,' Sabrina Acosta said.
Still, she pressed forward. It wasn't just about business—it was about survival, hope and showing her child and herself what perseverance looks like in real-time. Sugar High Bake Shop was born not out of opportunity but out of necessity and love.
Starting a business can be exciting yet overwhelming. For many entrepreneurs, it becomes difficult to avoid feelings of burnout or self-doubt.
A recent survey of 300 entrepreneurs revealed that 63% admitted to experiencing burnout at some point in their journey. This highlights just how common and serious the issue is among business owners who are often juggling multiple responsibilities with limited resources.
When Sabrina Acosta was asked if she had learned not to doubt herself the second time she tried to start over, she paused.
'That is really hard,' she admitted. 'I still doubt myself sometimes, and then I have to stop myself because I'm like, no, no.'
What followed was a glimpse into the fierce resilience that defines her.
'I'm a pretty tenacious person. This might sound bad, but I'm really competitive. Not with other people; more with myself. When I set a goal, I compete against myself. I don't want to lose. And maybe that's not healthy all the time, but I just didn't have a choice. It had to work. The second time I tried, it had to work,' she said.
To make her dream a reality – more than a table but a storefront – Sabrina Acosta had to learn everything about business management. When she first started in 2018, she relied heavily on Google for information, as she wasn't the type to ask for help. At the time, she was selling baked goods from home under the Cottage Food Law, which does not require a license.
When she began selling in the mall, she had to obtain the proper health department approvals and licenses. She took it upon herself to research city ordinances and even contacted the Health Department to understand the requirements. She noted that many people don't even know where to begin when searching for information, but that starting somewhere is better than nowhere.
She began with an online search for what is needed to run a bakery in Texas. She found out that they needed many different certificates and licenses, including a Sales Tax Permit from the Comptroller's office, a Food Establishment License from the Texas Department of State Health Services and a Food Handler's Certification. With the help of a friend, Kale, who owned the restaurant where she rented kitchen space, Jessica was ready to take on the journey.
It is 7 p.m., and the Acostas turn the open sign to closed. The flour has been wiped with cleaners and towels, leaving the kitchen squeaky clean for tomorrow. What was once just a quiet dream has grown into a daily ritual of early mornings, warm ovens and unique treats.
For the past two years, Sugar High Bake Shop has become a destination for those craving something both nostalgic and new. Now, Sabrina and Jessica Acosta have more than doubled in sales from the first year and are looking into buying a food truck.
It's more than just business, more than baked goods, numbers or profit. It's hard work, lessons learned, perseverance – it's the pinnacle of the American Dream – the reflection of the Acostas' passion and the community that has supported them.
If their experience helps at least one aspiring entrepreneur, they know that all of the pain they have gone through was to guide people to become who they want to be.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
