At the beginning of the pandemic, Liz Roth was an interior designer. Her work resembled the life she built for herself as a Los Angeles native, it’s bright and awash with effortless beauty, and she had a steady portfolio of picture-perfect projects. But when the city called for businesses to close and residents to shelter at home last spring—bringing everything and everyone to a halt—Roth wondered what she could do to help. 

Long before she was an interior designer, she loved to bake. As a kid, Roth would whip up boxed confections after school with her mom, until she was confident enough to experiment with recipes of her own. She developed an olive oil cake, a treat with subtle yet comforting flavors, and it inspired her to enroll in Le Cordon Bleu. But a few months into her studies, a spinal surgery forced Roth to pause that dream. Instead, she pursued interior design—that is, until she found herself forced to stay home in the midst of a global emergency. The olive oil cakes she never stopped baking suddenly gave her an idea: Instead of just making them for family and friends, Roth was going to bake them to raise money for Covenant House of California. Her new venture, Little House Confections, was underway.

It didn’t take long for this charitable plan to gain an audience. Soon the likes of Shay Mitchell and Kylie Jenner were scooping up her desserts, and others were buying them as “thinking of you” treats loved ones could enjoy from a distance. In other words, Little House Confections has grown into a full-fledged business for a good cause, and its “Bomb-Ass Olive Oil” cake has a following of its own. Months into the pandemic, Roth is now a baker. And her work still resembles the life she built for herself in LA. 

Your “bomb ass olive oil cakes” have become an Instagram sensation, garnering celeb fans by the likes of Camille Rowe, Kourtney Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, and Shay Mitchell. Take us back to the beginning!

The beginning was all about giving back. That was my only true inspiration. My business started during Covid-19’s stay-at-home order. For me, baking my olive oil cakes was not about starting a business. It was about trying to raise a little bit of money for the Covenant House of California. It exceeded my wildest dreams when it became an internet sensation. I was able to write a $10,000 check to Covenant House only three weeks later. 

2020 presented everybody around the globe with new, unprecedented challenges. How did you #FindNewRoads + switch gears towards your new version of success?

2020 was all about #FindNewRoads for me. Before LHC, I was an interior designer. I had my own firm. I thought I was happy. I was coasting through life. I was not asking myself any of the important questions. 2020 was all about letting go of fear: leaping first, and looking later.

Going after what you deserve in life takes confidence and guts. Does confidence come naturally to you or did you have to learn it? What advice can you share for women on cultivating confidence and going after their dreams? 

Confidence does not come naturally to me. I had to really let go of all the negative things I tell myself in order to follow my dreams. The “What if people laugh at me?,” “What if no one buys my cakes?,” “What if everybody hates it?” questions circled my mind. I had to just go for it and think of nothing else other than the bottom line, which was that it was my dream. My advice to anyone is to stop getting in your own way and go do it. 

What has been the biggest learning curve throughout your career?

I had never worked in a commercial kitchen, managed employees, or a handled payroll. I had never done marketing of any sort. This is all a huge learning curve for me.

For those who haven’t started a business (or are about to), what advice do you have? 

Ask questions! I called everyone I know, as well as people I don’t know, who own businesses and asked questions. I knew I needed advice, and I knew that my limited skills were not going to get me far. People want to help.

What is your number one piece of financial advice for any new entrepreneur and why?

Don't let your expenses get too far ahead of you, and always be aware of the bottom line. 

It’s easy to celebrate the wins, but how do you handle failure or when something hasn’t worked out for you?

Keep it moving and reinvent yourself. A few things have not worked out, but there is no point in dwelling. I just keep it moving.

With success comes opportunity, but that also means you have your hands full. What keeps you inspired and motivated to keep going even on your most challenging days?

What keeps me motivated and inspired is when I receive emails and DMs from people telling me how happy an LHC cake made them. People celebrate birthdays, or anniversaries, or their Covid weddings with our cakes. They also send our cakes to loved ones that they haven’t seen since the beginning of the year as a way to keep in touch. This is what truly motivates me.

What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs? How can they achieve the same success you've experienced?

It takes a lot of hard work to achieve any small amount of success, but persevere. There will be days when you just feel like giving up. For me, those are the days that I do my best work. 

What's the one productivity tip or work hack that truly changed your life?

Keep your email inbox empty at all times. I never let emails pile up. 

Fill in the blanks:

To be successful, you need to…
Let go of your ego.

If there were more hours in the day, I…
Would try a new recipe.

If I wasn’t in my job now, I would…
Be doing interior design.

The three qualities that got me to where I am today are…
I can persevere, stay committed, and I have a strong desire to give back.

The craziest thing I’ve done for work is…
DMing people to see if they would like to work with us.