Lively, creative, beautiful, and smart! Sara Adam is proof that you truly can have it all and that following your dreams is simply a matter of taking action.
Name: Sara Adam
Major: Information Management & Technology
Year: Sophomore
Hometown: Andover, MA
Involvement on Campus: Alpha Phi Sorority, iSchool Peer Advisor, and ITGirls Club member.
HC: You have two very successful small businesses and you are only a sophomore! Tell us a bit more about how and why you started Beachside Bakers.
SA: In July 2010, my older sister, Jessica Adam, and I decided to start Beachside Bakers. Ever since we were young, we have always loved to bake. We always baked cupcakes for our birthday parties at school and for other small parties. People started asking us to bake for their own private parties, and we realized we should really start a small business.
We decided to get our own kitchen certified for baking and get all of the permits necessary to sell food to the public. We then started selling cupcakes at our local farmers market every Thursday afternoon in the summer. We also taught cupcake decorating classes for young girls in our town. My senior year of high school, I decided to design a website for Beachside Bakers.
This is when I found out how much I loved technology and how it was possible to combine my interests together with an Information Management and Technology major. Sadly, this past year, it became hard to keep the business running because we both were invested in other summer jobs, and we decided to stop selling at farmers markets and teaching decorating classes. We still take orders for small parties and events, but we do not keep up with it as much as we did over the last five years.
HC: I understand that you now also have a jewelry business, what motivated you to start Beachside Beads?
SA: The name “Beachside Beads” comes from the name of the cupcake business. I like to call it a continuation in the beachside series. It started because I was looking for the perfect necklace. A necklace that could be worn long, as a choker, if it is wrapped around multiple times, and also a bracelet. I could not find a place where these existed, so i decided to make my own. All of my friends and family were asking where I bought this three-in-one necklace/bracelet, so I decided to start selling them. I made an Instagram page (@beachsidebeads) and from that, I gained a lot of support.
When I got to school, I started getting so many orders for my beads. I started to make orange and blue ones, which became extremely popular for tailgates and games. I have also expanded into smaller chokers with charms on them, and I am always looking for other ways to expand the business as trends change. To order, check out the Instagram page and email sgadam@syr.edu.
HC: Where do you see yourself in five years? Do you have any more entrepreneurial goals?
SA: In five years, I hope to be graduated from Syracuse with a job in the IT Department of some kind of Retail Corporation. I love technology, but I also love the business part of it so I am looking for a job to combine my two interests together. On the side, I still hope to have Beachside Beads if it continues to expand and do well. Maybe I will branch off into a new part of the beachside series as well.
HC: What is your number one advice for other collegiate looking to kick start their dreams?
SA: If you have an idea, even if you think it is just small, just go out and try to make it work. If you fail at it, it doesn’t matter. You have so much time in your life to try out new things and you will never learn if you don’t try. At Syracuse and every college and university campus, there are so many resources out there to help you succeed.
Favorite song: “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus
Favorite book: The Great Gatsby
Celebrity crush: Adam Levine
Quote to live by: “We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious, and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths” – Walt Disney
Hidden talent: I am great at discount shopping. I am always looking for a great deal. Whether it is clothing, beads, or even cupcake ingredients, I rarely go through checkout without any coupons. In fact, I am in the top ten percent of couponers at CVS! *lol*