From HIV Survivor to Sweet Potato Pie Empire

Summary

Podcast Summary – Living Your Legacy

Host: Ray Gutierrez (for Rudy Mawer’s show)
Guest: Empress Edwards
Episode Title: From HIV Survivor to Sweet Potato Pie Empire
Date: May 7, 2026

---

Episode Overview

This episode of Living Your Legacy spotlights Empress Edwards, a passionate public health leader, entrepreneur, and social impact advocate who has transformed adversity—including surviving HIV—into a story of family, resilience, and business innovation. Empress details her journey from motherhood and community work to building Yummy Treats, a culture-rich bakery and food brand rooted in authenticity, family bonds, and soulful goodness. The conversation explores not only her entrepreneurial path but also her dedication to empowering her daughters, preserving cultural heritage, and elevating others through purposeful leadership.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins of Yummy Treats and Family Legacy

• Family at the Heart:
  Empress shares how Yummy Treats was born out of a desire to be the best mother and pass down cultural heritage. Baking, which started as a household activity with her daughters, evolved into a business that brought them closer together and matured them as a family.
  “It began by me just trying to be the best mom that I could be, and my daughters step up and just show out and slay the business…” (00:24)

• Passing on Culture:
  Empress emphasizes the importance of teaching her daughters about their roots, such as making peach cobbler and sweet potato pie, while also ensuring they connect with broader cultures through language studies.
  “…if you don’t know the electric slide, peach cobbler and sweet potato pie, you might get your black card revoked.” (08:30)

2. The Chaos and Joy of Family Entrepreneurship

• Kitchen Dynamic:
  The show paints a vivid picture of family chaos and joy in the kitchen, with Empress and her daughters working side by side—from flour storms to “crust masters.”
  “Every day, we’re dealing with flour, sugar, butter, potatoes, peaches, strawberries, sometimes even ground beef, because we make yummy tacos and nachos...” (03:01)

• Personalized Love:
  Yummy Treats stands out for its soulfulness and handmade touch, with every product crafted to offer comfort, nostalgia, and joy.
  “People can literally taste the love in our stuff.” (05:12)

3. Building the Brand: Authenticity Over Performance

• All-in Family & “Tribe” Model:
  The business is primarily run by family—her daughters being key players. While seeking growth, Empress stresses integrity, loyalty, and that staff should feel like family.
  “It’s important for our staff and employees to be like family...you can give somebody a recipe, nobody’s going to make it the same way.” (06:21)

• Authentic Self on Social Media:
  Empress discusses being 100% authentic in her story and brand presence—the community resonates with her honesty and her daughters’ unique charm.
  “I think it’s 100% authenticity when it comes to me…It’s always been like, just straightforward. This is who I am.” (09:53)

4. Overcoming Adversity: From Public Health to Empowerment

• Triumph Over Challenges:
  Empress recounts hardships: growing up with family substance abuse, incarceration, poverty, single motherhood, living with HIV—yet she frames her life as one of triumph and legacy-making rather than defeat.
  “I am someone who has overcome so many challenges in life that people would think are devastating…No, no, no. Just like BEI Bae’s kids. We don’t die. We multiply. We multiply our blessings…” (12:12)

• Purposeful Leadership:
  Her path is presented as proactive—a real Empress doesn’t inherit greatness but creates it for herself and those around her.
  “A real Empress doesn’t just inherit greatness. A real Empress creates greatness.” (13:12)

5. Business Practicalities & Community Connection

• The Brick-and-Mortar Hustle:
  Running a bakery is hard work—especially without major outside funding. The team’s manual process for personalized treats is labor-intensive but meaningful.
  “…When you are not a millionaire already and you just don’t have this huge factory that’s ready to produce everything…” (04:11)

• Marketing & Customer Engagement:
  Yummy Treats relies heavily on Instagram for outreach. They play with emergency themes in marketing—the @yummytreats911 handle and codes for “emergency” cravings.
  “So you know, it’s emergency when you need those treats…” (11:19)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Empowerment:
  “A real Empress doesn’t just inherit greatness. A real Empress creates greatness.” – Empress (13:12)

• On Working with Family:
  “Now they’re my mom and I’m the kid—they get to boss me around… There’s been times where I need to step away and my daughters step up and just show out and slay the business…” – Empress (07:30)

• On Authenticity:
  “I think it’s 100% authenticity when it comes to me…This is who I am.” – Empress (09:53)

• On Community and Success:
  “We multiply our blessings, you know, and so people will learn about me and my childhood and growing up with a parent addicted to drugs and alcohol or experiencing incarceration throughout our family, living in poverty, being a single mom, living with a chronic health condition and overcoming that, really defying the odds, overcoming hurdles and still being triumphant…” – Empress (12:12)

• On Marketing:
  “Y u m m y treats. 911. So you know, it’s emergency when you need those treats... let’s get that started right now.” – Empress (11:19)

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:24] Origins—Family, legacy, and togetherness
• [03:01] Daily life in the kitchen; what’s on the menu
• [04:11] Behind the scenes: Challenges in running a small bakery
• [06:21] Family and staff philosophy
• [07:30] Navigating “mom vs. boss” with her daughters
• [08:12] How it all began—teaching daughters, sharing culture
• [09:53] Authenticity and brand representation online
• [11:19] Creative marketing— “911” code and customer loyalty
• [12:12] Overcoming adversity and defining true empowerment
• [13:12] Defining what it means to be an Empress

---

Takeaways

This episode captures Empress Edwards’ resilient spirit, the intimate joys and real-life challenges of family-run business, and her commitment to authenticity and cultural preservation. Listeners walk away inspired by her story of transforming hardship into entrepreneurship and purposeful leadership—proof that legacy isn’t inherited, it’s created, one sweet (potato pie) step at a time.

Transcript

[A]

A real Empress doesn't just inherit greatness. A real Empress creates greatness. Empress Edwards is a resilient, compassionate and mission driven public health leader, entrepreneur, and social impact advocate.

[B]

Through her work, she empowers communities affected by trauma, illness and inequality, transforming personal adversity into healing, hope, and a legacy of purposeful leadership.

[A]

It began by me just trying to be the best mom that I could be, and my daughters step up and just show out and slay the business to where I'm like, wow, I would not be able to do this without them. They really make it possible and they take pride in it. It has just matured us all and brought us a lot closer together.

[B]

It spans the globe like a super high cold Internet Elvis Presley. Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone. It's not over until I. The Living youg Legacy podcast for those who live to leave a legacy. Oh, that is sensational. Jordan Open Chicago with the league is the fastest man on the planet. You can live your dream. Welcome to another episode of the Living youg Legacy podcast, the Women in Power edition for for Inside Success. I'm Ray Gutierrez. Joining me today is the Empress, the Empress of all treats. Yummy Treats. Empress. How does it feel?

[A]

It feels like a blessing.

[B]

I know there's two other E's to that Empress Edwards.

[A]

L. But we could go with Empress. The Empress.

[B]

The Triple E. Empress. Thou. I'm not sure what to do here. Do folks usually bow here? Sometimes they take a moment. So you are the Empress of all said treats. Yummy treats.

[A]

Yummy treats.

[B]

How does one become Empress of Yummy Treats?

[A]

Well, I mean, first I was the Empress.

[B]

No, first you got to start being with just Empress, the Empress. And then.

[A]

And then you have to share your yummy treats with the world.

[B]

Right on.

[A]

Yes. So, you know, it's just something the treats came about with, really building a legacy and making sure that our cultural values are being shared in my family. And so that started with myself and my daughters. And then you use what you got to get what you need.

[B]

Right on.

[A]

You know what I mean? And now we have yummy treats.

[B]

So I'm imagining you and your daughters in the kitchen.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

There's flour and baking treats everywhere. How chaotic is it every single day? Or has that been. Is that your early beginnings or what? What's the chaos like today?

[A]

No, you got it. It's every single day. Awesome.

[B]

So this is technically your vacation.

[A]

It is. It really is. Every day, you know, we're dealing with flour, sugar, butter, potatoes, peaches, strawberries, sometimes even Ground beef, because we make yummy tacos and nachos. Right on. But the big picture is we're really taking a bunch of individual things that can be pointless and turning them into something so substantial and meaningful to people and bringing joy into their lives, like I said, sharing our culture with others. People come in just trying to figure out what is it that you have. And when they leave, they're like, yes, we need you to stay around. I'm telling everyone I know this was amazing. And they just look different. They're not the same.

[B]

Do you have a brick and mortar? Is there a place I can go to and buy said treats?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

So I'm assuming the front of the shop. Front of the shop is nice and cozy, while the back is massive and large. Because you've got all this stuff that can go bad. Can you let folks know how difficult it is to run a bakery?

[A]

It is quite challenging, especially when you are not a millionaire already and you just don't have this huge factory that's ready to produce everything. My daughters, they have become the crust masters. I taught them how to make the crust, but now I have them teach other people how to put it into our pans properly. Because we don't send people with a pan. We make personalized treats. And so we literally spend a lot of time putting the crust in just to take it back out of the pan. But it's a lot of work. It really is. Because after you're on your feet for hours and using your hands, baking and molding and mixing, you still need to have the energy and the mindset to really embrace people and share love with them.

[B]

I was just going to say, can you tell when a cake's been made with anger? Like, I don't like the way this cake has been made because it hasn't been made with love. Can you kind of tell?

[A]

You can taste it. People can literally taste the love in our stuff.

[B]

Right on.

[A]

Yeah. They're like, oh, yeah, No, I taste it.

[B]

So what makes your bakery so unique from others? Like, besides the ones that don't make it with love? What makes you. You all so unique?

[A]

Well, again, I think what makes us really unique is that we're not just a bakery. We're more like a restaurant. We make everything with soul, with our soul. You know what I mean? So you. Right away, you taste all the flavors.

[B]

Right on.

[A]

Is forget what you think is going to look like once it touch your mouth. You're just like, oh. And it reminds you of a time when you had so much Fulfillment. And everything was just lovely, you know, like, whether you're sipping on our sweet potato pie milkshake or our banana pudding milkshake, our yummy punch is so refreshing with the berries in it. Like, everything is handmade and crafted by us specifically for the customer. And they feel that. They feel special.

[B]

So talk about how much of it is staff and employees and how much of it is family and tribe.

[A]

Pretty much all of it is family and tribe. Wow. We are really growing in trying to get staff and employees, but it's important for our staff and employees to be like family. We want to make them feel like family, and then we also need the integrity and the loyalty that comes with family. So it's a lot of work. I mean, I can train people to press buttons and even mix up some of our drinks, but that love and then those key ingredients that you can give somebody a recipe, nobody's going to make it the same way, you know, for sure.

[B]

So, yeah, we kind of have that philosophy here. We run multiple studios, and every host has a different way of running the studio, running their interviews, running a podcast.

[A]

I've been in public health over 20 years, and I will say that with this line of work, with making treats, it's the one thing that you have to micromanage. Absolutely. Until you know for sure you can trust somebody to just lay that thing out.

[B]

How, as an entrepreneur, how do you gain that trust? Especially when it's your own daughters? It's just like, hey, I know what you're like when you're on a really bad day and I'm not on a shift. How do you compartmentalize mom versus Boss?

[A]

You know what? In this business, now they're my mom and I'm the kid, they get to boss me around. Cool how that works. I didn't expect that to come so soon. I thought it'd be like when I'm 70. But no, there's been times where I need to step away and my daughters step up and just show out and slay the business to where I'm like, wow, I would not be able to do this without them. They really make it possible and they take pride in it, and it has just matured us all and brought us a lot closer together.

[B]

Very cool. Where did this all begin? Like, I'm sure you. Were you born a restaurant owner or. Or did you work into this, or how does your journey play out?

[A]

Honestly, it began by me just trying to be the best mom that I could be. Awesome. And I'm like, you know, these girls know about every other culture. They've been studying Mandarin for years. But I need to make sure they know about peach cobbler and sweet potato pie. Because, you know, if you don't know the electric slide, peach cobbler and sweet potato pie, you might get your black card revoked.

[B]

And so I still don't know the electric slide. I am familiar with said slide, but I do not participate in the electricity.

[A]

Well, in teaching them about the pies. I. You know, we post everything on social media, and people saw the pictures and were like, oh, how much I want one? I'm like, you haven't even sampled it yet and you want one? And so I said, well, I'm gonna take a chance and see, because my daughters have been studying Mandarin for. Well, now it makes about 11 years that they've been studying Mandarin. And I was paying for a tutor at the time.

[B]

Some people buy a bomb shelter. You teach your children benarin. Good for you.

[A]

I make sure someone teaches a manner. I taught them Spanish, and it didn't stick that well.

[B]

Right.

[A]

So, you know, I took a chance and said, well, let's see if the people really want to buy it. And they did.

[B]

Right on.

[A]

And they continued to buy it. And I was just like, wow, this is actually paying for a Mandarin.

[B]

I was going to say, it's, it's. It's funny how folks kind of like, they buy into the charm and the culture as opposed to the actual product. You just said, in a good example, they are like, I'm sure they bought into your message, your family. How much of that is like. I'm sure, I'm sure you're very authentic, but sometimes you got to be a character on camera. How much of it is authenticity? How are you represented on social media?

[A]

You know, I think it's 100% authenticity when it comes to me. Like, I just didn't have that childhood where I could dream about being Cinderello or any of those princesses, you know? So it's always been like, just straightforward. This is who I am. And I thank God for giving me the twins. Right? Cause that gave people something special to look at. And it's like, oh, the twins, the twins, the twins. But when the twins needed money for Mandarin, it was like, the twins speak Chinese. Okay, yeah, let's help keep that thing going.

[B]

Do they finish their own Chinese sentences? One starts, one's finishes.

[A]

You know, I was starting to wonder if they actually even really know Chinese. But their report card says, yes, they have a.

[B]

How would you ever know? But it'd probably be Vegan it. That would be a great legacy makers sequel. Fake it till you make it. Literally. That's awesome. So how can folks follow your journey now? You just. You just confessed to me you don't have a website.

[A]

Well, it's off and on, under construction at times, but we definitely have Instagram.

[B]

God, you know, it's 2025 and not 1995.

[A]

The ones that matter. Really?

[B]

I thought calm still matters.

[A]

It kind of does matter. It's just that I don't want to talk about any other companies out there. So it's under construction.

[B]

Gotcha.

[A]

How about that?

[B]

Gotcha.

[A]

People can definitely find us on Instagram.

[B]

Your. Your social media handle is amazing. Is it the yummy 901?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Go for it. I completely Yummy Treats.

[A]

Y u m m y treats. 91 1. So you know, it's emergency when you need those treats. You need people to hurry up, get out the way, so you can go get your treat.

[B]

You know, we should do. Sorry to interrupt. By pointing at you. You should do like a 10% promo. If someone goes, I have an emergency and all exclamation marks, then they like unknowingly go like a 10% code. How many people have done that to you? I have an emergency estimation marks, and they go right into the KFAB of what you're trying to do. That should be like a 10% code right there.

[A]

Let's get that started right now. Right? Did you hear that?

[B]

You're welcome.

[A]

Your emergency.

[B]

You're welcome.

[A]

911, get your treats.

[B]

Are you looking at yourself?

[A]

15% off.

[B]

Oh, now it's 15%. I started at 10. Look at you. I'm selling. All right, my love. How much? I don't know where to take this conversation. You know what? What are we going to learn about you and your Women in Power episode? You just had an amazing session with Jason. I hope you did. I did great. JJ is amazing. What are we going to learn about you?

[A]

You're going to learn that I'm more than just someone who bakes or cooks. I'm not a baker. I am a woman in power. And I am someone who has overcome so many challenges in life that people would think are devastating or would take. No, no, no. Just like BEI Bae's kids. We don't die. We multiply. We multiply our blessings, you know, and so people will learn about me and my childhood and growing up with a parent, addicted to drugs and alcohol or experiencing incarceration throughout our family, living in poverty, you know, being a single mom, living with a chronic health condition and overcoming that, really defying the odds, overcoming hurdles and still being triumphant, not giving up, you know, so being a true empress, you know, like a real Empress. A real Empress doesn't just inherit greatness. A real Empress creates greatness.

[B]

Wow, look at that.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

How did you feel moments after you were done rolling? You've had all these cameras, fancy lights. Did you feel beyond an Empress? Is there anything beyond Empress?

[A]

I was like, so did Love and hip hop or one of those shows call yet? Who's waiting on line one for Empress right now? Like, don't they need me to come and host the next reunion?

[B]

I love how you're feature casting, your meridian manifesting.

[A]

Maybe Tyler, it has a role for me. Yes. I sent him my story. Tyler, did you get it?

[B]

Tyler the creator or Tyler in the

[A]

Rail Carrie that creates some of the best series and movies.

[B]

Oh, that creator.

[A]

But my daughters do love Tyler the creator. They put me on to him. We've been listening to the album he released like last month or earlier this month. Yeah, yeah, we've been bumping that too, so. Hey, Tyler, all the Tylers out there.

[B]

Hi, Tylers. All right with that, Tylers Empress, thank you so much for your time and energy. I hope you had an amazing Monday. Amazing session.

[A]

Yes, thank you, Ray.

[B]

Oh, no, thank you, my love. And for Inside Success and Women in Power and for Living the Legacy podcast, this is Ray Gutierrez and the Empress.