National ads feature Sugar Land truck driver-turned-baker
Comedian and TV game show host Steve Harvey often says that if you wake up every morning and you don’t feel passionate about what you’re doing, then you’re not living your purpose. These words resonated with Mark Linen, a Sugar Land truck driver who’s had a penchant for baking since childhood.
“I’m certainly not passionate about driving a truck,” said Linen. “But I am passionate about baking.”
Growing up, Linen would sit in his kitchen, fascinated, closely observing his mother while she baked. She stopped doing so when he and his siblings got older and moved away from home, but Linen never forgot what he had learned from her. In November 2019, he started his business, Brotha Bakes, which sells layered cakes in a jar: red velvet, German chocolate, lemon, carrot and more.
Linen started selling locally to friends and family, making his way up to baking around 50 to 75 jars a week. He’s still doing it only part time, alongside his day job as a truck driver. He primarily bakes them himself, although his wife and two teenage sons chip in whenever they can.
Just before the coronavirus pandemic hit, he had arranged to start selling his cakes to markets and festivals in Houston, but the spread of the virus pressed pause on those plans.
Shortly afterward, Linen got connected to Next Insurance, an insurance provider for small businesses. The company had been working on producing its first national advertising campaign, but as they saw small business owners struggling, they decided to reallocate part of their budget to help them out. Next spent more than $250,000 on hiring 50 business owners, from contractors and personal trainers to circus performers and event DJs. Their efforts are highlighted in the new ad campaign, called Built By Business, which premiered last week.
Next Insurance ordered 220 cakes from Brotha Bakes and Linen delivered them to Houston Methodist Hospital’s Sugar Land location as a way to give back to front-line workers. In the spot, Linen is shown baking in his kitchen and loading jars in the back of his car, along with snippets from other business owners. Linen is also featured in his own individual video on Next Insurance’s website.
“It gave me a glimpse of what my future would look like baking cakes at that level,” Linen said. “Doing 220plus cakes a week would be awesome for me.”
He says he is already gaining some traction. More and more people are trying his cakes and reordering them, as well as telling friends about them. He’s tentatively revisiting his plan of selling to markets and festivals this summer, perhaps starting in July. Overall, Linen is feeling confident and optimistic about the future of his business.
“I honestly feel like once somebody tries the cakes, they’re hooked,” he said. “I might be a little biased.”