Katrina Golden, founder and CEO of Lil Mama’s Sweets and Treats in Augusta, Georgia, has faced significant challenges in her small bakeries and coffee shop due to rising tariffs and changing economic conditions. After retiring from a federal government position in August 2019, Golden transformed her longtime passion for baking into a business, initially starting in her kitchen and gradually expanding with a location at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in downtown Augusta and online sales.
Golden recalls her baking journey beginning with family encouragement and involvement, including support from her husband and children who assisted in logistics, baking, packaging, and branding. By 2024, the business expanded its reach, participating in food truck festivals and securing a contract to operate the coffee shop at the VA hospital.
However, by early 2025, Golden noticed a decline in sales attributed to economic uncertainty affecting the local community, many of whom are connected to military or government employment. With worries about job security leading consumers to reduce discretionary purchases like coffee, sales dipped sharply. Alongside declining revenue, Golden experienced rising operational costs, largely due to tariffs that increased the price of essential baking ingredients and supplies.
“Tariffs affected just about everything that I do,” Golden said. Her expenses for bulk purchases of butter, sugar, flour, eggs, milk, and coffee increased markedly. She obtains many ingredients from local suppliers, including a weekly delivery of eggs, but local producers themselves raised prices due to higher feed costs. Additionally, tariffs on imported goods raised the cost of items such as coffee beans and disposable products like forks and cups, which are important for her retail and food service operations.
In response to higher costs, Golden raised prices on her website and has had to manage staffing adjustments. While she maintains two employees at the coffee shop, her bakery operations have returned to mostly solo work, as expanding payroll is currently unaffordable. Longer hours have become routine for Golden, who says a desire to support employees and customers clashes with the unpredictability caused by previous tariff fluctuations.
“Whiplash economics”—the on-and-off imposition of tariffs—created challenges in forecasting costs, sales, and staffing needs, leading to cautious business decisions. Golden emphasized how difficult it became to plan for growth or hire additional workers without certainty about supply prices and revenue.
Despite these headwinds, Golden remains committed to her business and optimistic about the future. She acknowledges the need to keep prices competitive in contracts like the VA hospital coffee shop while aiming to sustain affordability for veterans and their families. She hopes that with stabilization in the economy, the bakery will soon be able to hire more staff and increase production.
Looking ahead, Golden plans to expand into retail distribution by late 2026 or early 2027, which she believes will provide steadier revenue streams. However, she expressed concern about the ongoing impact of tariffs on small businesses, describing them as potential collateral damage in broader trade policy decisions.
Running Lil Mama’s Sweets and Treats, Golden says, remains a passion despite the economic difficulties. She views baking not only as a business but as a source of fulfillment and connection with her community, driving her to persevere amid uncertainties.
