Joy Hoover is president and CEO of The Cupcake Girls, an organization that provides confidential support to those involved in the sex industry. Last year, they gave away 11,512 cupcakes in Southern Nevada and Portland, Ore., each one representing a connection with a potential client.
"Those initial cupcakes were met with hesitation and confusion at best," Hoover said. "And 10 years later, they’ve turned into thousands of phone calls reaching out to trust us during some of the best and worst moments in our clients’ lives. They’ve turned into millions of dollars in resources given out by our vetted in-house and referral partners providing mental, emotional, spiritual, physical, social and financial resources in Las Vegas, Portland and around the globe."
In addition, Hoover’s group was able to purchase a building for its latest project, Local for All, a holistic resource center and social enterprise.
“This year, we are stepping out bolder and more activated on behalf of our clients, and we are inviting our community to link arms and create impact alongside us,” Hoover said.
How did Cupcake Girls get started and what was your inspiration for it?
Against all odds, and all the people who thought we were totally crazy, 10 years ago we made the move from Michigan to Las Vegas.
Upon our arrival, we started showing up to do street-based, strip club and brothel outreach with cupcakes and a deep desire to be a safe and inclusive space for folks working in the adult industry.
I am not the same person I was 10 years ago, and I’m really thankful for that. My favorite quote by Maya Angelou is one I live by every day, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
What is the best advice you’ve received?
My therapist told me, “There are three categories of people in the world. People in your outer circle may not fully care about you or have your best interest in mind, so those people don’t get a voice or a vote in your life or business. People in your middle circle may care about you but may not always have your best interest in mind, those people get a voice but don’t get a vote. And then there’s the inner circle, people that you’re 100% sure have your best interest in mind and care deeply about you — it’s only those people that get a voice and a vote.”
What brings you joy?
I work as hard as I can to anticipate the goodness in the world. This year, I’ve committed to taking in at least five sunrises and sunsets a week — really take them in — and I think it’s one of my favorite 2020 goals.
Tell us about the partnerships you’ve developed within the Southern Nevada business community and the community at large.
We have 132 partners which include businesses, individuals and organizations that provide low-cost or discounted services for our clients. Because we believe strongly in collaboration over competition, early on we started searching for folks who align with our core values of agenda- and judgement-free care, and began linking arms to make sure our clients have the best community of support. We literally couldn’t do what we do without incredible partners like DRD Dental, Legal Aid, Renewing Life Center, Safenest and Collective Tattoo.
Is there danger in your work?
A trafficking survivor is someone who is in the sex industry under coercion, deception, manipulation or threat, and they are not in control of their wages. Many people think of the movie “Taken” when they think of sex trafficking, and while there are “guerilla pimps” who use physical force and violence to traffic individuals, many of our clients are being trafficked by “CEO pimps” or “romeo pimps” who use romance, business tactics and manipulative relationships. Unfortunately, when our clients choose to leave, it’s easier for the trafficker to find and coerce a new individual to victimize. Therefore, the more present danger is for our clients rather than our team.
Is there some decision you’d like to have back and do differently?
In the early days of The Cupcake Girls, I would have been more cautious with our messaging, so that I didn’t have to defend against statements like “Cupcakes for Strippers.” I wish that early on, people could have understood the depth of the resources and support we’ve been providing with no agenda for the past 10 years.
What’s the biggest issue facing Southern Nevada?
Right now it’s the coronavirus, but the issue we’re seeing plague our clients and so many others in our community is hidden violence and the ongoing effects of it.
What are you reading right now? Or binge-watching?
My husband and I watch the entire series of “The Office” two or three times annually. Michael Scott is one of my favorite humans. Also, I love the idea of reading, but audible books have been a constant over the past few years and help me get in more and more amazing content. A few of my favorite authors are Brene Brown and Glennon Doyle.
Describe your management style.
I focus on hiring passionate, humble leaders with integrity and self-awareness. Bringing bad-ass humans who have compassion for our clients into The Cupcake Girls family is my No. 1 focus, and then I hone in on specific skill sets that I lack. I believe in inviting innovation and bringing in the strengths of the individuals on my team, because we are so much better together. We engage in what we call “courageous communication,” where all staff are encouraged to give feedback on how we can become better (or the things they love about one another).
Whom do you admire and why?
I’m sure this sounds cliché, but I admire my husband, Phil, so much. He has navigated some of the most traumatic experiences in his 41 years of life, yet he continues to be one of the most generous, loving and strong humans I’ve ever met. He is the best feminist dad to our girls and is my actual hero. I wouldn’t be able to do what I do without him.
What is something that people might not know about you?
Did you know my husband is a stay-at-home dad?
I’m so thankful to have a partner who believes in my dreams and feels as passionate about social justice as I do. And y’all, we’re doing our best to show that traditional gender norms don’t apply anymore. Because the truth in our home is that Phil is a much better parent and homemaker, and I’m a much better entrepreneur and CEO.
We often rehearse our responses for all the times I’ll get asked, “Oh wow, how do your kids handle you working so much?” and Phil gets asked “Aww, how sweet, are you babysitting today?” But mostly we just focus on how stoked we are that our daughters get to see that women can dream big and kick ass in the boardroom, men can kick ass in the kitchen and be super rad dads, and that if we all use our skills and passion wherever we are, together we can change the world.