The advent of cake baking has brought up generations of veterans in the line of business. Cake, as we know, is very important in any gathering where people celebrate. It stands as a symbol of jubilation, hence, everyone sees the need for it; both young and old crave to have a bite or a chunk of cake at any event. As people always say, a party isn’t complete without the cutting of the cake.
These days, attention has been given to this industry. Brides these days look forward to being wowed at the sight of their wedding cakes; you see bakers going the extra mile to give nothing but quality which of course brings about more referrals and expansion to the baker’s business. Barely two months ago, a major training tagged ‘Uncut Learning 2’ was organized by a veteran in the industry, Dewdrops Cakes in Lagos. A two-day event that hosted over 1,000 participants from all over Nigeria and featured top bakers from different parts of the world with the United State Cake Boss (Buddy Valastro) as the celebrity baker. These events showcased creativity from all angle stemming from fondant making to cake painting, castle cake making, just to mention a few. Without doubt, the industry has trained many people with different levels of creativity.
Starting a cake business entails a few important things of which passion is one. There has to be something to motivate you to want to pick up baking. However, passion alone isn’t enough to sustain or build a business. There are people who have a passion for baking but do not intend making a living from it, while some have passion for it and decided to transfer their passion into wealth. For this set of people, the following steps will be helpful in building a successful business in Cake baking.
How to start…
Acquire basic skills: To achieve and be the best in whatever you do, you need training no matter how little or substandard it might be. Everything learnt will one day be of use. You don’t have to wait till you have thousands of money in your account before you get this. Though at a particular point you might need to pay for it to become professional, however, that isn’t the first step. There are different channels online that showcase different recipes and give directions on its preparation. All you need to do is engage your gadget and search online for sites that do such. Subscribe if need be and learn. Secondly, you can learn from someone around you by volunteering to help. This may seem like a lot but, it is the best thing to do to train you to build your own cake business. Through volunteering, you see the way things are done; from there you pick up the basic things which you can divert into building yours.
Equipment: Every business is expected to thrive at every interval, depending on the amount of input, energy and investment centered on it. The cake business isn’t an exception. To start a business in baking, there are major must-have equipments such as a mixing machine, oven, baking pans, a bowl, palette knife for carving etc, these equipments may seem too much for a starter, especially when it involves money, I will suggest and advice that you improvise with things around that do not require spending, at least as a start-up. Instead of an oven, a pot can be replaced with a mixing machine, a turning stick and a bowl. These things will get the work done for you without having to spend so much to start with.
Creativity: The baking world is a world of creativity. It’s an industry that involves building and carving just like a builder building a house. The ability to engage your imaginations and be able to turn it into something beautiful enhances your creativity. After having gone through training from different veterans in the industry, you need your own personal development and skills to put what you’ve learnt into something pleasing to the eyes. The baking world revolves around creativity, simplicity and excellence. Cake has moved from what we knew it to be to a new world with competition everywhere. Each and every day you come in contact with bakers and what sets you out is the niche you have carved for yourself and how excellent you are in it. The market is a competitive one and only those who have what it takes to survive to stay alive.
Customer relationship: Business involves buying and selling and at the same time making profit. You must be able to sell yourself to people and be good enough to convince them to buy from you. You just don’t advertise once and leave it. It’s a daily routine and requires commitment and the ability to keep your customers. Good customer services endear people and make them give their loyalty to you and your business. Customers’ relationship can be built when you offer value, your conversation, presentation and also your availability.
Profit: For any business to succeed and thrive in the labour market, you must count the cost. Build a profit margin and a structure for the business. In the beginning, it might be quite challenging especially when you are just building your customer line, however, the more you grow, the best you start paying attention to sustaining the business in the market. Read up books on finance, attend seminars, ask a question and others.
and then