When Olawunmi Animashaun rounded off her programme at Geography and Planning Department of the University of Lagos, she cried her eyes out when she leant that she didn’t make a 2:1. She felt her future was bleak. She believed that she had failed herself and her family. She went home crying, but her father gave her a piece of advice that changed her perception about life and her future. “My father said that anything you make from school is nothing, your certificate is a piece of paper, it is what you make out of it that makes you who you are”. Those words of her father gave her some sense of optimism about the future as she resolved to take her destiny in her own hands.
Olawunmi began to search for a job. She was lured by the security and flashy nature of a white-collar job. She desperately wanted to work in a bank because of the smart way they dress. Fortunately, she got a job in the bank. But barely few days of working in the banking hall, Olawunmi went home and vowed never to go back. “It was too tedious for me; sitting at a spot and counting such huge bulk of money. Also, after the day’s job, everybody is made to wait so that we would all leave the premises together. I didn’t like it at all,” she complained.
Amid the frustration, her father again reminded her of her passion for business and entrepreneurship. She made up her mind to float her own venture. She initially aspired to launch a fashion company but her brother convinced her that venturing into production of bread and cakes would be more viable. Having made that switch, she has not looked back as her Cream Slices and Desserts continue to wax stronger. “I won’t do any other thing, apart from this”, she enthused. “I used to do hats, make-ups and dresses for ladies, but as it is, I won’t do any of those anymore, even if I’m offered N500, 000. Baking cakes is what I want to do. And it really makes me happy.”
The cake business is indeed a money-making enterprise. According to Euromonitor, the British cake market is worth close £2bn in 2012, a figure, which was forecast to grow by almost five per cent in a few years’ time. Those, who realise these facts, and have penchant for the business, would not hesitate to explore the goodies in the business, making millions every year.
For the CEO of Cream Slices: “Cake business is indeed a viable venture; it is profitable enough to pay my rents and to also pay my staff and to also keep me going.”
She continues: “However, I must say that I didn’t go into cakes to make money. It was more of someone giving me an idea which I tried out, coupled with my passion,” she said.
Cake business is not all about butter, icing and naira rains. According to cake experts, it is about keeping afloat with your brand in the industry. So, to establish and run a flourishing cake business, it requires passion, organisation and certain amount of artistic flair. “The first thing I will ask persons that want to come into our business is: ‘how patient are you?’ This is because, for a beginner, you are not going to make money in the first one or two years. When you have high quality and few people patronizing you, you can’t break even. But you have to be ready to pay the price.”
According to Mrs Animashaun, some of the factors that influence pricing are determined by expertise, the value placed on services, location and the financial status of clientele.”
She continues: “Cakes are often intricate and it take hours to make. It’s so labour-intensive. You might have to spend four or five days on some beautiful wedding cake, and that’s inevitably going to be expensive. But you have to be realistic, if that’s what it costs, that’s what it costs.
“It is important also that you always ensure that you collect a deposit to commit your customer, as many customers may ask you to bake cake for them and may not come back, after you’ve spent your money and dissipate your energy on it.”
Every business has its challenges and for Cream Slices, the number one is power. She also decried the poor quality manpower in Nigerian economic environment. “I’m sure if we could find a lasting solution to inefficient power in our country; it will be helpful for the business. Then human resource is another challenge in the growth of cake businesses. People don’t want to work and they want to be paid. People keep saying there are no jobs. There are actually jobs but it is just that our people are just unemployable. You sometimes want to hire people and you go through, say 50 persons for interview, yet you can’t even find any you want to employ.”
She further urges the unemployed and the underemployed to consider getting trained and equipped to go into cake business to reap the sweet gains inherent in the venture.
“Cake-making is a popular business. So, to compete, you’ll need to make your cakes look as professional as possible. Training in all aspects of the industry, from sugar-craft to marzipan techniques, is essential if you want to be able to compete in an increasingly packed marketplace.
You can learn from friends and relatives. You should also keep learning from online sources,” she counselled.
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