How to convert your love for cooking into business
How to convert your love for cooking into business

This is my story, nothing new nothing different and certainly not trailblazing…I always wanted to get married and become a home maker, a simple dream and well realised in 1998. I read a quote long back by Alice Sebold that I often tried to impart the meaning or relate to it but without success, however today when I look back it embodies my journey, defines what I am, what I will be..."Sometimes the dreams that come true are the dreams you never even knew you had”

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When I started Namz Bakhouse in July 2020 during the pandemic, there was only one word to define the experience, surprise & surreal. I had been baking patisserie products for many years on a non commercial basis just to indulge my passion, positive comments & feedback from friends and family were galore, but I put it down to my people pleasing nature and cheerfulness while dealing with people. I recall with wistfulness the evening of 4th of July 2020, when after my husband’s birthday celebration were about to end, he suddenly got up to announce, albeit to a lot of cheering that I was embracing the entrepreneurship route & hence the birth of Namz Bakehouse on the 6th of July, coinciding with my first commercial order from a close friend Meenu. My husband and I had many discussions on turning entrepreneurs, however he has been a working professional all his life and I was living my home maker's dream, hence we both had our own barriers or demons to conquer before I could embrace the entrepreneur route. However, a chance conversation with a senior IPS family friend seemed to act as a catalyst for my husband to strive on ahead into the world of entrepreneurship.

Before Namz Bakehouse, I worked full time on raising my Son Ishaan, also being a mother to our adorable Golden Retriever Bryan & simply managing our joint family household and living life in the chill and relaxed zone. I knew I was most happy, yet somehow I also felt that destiny had more in store. Suddenly, one day I had waltzed into becoming an entrepreneur and was caught in the hurly burly of business life, taking business decisions. We have completed our one year today and this article is a commemoration of that journey. Consciously, I still make all the cakes myself, my passion has increased manifold, and I remain obsessed with quality & ensure the best procurement of the best quality ingredients and somehow also juggle ideas like moving from a home baker to having a retail outlet, to discussions with VCs, and also to explore the franchise route, all in mind off and on. One thing, very firmly I have committed to myself is that however large we grow, my gourmet cakes line will always be made fresh and made to individual order, that is one mission & vision which I will never change.

Keeping in mind that the pandemic is now receding, and people are itching to get out of their homes I foresee travel to be on the comeback trail and hence am humbled to announce today the launch of Namz Travels, a one stop travel company that will cater to all travel & travel related services. I hope to service our travel customers with the same passion & zeal as we have been doing for the patisserie business.

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What helps me to be successful, I can’t really say, it’s all God’s blessing but happy to share few of my learning:

Customer is the King: Individualistic and patient attention to all customers is what helps you in growing your business; I thrive on obtaining customer feedback and work accordingly on it.

The right Mentorship: Mentorship, we are ably assisted by the brilliance of Franchise India's Gaurav Marya & The Imperial New Delhi's Vijay Wanchoo, who is a maverick genius when it comes to reinterpretation of traditional deserts.

Marketing it right: In today’s world of social media and marketing, it plays an important role to market your brand right. We have been also blessed by word-of-mouth marketing by friends, family and my husband Sanjiv and his easy but relentless comfort in obtaining stupendous results.

Funding and collaborations: We have all used internal sources to fund our business and largely my husband & mother have helped me, so raising or deploying capital has never been an issue. For the travel business, we have tied up with a large travel company to form a strategic alliance & I am happy to state that we both share likeminded values and I see this association getting further strengthened over time.

It’s all about the Product: At the end, the only way to be successful is to make sure you have the product and delivery right to solicit feedback on a continuous basis and put those learning to immediate use.

Keep Learning: I also enjoy studying and learning from women entreprenuers a lot and enjoy reading about their success stories. Someone who I truly find very impressive is Ms Sangita Reddy of the Apollo Hospitals group, any interview of hers is always a learning process & inspires one, her people connect is uncanny. I know all of us entrepreneurs have our own unique journeys and stories yet I believe there is a lot to be learned from other entrepreneurs.  

So here I am, a reluctant Entrepreneur launching her second company in one year & my advice to other women out there is to boldly unleash your creativity and embrace the road to entrepreneurship, and you will love the journey as there is no end.

 

                          Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

 
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