Enterprise Nation

If you attended the Enterprise Nation Conference in November 2009, you may have picked up a treat on your way out. That treat was hand made by The Little Cakery, a business that grew out of Svarna Singh’s accidental sales. She talks to us about starting up, the benefit of online communities and what’s coming next for this tasty little venture.

In training

After graduating with a degree in International Business and Economics, Svarna completed a 1 year internship working with  IBM, and then an almost 3 year stint at Microsoft. Her role was made redundant at the end of 2008 and by the time she was offered another role, she was too busy planning her wedding.

“After getting married I spent about a week looking for a job (that’s what I tell my husband, I probably only really spent half a day on job hunting). But my heart wasn’t in going back to a corporate role. In the meantime I’d ‘accidently’ gotten my first few cake orders. Friends started encouraging me to take this up as my own business. Whilst most people were encouraging, many thought I was wasting my education on starting my own cake business. Baking was always something I’d enjoyed, but never really thought about having my own cake business, it was always more of a hobby. But I decided to give it a go!”

Starting out

Svarna spent a lot of time online, observing the trends and fashions in the world of cakes. For the first few months orders came from friends, and occasionally their friends. Slowly but surely the business started growing through word of mouth and with each order Svarna was building her experience and trying out new techniques from the UK as well as other techniques from Australia and the USA.

“I decided I needed a website – I was charging minimal rates and needed to position myself for a higher end market. I got in touch with someone I’d met earlier in the year, and managed to get her to do my website. She was a graphics designer, not a web designer, but I was willing to have her first web project be mine, and in return she gave me a really good rate!

Things started moving...friends of friends of friends were now hearing about me, and I was developing a unique sense of style with my own signature on the cakes.”

Business Development

Svarna didn’t have the funds to invest in expensive cake decorating classes, but she did join online communities and learnt new skills through these sites.

“Having your own business can get lonely, but having these forums around really helped. At first I joined cake forums, but then it expanded into business forums like this one (EN).”

Svarna contacted Business Link which led to being enrolled on some courses and she also now has an allocated (free) business coach who is currently helping out with writing a business plan. She also got the good news Just before Christmas that she has received a £1000 grant from a local enterprise agency.

“This is a massive help, and I’m planning to spend it on a new commercial oven (so that I can increase my capacity) and spend what’s left on some marketing activities. I’m still undecided between SEO, PR agency fees or Pay Per Click advertising.”

The Future

Whilst Svarna will continue to build the cake order side of the business, she’s also started working on content to put together two different types of classes; the first being a cake decorating class and the second a class on ‘How to Start Your Own Cake Business’

“I talk about my business all the time – so does my mum! Whenever the doctor or the hair dresser or the mechanic or anyone asks how I am, I tell them about how my new business is keeping me so busy – most of them respond by offering to give out business cards for me. How great is marketing like that!”

• Svarna Singh, The Little Cakery