82: Discover who you are!

I never dreamed of having a business of my own, leave alone managing it all by myself. All I ever knew, was my voice and my love for singing but today I can proudly call myself an entrepreneur.

At the peak of my career at ICICI Bank in 2008, I was called into my boss’s cabin, for a promotion. Instead, I handed over my resignation letter. A call I took, due to personal reasons. This turned out to be a turning point in my life.

I was then, a full-time homemaker and a mother of two amazing children. I completely forgot about myself. I stopped spending time with my friends and eventually sidelined them completely. By then, my whole life revolved around my family and my kids.

There came a time when problems arose and I realised I was no more financially independent and did not have support whatsoever. I had forgotten to dream and have a goal. But, when I did, I had an uneasy feeling, because I could do nothing.

At that point in time my sister, who was moving house, was giving away household things and asked me if I wanted a small oven. Since I had never really used one before, I decided to take it and try my hand at baking. The first and only cake recipe I had was from my grandma’s cookbook. I often baked the same thing over again for 6 months and distributed it to friends and family or wherever I visited. My neighbours got lucky almost every week.

Until one day, a close friend asked me if I could bake her five cakes. At that point, I had one tray and an oven that could fit just one cake at a time, yet I did it. I cannot explain the joy I felt baking those five cakes with so much ease, one after the other. I wanted to do more, I wanted to learn more, and my thirst for baking grew.

However, after I left my corporate job I was financially not in a state that could cater to my happiness. It was then that the unhappiness settled in, with each passing day. I could not leave my kids due to personal reasons and go back to work again but I knew I was much more than an amazing mum.

So I decided to work on myself, to rid myself of the unworthiness I felt. I began spending more time on self-help and self-development programmes. I began reading from the comfort of my home.
I prayed and affirmed each day that my gifts and talents would bring me joy and income easily and in grace.

I was amazed to witness how the Universe listens. I had given up my musical self post-marriage, I had completely forgotten who and what I was in my past. This part of me began to open up in bits and pieces and out of the blue, my friends who are well-known musicians showed up and occasionally connected with me for work. I did a few recordings and realised that I was now able to gather money and do something for myself. I saved up and invested in a bigger oven, eventually in baking equipment and attended few workshops to skill up. I realised how blessed I was with this gift that I had within me. Everything I touched turned out perfectly flawless on the first go. My joy grew thousandfold.

My friends loved what I treated them to each week but eventually felt awkward to keep asking me to bake for their families. They pushed me to price my cakes but I felt uncomfortable and got into my shell, but with help I did and they began paying me for my work. The news spread and people began ordering and I grew from selling a cake at ₹150, to teaching little kids, until one day a friend said to me, “Why don’t you have a page of your own?” At that point I was not well versed with social media, so she created it for me and that’s when Cakes Bakes and Lots More was birthed. A few years later, my son created,
https://instagram.com/cakesandbakesandmore

2020 was another turning point in my life. With the lockdown, no one could move out or pick up my bakes, but fortunately, online delivery apps took lead, online portals like Google Pay and delivery options like Wefast were a blessing, and thanks to all my friends, family and clients who never stopped believing in my work, I kept growing and thriving.

Today, new ideas keep emerging out of my mind, from creating new recipes, to creating hampers, supporting women to start their home businesses and use their skills, abilities and talents to owning my homegrown business.

My work reflects who I am, and I truly believe once you begin to believe in yourself, forgive your past for limiting yourself and taking yourself for granted, doors will open, new opportunities will emerge and the Universe will support your dream.

Even today, I fight my inner demons of self-worth and conditioning beliefs. This helps me face life, and my experiences help me grow. I am so grateful to the close relations, who I have lost along the way, who are no longer in my life, for they have made me stronger through all the hardships along this journey. I keep dreaming and believing that one day my work will no longer be from my small kitchen in my home and I will someday own a workplace and be a successful business owner.

Never stop believing in yourself. You never know what talents you have until you spend quality time with yourself each day. Discover who you are!