Today, we are going to talk about Ila Prakash Singh, an entrepreneur from Gurugram. She left her corporate job to start her dream business in bakery. She started her bakery business from home and built it to a level that seems difficult for a newbie. She achieved this level at a time when social media wasn’t around. Here’s how she whipped up a delicious success story.
In this era of social media, where the world is in your palm, starting a business at home is certainly easier. But take a minute and imagine what it would have been like to start one when you cannot share about your business with the masses and you have to do a lot more after your normal work hours just to increase your business reach and potential.
Ila started her home catering and baking business in an era before social media became viral. Ila, who is almost 48 now, remembers her struggles in her initial days, the challenges she faced and how the advent of social media gave her home-baking business new wings.
She said that she started her business from home and with an initial investment of approximately Rs 5,000. She also mentioned that her Rs 5,000 grew exponentially; today, she makes about Rs 10,000 a day by delivering over 40 varieties of bakery products — including cakes, cookies, chocolates, gluten-free bread, desserts, patty, stuffed buns and pizzas — across Delhi and NCR.
Initially, she would cater to birthday parties for which she would make a complete menu that included food and cake. Many of the orders would come from her apartment complex itself, which gave her the confidence to venture out. Today, she spends between 8-15 hours a day baking and cooking, depending on how many orders she would get per day. She also said that the lockdown was a time when other people’s businesses were a bit cold while she was working 13-14 hours a day.
“Always do the right thing – even if it takes you time to get to your final destination, do it right.” — Anonymous
I have seen many women dream of running a business. We know many such women who are able to take the plunge. And when it comes to a bakery business, I can surely say that it is a business that can bloom if you work in the right direction.
Never stop dreaming and always follow your passion.