Urmila Keshav’s love for baking began when she was just eight years old. Now, she has turned that passion into a thriving business.
After beginning her career as a pastry chef, Urmila Keshav decided at age 30 to take a risk, and bought Icing on the Cake, a popular bakery in Auckland’s Herne Bay.
“I just thought, I would really love to do something for myself,” Keshav said.
“I didn’t see it as a risk to be honest, I just went all in - everyone said, ‘oh you're so brave’, but I never really saw that side of it."
Urmila Keshav gained support from ANZ New Zealand, as part of the bank’s Watch Women Win initiative, which has aimed to showcase women succeeding in their chosen fields and inspire others to do the same.
After buying the business, Keshav kept some things the same, but changed other aspects, including the look and feel of the business, to her own tastes.
The hardest part wasn’t the baking or meeting orders, she said, but actually just coming to grips with the business side of her new venture.
“It was the marketing, the staff, keeping up with our suppliers and attracting clients,” Keshav said.
“But I actually now almost prefer that side of the business to being in there baking - I like talking to people and finding out what I need to do to support my staff and get the best out of them.”
She now employs two full-time and two part-time staff, and has spent a lot of time developing them.
“I'm able to drop off my kids every morning, and arrive around 9.30 - but I know that, every day, the store will be set up and open for business,” she said.
For Urmila Keshav, the last few years have been challenging, with inflation pushing ingredient (and therefore cake) costs up, as well as the undeniable effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I remember when they announced that businesses would shut, and thinking, what are we going to do? To be shut for weeks, how are we going to manage this?”
With support from her family and her landlord, Icing on the Cake weathered the storm, and Keshav realised the need to innovate as preferences had changed.
Social distancing had put a temporary end to large, in-person gatherings, which meant her larger cakes were off the table for a while. This allowed Keshav to introduce a new line of smaller “bubble” cakes enough for three to four people to enjoy at home, as well as cupcakes and slices, perfect for a socially-distanced picnic.
While previously, people had opted for in-person consultations much of the time, Urmila Keshav said Covid-19 really cemented the importance of social media marketing. In response to this, Keshav put a lot of time and effort into her online ordering systems and social media presence.
She said, that during the early years, she did have doubts about the viability of Icing on the Cake at times, but she knew she had to push through.
“In the first 18 months, and we had some very quiet months with not much cashflow, we just couldn't cover costs,” Keshav said.
"I was thinking, this is supposed to be what I love doing, and I'm failing at it - but we just had to ride it out. It's the first two years, if you can just get past that barrier. It is difficult, I’m not going to say it's not, but if you believe in it, and you've got a vision, stick with it, and put everything into it.”
“It's going to be up to you, whether you can push through it and make changes. You learn every day, so keep an open mind, and keep learning."
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