How baking hobby turned into business

15 Jan, 2017 - 00:01 0 Views
How baking hobby  turned into business Nontobeko Lubelihle Maphosa

The Sunday News

Nontobeko Lubelihle Maphosa

Nontobeko Lubelihle Maphosa

Nkosilesisa Ncube, Sunday Life Reporter
A year ago, 33-year-old Nontobeko Lubelihle Maphosa was just another stay at home mother of two. It was not until she tried her luck at baking her sister’s birthday cake that she realised she could be making a living out of baking.

After getting positive feedback for that first cake, Maphosa never looked back, receiving more orders by the day and went ahead to brand her business as Luba’s Cakes by the festive season, which she says was the busiest time of her life.

What is most remarkable about Maphosa’ s baking prowess is that the only training she received was a six-day course, everything else she does is self-taught coupled with skills acquired from both television and the internet.

“I believe my skill is more natural than anything else. All I did was a six-day course, which I did not even take seriously. I have been sitting on this my whole life and I did not even know I could be this good at baking cakes. So mine is not so much a skill than it is a gift that I complemented with tips from the internet and television shows,” said the soft spoken baker.

Maphosa does not specialise in any particular kind of cake but is as flexible in her baking as her customers are in their orders, so anything from fruitcakes to sponge cakes is fair game for the baker who pours her heart into every order she works on.

Over the year, she has provided cakes for weddings, birthday parties, family gatherings among a long repertoire of events.

Maphosa draws her inspiration and takes her greatest tips from baker and reality television star Buddy Valastro of the Cake Boss fame as well as her mentor Hermish Kajeke, who she says is always just a phone call away.

Like the age-old fable of little red hen who had to bake a cake all by herself, Maphosa runs a one-woman show; collecting orders, obtaining ingredients, baking and making deliveries, even under the worst weather conditions unaided.

“I work alone, without any help and that is the way I like it. When you are as passionate about what you do as I am, in the end , it does not even feel like a job and you do not really mind doing all the extra work that comes with it. Sometimes I have to go out in the rain to make deliveries because that is my obligation to my customers,” she said.

From the comfort of her home in Harrisvale, Maphosa works her magic, putting aside night time when there are no distractions as the time to nurture her craft.

“I prefer to work at night. That way, the children are asleep, it is so much more peaceful than the daytime and most importantly there is a much lower risk of power cuts during the night. Also I love working from home. I do not see that changing anytime soon. Not only is it cheaper in terms of rentals, but it is just more comfortable. My kitchen is the best,” she said.

Moving forward, Maphosa said in the next five years she wishes to have expanded her business. She is optimistic about her business growing, citing that in the next few years, she should have a vehicle to assist in ferrying her deliveries with more ease. She added that she would love to have a shop that specifically distributes baking accessories and ingredients.

She urged people to try out different skills as there is no telling what they may or may not be good at.

@nkocykay

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