Cakes at the weekend

Two years ago, I was working in an office and earning a fairly low salary. I had always loved baking, so I decided to try selling my cakes online at the weekends. I took some photos with my phone, created a page on social media and advertised to friends and neighbours. On the first weekend I got three orders, two of them from my aunt.

The early months taught me a lot, mostly through mistakes. I did not know how to price my cakes, and at first I charged too little. After I added up the cost of butter, eggs and gas, I realised I was making almost no money. Delivery was another problem. One cake arrived at a customer's house with its top completely flat because the driver had put it under a heavy box. I had to bake a new one for free.

Slowly, I found better ways of working. I bought stronger packages and wrote 'Fragile' on each one. I limited myself to fifteen orders a week, so I could still sleep on Saturday nights. I also started asking customers to pay half the total amount before I started baking, which stopped people from cancelling at the last minute.

The business is still small, but it has changed my life in other ways. I have learnt to keep records, talk to customers and deal with complaints politely. The extra money pays for my evening English classes. Most of all, the real reward is not the money. It is the photos customers send me of children blowing out candles on my cakes.

If you are thinking of starting something similar, my advice is simple. Begin small, count every cost, and don't be afraid of failure. My previous attempt, selling handmade bags, lasted only two months. Without that experience, though, I would never have known what I was doing wrong the second time.