We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Joy Mwangi a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Joy , appreciate you joining us today. One of our favorite things to brainstorm about with friends who’ve built something entrepreneurial is what they would do differently if they were to start over today. Surely, there are things you’ve learned that would allow you to do it over faster, more efficiently. We’d love to hear how you would go about setting things up if you were starting over today, knowing everything that you already know.
If I were starting over today, I’d take a business development and financial literacy class. I’d also attend short courses to learn skills. This would save me time and money that I spent learning through trial and error. Alot of the missteps and errors I made could’ve been avoided by having sought help and having a mentor hold my hand through the process of setting up a business correctly, acquiring & improving skills and having correct business practices such as accounting and record keeping.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I started out by turning my first love, baking, into a business. Initially I loved baking for birthdays, weddings and creating unique pieces that stood out. At some point I knew I needed to do so much more with the knowledge I was gathering. Over the years this evolved into a cloud kitchen that provides snacks, pastries and cake for all occasions. Our latest project has been solving the one problem I faced Initially; lack of information and guidance. That is how our baking masterclasses came about. I’m so proud of the progress we’ve made. I love seeing my students set up baking businesses of their own. I love seeing them flourish and carve their own niche. The baking masterclasses not only equip students with skills, they also offer job creation opportunities, this is both for the budding entrepreneur and the people he/she will employ as the business grows. It feels great to impact people in such a useful way. I’d love people to know that the Sugarbling brand is not only dedicated to creating delicious unforgettable pastries, but that we are also passionate about imparting knowledge, creating new income streams for our students in a hands on manner that allows one to thrive even after the class ends.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
In business, the biggest pivotal moment was the covid-19 pandemic. There was a huge drop in purchasing power and therefore sales. This meant that we had to stay creative and introduce new menu items at a time when cake was considered a luxury items and when people were no longer able to gather and celebrate together thus negating the need for cake. New menu items with contactless delivery made a huge difference in both business and keeping in touch with our clients.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
My biggest source of new clients has been social media. I took a short digital marketing course that changed my perspective on how to engage with clients in the digital space. This enabled me to create better, more engaging content that reached a suitable demographic that is interested in our offerings
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James Kariuki /The Dispatch Agencies