‘Everything tastes better when we give it a good time’

selfie posted to your wall, or posted with a relevant company hashtag on Twitter or Instagram.

- This will work better if you have a very active page, a blog or a website. Ask customers to submit a selfie with your product, and then choose one image to feature as the ‘customer Selfie of the Week’. It’s a kind of contest, but the ‘prize’ is simply the adoration and recognition by your other customers.

4. Feature a customer’s selfie

5. Take advantage of your large followership

- If you are one of those with plenty followers on the social media and you don’t have a business, you could business owners looking for followership and practice the aforementioned tips. And if you own a business, but you don’t have a good social media following or you are not on any social network, simply get someone with large followership to do the job for you.

It is a wise saying that baking, being a fine art, needs timing for it to be executed properly. It is also important to be exact in its measurement and technique. The onus then lies in being creative and having the skills to develop new flavours, style, and decoration to qualify as a good baker. It is also vital to be a good leader especially if one is leading a team to mass produce baked goods for their numerous hungry customers.

WEEKEND recently caught up with a young entrepreneur who is a baker, and wishes to surmount her challenges in order to achieve her dream of having one of the best bakeries in the country.

Habiba Dasuki has always loved to bake right from when she was young but hasn’t had time to fully plunge into it until 2012 after her undergraduate studies.

‘Cake Haven emerged in 2012 after my youth service. I decided to start baking as a hobby since I’ve had the interest right since I was little, though I never really baked much while growing up.”

“I also yearned to start something of my own, to have a business of my own, so I decided to make it a business. I had to attend different cake and chocolate courses while I was on holiday in London.”

The native of Sokoto State who has lived most her life in Kaduna said Cake Haven bakes cakes and deliver them nationwide. “We make different types of cakes from cupcakes, loaves, cake pops, push up cakes amongst others. Whatever our customers want and order is what we bake and deliver to them.”

She added that a home business like this, one doesn’t really need much money to set it up adding that she started with the little savings she had to purchase all the equipment and ingredients she needed.

“Since I was working from home, I didn’t need to rent a shop, or pay water and electricity bills. Anyone looking to start a bakery can comfortably start with N80,000 to N100,000 which will cover capacity building, raw materials and all equipment,” she explained.

Habiba who is a graduate of Information Systems from the American University of Nigeria (AUN) maintained that Innovation and creativity are very important qualities a baker should possess. She said, “That is why I am always searching for ways to include my own personal touch and flair to the cakes and other desserts we make here.”

“Also, taste and attention to little details are two things that bring my customers back again and again. I try to do something unique all the time. Nothing satisfies me more than pleasing the taste buds of my customers,” she continued.

The employer of four says the business is very lucrative and urges young women to go into it saying, “I always urge my staff to be passionate in whatever they do and to always remember that the key to success is discipline, patience, determination and creativity.”

“Not everyone is meant to work in an office. You can always choose a field you feel passionate about; start small to see if the idea will work. ‘Everything tastes better if you give it a good time’,” Habiba advised.

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