 And my last guess of the day, this one is a special one. Because Friday is the lovers' day and she did something special for the lovers. Lillian Avangari, founder of Lecreme and Flavors Bakery is in studio with us. Just to share a story with us. Karibu Sanam. Alright, your camera is number 4. I think you know the drill now. You've been around for... Yeah, yeah. I'll give you a chance to introduce yourself. Just in case you missed anything. Then we get to the what matters most. Alright, just look them straight into the eyes right. Okay, my name is Lillian Avangari. I'm the founder and CEO of Lecreme Bakery. We deal with the matters with cakes. We do from wedding cakes, graduations, any ceremonial cake we can make. Any ceremonial cake. And today, being a lovers' week, we decided to do something amazing for Valentine's Day. Yes. You already have in studio with us right here. Yes, yes, yes. And this is a display of your work. But you said any ceremonial cake. What about private cakes? Some of us love private. Yeah, even private we do. Even private you do. Yes, any cake you can think of, you can create. Alright. Yes. Wow, your cake is as beautiful as you are. Thank you. I'd like to know how long did it take you to get as good as you are at this? It has taken some few years. You know, practice, practice. It makes perfect. And with the change, you need to keep changing and evolving. Yes. Alright. So what, I'd like to know your background first. Okay. So I started back in 2016. It was, at first it was a passion. You know, baked cakes at home, baked for family. You're making it for family, for your friends. Just look funny. And then in 2017, that's when I decided, I think it's serious. Alright. So we need to get serious. When you realized, I need to take this a notch higher. What were some of the things you figured, alright, I need to work on this, work on this one and work on that. At first, I needed to work on my skills, because I didn't have any back. So skill is number one. Yes. You cannot start a business without having the appropriate skills. Yes, yes, yes. So I needed to get to acquire skills for baking, where I joined a bakery just for one, because I had the basics. So I just needed to polish up what I had. Then obviously you need capital. Capital is number two. Skills, capital. Yes, capital is number two. Then I think... I'd like to know how you jumped over that hurdle right there. The capital hurdle. It was challenging, because first of all, I was employed. So I had to resign and just take a deep dive. Alright. It was a risk. It was a risk. A very big one. Did you prep yourself for resigning? So many people are thinking about it, but nobody has the guts. Yeah, it took time. I think a year and a half before I decided I need to do this. So it was just... This year you say I'm resigning, then next year comes and you're like, let me just hold. So it got to a time and whatever is inside, when your dream drives you, it gets to a point and you're like, I can't do this anymore. Let me go do my own stuff. Yes. Alright. So the best thing is not to tell anybody I'm going to resign next year. No, you need a plan. You need a plan. Yes. And give it a secret. Yes. Alright. So number three. You need... The capital is number two. Yes. Number one we said... Our skill. The skill is very important than the capital. Yes. Then tell me the number three. The number three. Now you need a plan, because you can't just go do something blindly. So you need to work on the market, your market, your customers. You need to look at the diversity of the industry that you're going in, so that you can get to understand how even you start marketing yourself, how you reach to customers. Yes. So it took a lot of research for you. Yes, sure. For you to understand your market. Yes. Alright. So what are some of the tools you used for research? Online. Online? Yeah. Obviously everybody is on Facebook. Yeah. And then interacting with a few friends, the young people, what the market is, even the bakers who are already in the market. Yes. So you talked to the guys who are doing something similar to what you were doing. Yes. The potential customers are also very important. And the haters are also very important. Yeah, sure. They keep you going. Alright. Yes. So maybe you can share with them your social media handle. So they can check you guys out as we carry on. Okay. Your camera is number one. So we are in Facebook. That is Rakrim Flavors Bakery. You can check us in Facebook. We have shared a lot of workings that we have done from birthday, house warming, baby shower. So you can check us in Facebook. And also WhatsApp. Facebook, they are contacts that you can reach us on WhatsApp. Yes. Alright. So that is it right there. You're present online. The skills are in check. You invested in yourself and now you're doing it. What are some of the hurdles that you didn't see coming in this? Because many people might consider this something simple because people cook every day for themselves and their families. So they think it's an easy thing to turn it into a business. What are some of the hurdles you have come across? I think the most challenging one has been how to handle the orders. Because sometimes customers will give a late order because we make fresh cakes. There's nothing that has been in the fridge for so long. Please tell me that is your fresh cakes. Fresh cakes. Freshly baked. So some customers will give a late notice or order and you're supposed to make it on that day. So when you tell them it's not possible at some point, some of them don't take it very politely. But now you know we are based on quality is our main character. So we can't do a cake very fast so that we make your order and then at the end of the day it doesn't satisfy you. Alright. So we'd rather not deliver than deliver substandard products. Alright. This has got you so far. Have you always been like this or you learned this at a particular point in your journey? No, you learn. You learn. When a company is starting, there's so many things that you go learning on the way. You go learning. You know we need to do this. Because you're setting a structure for something that is going to grow big. So you need to set the right structure when it's really small. So as you go, as you handle different customers, because clients are different. So as you handle this one, you handle this one, you handle this one. So you know the next one, I'll do this one so that I have him or her better. Alright. So it's a learning process as much as you have to remember the three key parts. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Skill, capital and planning. It's a learning process that you need to understand for sure. Alright. So I'd like to know, coming from employment to running your own business, do you have some employees right now or some people that you correlate with or co-work with to make your business? Yes, I have. But at the moment we are doing part-time. Like when we have many wedding cakes or many orders, I call some few people I think too. And maybe sometimes you need help with delivery. Because maybe you're taking one thing to town, another one to Thika. So you need different people to do that. I feel you. Yes. And so I'm sorry to dive into this stereotype but I have to. Not so many people expect a woman to own and run a business. It's a stereotype that is around, especially in Africa. Women have been on the sidelines for a very long time in the corporate world. Do you feel like the space is there for women to own businesses? Do you feel like they take women seriously in this corporate world that you're getting into? My take would be, I think whatever you offer on the table is what make people take you seriously. Because if you say you're going to deliver a cake certain way, you should do that. You should keep your word. So if you do that they come to respect you. Yes, you're a woman. But your work is speaking for itself. Yes. Thank you very much, man. And we have a cake right here. And this was made specially for Valentine's. Yes. All right. So maybe we can check this cake out as we talk more about Valentine's. And you seem to be taking advantage of all these holidays that we have. Yes. I was Christmas first. Christmas was great. We made the Christmas tree, which was all cake. I could eat anything from the cake. Yes, yes, yes. It was amazing. So business is always great. What do you have lined up for Valentine's Day? So Valentine's we have orders. This time we are focusing on chocolate. Because I think I'm a love of chocolate. So on Valentine's... That makes the two of us. Yes, yes. So we have an offer for 1500 for one kg chocolate cake. One kg chocolate cake. Yes. So how do you relate cakes with love? How can we relate that? I think it's with what I feel. Or how you relate with love. Just tell me your life story. You're open for that as well. Yes. So you just need to make a cake that even if you see it yourself, you just fall in love with it. All right. So the secret is make a fall in love with the cake. Yes. And she's going to fall in love with it. Okay. Please remind them you're social media handle. Rackrim Bakers Facebook. Rackrim Bakers on Facebook. Are you on Instagram? Not yet. We're still working. You're still working on Facebook. All right. So I've interacted with so many communities of bakers. There's the Bakers Club. We have communities of bakers. What is the importance of involving yourself in these circles of people who do similar things to what you do? It's very important because you share the same problems. You are able to understand one another because you're in the same field. So if this customer is dealing with this kind of a problem, you're able to help one another. And then you're able to polish up your skills with seeing what the other people are doing. So you can't stay on your own. You need to interact with them. Interact with people who do similar things to what you do. That's working as the future. All right. Please remind them the top three tips of running your own business. So you need to have skills. You acquire the right skills. You need to have finance. Capital is key. Capital is very important. Yes. And then you need to have a plan. You need to have a plan. Yes. Then you're good to go. So I'll give you a chance to talk to them because I know there are so many lovers who watch White in the Morning. And it's only four days before then. So just talk to them and tell them what they can get from you. If they interact with you on that Facebook page that you were talking about. Okay. So to all my clients out there and my potential clients, love is a beautiful thing. So it wouldn't be any beautiful if you offer a present. Like now this cake is full of chocolate handmade. The chocolates are handmade. So you can imagine what it can do to a heart. And it's shaped like a heart as well. Full of chocolate and it's a chocolate cake. So it's amazing. So remind them of the Facebook page. So my Facebook page. So we can get to eat this cake. I'm looking forward to it. So my Facebook page is La Cream Flavours Bakery. Yes. All right. Thank you very much for coming. You're welcome. We appreciate you so much. Thank you. And keep doing what you're doing. And as I said to the other guests that we had, I'm looking forward to seeing La Cream Bakery's on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. Thank you. All right. So we have come to an end of Entrepreneurship Tuesday. And throughout the time that we eat this cake, Valentina has come early. Why to buy four studios, cut a sea of us.