 This is the way to do it, this is the way to do it, this is the way to do it. Hello, how are you? Welcome to Youth in Action. My name is Nyangwa Sogrenis. In today's program, we have James Cyril Agot, a mechanical engineer turned baker. So James, this is a very interesting combination. How did the baking come about? Actually, my life is so interesting. I did graphic design, then I did IT, then I later did mechanical engineering, specifically on plant operation and maintenance. Then after finishing school, now I was home with my certificate, with actually no job. So I opted to find something to do. And it's when I went visiting, I went to visit an in-law. Then to my in-law is where I found out that I was talented in cooking, in which the in-law would identify the skills in me. So she saw it and told me that I have so much good skills in cooking, so I can run a hotel. So after coming from my in-law, I came back home and now I was thinking of what to do. So in the thinking of what to do, I just thought of baking as a business, because I had come across someone in Facebook who does baking from home. So I was inspired by him and now I opted to do baking. So I started marketing myself even though I didn't know how to bake, but I was marketing myself to my friends. So a friend of mine approached me and she told me she needs a cake the next day. So I googled the recipe of a cake and I baked the cake. Then the next day I searched on YouTube how to decorate a cake. And that's how I decorated the cake, even though it was not that good, because the client gave me a feedback that the cake was nice, but the decoration. So I saw that I need to improve in my decoration. So I started to learn more from YouTube. I searched for videos of doing cakes like decorating cakes. I watched the videos and I learned slowly as time goes by, I learned slowly. The funny thing is that I didn't practice on decoration. I used to practice on a client's cake. That's the funny part. When a client orders the cake, I bake the cake and I decorate the cake through the video. After watching the videos, I decorate the cake. But at some point now I was going through Facebook and I came across a lady. She's called Marcy Chirotich of Yambo and I saw her cakes were perfect. So I just texted her and told her that I know how to bake, but decoration is a problem. So she just told me that you come with the cake tomorrow and I will show you how to do it. So the next day I went with the cake and she gave me a hint on how to do the cake. I did the decoration part even though it was not that perfect. After that, the lady told me that now I'm also a self-taught baker. I learned through YouTube and pay interest. There's an app called Pre-Interest. So she encouraged me and advised me to go on with just watching more videos from YouTube and from paying interest. So after that I just came back and I've been watching more videos from paying interest on YouTube. I think now I'm somewhere. Interesting. This is a very interesting shift from mechanical engineering to baking. How do your parents or your peers take it? For my parents, they take it positively because when I told them I want to bake, they supported me by giving me a loan of 50,000 to start the business. So for them, they supported me. They have really supported me so far. For my friends, they took it positively. It is a cottage industry, right? Yes. So where do you get your clientele and who are they? My clientele, I get them from Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, referrals from the cakes I've done. That's how I get my clientele. The majority of my clients are youths and a few are elderly people. Was it difficult starting to mobilize your business? We are in a modern society in which there is the social media. So for me, I can say it was not that hard but I did my marketing well and I got clients. In such a cottage industry, what are the skill sets and ethical issues to observe? Skill sets, one must be honest. Honesty is the key. You find that you get a client from Facebook or from Instagram, but for the client to believe you and next time to give you another job to do for her or him, you have to be honest with him or her. If she tells you she needs a vanilla cake, you just do the vanilla cake. And the decoration she wants, you do it the way she wants it. Actually, the customer is always right. So whatever she wants, you do it the way he or she wants it. Another thing is one must be time cautious. You find that a client gives you a cake, like a wedding cake. You know, a wedding is so important to the bride and the groom. That's an important thing. You don't need to disappoint. So time is a key in this business because you'll find that, let's say, the wedding cake. You'll find that they need it at, let's say, seven exactly. So you have to deliver it by seven, in which if you take the cake per seven, that one will be already late and you'll have inconvenienced the people. Maybe they needed to use it by exactly seven and you have gone late. You'll have inconvenienced the person. So time is a key. Another thing is integrity. You have to be true and genuine. Another thing I can say, you have to be kind and polite to your customers or clients so that they come next time and they can even refer more people. You know, if you are kind to someone, the next time she wants a cake or her friend or his friend needs a cake, she will refer them. Like, oh, you need a cake. Go to Syria. In today's society, even supermarkets, apart from individuals, they bake. So how is the competition and how have you taken it? Competition must be there and competition makes people grow. So it may take it positively. You take the competition positively. It makes people grow. Any other challenges apart from the competition? Any other challenges? There are so many challenges. Like you say, the competition part. I find that your pricing and the other person's pricing is different. So someone comes to you and asks about the price of the cake and you tell him or her your price and he starts refying you to the supermarkets. You are so expensive. The supermarket is cheap. Another challenge is, let's say, power when there is loss of electricity. You find that you can't continue with your baking. And another challenge, last year there was this pandemic, the COVID-19. It really affected so much in my business. You find that I had orders for wedding cakes and due to that there was no gathering, you can't do the cake. So there is no business there. So it was really a big challenge. There are no people buying much cake from me because of that restriction of gathering. And what about you being male and baking seems to have more female in the industry than male? How does that affect you? Being in this industry of female dominated, for me it doesn't affect me because I love doing this work. So I don't see it as a big deal. I'm okay with it. Just be yourself and do whatever you like doing. And you're still a young person. What other activities are you engaged in apart from baking? I volunteer at Djenghe. It's an organization dealing with the menstrual health and they also deal with the environment conservation. Apart from that, I volunteer at Homeless, Homeless Kisomo. They deal with the street kids in which they feed them. They deal with social services. They help them like they personally to the street kids in which they meet every Saturday at Goan. So at Goan there is always story reading, storybook reading with the kids and having fun with the kids, encouraging them. And also you get to talk to them and know the problem they have. And being that I'm at Djenghe where they also deal with the mental health. So you get to know whatever is going on with the street kids. They go through a lot so you can talk to them. Tell us about your short term and long term goals. My short term goals can say in two years' time or in a year's time I need to have a mixer. I need to achieve a mixer like a machine. A machine that can help me do my work easily. Let's say if I have so much orders to do. So I don't have to strain so much. And my long term goal is to own or to open a bakery. A bakery for some years to come. So that I can create job opportunities for youths because so many youths are graduating and there is no job. So I need to create opportunities for them. What about your last thoughts or advice on self-employment? My last thoughts I will say that so many youths are graduating and you find that they just sit home waiting for the government to provide job opportunities to them. And you find that some just sit at home waiting for their jobs and they have skills to do something that can give them money. So I will advise youths if you have a skill or if you love doing something that can bring something to the table you do it. Don't be afraid to start or let's say if it's a business you want to start. Don't be afraid to start it. Just make that bold step of starting that business and everything will be ok. So long as you love doing whatever you want to do you will just be fine. And you will find that you will grow to a point where you will be surprised if it's your... So if you love doing something don't be afraid of starting whatever you do. Thank you so much James that is a very inspiring story. If there is something you love doing go do it. Because gone are the days when certificates assured you of a permanent and a pensionable employment. This has been Youth in Action. I am Nyangwa Sokrenis. Bye.