From Bags to Cupcakes ;)

It is now not a secret that I'm jobless. Yes. Jobless. Why? Don't feel like telling the story because the truth hurts really bad. Peopla asked me 'That bad huh?'...well, yeah, that bad. And I dont wanna talk or think about it.

Anyway, although I'm jobless, thank you ALLAH ALMIGHTY for giving me this NIKMAT and talent; my cupcakes business. I've started my cupcakes business since November 2009, right after my daughter 1st birthday. My inspiration came from a wonderful lady named Edina Azhar, who is also a cupcake tauke Adorable Cupcakes.

Unlike other bakers, I didn't go to any baking classes where I have to pay RM100 - RM250 per class. The reason is, money is so valuable to me. I'm not saying that I orang yang kaki duit, no. But life is all about survival. And living in this district, WITH a family, FORCED me to be more careful on spending money to unnecessary things. And be creative too ;p. BUT I LOVE BAKING SO MUCH! And I love the idea of having my own baking business, although all I baked before were pre-mixed cakes which you can get from local hypermarket, yang guna 2 telur and 1 cup of oil, bla bla bla....But honestly, I really love baking. My mom was not a baker; she did not bake that much at home when I was a kid. I can only remember her plain butter cake. It's yummy though, especially right after it's out from the oven. Yum yum! Love you Mak!

When I was still in a job (before July 2010), I didn't have that much time to spend for myself. My work forced me to do that. Even on weekends. And I HATE it so much everytime I got a call from my manager on Saturdays & Sundays, just to check my e-mails. I mean, COME ON! It's weekend! And the best thing is, few weeks before everything ended for my job, I got to know that I was underpaid. And bukan sikit2 punye underpaid, about 1K - 1.5K punya underpaid. Kesian kan? bangang tul. Ok, back to my story. Since I didn't have much time to spend for myself, I learnt how to bake from youtube.com. I learned so many things; from baking basic cupcakes, to full moist chocolate cakes, blueberry cupcakes, the fondant, the ganache, etc. All these I got from youtube.com

It didn't cost me a single cent (accept the maxis broadband that I use to connect to the internet ;P). But I guess what old people said is true; di mana ada kemahuan, di situ ada jalan. And it's true. I am proud to say that I am now a baker. Yes, a baker. Who would've thought that Sally the street punker, yang selekeh, yang berlemuih, yang pemalas, now a baker? ;).

My first order came from Joy; the former owner of Pentatonic Studio. He ordered my 36pcs mini cupcakes with chocolate ganache topping. Then the 2nd order came from Nadia, Fatin's sister who ordered the same set. Both of them ordered the same day, so on first day, I already got 2 orders. Yeay!

The first 4 months, orders came in maybe around 4-5 sets per month. Macam tu pon I dah bersyukur sangat sangat. And no large orders, just set boxes orders. So ada la duit lebih untuk tengok wayang dengan suami, makan best sikit kat Famous Thai or TGI Fridays. Nak guna duit gaji, tunggu bonus baru boleh merasa, which is setahun sekali.

Then, I thought about having other business; Fashion Business. Ok, one thing about me that most of you don't know, I don't drive. It's not that I can't drive, but I hate driving. I just hate the road. I rather walk from Section 8 to Section 9. And being someone who is environmentalist (HAHA), this is the least I can do to save the earth. And I'm serious about it. I only consume organic food and I'm still educating my husband to do the same. I recycle/reuse everything we have at home. I bake using gas stove (err...another reason is, bill electric sekarang dah terlalu mahal). I wash clothes using hands. I use the same t-shirt for 2 days. And now that's me. And I don't shop that much, only for groceries and nak stock-up barang2 for baking. AND SO, I did my survey from the internet, the same method I used to learn on how to bake.

Cari punya cari punya cari, my heart dah terpaut with this wholesaler located in Klang. Luckily, they have a very cool website. So I just purchased those fashionable items from the internet, and sell it on the internet too.

So, by May 2010, I already have 2 business in my hand; my cupcakes business and my fashion business.

During Raya time, I had a promotion on my Facebook for the bags that I sell. And AMY, is one of my customers who purchased 5 bags at one time. Banyak kan? But you know, things happened. My supplier said that 4 out of the 5 bags that Amy ordered, out of stock. I was aware of this, but I didn't know that this could happened before Raya! ADOI!!!!

So, Amy sent me various of sms, asking bila la bag dia nak sampai, dia nak pakai duit. I kesian sangat kat dia. And to make thing worst, time dia mintak refund tu, my Maybank account pulak kena freeze. I cannot access my maybank2u.com, I cannot withdraw my money, I cannot do anything with my bank account. The reason is, they said I had too many transaction, so they suggest me to open a Current account. I just said YES, but sampai skang ni tak buat pon. Malas la. Byk songel tul bank ni.

So, in one of my sms to Amy, I said 'Sorry Amy, but I'm really cashless right now. But I will have few orders of cupcakes this week, and once my customer paid me, I will straight away bank in to your account. And I will give you some free cupcakes too.'

She got excited. She said she is looking for a cupcake supplier. In my head, I thought this girl must be getting married soon kot, nak order for wedding ke ape. So I was like, ok....Few days later, she called me. I was at Sarah & Winder's Open House in Damansara when she called. She said she wanted to order one set for her client. It's a farewell party. She just gave me the theme color and the writings, and the rest is up to me.

You know, I thought that her client tu yang memang liase with her everyday. Rupanya she really have lots and lots client yang macam tu! She's in the Sales team. She organize the events at the Intekma Resort for schools.

I believe Allah heard my doa. And I believe Allah yang bukakan jalan ni untuk I. Syukur sangat2 dengan nikmatnya.

Since then, Amy placed her orders every week. Last week, was a hectic week for me, and for her of course. Alhamdullillah, she said she love my cupcakes. Syukur sangat2!

Here are some of the cupcakes that she ordered:

So Amy dear, THANK YOU SO VERY VERY MUCH for supporting me :). I really appreciate it. And I'm glad that you're comfortable dealing with me dear. Anything for you lah! Muaahhhh!!!!