Nigerian Entrepreneur of The Week: Akeem and Bolanle Lawal of Creamy Delight Cakes

It’s another great time to share the news about young enterprising and amazing Nigerian Entrepreneurs. At Spread Media, we are passionate about supporting Nigerian Entrepreneurs and igniting the Enterprising Spirit in others. Today, our Nigerian Entrepreneur of the Day is a couple. You will enjoy their story and we believe it will truly Inspire you.

We present to you our Nigerian Entrepreneur of the Day: Akeem and Bolanle Lawal of Creamy Delight Cakes.

Tell us! What’s your Story??


We stumbled on Cake Business by accident. My wife – who was my fiancée back then – made a birthday cake for me and I loved it. It wasn’t that the cake was so fantastic but that was my first birthday cake ever, and it really thrilled me. The following year, we discussed the possibility of perfecting the skill and making a business out of it.

We decided to settle for cake making because of the following reasons: 1. It does not rely on electricity in any way. 2. It belongs to an industry that’s inexhaustible – the food and beverages industry. 3. It doesn’t need a third party participant to ensure its success. What this means is that unlike a business like decoration where you have to hire extra hands when you have more than a job at a time, cake making does not require such. So, the success of the business is not depended on ‘an outsider’.

After our university education, she enrolled in a training school in Ibadan. On our relocation to Lagos, she was involved in several trainings with a view to improving on her skill. Naturally, she became my teacher, after every training.

We went commercial in 2007, and started with cupcakes which were sold at N50 each. Our first wedding and engagement cake was N10,000 and we really danced after confirming the deal.

In the last 4 years, Creamy Delight Cakes has grown in leaps in bounds. With our business strategy, we have been able to successfully carve a niche for ourselves by ensuring that we don’t make off-the –shelf cakes. What this means is that “every cake we bake is already sold. We don’t bake cakes for sale”.

We have also been able to effectively use the social media to take our business to a whole new level. It is on record that less than 1% of our clients know our physical office, while less than 15% of our clients have ever seen us in person.

But then, it wasn’t easy. We burnt cakes, sacrificed pride, lost money, wasted materials and had our own share of disagreements over business principles; but we never gave up. We never stopped believing in our dream.

PERSONAL DETAILS

    Full Names: Akeem Lawal
    Date of Birth: May 6
    Education: B.Sc. (Accounting) and B.Ed (Education Management)
    Hobbies: Making friends

BUSINESS DETAILS

    Name of Business: Creamy Delight Cakes
    Main Services of Business: Cakes and confectionery
    Target Clients: Everyone
    Location of Business: 56, Anibaba Street, Ketu, Lagos

LET’S DIG DEEPER

·         Strengths: Freshly baked cakes, timely delivery service, excellent customer service

·         What are the Initial Challenges you faced: Uncertainty and intimidation by the size of other bakers. We felt like we were making a late entry.

·         What is that thing you wish you did differently? Nothing. The road has not been smooth but we have not burnt our fingers in any way.

·         Who is your Main Inspiration: Business/Personal: God and our clients



·         What makes you different from your Competitors?: We don’t make off – the –shelf cakes. You cannot just walk into our shop and pick a cake. There must have been an express order via e-mail.

·         Would your Business still be around in 5years?? Wow Us! Most definitely! The business will certainly outlive us.

·         What does it take to start a Business like yours?? Passion. Money is really no issue because we started the business with N5,000

·         In what ways have you given back to the Society?? Free trainings, complimentary cake donations to charity events.

Favorite Quote: “We don’t bake cakes to sell. Every cake we bake is already sold” · 


MESSAGE TO ENTREPRENEURS

What would you like to tell the person who is scared for one reason or the other to start a Business?? No matter the negatives, Dangote would rather die a Nigerian than relocate abroad. There are opportunities in this country begging to be tapped.

·         Message to other Entrepreneurs: You inspire us everyday, and we wouldn’t have had it this good so far without you.

·         Message to would-be Entrepreneurs: the sky is big enough for all the birds to fly comfortably. Welcome to your glory.

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CONNECT BOX

Website: www.keemlawal.blogspot.com

Email: creamydelightcakes@gmail.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/creamydelightcakes

Twitter: @cdelightcakes

We truly hope you’ve been inspired by this young couple. One thing you shouldn’t forget is that, You don’t have to be GREAT to START but You have to START to be GREAT!

Culled from www.spreadmediang.com