Some young entrepreneurs of Women’s Christian College have recently launched businesses of their own. Salmaa Tahseen, Jerusha Ann, Milcah Shekinah Shaji and Joan Sanjay are motivated young students who have their own small businesses, spurred by a passion to make and sell quality products of their choice.
The Cupcakistry is a business owned by home baker Salmaa Tahseen S, a student of III BA English. She specializes in bespoke cakes and desserts that are not only aesthetically pleasing to the eyes but also affordable. She has an official Instagram page, @thecupcakistry, to take orders from clients. Baking is a time-consuming process and requires a lot of patience and precision to make even the smallest treat. “In my experience, I would say that the most important thing I have learnt is that not everything goes as planned. No matter how good you are at what you do, some things take a different turn and that’s okay. I accept it and start all over again, until I’m happy and satisfied with the finished product,” says our young baker. She goes to great lengths to satisfy her customers and fortunately, the feedback she receives has always been positive.
Ever since Salmaa was a child, she would spend most of her time in the kitchen and would watch her mother make delicious, unique dishes and she was fascinated by the whole process and its outcome. She always wanted to be a baker and commenced her business with the help of her parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Boredom and lack of social contact with people (which she loves) motivated Salmaa to take her creativity and skill one step further. “I remember my mother once handed me a monthly edition of the ‘Prevention’ magazine that had a recipe for a ‘two-minute microwave cake’ and I managed to prepare it without any supervision. That’s when I knew that even though baking is a very messy and precise process, I would love it for the rest of my life,” adds Salmaa.
Jerusha Ann, a budding baker studying in II BA English, is passionate not only about baking but also loves to cook Italian dishes. Currently she owns a small baking business to make scrumptious desserts like cakes, cupcakes, cake pops and cookies. She makes sure she always gives her clients freshly baked goods and executes each order with utmost care. Although the pandemic hit us all hard, Jerusha used her time during the lockdown to finally kick start her business. She will be opening her business account on Instagram soon and also plans to increase the items on her menu by including a wide variety of sandwiches and Italian dishes. Jerusha’s brother has been a great help and an asset to her business as he brings in more customers and helps publicise it better. She writes of her passion for food and cooking, “Oh, my infinite love for food. This started as a hobby, Imma make it up this mountain, make it to the top. I will leave here a mark.”
Cheffin is a small food business owned by Milcah Shekinah Shaji, a student of II BA English, who follows her passion for cooking. She cooks and sells various dishes, from chocolate cakes to paneer butter masala, takes orders and delivers them once a week. With an active interest in cooking and baking from an early age, Milcah wanted to pursue a professional career in culinary arts but as her circumstances did not support it, she started this as a hobby. “I plan to continue this business and also want to take up a course (in cooking) after BA,” says our young chef. “I am proud of how I do things, how I experiment with things and create new recipes.” She receives appreciative feedback from her customers. Though she made a few mistakes with pricing early on, she has learned a lot and has come a long way. “If you have a passion and cannot pursue it because of your circumstances, from the little that you have started doing, eventually there will be a big difference,” says Milcah to all her young friends.
Joan Sanjay of III BBA has her own business, The Horizon Studios, where she sells personalised Christian items such as wall decors, frames, bookmarks, Bible kits etc. She made use of the lockdown to open the business. She receives orders from her clients through her Instagram page, @thehorizonstudios. Initially, she opened a handicraft business but stopped as there were too many competitors. As a result, this business was started. “I started this because there are no sellers who sell personalised Christian items,” says Joan.
A spark was always present in her to be someone different and not to fit in the mould. The business so far has had a very good customer reach from various parts of the country and overseas. Though she has faced difficulties as her products are differently priced in comparison to market price, she has received help and support from her family to resolve this. She manages her time by working on her business in the morning and attends college in the afternoon. She aims to create and introduce more creative products and expand her business. Joan says, “Putting out new products isn’t important in a business, but reaching customers is.”
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