What started out as a hobby of baking cupcakes for family and friends has evolved into a thriving business for one young lady.
Nineteen-year-old Rebecca Ann D’Andrade is a young entrepreneur. She was born and raised in the town of Rose Hall, East Berbice-Corentyne. When she is not doing makeup, travelling, or reading, you can find her in the kitchen baking.
While baking was not the profession Rebecca had planned for herself, she is currently the founder of “Delight Treats” which she started after her nursing career ended abruptly.
The young beauty had the vision of being in the medical profession. She even travelled abroad to pursue studies in this field after the untimely passing of her mom. Sadly, things did not go as planned and Rebecca had to put her desired career path on pause.
The disappointed young woman returned to Guyana in an utterly depressed state and on the hunt for a job. Nevertheless, she still had hope that something positive would happen.
Her fresh journey began one uneventful day at home. She shared that she was suddenly hit with a craving for cupcakes. She had no idea where she could purchase these treats and decided instead to bake them herself.
Thanks to the wide array of helpful information available online, Rebecca watched YouTube videos on how to bake cupcakes. She then looked up recipes and gathered her ingredients.
“At first, I was unsure of how it was going to turn out but I did it anyway. I know I couldn’t bake as well as my mother did but I tried,” she explained.
Rebecca confessed that, at first, she made a mess in the kitchen just by making a few cupcakes for herself. But, she added, “Soon after I was done with my baking experiment. It wasn’t perfect but I did my best and I was creative as I can be. I was happy with my cupcakes and my cravings were satisfied.”
Rebecca then decided to share some of her cupcakes with some close family and friends.
“They loved it, surprisingly; I didn’t do a bad job after all. My family told me it can be a good business,” she said.
However, she admitted that she initially doubted her ability but, a few days later, she jokingly made a post on social media with the caption, “place your orders guys lol.”
Rebecca said she was shocked by the number of persons who were interested and who took her post seriously. A week later, she earned her first customer, a woman who bought cupcakes for co-workers and who told Rebecca that everyone enjoyed them.
“I felt proud then, a few days later, the same individual came back for more and more and that motivated me.”
Rebecca’s client base soon began to rise and she started to create her own logo and began getting packages for her product because the word was getting out there.
Two months after, Rebecca landed a part-time job with a travel agency. She enjoyed her time there but did not stop her baking. Instead, she continued baking after work.
Soon after, her time at that job came to an end and she went back into the kitchen where she spent most of her time getting orders ready for customers and having them delivered.
Now the proud owner of “Delight Treats”, a 24-hour business, says she enjoys what she does and she has no intention of slowing down anytime soon.
According to her, “I enjoy what I do, from simple things such as mixing the cake batter, wiping up the buttercream frosting, decorating, and being creative.”
She added that each time she turns on the oven she bakes with love and it goes beyond the batter; she tries to satisfy every customer because they are her number one priority.
The young woman said her biggest motivation comes from herself but she has been very much inspired by Katherine and Sophie, the owners of Georgetown Cupcake. It is one of the largest international cupcake businesses in the US, with several branches across the country.
Rebecca said her personal key to success is being able to be confident, persistent, and resilient and, thus far, she is proud to call herself all of those things.
Apart from baking, this stunning beauty is a full-time cosmetologist due to her passion for enhancing beauty. She said that this passion has always been in her.
She added, “My mother was a very successful businesswoman so this is a plus for my business mindset.”
In the future, Rebecca plans on getting deeper into the world of entrepreneurship and she wants to branch into franchise companies because she believes she is capable of reaching higher heights.
Furthermore, Rebecca believes that there is always room on top for everyone. This, she said, might seem impossible but it is not.
“There will be others who are more successful than you, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t space for you to succeed. There is always space for each one of us to come out on top in our field of work.”
Meanwhile, the young woman still aspires to be a nurse one day and she believes that anything is possible with faith.
While there are challenges with any business, Rebecca said she tries to remain focused and is always open to learning new things because, “Success doesn’t come by luck, accident or ease. It costs something.”
