…says white-collar jobs aren’t there anymore
To Miss Onyinyechi Ajala giving up on the dream to be successful is not a path she is willing to follow. She believes that nothing good comes easy and nothing easy.
The Acha, Isuikwuato Local Government Area of Abia State-born lady is the owner of Kamich Cakes and More situated in Aba, the commercial nerve centre of Eastern Nigeria.
Onyinyechi who from her tender age discovered her passion for baking studied accountancy and obtained her Higher National Diploma (HND) in accountancy at the Abia State Polytechnic Aba.
She proceeded to the one year compulsory National Youth Service Corp which she did at the St John of God Secondary School Awka, Anambra state.
Onyinyechi said her journey of life began immediately after she completed her NYSC, as she began job hunting, submitted her Curriculum vitae (CV) to several companies hoping on the usual promise that they will get back to her which never materialized.
“Immediately after my NYSC, I went out in search of white-collar jobs. I submitted my CV to different firms and expected to be called but unfortunately, none of them called me.
“At a point, I decided to ask myself a question. I checked myself and I discovered I have a skill that could make me a better person. It was then that my eyes opened that I am a good baker.
“I started baking and letting people know about my work. So, I decided to start advertising cakes because it is something I already know how to do.
“It did not take long people took notice of my works and cake jobs started coming from different places. I know how to make different things but I decided to concentrate fully on cake making,” she said.
It was learnt that Kamich Cakes and More as the name goes, also makes bread, snacks, pastries, parfait, Greek yoghurt, granola and coconut flakes aside from the cake it specializes in.
Onyinyechi’s story and achievement should encourage everyone out there never to dwell in complaining, but to always look inwards and discover who they are and stop playing the victim of circumstance.
According to American born Italian scientist, Steve Maraboli, “Your complaints, your drama, your victim mentality, your whining, your blaming, and all of your excuses have never gotten you even a single step closer to your goals or dreams. Let go of your nonsense. Let go of the delusion that you deserve better and go earn it! Today is a new day.”
It was also learnt that Kamich is a name she coined from Katherine, her English name and her daughter’s English name, Michelle. Kamich is gotten from the first two letters of her name and the first four letters of her daughter’s name.
According to Onyinyechi, baking is not a job for lazy person’s. She said it took her three months to learn baking professionally, but ever since she started, she has not stopped going for more training both onsite and online to make sure she is up to date with what is obtainable in the bakers’ world.
The workaholic Onyinyechi who hardly looks back when she begins baking told our reporter that the baking business is generally stressful, but in the end, the gains are worth the stress.
She advised anyone who aims to go into baking to ensure that she already has a passion for it not and just to rush into baking because she wants to make money.
“I knew I had a passion for baking even while growing up because I’m always watching Tv channels where they are showing cake baking training/competitions.
“I spend most of my time sourcing out information from the internet to see beautiful cake pictures and videos. My passion is so high that and I was baking cakes for family and friends free of charge.
“That was exactly why job hunting wanted to mess things up for me, I decided to go and learn the craft, to add value to my passion to make money out of it. When you have passion for something, you will know, you don’t need anybody to tell you that.”
Onyinyechi who said she aims to open a baking academy with registered students where she can impact more on other prospective bakers said she aims to see her company, Kamich Cakes and More expand in space, employ a few workers she can pay very well in the future.
She explained that in the baking business, one does not necessarily need a physical shop before the person can start, stressing that a determined person can start right from her kitchen and gradually expand to any level of her dreams.
The Kamich boss who called on more women to see baking as a huge alternative to move away from unemployment said that one thing that can keep a baker in business is professionalism and sticking to quality rather than quantity.
“I can compete with any bigger firm today. And anyone I teach who follows the right procedure without deviating can also compete. Our products are so yummy and tasty.
“I don’t just make them for making sake, I put in my best to make sure the outcome is very nice for consumption. I consume everything I make and I make sure I use the best of ingredients available without compromising quality for anything,” she said.
Onyinyechi however said that baking does have its serious challenges which she listed to include poor sales. She said she has been able to handle it through proper quality control which brings more customers and constantly advertising her products using her various social media handles and sharing of fliers.
For professional cake design, Kamich Cakes and More is readily available.
