Always admit your mistakes, learn from them and act accordingly.
Always admit your mistakes, learn from them and act accordingly.
Divya Chhabra is the owner of the ‘Simply Sweet Bakery’ which offers the best customised cakes, cupcakes, and doughnuts in Udaipur to customers.
Divya is exceptionally skilled at interpreting the preferences of her clients beyond words and capturing their thoughts on cakes for special occasions. In order to provide her clients with an enjoyable experience, she also provides personalised hampers for festivals like Diwali, Rakhi, etc.
Divya says her love for baking has taken her a long way after she first began by helping her mother make handmade chocolates. Their first bulk order came from a school, and word-of-mouth publicity helped their business expand. She began working on it part-time while also teaching, but eventually, demand for the cakes and cupcakes grew. She eventually made the decision to work at the bakery full-time.
Divya was inspired to work harder every day by her clients' positive feedback, which led her to try new recipes and designs. She gradually began promoting her products on social media as well, which helped her business grow even further.
After completing her schooling from St. Mary's School, Divya pursued a Bachelor degree in Financial Markets at HR College in Mumbai. She then pursued a Distance MBA course from Symbiosis Institute. She subsequently returned to her birthplace Udaipur, where she has been operating her bakery ever since. She has been in this industry for six years at this point.
Regarding her personal life, Divya has been married for four years and has a young kid. Her goal is to reconcile her personal and professional lives. Because of her love for children, she has also worked as a teacher for a while.
Divya considers her mother as her pillar of strength who has been with her through thick and thin helping her in delivering orders in tight schedules.
Speaking about her struggles, Divya reveals that she had to go to other towns to obtain several tools and raw materials because they were not readily available in Udaipur at that time. But as Udaipur's baking scene grew, she saw that contemporary baking supplies like fondant got available in Udaipur. She also had to balance her career as a teacher with her business, which was difficult for her to do at the same time. She had to make a difficult decision at that point about which career path to take, and she ultimately chose to pursue her baking business.
She also had to overcome the obstacle of returning to this field after a three- to four-month break. Then, doing everything by herself without assistance from family members was another difficult undertaking for her. The only people who handled and oversaw the purchases, delivery, outlet, kitchen, and employees were her and her mother.
Her accomplishment in her work life over the last few years has been gaining clients and market share. She makes a constant effort to preserve the designs and client preferences.
She views her parents and spouse as her main sources of inspiration, who have been providing support and encouragement throughout difficult times and stressful moments. She also respects her friends' encouragement and support.
Divya wants to provide her clients with exceptional delivery services and wants to establish Simply Sweet as a brand that they will all remember for their special occasions. She also plans to expand her Udaipur-based stores. She wants to emulate Simply Sweet and sees it as the next Theobroma of Udaipur, the leading brand in the bakery business.
Regarding her leadership abilities, Divya states that she attempts to put herself in her employees' shoes and comprehend their problems, whether they were at her shop or in the bakery kitchen. She has also been in the shop, assisting clients and carefully taking their orders.
Divya advises anyone who aspires to enter the baking industry to persevere in honing their craft, have confidence in their abilities, and consistently seek feedback. She thinks that client feedback helps us become better.
Her motto for success is to own up to your errors and grow from them. According to her, learning is a lifelong process that never ends.
Speaking of the pandemic days, Divya reveals that there were limitations on deliveries in addition to her bakery being unable to operate. Then, her spouse suggested that she concentrate on bread and other bakery products that would better serve the demands of the clients during COVID-19.