Hi Cupcake Lovers
We have been absolutely frantic this week, however we managed to have a break with a cup of tea in order to read the Cupcaker's story in Legalweek!
It was great to actually see the story in print; it made us very proud!!
Have a read:
http://www.legalweek.com/legal-week/analysis/2028179/crumble-beginnings-corporate-lawyer-quit-city-cupcakes
The Cupcaker x
Crumble
beginnings - the corporate lawyer who quit the City to make cupcakes
Author: Harpreet Baura
22 Feb 2011 | 07:41 |
After two years at a City law firm, Harpreet Baura traded corporate law
for chocolate icing. Here, she describes her journey from lawyer to cupcaker
Prior to March 2009, I could be found behind a desk at one of London's
premier law firms. But baking had always been one of my passions, and it was at
this point that I decided to leave the City behind and pursue my dream of
establishing a cupcake company.
It was time to say goodbye to soft offers, mergers and corporate law and
hello to soft sponge, margarine and cocoa powder. No longer strutting down the
corridors in a suit and stilettos, I can now be found wearing an apron, usually
with a smear or two of icing sugar on my face. Meetings are now called tastings
and conference calls still remain, but what could possibly be more fun than
discussing wedding cupcake towers with a bride and groom-to-be?
I read economics at University College of London, after which I did the
Graduate Diploma in Law and Legal Practice Course at BPP Law School. I then
joined Linklaters as a trainee in March 2007. Upon qualifying, I decided to set
up a web-based cupcake company called Crumbs!
Couture Cupcakes. Since I started the company, we have been lucky
enough to provide cupcakes for a high-profile celebrity wedding and be featured
in numerous glossy magazines.
I am from a family of professionals, so there was never a consideration
of not going to university and entering a professional career path. I left
school wanting to go into investment banking. During my summer vacation while
reading economics, I did an eight-week internship at HSBC Investment and
decided banking wasn't the right fit for me. I then considered a career in law,
applied to law school and secured a place. It was not until I left law school
that I obtained a training contract at Linklaters. They reimbursed my law
school fees and allowed me to start my training contract six months later.
Leaving law
During my second seat at Linklaters, my personal life took a tumble and
I found myself in quite a severe depression. By no means am I saying that life
as a lawyer led to my clinical depression, but it certainly wasn't the
environment in which to recover. During my final seat I made the decision to
take a break from law in order to get my health back on track.
I had interviewed at some firms, hoping to return to the law after six
months, and was offered a role as an associate at a US firm, which was due to
start six months after leaving Linklaters. In the interim, I decided to set up
the cupcake company as I had always loved baking - but I had every intention of
returning to law after a little break. What happened next was totally beyond my
predictions.
Setting up shop
Upon finding a property, I then had to turn it into a kitchen fit to
produce the prettiest cupcakes in London. The fact that we were in a recession
at the time actually helped, as the economic climate meant that I received much
more competitive quotes for the work to get the premises ready. The friends and
contacts I had made at Linklaters helped me to build up business, as their
orders and reviews were invaluable for Crumbs! in its early stages. My first
retailing took place from a stall at Brick Lane's Sunday Upmarket, where I sold
cupcakes one weekend a month. Even from these humble beginnings, Crumbs!
secured a following on Twitter and Facebook.
Among the highlights since setting up the company are being featured in
Vogue as well as being asked to provide cupcakes to be taken to India for Katy
Perry and Russell Brand's wedding. It is also so satisfying when we provide
cupcakes for charity events, with the proceeds from sales going to the help the
cause. We have done charity cupcakes for Help a London Child, Cancer Research
UK and
The Prince's Trust.
I faced a lot of criticism when I left what was seen as a prestigious
job in order to spend my days in the kitchen. Many people couldn't get their
head around what I was doing. I had people speculating behind my back about the
possibility that I had been sacked or that I couldn't get a job after qualifying.
It was all fairly ignorant but, given that I hadn't ever advertised the fact
that I had been depressed, many people didn't understand why I had left.
I often deliver cupcakes in the City to offices and banks, and it does
make me very nostalgic. I do miss the buzz of life in the financial world, but
then I remind myself of how much I prefer the actual work I do now to the work
of a lawyer, and I am placated.
Lessons from the City
Running my own business has meant that I have had to learn a huge amount
very quickly. My legal background has helped me in terms of copyright with my
website as well as being able to stand my ground when suppliers have breached
contracts. I was lucky enough to have some money saved while I was working at
Linklaters and so this meant that I didn't have to take out any loans when
starting up Crumbs!
My job can still be very stressful and it still involves long hours.
There are huge nerves and a lot of stress involved in doing exhibitions such as
the National Wedding Show. And we have also had to work through the night
preparing cupcakes for photoshoots. There are often weekends at the peak of the
wedding season where we have to prepare and set up about 800 cupcakes in one
weekend. Law does teach you how to deal with stressful deadlines and pressure,
which prepares you well for the discipline required to run your own business.
The joy of cupcakes
Being able to wake up and spend the day doing something so creative is
perfect for me. I have always been an artistic person and I think I prefer the
fact that a day's work can now be shown with something tangible.
I got married in 2010 and it was a bit of an extravaganza, as many
Indian weddings can be. We had three months to plan a wedding that incorporated
six events and, had I still been a lawyer, this would have been extremely
tough. As a result of running my own business, I was able to juggle my day so
that I could visit potential venues and go for dress fittings, and we managed
to pull the wedding off in time. Before you ask, the answer is yes, I did make
my own wedding cupcake tower.
The cake industry is very dynamic; it's great fun to be constantly developing
new products or seeing what the new trends are. We have recently launched a
product called The Cake Pop, and last year's big trend, the Whoopie Pie, is
still going strong.
Advice to others
The best advice I can offer is to be realistic about how long it will
take for your new venture to be profitable and make sure you have a large cash
buffer to keep you afloat until you are well in the black. If your new venture
will mean that you will spend a lot more time alone, think through whether you
will be able to cope with that.
Life is too short to not follow your dreams, but be sure that your dream
is sustainable when you introduce it to your real life.
