Ms. Ghannad Semnani’s sweet entrepreneurship with hope for the future and useful self-employment for the society

According to IRNA, entrepreneurship and home-based employment is one of the thousands of ways to earn money. Home-based employment is one of the most popular jobs for women due to the ease of working at home, light work, creativity in home-based businesses, low capital, the possibility of accompanying family members and being away from crowded and harsh environments of factories or offices.

The breadth and variety of home-based businesses has led many to turn to small, home-based businesses. Tailoring, growing ornamental flowers, embroidery and needlework, knitting, sewing leather bags, sewing bed and kitchen utensils, cooking and baking are just a few corners of the colorful world of home-based businesses.

Being at home and with family, being able to take care of children and avoid stress, how to take care of them, flexible working hours, taking advantage of creativity and personal innovations, are some of the reasons why people tend to start home-based businesses.

Existence of desirable quality and according to people’s tastes, has led a large number of customers and applicants to purchase goods from small and home entrepreneurs. Among the large volume of choices and supply of various goods in various forms, entrepreneurs and home-based business owners are looking for quality and production of products tailored to the tastes of customers and applicants, and on the other hand, home-made products are a guarantee for its health. The winner is home business.

Customer orientation and in terms of the taste and desire of the applicant is one of the most important characteristics of home business products and sometimes the customer is able to be step by step in the production of his order, which is a matter of mutual satisfaction and a privilege for home businesses.

Among the various occupations, cooking and confectionery are among the most attractive and popular occupations of the people, and colorful and glazed foods and beautiful cakes are the mainstay of various Iranian parties and ceremonies. An issue that leaves the producer free to creativity; In fact, it is a possibility for home business activists that it may not be possible for simple employees who follow a set of uniform and daily instructions.

The variety of sweets and cakes in the cities of the country is very evident that the existence of this area shows the interest and taste of the people. For a long time, confectioners have been producing and supplying all kinds of sweets, cakes, and desserts according to the needs of today’s society, according to the needs of society and changing people’s tastes.

This time, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) of Semnan province sat down to talk with Saberian, a 25-year-old pastry lady from Semnan; A young man who started his home-based business with hope and motivation in the midst of livelihood and economic problems, and his productions with different colors, glazes and a variety of flavors, win the hearts of every viewer.

When did you enter the confectionery profession?

I have been interested in cooking sweets and cakes for many years. Creating and decorating various foods was one of my hobbies. (Continues with laughter and jokes) Of course, I also like eating food and sweets and I was not unaware of it.

It was the last year of my university studies that I realized that a confectionery course was held in the Technical and Vocational Education Department, and I passed the first confectionery course by attending technical and vocational education classes. After finishing this course, my view of the confectionery profession changed and I realized my deep interest in baking all kinds of sweets, especially different cakes, and I decided to pursue my interest more seriously than before.

After a break of a few months, I went back to training classes and took some professional and advanced courses, and now it has been about a year since I started working professionally in the field of baking and decorating cakes. Even with the knowledge of useful training courses in other provinces, despite the high costs, I went to other provinces for better learning and more training so that the quality of my work would be better and more professional.

What are your future career plans and goals?

So far, I do not regret the way I spent, especially the money and time spent, and sometimes I think that I came to this profession and interest late. I follow my work with the aim of branding and expanding in the country and I am trying to bring new and new ideas of “cake decor” to the confectionery profession. New ideas enter the confectionery profession in different ways on a daily basis, and spreading these ideas is one of my important career goals.

In addition, in my five-year plans, I am looking to start a workshop and create jobs for confectionery enthusiasts. The space of the house and the current facilities do not correspond to the expansion of my work and I am trying to set up a confectionery workshop.

What is the difference between homemade cakes and city pastries?

Homemade sweets and cakes are very different from shops, and this difference can be seen in the taste and design of the cakes. Many confectioners do not usually use premium ingredients to increase their profit margins. Baking cakes and pastries in large volumes has its troubles and problems, for example, sponge cake, which is the main base of cakes, can be decorated with a few days apart, which significantly reduces the freshness of the final product.

Confectioners prepare cakes according to the default and according to the choice of all people, while in home work, cakes are decorated according to the customer’s choice and taste. Homemade orders from the selection of raw materials to the final design are prepared based on the customer’s taste and idea, and you have a special taste and cake in homemade cakes.

What was your initial capital to get started?

I started using kitchen utensils and then I spent about five million tomans to provide basic equipment and tools for baking and decorating cakes. I did not wait for the tools to be completed or to enlarge my work environment, and I ordered in the same small kitchen of the house with the basic and necessary tools and made different cakes with love and passion. Since the spring of this year, I have made about 100 cakes with the same accessories for people’s celebrations.

What are the challenges of the home confectionery profession?

(As if to say, sister! You put your hand on my heart and refreshed the heat, and of course it continues happily) About 70% of customers order at the end of the night for the morning, and I have to turn on the mixer at the end of the night and get to work. The noise of the stirrer and the heat of the oven and the lack of sleep at night is very hard.

I am always looking to create the best flavors for my customers and I have a great taste for implementing customers’ ideas and tastes. It has happened many times that I did not like the cake decorations and many times I changed the original work and rebuilt it to convey a good feeling.

Cakes are usually stuck to the walls of the box and shelves when transferred to the refrigerator and box, and I have to repair it.

(Laughs at his words) The house and kitchen of a pastry shop are never tidy and are constantly cluttered with various orders, although my wife usually does not have lunch or dinner.

What do you think are the most important features of confectionery?

The first characteristic of confectionery is its interest, and like any other profession, interest produces better results. Confectionery taste is a prerequisite for his work. The second part is hard work and it has happened many times that the cake breaks down or the customer is not satisfied and it is useless to prepare the cake without hard work and perseverance. I am very persistent and the cakes I prepare are an important part of parties and celebrations and I am constantly stressed from the time of delivery of the cake to the customer until receiving the message of satisfaction with the taste and design and when the electricity of satisfaction in the eyes of the customer during delivery I see the cake, all my hardships and tiredness are forgotten. (Of course, the same spark of enthusiasm shines in his eyes at this moment)

One of the most important job characteristics of confectionery is sensitivity and high stress. Proper timing for baking and delivery of the cake, preparation of high quality raw materials and the final decor of the cake is extremely stressful. On the other hand, due to the lack of a definite and sufficient time, preparing orders usually takes a night’s rest, and before entering the confectionery profession, I did not know about the difficulties of work, but the pleasure of baking and cake decoration alleviates all stress.

Where does the presence of flowers in your cakes come from?

My father’s 30-year-old occupation is floristry. Growing up next to flowers and their presence in our lives is so colorful that I try to bring freshness and freshness to my cakes with flowers. Easy access to and recognition of different types of flowers made my job very easy and my father suggests different flowers to decorate cakes.

On the other hand, customers’ tastes have shifted to simple and minimal cakes, and the use of different flowers has a special beauty at the same time.

What has been your most challenging order to date?

Preparing my friend’s wedding cake was one of my hardest and sweetest orders. They chose a three-tier cake for their ceremony and it took about 10 days to prepare. I was making fondant cake for the first time. I bought on a daily basis. It was very stressful and challenging but it had a very good result.

Which order do you like the most?

All the cakes I make are like my kids’ and I love them. I prepare orders with love and all the toppers and candies decorate the cake by hand. First I love my cakes, then the customer and no cake has left my house without love and with good energies.

I am looking for positive energies and transmitting them to those around me, and a smile is one of the best and most accessible ways to convey good mood to others. I consider myself a smiling pastry and my cakes are orders full of love.

What problems did the increase in the price of raw materials cause you?

In April of this year, the cost of raw materials for baking a kilo of cream cake was about 50 thousand tomans, while ordering the same cake in the past few days cost about 100 thousand tomans. Almost every three days I go to buy raw materials and confectionery supplies, I face a new price. Last month, I paid 20,000 tomans for the purchase of 300 grams of fondant, but now I have to pay 29,000 to 37,000 tomans. In the first days of my work, the price of a kilogram of flour was seven thousand tomans, but now it is 12 thousand tomans. The price of eggs and bananas is not good either. Some orders were accompanied by losses due to a sudden rise in the price of eggs or bananas instead of profitability.

The cross-sectional increase in the price of raw materials is not immediately considered on the final product, and I have a slight increase on a quarterly basis according to the average price of raw materials.

Do not regret choosing your profession?

I was not interested in an employee from the beginning and I feel that I was not born for this job. I do not enjoy sitting at the table and doing the same things. I am looking for experience and creating new ideas. Using creativity, mobility and dynamism of my profession and job is very important. I enjoy making cakes and I get energy from creating cake flavors and decorations. I do not regret not having a steady income, but sometimes I get frustrated with my situation when I tell myself to keep going and not give up my interest.

Where does your hope and motivation come from?

Like many young people, I live in this country and in the same economic and social conditions. The cost of living is also a challenge for me, but it is the most important issue of our life and youth. Grieving does not change the situation, but we must change the situation ourselves and know that we will definitely get what we want.

For a long time, I have paid less attention to economic issues and avoided the margins, and I plan for the future of my working life with hope.

The final unspoken

The support of my wife and family is the main reason for the development and start-up of my business, and I sincerely thank them for their presence and the trust of my customers. Life goes on and I take steps to build my world with hope and passion.