Some of us are fortunate enough to be born with a clear passion, there is nothing else we would rather do and we know it. But for most of us, the quest to find our true passion is a journey that needs to be undertaken. Athashri Halale, founder of Cupcake Nation Studio walked away from everything she knew to find her passion, her purpose and in turn her passion brought to her success and joy.
Here’s to many more inspiring stories from people around us….of finding passion, reinventing yourself and realising that it’s never too late for anything!
“I was working with a multinational as a software engineer for over 3 years but I always felt there was something missing. I didn’t know what I wanted but I was sure I didn’t want a 9 to 5 job. I tried my hand at moonlighting as a graphic designer. I started getting more projects my way and eventually quit my job and over the next 2 years I continued to freelance. I was happy but I still yearned for more.
On my husband’s birthday, I decided to bake a cake. YouTube videos made it look so easy and I thought it would be a ‘cake-walk’ but boy, was I wrong! My first cake turned out to be a disaster. However, this got me interested in the science behind cakes and then there was no looking back. Exploring got me interested in baking and I started trying out various recipes. One day, I sent over a box of cupcakes to my neighbour’s son’s birthday as a gift to him. He simply loved it. This was followed by another birthday order in the family. The friendly orders kept coming and I realised I could give this a serious shot. I created a Facebook page and started putting out pictures of my creations. I got my first professional order for Valentine’s day cupcakes. The guy called me later and was gushing about how much he and his girlfriend loved them. I was on cloud 9! My first professional order turned out to be a success! And what followed was a flurry of orders that led me to rent out a small studio in Pune where I started baking.
My husband and I moved to Bangalore and I took my passion for cakes along with me. I started building a clientele, rented out another studio there and started conducting workshops for my signature buttercream recipe. The workshops became a hit and started getting sold out in minutes. I realised that Indians are used to having fresh cream and butter cream was a novelty. The workshops expanded to several recipes catering to Indian taste buds.
Soon I was getting request from all over India to conduct workshops in different cities but time and logistics were a difficult arena. This led to start of an online cupcake school where I post baking videos and take part in discussions and give feedback to my students.
As we speak, there are 650+ students already enrolled in different courses, not bad for a school that started in Feb 2019. There are few students enrolled from Dubai and Australia as well. A bigger and better studio is coming up in Bangalore and we are now a team of 5 and growing.
It’s been just four years but feels like a different lifetime. The CCN kitchen is my happy place. I don’t fret about what lies ahead. I strongly believe in one day at a time. ”
Metis Talent Management helps people and organisations find their best potential. If you are looking to discover your purpose or find ways to engage more with your passion and want to be supported by a professional coach in this journey, reach out to us at connect@metistm.com