Starting a cooking business

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Sitting on the three seater couch in the living room of my off-campus apartment in school, a black pen in my right hand and an old jotter in my left hand. I was already getting confused with the calculations that I was doing or rather I didn’t want to believe that I ran at a loss.
Should I call it a loss per se? I just spent a little above my budget.

“I’ll take three wraps of moin moin.” The notification popped on my infinix s5 lite that’s placed on the single sofa beside me. When I saw that, the confusion I felt somehow evaporated from my head. I swiped down my phone and saw that there was more than one message.
“Is there Jollof rice today?”

“Huhhh,” I sighed and replied to the message. “There’s no jollof today, I’m sorry, it should be available by Saturday.” And then I continued “pay 600 naira into this account and your order will be processed.”
I sent my account details and in less than 7 minutes, I received an alert. The client also sent a receipt and made me know that they’ll pick up their order soon.

“Hugh,” I sighted again. Stood up to pack the order and package them.

I had not been feeling so good about cooking and selling in large quantities for a while and I was just patching myself up.

This whole cooking thing started when I was in 200 level in the university, I knew for sure that I could cook. I’ve been told several times that my cooking was great. My siblings that eat my food almost all the time till I went to school said it. My parents said it, even my colleagues at school said the same thing. Apart from that, it’s something that I derive pleasure from and I must say it’s a passionate hobby of mine.

I never saw myself monetizing my cooking without being a professional first. One thing is to love to do something and another thing is for one to be great at it and it doesn’t end there. Monetizing it means it’s becoming a business. And can one make a lot of money consistently without understanding business?

“You should just start” “you’re good at this” “I think this is what you’re born for” “if no one else patronizes you, we will.” All of those words echoed in my head as I was fighting a war in my mind and deliberating whether I should close business or keep pushing.
Those are from people that loved my recipes and my food. They were only trying to be supportive in their own ways right?

“I am in 400 level now and I have professional examinations coming up in front of me,” I said to myself, nodding as well to support my thoughts. “What if I just quit? I’m not making as much actually.”
Oh God! I love cooking! I wanted to make a living out of it too but I guess I wasn’t ready.

I picked up my jotter and checked my expenses and I realized that it’s not that I was not hardworking, or a good cook but I have inadequate knowledge about business. I thought business was about give and take only. I will give you delicious food if you give me money.

I remember vividly that I rushed in. I started the business with my allowance as a student. That’s a very little capital. I had no prior knowledge of running business, I was young and naive and ignorant.
Although I have done several buying and selling for my grandmas while growing up and I thought getting money from a business revolves around that.
I had no strategy other than marketing to my immediate audience, I had no business plan, I had no short and long term goal.

When I realized that I was spending for myself from both the business capital and profit, I knew that I was set up for disaster. Then I thought to myself that an attempt to take a step backwards and two steps forwards might cost me my grades and the last thing that I wouldn’t want to do was to put my parents to shame.

My mother had been supportive of my side career since the onset, she’s been encouraging and cheering me on, provided it doesn’t disturb my academic but my dad wasn’t so much a fan of the idea on the onset but with my persistence on it, he gave in and warned me not to fail my exams because he’d blame me for dividing my academic time with an “unnecessary” thing. He wanted me to be focused on my academics and that he would provide everything that I needed but I was hell bent on exploring my passion.

After delivering all the moin moin to the respective buyers. The walk-in clients came in to get theirs and then the client that requested for three moin moin earlier came in last to get theirs. After I handed the package over, I thought to myself that it was over. The client asked me when next I’d be making another batch but I said that I’d pass the information across.

However, I continued to cook although not consistently for a few weeks more but I was not as interested as I used to be when I started out and it wasn’t easy to make more money since I didn’t have enough capital to feed myself from my allowee and also to make plans for the business. I needed more hands but I couldn’t afford it. I needed to do more but I have limited time aside from my academics. I also needed to implement more but I didn’t have enough knowledge about business.

I stopped cooking for sale eventually. It was awkward at first but later I got used to answering questions about why I quit. I haven’t told anyone the exact reasons but I always say “I have exams to prepare for.”

When I got to my final year (500 level), I cooked for sale once in a while but for occasions and for people that wanted food in batches. My inadequate knowledge about business sent me out of my cooking business eventually.

Glossary: moin moin is a bean cake.
allowee a short form of allowance.

Both images are mine.

Thank you for reading.