By Ruth M. Floresca, Contributor
Job Market, Philippine Daily Inquirer - July 13, 2005

THESE days, more and more mothers are looking for ways to augment the family income. Unfortunately, not everyone venturing into home-based businesses or sidelines become successful, partly due to insufficient business sense and to a certain extent caused by lack of persistence. However, there are some who do find their niches in the world of commerce.

Destined for business

Kaye Sy-Catral grew up in a family of business people, "As a child, I was taught by my father the ropes of handling any business." She remembers selling pencils and whatnots to helpers when she was about seven years old. Later on, she spent summers manning her mom's bookstore. In college, she sold all sorts of stuff.

A graduate of the Ateneo de Manila University in 1998 with a degree in AB Economics, Catral admits she learned to apply theory into practice when she and her close friends put up Blue Bargain (a shop-by-catalogue venture that later evolved into a tiangge business) for a Management Economics subject. "The actual day-to-day thing trains you more than anything you'll learn in class," she says.

Catral, currently a brand manager at a local distribution company, says she was actually encouraged by her aunt to get into the concept cakes scene. Now, she does her "baking" as a sideline.

Unusual product

What Catral sells is something relatively new to the Philippine market. She designs diaper cakes and markets them as gifts and centerpieces for baby showers, new baby visits, christenings or baptisms and first birthdays.

"I first got the idea from watching an episode of 'Sex and the City' back in 2003," Catral reveals. She then surfed the Net, keen on the idea of making diaper cakes for friends having babies. Catral recalls making her first cake for a friend's baby shower, "It didn't really look that good to me, since there was no theme in mind. But my friend and her husband loved and cherished that gift and kept it intact until after their baby was born." She started selling when friends began placing orders. Nappycakes-It's a Diaper Cake! was officially born in July 2004.

Overcoming hurdles

The first few months were difficult particularly the time Catral was trying to secure papers for the business. "They couldn't quite picture out what a diaper cake is supposed to be," she sighs. "They kept on insisting that I was misleading people by naming my product with the word 'cake' because my cakes were inedible." She had to send photos to a local government office to convince them that the product is really a cake. After much deliberation, the officials finally approved the name.

One other challenge Catral faced is finding balance between a demanding day job, a family to attend to and her sideline. Although she allots time for making the cakes after work before dinner, she makes sure she has attended to husband Richard and three-year-old Alexa first before starting on her creations if she gets home late. More often than not, she finds herself making cakes late at night or early in the morning while everyone sleeps. She realized that making the cakes during those times gives her occasion for self-reflection. "I look forward to working at night because it also allows me to rethink the day and focus on some time alone with God," she imparts.

Aiming for perfection

"The cakes I make are my original designs," Catral states. She went through a lot of trials and errors before getting the perfect construction that would hold up the cakes without adding cardboards and other insignificant materials. "I want the cakes to be fully re-usable and make sure that the babies' safety and parents' concerns are taken into consideration," she shares.

All items Catral uses, though sourced locally from distributors, are original and licensed to ensure quality. "I will not sell something I will not personally use myself. If a certain item is out of stock, I replace it with something equal in value or usage," she explains.

One-person team

At the moment, Catral is a one-person-team. She does everything from conceptualizing and buying to "baking" and delivery. She has tried training their helper but found that the quality isn't the same. She admits to being a perfectionist, which is evident in anything she makes. "If something isn't quite right, I make the cake all over again. It is really a craft I take pride in, and anything less than perfect is unacceptable," she adds.

Catral's thoroughness has paid off. Although her advertisements were only made through e-mail sent to friends and two bazaars she joined last December, orders kept pouring in. Friends helped sell her products and one even sold a cake to a well-known TV actor! She's thrilled that there are already recipients-turned-Nappycake-givers. "I save customers' texts of appreciation on my mobile phone and look at them for encouragement, especially during the low weeks," Catral says. In the future, she hopes to find the right person to train-one who will love making diaper cakes as much as she does.

Faith, hard work

Catral recalls, "When I first started out, I would get about five orders a month and I'd be really ecstatic." Now, 10 orders a week is a conservative average though there are still peak weeks and low weeks.

When asked what her secret to success is, she answers, "Perseverance and hard work is the key, plus you have to really love what you're doing." Because there are ups and downs to any business, Catral says you have to be prepared for whatever comes your way. She advises against being in a business for the sole purpose of making lots of money, because when the storms come, you might easily fall back and give up. "If you love what you're doing, and your main concern is making yourself and others happy, then you stick to the business through thick and thin," she counsels.

God's blessings

Her sideline, she says, is more of a hobby and a craft than about making money. It just happened to be something she loves doing that has evolved into something more. Catral also shares that she personally feels that without God's blessing, a business will not thrive, "I depend solely on His guidance and know He has my good in mind. I try to give back to God in whatever way I can, because I know He will take care of me."

Moreover, Catral believes that to be successful in any business, one also has to know how to prioritize time. "I know of some parents who get into all sorts of sideline businesses in order to provide 'more' for their children only to find themselves losing time for their families who are supposed to be up there on their priority list," says Catral. She warns parents not to lose track of their goals and that business should never take the place of one's family or work, or it shouldn't be called a "sideline" in the first place.