Rina Nzuve: I quit my job when my child called me ‘auntie’

My siblings who are all in the travel industry couldn’t understand where I was coming from.

However, my husband, Abraham, who had seen me stay up all night working understood and he was very supportive to the point of giving me money for my chama (welfare group) in the subsequent months.

“I conceived my third child soon after and for the next 18 months, I was happy at home raising my children. With a lot of free time on my hands, I rekindled my childhood passion of baking and took a short baking course. I would bake cakes for my family and friends.

Then, in December 2011, I baked a cake for my second born’s birthday and it turned out so well that I knew there was no going back for me after that.

“At the start of the next year, through word of mouth, I went commercial, working from my kitchen. Luckily, I did not need a lot of cash to start off because ideally, a cake deposit should cover the cost of ingredients.

For the first time, my obsessive-compulsive disorder became a problem because I wanted to do everything myself which resulted in burn out just a few weeks in. At this point, I hired an extra hand. Over the next few months, I discovered that my forte was sugar crafting and I hired a few more people to help with the baking while I concentrated with the art part of it.

Bakery Business in Kenya

“Two years in, Rina’s House has grown to a staff of six permanent employees, a number which sometimes doubles depending on the season.

I love baking cakes for children but before I set off to work, I insist on speaking with the child to get the details of what he or she wants.