There’s no ‘right timing’; just face your fears – Karen Tricia Aquino

Karen Tricia Aquino grew up in a family of dentists, “and I have practically lived my whole life under their shadow. I never knew any other career aside from being a doctor and that made me quite unhappy.”

As outlet from the stress, she used to bake.

One day, “I just had enough of it and decided that it’s time to move past this and chase after what would make me truly happy and satisfied. After fervent prayers and an excruciating period of time to think about what I want to do with my life, I brainstormed things I was good at and passionate about. My only criterion was that it should be something I would never get tired of learning about and eventually got my answer.”

At this point, baking entered the picture for her.

“Those practice sessions started out as an escape until it became a part of me. When I realized that there was potential, it no longer became practice. Baking was more than just relieving stress and it definitely was more than showcasing skills. Eventually, my end goal was to satisfy, to please, and make people happy and so I shifted my concentration from the medical field to the culinary arts.”

Karen scouted for good culinary schools within the metro until a friend of hers recommended a good school just a few minutes away from her home.

“I wasted no time and enrolled in Southville International School Affiliated with Foreign Universities (SISFU) and finished my degree in Culinary Arts. What reeled me in is its partnership and standardization with Pearson College, London,” she recalled.

Of course she was scared of starting her own business.

“I was fully aware that food industry is a very daunting world and so I always stuck to cooking for myself, my family and my friends,” she said.

But one day, “my mom and I tried something we’ve never done before. We wanted to see what our food would look like as packages we could maybe sell. Our packaging looked pretty good so I decided to try posting it on an online group within our community and check out the response. I am thankful I did that experiment because from there everything just fell into place and I slowly started adding more items in my menu until I was open for business.”

So with a capital of only PhP6,000 to PhP7,000 (loaned from her parents), she started ‘Kreations by K’.

“The person who inspires me the most is my mother. Despite her busy schedule in her clinic, she still finds time and still has the energy to cook delicious meals for the family. Despite how tired she must be, she still glows when she’s in the kitchen. I guess I got it from her, and I’m thankful that she pushes me to do my own thing and practice more,” she said.

“You need to come in prepared. Before you start your business make a work flow system that would best fit you and this includes weekly order entries, inventories, expenses, etc.”

Karen’s capital was handily returned in a few weeks.

“So far, one my greatest challenges is that I am a one woman show. I do everything from start to finish, resulting to limited stocks every week. I’m constantly developing my own system that would propel the business further, efficiently producing quality output,” she said.

Aside from this, another challenge she faces is the delivery method.

“It is very difficult to find couriers that would actually take care of the products that you send. So most of the time, I deliver the more fragile products personally.”

However, “the greatest challenge of all is this pandemic. Since the situation is worsening in our country, I’m currently thinking of ways to avoid physically leaving my kitchen to buy stocks or deliver food items. Sometimes that would make price a little higher but I’d like to think of it as an investment instead of a loss because it helps me avoid any possible exposure to the virus. It’s more like investing on yourself and your personal safety.”

With her business continuing to boom, “I am now able to set aside money as profit from my products. Selling cookies and desserts is a profitable venture. As Filipinos, we love to have dessert after a meal and we also love merienda. When you create a treat that is delicious without compromising its quality, people will come back for more.”

And for people who may want to also open their business, what tips can Karen give?

“You need to come in prepared. Before you start your business make a work flow system that would best fit you and this includes weekly order entries, inventories, expenses, etc,” she said. “There’s no ‘right timing’. You just have to face your fears, just take that leap of faith and work hard. Its honestly scary, but it’s your passion and your drive that will make you fly to greater heights.”

To try the tasty offerings of ‘Kreations by K’, head to its Facebook page or IG: @kreationsbykta.