Take your ikigai, turn it into a successful business

The first day of entering the professional world isn’t too different from the first day of school. You prepare your uniform — grey or blue blazer, a full-sleeved white shirt that’ll cover your butterfly tattoo — you pack a bag with water and snacks, prepare yourself for learning, and set off to adult. You think you’re hitting the professional mark and will surely stand out. But once you’re in the folds, you realise you’re one of hundreds prepared in the same way — even your butterfly tattoo is one of several. And just like that, a new pressure attaches itself to you — how to stand out in a crowd.

How do you find that unique trait that’ll differentiate you from others and make you the shooting star everyone notices? For entrepreneur and founder of the popular chain of cafes, Poetry by Love & Cheesecake, Ruchyeta Bhatia, that USP was filling the gap for delectable cheesecakes in the Indian market. Known for its its decadent desserts (apple crumble cheesecake, anyone?) and a vegetarian breakfast menu that goes beyond idli, dosa, the business now has 21 outlets across Mumbai and Pune.

After dabbling in marketing, advertising and an unconventional paintball venture, Bhatia started her F&B business in 2012 — she always knew food was her ikigai (changing careers doesn’t have to be terrifying). The entrepreneur grew up on homemade custards and jelly, a dish her grandparents prepared for her when she was visiting, “I couldn’t even wait for the jelly to set. I wanted to drink it while it was still hot because I loved it so much.” Naturally, she dreamed of being a chef and jumped at the first opportunity to apply to culinary school. During a mandatory internship at a commercial kitchen, she realised the business side of things excited her more than sweating it out in front of an oven. It was also where she met her partner, Chef Amit Sharma, who had been experimenting with cheesecakes for some time then. It seemed like a sign for Bhatia to skip culinary school and, at 26, she jumped into business with Sharma.

Bhatia agrees that there is no set formula to success, but there are a few bases you can cover to cement your position in everyone’s minds. We quizzed the entrepreneur on her secret sauce recipe for success.

It takes a village

Rome wasn’t built in a day and certainly not alone. To get any idea off the ground, you need all the support you can gather, from friends, family, the internet, you name it. So you put on your Byomkesh Bakshi glasses and seek inspiration like it’s a wanted suspect, just like Bhatia did. The idea of a cheesecake business came to her at a dinner party when a friend lamented at the lack of it in India. The name of the venture was born out of her cousin’s comment about the love sprinkled into baking.

When you’re starting out, money is tight. Bhatia recommends seeking out people in your circle to lend you their expertise, whether it’s helping you with accounting or designing your logo. “A lot of it has been a group effort, as we leaned on different people to help us start, grow and get to where we are.”

Keep the blinkers on

The hard work and failures in real life, unfortunately, can’t be fast-forwarded like a film montage. To push the universe to give you what you want, you have to slay the dragons first and keep moving forward. Bhatia and her partner started the business as a bakery that operated out of a 300 sq. ft. experimental kitchen in Bandra, Mumbai.

It was located at the back of a building, where customers had to ring a doorbell and wait for their cakes to be made fresh. The duo did everything from baking to hand-delivering orders by themselves for the first several months. Cut to today, Poetry by Love & Cheesecake recently opened their 21st outlet.

Consider taking the advice Bhatia’s mom shared with her when she was a kid, “Let’s take one day at a time, don’t create this big elephant of things. We deal with it as we go.” She doesn’t have blueprints of her goals stashed anywhere; in fact, she likes to take things as they come, achieving smaller goals that tie into her larger vision for the company.

Inspiration can come knocking any time

The art of listening is as rare as the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. But if you master it, you’ll be the hottest commodity in the market. Listening to your customers and letting their feedback guide your creative process is a good way to stand out in a crowd and create a place for yourself.

Love & Cheesecake started with classic flavours — New York-style and Blueberry — along with Nutella, macadamia nut and hazelnut, which were experimental flavours at the time. But over the years, their cheesecake menu has expanded to include even Indian flavours in their festival menu. On a customer’s recommendation, they are experimenting with a kandi pedha cheesecake this year for Raksha Bandhan.

Set your out-of-office often

The best ideas come in the shower, on the toilet bowl or when you’re sipping wine on a yacht off the Amalfi coast. Taking regular time off from work is the best way to keep your creative juices flowing. Despite working long hours, Bhatia never gave up on travelling, “When you travel, you tend to be more creative and get a bird’s eye view of the business. So I need to take off every two months to reset my mind and ideate on what’s next,” says Bhatia.

Competition is cut-throat and the need to innovate constantly is relentless. To truly stand out in a crowd as a unique brand, keep moving forward and stay abreast of trends; it’ll keep your growth and popularity curve moving upwards.