The Branson Centre is propelling small businesses into the big time...

Entrepreneur: Alecia James

Signature Cakes
"In order to achieve and be a successful entrepreneur you have to think big"
 
Meet the Maker:
Entrepreneurship is not unfamiliar to Alecia. Her parents have their own transportation business, so she knew she was born to be an entrepreneur. She began cooking and baking for her family from the age of eight, experimenting with flavours. She went on to specialise in studying food industry at Jamaica’s University of Technology and landed her first job at the newly opened Ritz Carlton Rose Hall Hotel as a cook. Working there for eight years in the pastry department, Alecia rose through the ranks to assistant pastry cook. Three years ago, she took the bold step to start her own business. Now Alecia’s dream is to manufacture and distribute cakes and pastries world-wide.
 
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Alecia James
The golden opportunity:
At the hotel where Alecia used to work, she was being trained to become the next head pastry chef.

“I was working with the top pastry chef in the field and was also training with international professionals but my burning desire to embark as an entrepreneur was too strong for me to wait any longer,” says Alecia.

She saw a gap in the commercial cake and bread market in Jamaica where some yeast-based products are imported from the United States. For example, about 90% of bagels are imported, which means they sit on a carrier in the harbour for a week before they’re even in shops or restaurants. In 2008, Alecia started her own business, Signature Cakes, from her home, to fill this gap.
The business in a nutshell:
Signature Cakes manufactures and distributes desserts, wedding cakes, specialty cakes and pastries, for chain restaurants, coffee shops and small hotels.

The business also specialises in making products for clients with special dietary needs, such as gluten or lactose intolerance.

With no money for advertising, Alecia has relied on word of mouth to market her business – and it has worked.

She has won contracts for events and hotels in this way and has grown her team, employing two bakers and one delivery person.
Believe in yourself and there is no limit to what you can achieve.
  - Alecia James  

How it’s helping the community:
The business provides employment for local people. As it grows, her staff numbers will definitely increase. It’s a highly collaborative business where people can get involved from all aspects of the community.
The future looks bright:
Expansion. That’s the plan for Alecia’s business. Within six months, she intends to move the business out of her home into a factory so that she can produce and distribute more products. Within three years, she’d like to be producing yeast-based products, like bagels, and see Jamaica and the Caribbean import less of these items. The dream is mass production of Jamaican cakes and breads across the Caribbean, and then world-wide. Alecia says: “In order to achieve and be a successful entrepreneur you have to think big.”
Fast Facts:
  • Current number of employees: Three
  • Expected number of employees in three years’ time: Six
  • Current annual turnover: $4.5 million (Jamaican Dollar)
  • Expected annual turnover in three years’ time: $23 million (Jamaican Dollar)
  • Investment to date: Self-financing and a small loan
  • Location of headquarters: Based at home in Montego Bay, Jamaica
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