Akeela Lovell: A young woman on a mission to continue her mother’s legacy

Mar 07, 2021 News

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Young Entrepreneur on the Move…

“Young entrepreneurs like myself, I consider to be fresh meat. They come with an open mind. They think out of the box! Most young entrepreneurs are creative, and they put their all into creating new things.”

By Sueann Wickham

Kaieteur News – It is becoming increasingly clear that since Guyanese are in love with exercising their palates, opting to start a food business is almost always a safe bet. So, like many other young persons who have taken a chance in the food business, our featured entrepreneur, Akeela Lovell, embraced the catering/baking side of things. By doing this, the 21-year-old is hoping to continue her mother’s legacy in baking, but with her own “fancy touch.” Lovell has pioneered her own catering/baking business under the name “Akeelabakes_,” hoping to deliver baked goodies that will bring delight to the taste buds of all her consumers.

But sharing details about her taste of success, Lovell was eager to reflect on the journey to establishing her own business. In an exclusive interview, Lovell stated that several key factors led to her journey, the first being her mother. “She always saw potential in me and trained me to be as great as I am today,” Lovell confessed recently. In fact, her mother once specialized in baking cakes and even conducted baking classes, and Lovell was always in the kitchen, excited to render assistance. She also attended her mother’s baking classes to perfect the craft, and then fully dived into her creative experiments. The 21-year-old, who is also a teacher at the ISA Islamic school, said that her first leap to kick-starting Akeelabakes_ was on January 31 of last year. She started making lunch packages comprising of several baked goods, which she shared with her colleagues and students and got great reviews. “…After trying my lunch packages and having so many great reviews from them it made me want the entire country to taste my creations,” she added. It was also her students who helped her with an official name for the business. However, to her dismay, as soon as she started her business there was the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was in early March and Lovell was forced to halt her operation for a short period. Despite that challenge, she quickly adapted to the “new normal” and decided to push ahead. She resumed operations, taking every necessary precaution. “I sanitized often, I wore my mask while working, and I used gloves. Everything I could do to keep my customers safe I did it,” Lovell related. The young entrepreneur recently boasted of a high demand for some of her mouth-watering edibles, such as doughnuts, chicken puffs, cheese pies, and of course, those cinnamon rolls! She also started experimenting with Oreo rolls and blueberry rolls, and the word is these were a huge hit since they connected with the palate in the most delicious way. Further, Lovell stated that, of recent, her support base has extended internationally. “My support base has reached so far that even persons out of Guyana have been placing orders for their family members and having surprise deliveries done, and paying through Western Union,” Lovell shared. But with all the support she has received, Lovell firmly believes that she owes all the credit to her mother. Growing up, she bore witness to her mother constantly putting off her amazing talent of baking to look after her children. At one point Lovell said that she was furious that her mother was not truly letting the world see her baking talent because of her responsibilities. Eventually her mother was able to fully unleash her craft, an undertaking that Lovell hopes to see live on through her fledgling business. Her long-term goal is to one day open her own bakery even as she continues to create new things to tantalize the palate. She is driven by her belief that, “Young entrepreneurs like myself, I consider to be fresh meat. They come with an open mind. They think out of the box! Most young entrepreneurs are creative, and they put their all into creating new things.” “Young entrepreneurs,” Lovell said, “have pushed society to not just stick to the ‘know’ but to take the leap of faith and be innovative and creative in all that they do.” Additionally, to give young entrepreneurs like herself more exposure and opportunities, Lovell thinks that communities can endeavour to have an exhibition at least once per month to help advertise new small businesses and build their customer base. This sentiment has been echoed by other young persons who have taken a leap of faith and started their own business too. And even the sceptics, with enough talent, can find their way. Lovell recounted that she was never a person that would “go for it” and “take risks” or even believe in herself for that matter. She was always the person that needed motivation and reassurance of her ability to do something. But a year later, basking in well-deserved success, Lovell is a confident young entrepreneur on the move and is definitely one to look out for this year.

 

 

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