Today we’d like to introduce you to Koula Budler.
Hi Koula, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I am a self-taught home baker. I loved cooking and baking from an early age. Back in South Africa, I baked for friends’ birthdays and weddings, but just for fun. I even won the celebrity episode of a cooking contest — BBC South Africa’s “Come Dine With Me.”
I certainly don’t consider myself a professional, but I am a perfectionist. I enjoy mastering things. I studied classical music from an early age. That taught me discipline. Running ultra-marathons also taught me discipline in other forms. I love learning about something that intrigues me… learning all the intricacies about that thing… What that is has changed forms over the years. Some things, like broadcasting, can’t be mastered. There is always room for improvement. I feel that way about baking, too. You can always improve.
I started my little home bakery in March 2021, mostly as a creative outlet… a change of pace from babies and more babies, day after day (I have 2 sets of twins born 22 months apart). It took off faster than I ever anticipated. As with all new businesses, I have learnt valuable lessons along the way, especially the importance of not over-extending myself, and coping with a manageable amount of orders vs. burnout. I love making beautiful cakes, and it’s hard to say no sometimes but I am a better, healthier person and mother when I have had a decent night’s sleep.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been a smooth road; in that I have been blessed with an abundance of orders. So much so, that I have needed to scale back on the amount of orders I commit to on a weekly basis. My biggest challenge has been capacity. I would love to be making far more cakes than I am right now, but I solo parent a lot of the time, as my husband’s work takes him overseas. I have learnt I need to be more mindful of not only conserving energy to look after my 4 littles (two are 2 years old, and two are 4 years old) but also to give myself time to rest now and again, instead of baking during every spare minute I have. Besides learning (the hard way) the importance of self-care over the past year, the spike in cost of ingredients and gas earlier this year was challenging. I had no choice but to bump up my prices. Grateful for my customers who were understanding and still said “yes”.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Home Baker/Cake Artist
I bake and decorate beautiful custom buttercream cakes. I love incorporating fresh flowers and pretty stenciling into designs. My focus is on elegant, artistic cakes (the taller, the better!). I try to avoid fondant unless absolutely necessary.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
They can order my cakes through my Facebook or Instagram accounts: @AledoPartyCakes
Contact Info:
- Website: koulabudler.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/aledopartycakes
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/aledopartycakes
- Twitter: @KoulaBudler
