Page 5 - Cornwall 1 2021
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ENTREPRENEURS




            Please tell us a little about yourselves.  savings goals by adding small sums   Cecilia: As Juani says, we have very
            Cecilia: Our family of four moved into   together over a period of time.   active Instagram and Facebook pages,
                                                                                both with the name of two recovering
            the Estate in 2004 when Juani was three
 OF SISTERS  shy little Afrikaans girls at that time!  discussed, argued or planned in any   address as a further contact option:
                                              Juani: The name however was not
                                                                                broke girls. We also have an email
            years old and I was five. We were such
                                              sort of way. Cecilia spontaneously
                                                                                tworecoveringbrokegirls@gmail.com.
            Juani: We both attended Cornwall Hill
                                              thought of it, we both loved it, and so
                                                                                Social media serves as our portfolio of
            College until we matriculated. Cecilia in
                                                                                the work we have done but we urge
                                              we re-branded our entire page and
            2017 and myself in 2019. In 2018 Cecilia
            started her first year at the University   started over. For me, our business is   clients to show us what they’d like.
                                              another thing that just ties everything
            of Pretoria, as an architecture student. I   we love about each other together. Two.  Have you had any highlights or
            joined her on campus in 2020, a first year   recovering.broke.girls. is mostly about   mishaps in the business?
            industrial engineering student.   the two of us enjoying what we do and   Juani: I wouldn’t say we have war stories
                                              doing it together. Actually, we are polar   or have had any massive mishaps in
            Cecilia: Currently I am doing my   opposites, each of us has our own unique   the kitchen, but we do have our late
            architectural internship in Cape Town,   style, creativity and way of thinking,   nights and early mornings that make for
            having completed my undergrad degree   but you won’t find a better team. We   laughter and friendship.
            last year. Our mom is the owner of an   are both very creative and needed an
            interior design company and our dad is   escape from our day-to-day school and   Cecilia: Yes, we have many a time fallen
            an advocate working in the labour law   university experiences. Our baking has   asleep while decorating cookies and
            department for Sasol. Creativity runs   become our escape, where we enter a   woken up somewhere in the night stiff
            in the family. Our parents, too, have a   new, almost ‘care-free’ world of colours   and cold and inadvertently covered in
            creative streak and they raised us to be   and tastes. The main thing the business   icing!
            curious about - and to find ways that   offers  me is the time we spend together,
            we can make a difference in -  the world   but also receiving a little extra money for   Juani: Like the time we started a four-
            we live in. That difference, now, is in the   something we both adore doing. To be   tier birthday cake at 11 pm or the time
            sweetest of forms: baking.        able to do it together and to work so well   I woke up with a cookie stuck to my
                                              together is an absolute blessing in my   cheek. The main happening for me is
            What is two.recovering.broke.girls all   life, and I wouldn’t wish for anything else.  the great friendship we have built over
            about?                                                              the years.
            Juani: To take you back to the very start   Cecilia: The most important part really
            of two.recovering.broke.girls, is to go   is that we really love spending time   What does the future hold?
            through a timeline of nine years. When   together, baking just sort of connects us,   Cecilia: While we have many dreams
            I was in grade five and just eleven years   even now that we’re not in the same city.   and aspirations for our futures in our
            old, I started to sell cupcakes and muffins   We are best friends and I wouldn’t want it   respective career paths, we would
            as a source of pocket money. Cecilia   any other way.               really like to keep the business running
            accompanied me Saturday mornings at                                 throughout our lives. I am currently
            our gate as the “money handler,” while I   Tell us about the range that two.  based in Cape Town and I am aiming to
            baked back in the kitchen. She was the   recovering.broke.girls offers?  extend the business branch here as soon
            face customers met and bought from.   Cecilia: We pride ourselves in being   as I am settled in. Juani will continue
            This was the start of the home-based   able to say that we can cook and bake   providing service for the customer base
            business I called “Semi Soet.” As word   almost anything you’d like and, if we   in Pretoria we have built up over the
            got around, we became more popular,   don’t know how to, we will learn. We also   years.
            which led to more help being needed   offer - and enjoy the challenge of making
            in the kitchen. This resulted in Cecilia   products for numerous alternative   Juani: Our future has so many
            joining me as a baker roughly three years   dietary requirements such as gluten free,   possibilities and opportunities now
            later. As co-partners we decided a new   sugar free and vegan. Our biggest sellers   that we can say we are Cape Town and
            business name was necessary, which led   though, are our Royal Icing Soetkoekies,   Pretoria based. This does open us up to a
            to “Meraki Artistry,” the predecessor of   which we decorate with customised   much larger customer base, which may
            two.recovering.broke.girls . This business   designs and specially selected colour   lead to us hiring extra assistance.
            venture included many products: glass   palettes. We have baked for numerous
            photo frames, hand painted gift cards,   events such as weddings, 21sts, birthday   Cecilia: We would eventually like to
            baked goods and homemade body     celebrations for all ages and a range of   involve more people, as an initiative
            butters.                          other special celebrations.       to teach people, be they our age or
                                                                                older, how to start a business from their
            Cecilia: Initially the name two.recovering.  How can people see the range and   own homes and how passion and a bit
            broke.girls was a joke between the two   order?                     of promoting can help such a project
            of us, but the idea behind the name has   Juani: To shed some light on the inner   flourish from humble beginnings into
            subsequently become a challenge that   workings of the business - we are 90%   something to be proud of!
            we set for ourselves. We strive to prove,   online based. The other 10% consists of
            through the opportunities we are given   word-of-mouth referrals from friends   Juani: With our current work and study
            and the ones we create for ourselves,   and family. We use Instagram and   commitments, I think we will take it
            that we can be self-sufficient and that   Facebook to showcase custom-made   as it comes. I do, however, dream of
            we have the skills and abilities to do   orders we have done, as well showing   branching out in the future with our own
            more than just our chosen field of study.   new products, price lists and packaging   premises, a team of bakers and a large
            So, the recovering is our little reminder   options. Orders can be placed using   list of clients, where we bake for a whole
            to ourselves that we can achieve our   direct messaging on Instagram.  range of events.



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