Side hustles for summer: Bake cakes like Cakes by Ila

[Welcome to summer! Let's try to kill boredom with cool activities at home, awesome travel itineraries, and TV and movies! This week, let's talk about side hustles and trying to earn some extra cash.]

Ah summer, that time of year when most of us create a little more time than usual for our personal lives. We can always do the cash-burning usual — go on a trip, go to the beach, go visit lola in the province.

Or we can turn time into tangible gold, step on the gas of your passion projects and perhaps make some extra cashola.

Cakes by Ila is the brainchild of homebaker Ila Sison

Enter Cakes by Ila. A side project by international marketing specialist Ila Sison, Cakes by Ila started with Ila just wanting to do more of what relaxes her: Bake some cakes. "I have to give credit to my friends who ate all my samples and eventually convinced me to accept orders," Ila says.

And for five years, the home baker relied on orders from friends and office mates, and their referrals. 

She kept her costs low, by using very basic baking supplies and equipment. "I remember spending a few hundred pesos for sugar, butter, flour, and the like," she said, and when a big order for a wedding cake came, "I used that money and the rest is history.”

Ila reserves her weekends for baking, "and in an ideal world, orders would only be accepted during these days. However, I would always encounter orders for office celebrations and I just couldn’t say no to them.”

Such baking schedule gives her about P5,000 more in extra money. "On months when I don't turn down orders, it can go up to around P10,000," she shares.

More than the financial rewards, it's the opportunity to relax and de-stress that are the real bonus for Ila. "This passion project actually gives me more time to relax. Even if I have to start baking after work at 9 p.m., the fulfillment I get every time I finish a cake is priceless. Plus, it brings me joy knowing that I made people happy with my cakes." — LA, GMA News

Find Cakes by Ila: Instagram. +639178176545

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