The Embarassing Story of Why I'm Changing My Otherwise Perfect Business Name

What happens when you put your complete trust in a web-based business registration service? You end up changing the business name you so passionately set your heart on.

Here's what really happened. And I admit, the Department of Trade and Industry isn't entirely at fault here. Because of my excitement, I kept putting off getting my business registered and working instead on the goods to sell, the packaging, and of course, the logo. Silly me. I was confident that the name I wanted was not yet taken because when I checked it online, records did not show a business registered under the same name. I knew I had to register it eventually, but for the life of me, I don't know why I didn't do it sooner rather than later. 

When I finally had the money and the time to have it duly registered at a DTI office, I had my heart set on the name Sweet Addictions. To say that I was extremely frustrated to find out that there was a bakeshop outside Manila registered under the same name is an understatement. The only difference is that they used the singular form of the noun. I sat there at the officer's desk, wasting his time while trying to think for an alternative name, only to get turned down every time because every name I mentioned was already taken. I even called Charo for rescue but she insisted that I abort the registration because I might settle for a name I wasn't happy with. I went home feeling defeated and tired. It was a good thing that Lyn invited me for drinks at her house that night because I badly needed one. As much as I was frustrated at the flaws of the online services of DTI, I couldn't put the blame entirely on them. So that evening, I just blamed it on the ah-ah-ah-ah-a-alcohol!

I really hate to change it, but given the circumstance, I really have no choice. So if you happen to visit my online shop, expect a major change soon in the name and possibly, in the look of the site. *SAAAD FACE*

The lesson here? Simple. Get your business registered before anything else. Or at least before you even begin working on a name or a logo design. And don't put your complete trust on the web-based DTI registration service because it won't always tell you if another business is registered in the name you're intending to use. It is best to first register online and then verify the name with a DTI officer. 

The most important lesson of all? It takes less drinks than you think to turn a bad day around when you are in good company. =)

New York Cupcakes, Lobsters and my Frosting Issues

I love my buttercream recipe. With a little tweaking and some help from my friend Denieza, I was able to find the balance between flavor and texture.

However, I still can't find a way to make my frostings look like this. I just think they are so pretty!

Billy's Chocolate Cupcake
Photo from Billy's Bakery

When life gives you lemons, make freakin' lemonade

I like to cook.

No. Scratch that. I love to cook. I love rummaging through our fridge and seeing what I could produce with the minimal ingredients I have. I love the sound it makes when you sear beef on a smoking hot skillet, or the aromas that fill your house when you bake an old-fashioned apple pie. I have my parents to thank for this. Aside from being in a family of good cooks and hearty eaters, they unreservedly paid for my culinary education in the top cooking school at the time. This is where I learned most of what I know about food now, and more importantly this is where I found and stoked my passion for food. Frankly, I live for the day when I could just cook for family, my friends and myself every waking day of my life. No worries, no responsibilities. Cooking only for the absolute pleasure it brings.  But if there is one thing I’d love more than cooking, and this may come as a shock to you, it would be eating.

Sadly, because of my current financial and employment status (status: unemployed and broke-ass), cooking for the absolute pleasure it brings shall remain a fantasy for now. By the way, in that fantasy, I play a female: the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten. And while I salivate over the images in my head of my non-existent kitchen barn and herb garden in the Hamptons, I have to deal with my reality: I need a job. The realization that I have not been able to hold a position for longer than a year at the ripe age of 25 feels like a sucker punch in the gut. This is not to say that I did not put in the work. Oh believe me, I’ve worked. I’ve worked in a cruise ship as a pastry cook and cruise ships have a reputation of having the toughest, most backbreaking kitchen jobs in store for anyone who is crazy enough to get on board.  I’ve worked in a catering venue and restaurants during the most demanding months of the year. While these jobs could potentially be rewarding, I could never bring myself to stay there for longer than a year. I guess I get bored easily. I don’t know. All I know is I’d be happier doing something else.

Which brings me to this journal. I’ve had an idea for a very, very long time now. In fact, it’s been so long that I forgot, remembered, then forgot, then re-remembered this idea countless times in the past that I felt the need to document it lest I’ll forget it once again and miss the opportunity to see this good idea bear fruit. So here we are at the start of my journey to find that something else that I’d be happier doing. This journey begins with the concept of the most basic and primal means to earn a living: sell something for something. With the skills I’ve learned and whatever tools I have invested in, food for money is the most obvious choice. Though I am confident of my culinary skills, going into business scares the bejesus out of me. I have so many questions running through my head: Will it work? Will they like it? Will I resort to becoming a callboy (as in a boy who works in a call center teehee!) Will I starve to death and go homeless? For the sake of sanity, I cannot leave them unanswered. And the only way for me to answer them is to take the plunge and hope I don’t hit the bottom and crack my head open. If in the off chance I do hit rock bottom, I would have this journal to look back upon and see where and how things went wrong.

I have no business background whatsoever so I will start with the stuff I know. I’ve begun writing down my recipes and I have planned my week to include canvassing suppliers, taste tests and maybe taking a few good shots of the products I plan to sell. I’m done waiting for something to happen and now I know I can and will make it happen. I have a plan and I’ve suddenly got a busy week ahead of me. Wish me luck.