TESTIMONIALS One Was Never Enough – Surya Sarma, Multi-Site Bakery Owner

When Surya Sarma first heard about Bakers Delight, he was working as an Area Manager for a cleaning company. Needing a career change with a background in hospitality, he decided to become a baker at Bakers Delight Kellyville in NSW and has not looked back.

A year later, Surya had mastered baking and was starting to think about a new challenge. His manager noticed his eagerness to grow and suggested he become a Bakers Delight Franchisee.

“I’ve always had it in me to run my own business, be my own boss,” Surya said. “I thrive on a challenge and have been brought up to make my own way. Things were tough growing up in Nepal – my father was always working hard to provide for us. He encouraged me to ‘have something of my own’, which I did, when I purchased my own nightclub and restaurant. I really wanted to recreate that success in Australia, so I decided to consider my options for owning a business again.”

Surya thought about owning a café but knew it would be tricky starting a new business from scratch. This made becoming a Franchisee with Bakers Delight more appealing, as the brand was and is well known. This gave Surya the confidence to undertake the ‘Manage to Own’ (MTO) program. This program is run by Bakers Delight and is designed to equip future Franchisees with necessary operational and business skills required to run a successful bakery.

“I knew undertaking the MTO program would help me be ready

to operate my own bakery. I found the experience really good,

especially as my trainers were really helpful.”

It was not long after completing the MTO program that Surya realised his dream. In 2019, he made the purchase of the already established Bakers Delight, Baulkham Hills. Surya owes his smooth transition to ownership to a number of things.

“The MTO program really helped me feel more prepared to become a Franchisee, plus my experience as a baker really helped. It meant that I already had experience managing production and could hit the ground running.”

Last but not least, Surya says he owes much of his achievement to his wife, Laxmi.

“As you know, baking is a hands on family oriented business. My wife made sure she was skilled up before we took over Baulkham Hills. She started working in sales at Bakers Delight Norwest for about two months before we took over. I couldn’t have done it without her.”

Surya worked hard over the next few years to build Baulkham Hills into a successful bakery.

“I received lots of support from my Area Manager and the staff at support office. There was always someone there to help me out, so I never felt alone.”

Once the bakery was steady, Surya felt the need to grow again.

“After establishing Baulkham Hills, I decided I was ready to own a second bakery. So, I reached out to my Area Manager to see if he knew of anything suitable. I then heard that up to 40% of Franchisees in the network are multiple bakery owners and successful ones. This made me feel confident I was making the right choice.”

Surya’s opportunity came quickly with the new and untouched site of Bakers Delight Merrylands, coming onto the market.

“I decided that this time around I would take on a new bakery. I liked the site of Merrylands because it had a similar close-knit community to Baulkham Hills and I could set things up in a way that had worked before.”

In the purchase and build of Merrylands, Surya’s journey was made as smooth as possible by the Project Management team.

“The project manager always had regular communication with me which was great considering the pandemic lockdown at the time. I really appreciated this.”

Despite being set up for success, Surya still had some worries.

“I’d never established a new bakery from scratch before. I wasn’t sure how I would connect with the community and let them know we were here, so I reached out to the support office for help.”

“Marketing were able to help me with Facebook Advertising so the community could know about us. I wanted to be top of mind, so when a local school sausage sizzle was on, we would be the first ones they would come to for bread. My Area Manager, Shane even helped for the first two weeks when we opened. It was very busy, and all hands were required on deck! I am so grateful.”

As the new bakery got on its feet, Surya saw that juggling two bakeries was a challenge.

“Anyone who owns a business knows there are positive and negative impacts on your lifestyle. However with great preparation, staff and family support, work-life balance can be achieved. I love that I do not have to solely rely on a job for an income and this gives me a greater level of security.”

Surya has achieved so much in the Bakers Delight network, however, that has not stopped him looking to the future.

“The future is bright if you believe in yourself and trust the business. If you follow the ‘right way’ and work hard, success will come. The experience of setting up your own bakery is like no other, it’s definitely achievable, especially with the support of Bakers Delight behind you. The future is yours.”