Alla Driksne: Turning a Cake Passion Into a 6-Figure Business

Meet the founder behind Alla’s Yummy Food, Alla Driksne. A trained pastry chef turned course creator, Alla runs one of the biggest online cake schools, where she teaches people how to make beautifully designed cakes that are simple to follow. Expanding on the success of her online courses, she also offers her signature Cake Club membership for people who want to monetize their baking skills and learn about starting their own baking business. Not to mention, Alla has also built a strong online presence with her mesmerizing cake tutorials, easy baking tips, and one-of-a-kind recipes. Here’s a snapshot of her baking business success: 

• Has taught over 100K students 
• Earns over 6-figures a year 
• Built an audience of over 700K on social 

The Challenge: Monetizing Her Baking Skills 

Alla has been in the baking business for the last 12 years, but she only started monetizing her baking skills in 2020 during the pandemic. Before she began monetizing, she relied solely on social media to share her baking creations. 

“I made no money for seven years,” recalls Alla. “That was pretty tough because even though I relied on social media, social media didn't give me any money and I didn't own any of the contacts.” 

Alla's cakes are completely unique as she draws the designs herself, so she knew she had a one-of-a-kind offering. However, her biggest challenge for years was that she didn’t know how to sell her offerings. 

She came up with the idea to create online courses based on different types of cakes, such as sponge cakes, mousse cakes, cheesecakes, vegan cakes, and mini cakes. 

Once she decided to monetize, she ran into a new challenge: disconnected tools. 

“I used to have different websites, I struggled with how to collect the payments, and I didn’t like that I had to pay separately for each subscription and remember all of the passwords,” she remembers. “I didn't understand how to connect all the dots together.”

The Solution: Simplifying Her Set Up

She knew she needed a solution to reduce the overwhelming task of managing multiple tools and trying to manually connect the dots herself. 

“Until someone introduced me to Kajabi, I had no idea that I could have everything in one place,” she says.  

Kajabi has solved all of her challenges. Not only does her website house all of her courses, but she could also create a membership offering, collect payments, and manage her email list — all in one place. 

“It just felt very easy and straightforward, which, as a first-time business owner, helped me a bunch,” says Alla.

Results: Seamlessly Sharing Her Baking Expertise 

When Alla launched her first course on Kajabi, a niche course on mousse cakes that was priced at $100, she made $1,000 within the first day. 

“That's when I realized this is a game changer, and I'm definitely staying,” she says. 

Now, Alla makes over six figures per year from her online courses and membership, all hosted on Kajabi. Her courses typically last two to three months, and students bake one cake per week. She can easily upload her teaching videos and recipes, and students can leave comments and ask questions, all in one place. 

She also uses Kajabi for the membership side of her business, Cake Club. Alla shares all of her business expertise with students who want to pursue a baking business like her. Since starting her membership, Alla has helped 500 students start a baking business as a full-time job, and some of her top students make up to $7K per month using her business lessons. 

Looking Ahead: Running a Business on Auto-Pilot 

After nearly five years of building a successful six-figure online business, Alla is ready to take a step back. She plans to automate the course side of her cake business so it can run smoothly while she focuses on building another business. 

Her best tip for other creators? “Learn everything about marketing and sales so you completely understand how this process works,” she says. “And you have to be patient.” 

Thinking back to the years she spent relying on social media before monetizing 

“I started very late, and think if I started straight away the right way, I'd probably be in multiple seven figures now.”

Alla’s Playbook for Driving Sales Through Social in 2024

With over 700K followers across Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook, Alla knows a thing or two about what captures followers’ attention and converts them into customers. Here’s her playbook for growing your social audience so you can drive sales to your online business.‍

• Lean into video: Simply put: short-form video is what works in 2024. “The best way to grow on social media now is to create Reels that are relevant to your industry,” says Alla. 
• Make a killer lead magnet: Once you’ve grabbed followers’ attention, create a valuable lead magnet relevant to your offering. “Make sure they get immediate results if they download it, watch a video, or do a mini course.”
• Run a webinar with ads: Alla notes that growing your social audience organically can take a long time and a lot of effort. She suggests the fastest way to grow and get in front of your target audience is by running a webinar using ads. “If you're confident in your product, then run a webinar with ads to find the audience that is interested in your product,” she says.‍
• Collaboration is key: Want to get in front of a new audience? Alla recommends collaborating with other creators in similar fields, even if it comes at a price. “Be willing to give them [anywhere from] 20-50% of a commission to somebody who already has an audience so you can get in front of their audience.”

Ready to turn your passion into a six-figure online business? See how Kajabi can help you build online courses, memberships, coaching, and more.