Filipina businesswoman Viva Andrada O’Flynn was honored for her startup business in the Women’s Business Club (WBC) Awards in the United Kingdom (UK).
The UK-based owner of Love Viva Cakes and Crafts and other women entrepreneurs received their awards before some 300 delegates who participated in the WBC Conference held on December 4, 2019, at the historic Pittville Pump Room in Cheltenham.
Love Viva Cakes and Crafts, which holds a Food Hygiene Rating of 5 (Very Good) from the Gloucester City Council, won the Creative Business of the Year Award.
The award-winning Love Viva’s business motto: “Love Viva Cakes and Crafts makes the cake of your dreams come to life for your important celebrations so you can enjoy special moments with your family and friends free from stress and worry.”
Born in the Philippines, Viva Andrada O’Flynn is a woman of many talents — she has also worked as a journalist, artist, event organiser, an entrepreneur, and chef.
Viva moved to the UK in 2014 to study as a chef at Le Cordon Bleu and went on to settle down with her husband, John. She started her own business, Love Viva Cakes and Crafts, two years ago when she attended Angela De Souza’s Ultimate Business Course workshop with Betaris Training.
“I’ve always loved baking since my grandma asked me to help her out in her kitchen when I was five years old. The wafting aroma of freshly baked homemade goods transports me back to my childhood years and I’m filled with love. Whenever I bake, I listen to love songs, so my secret recipe – which isn’t so secret anymore – is love,” Viva told The Local Answer, a local UK news site.
Viva’s credentials include being a multi-awarded flower arranger, winning the Cheltenham Horticultural Society’s Summer Craft and Flower Show in 2019 after placing second in the 2018 edition of the contest. She also placed second in the Winchcombe Flower Show 2019 and in 2018.
Viva Andrada O’Flynn was previously the Coffee Shop Manager of The Friendship Café and Entrepreneur’s Champion of Create On The Square. She is also the secretary of the Gloucestershire Filipino Association.
In Viva’s own words: “In the UK, far from family and friends back home in the Philippines, I do my best to represent where I come from. In my own way I want others to see the goodness and creativity of the Filipino people.”
“It can be tough on the business journey from starting it and continuing it from day to day. I keep persevering, taking one step at a time. I have a long way to go to reach my goals, but it feels good that whenever I attend networking events in Gloucestershire, I feel connected and not alone in my business journey,” Viva said in her interview with The Local Answer.
“Cake is a symbol of joy, celebration, belonging, friendship and love. You eat cake to enjoy life,” she added.
Filipina businesswomen have received recognition around the world, among them, CEO Sherill Quintana of Oryspa who won the Asia Pacific Woman Entrepreneur Award and Rachel De Villa of Cropital who was named a Forbes Gamechanger.
CHECK OUT these 20 Inspiring Filipina Entrepreneurs.
With reports from Ronarose Mae Vicencio.
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