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Not long ago, Muhammad Hariz Bin Hapipudin spent his days behind a desk in an air-conditioned office.
Today, he wakes up at 5am, spends hours baking, and ends most nights selling hundreds of cake slices at a bustling street stall in Ampang, where rows of neatly arranged cakes often sell out before midnight.
Escaping redundancy
But the journey from HR executive to full-time baker was never part of some grand plan. Rather, it stemmed from a love for eating cakes and a simple thought: “What if I make my own version, but better and affordable?”
Hariz’s early path was one of stellar academic performance as he was a straight-A student across all national level exams and he went on to pursue his studies at UKM Bangi.
After graduating, he entered the corporate world as an HR executive and stayed at the job for about five years.
The salary was satisfying and the job taught me discipline and teamwork. But on a day-to-day basis, it felt repetitive.
“It wasn’t that I hated my office job. I just somehow knew it wasn’t where my energy fit best,” he explained.
Chasing after a quiet passion
In 2025, Hariz made a decision that surprised people around him. He left his stable office job and committed to learning baking seriously.
With no formal culinary background, he taught himself through online resources and often spent hours experimenting in his kitchen.
“I love eating cakes. I wanted to create the best cakes at an affordable price that were a reflection of my own spin on them.
“But turning that passion into a business was intimidating, especially for an introvert like me as I found selling and interacting with customers a real challenge.”
Going home empty-handed
At first, Hariz only sold cakes online in 2024. Things got off to a slow start and inevitably, it led to an unstable income and him wondering if this path was heading nowhere.
When he finally decided to try selling cakes physically, Hafiz was met with a hard dose of reality.
“I brought less than 15 cakes that day and even tried going from office to office to sell them. But I ended up going home empty-handed.”
Amid the discouragement, Hariz’s brother suggested that he turn to TikTok and try utilising the platform for his cake business. In less than a month, orders came pouring in and several influencers were contacting him for collaborations.
“Everything happened so quickly. It was then when I learnt that social media is very important for branding,” he said.
Sells 300 cakes a night
Today, Hariz usually brings around 400 cakes to his stall and sells over 300 of them in a single night.
Each slice, neatly displayed under bright lights at Tapak Urban Street Dining Ampang, draws long queues of curious customers every Thursday to Sunday between 9pm and 11:30pm.
For someone who once struggled to speak to strangers, he now spends hours interacting with crowds every weekend night.
While some might feel peer pressure watching friends advancing in their corporate careers, Hariz has no such sentiments.
“I’m an active person. When I worked in an office, there were times when there was nothing left to do, and I’d get bored.
“For me, standing, baking, packing, selling, and moving constantly feels more natural than sitting behind a desk.”
A worthy trade
Hariz’s days now begin long before most people wake up as he rises as early as 5am to start baking. By 7:30am, he is still busy preparing cakes and only takes short breaks in between.
For now, he’s handling everything by himself as he currently isn’t confident enough to hire someone who is truly skilled.
“Most of the time, I only get about five hours of sleep a day. Baking full-time is more physically and mentally exhausting than my previous job, but I’m very certain about the path I chose.”
While Hariz traded predictable office hours for long, demanding days, but he gained ownership of his time, craft, and a growing community that lines up every night for his cakes in return.
His story is a reminder that sometimes the quieter passions, when nurtured patiently, can rise louder than one could ever imagine.
And things are just getting started.
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