Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can happen.

Sharica Robinson dreamed of becoming a chef. She got an associate’s degree in culinary arts from Bermuda College and was accepted at the Culinary Institute of America.

And then came her nightmare.

“I developed a bad knee injury,” the 30-year-old said. “I couldn’t stand for more than 30 minutes so cooking and baking wasn’t an option.

“It was a reoccurring problem since I was 15. We’re not sure if it was a sports injury or just the way my knee was. It probably didn’t help that I played basketball and ran for most of my life.”

She took the news really hard but in hindsight realised “everything happens for a reason”.

Ms Robinson found work she enjoyed in the reinsurance industry. Then in 2010, she had major surgery on her knee and welcomed exercise and baking back into her life.

She started decorating cakes and eventually made a name for herself with her delicious cake pops. Last year she opened Navi Delytz, a bakery in her home. (Navi is her father, Ivan’s name spelled backwards.)

She said baking has been almost therapeutic for her.

“I was going through a busy period with my job and needed something to help me tap into my creativity,” she said.

“Cake pops are really big in the US, so I bought some books about them and told myself I’d try it and make some for my friends and family. Their reactions were priceless and they started telling me ‘You should sell these’.”

She got a kitchen licence and then had to get her landlord’s permission to sell the treats from their house.

“That first November and December were kind of busy,” she said. “But then we did the bridal show and ever since then it’s just been non-stop — things have just grown more and more.

“In the first year alone we have done amazing things. I actually had to move plans up in order to manage all the orders coming in.

“At first I didn’t plan to have a website until after the first year, but we needed to create it after the first four months. I have made cake pops for baby showers, birthdays, rehearsal dinners and even weddings.”

Some people like that there’s no clean up with cake pops. Others appreciate that they come in portion-controlled sizes.

Most of all people just like the taste, she said.

“People are usually just standing there stunned that all that cake is underneath the chocolate,” Ms Robinson said.

Her sister, Stacie, helps her with managing the orders and occasionally with the delivery, while her dad helps with promotion, largely through word-of-mouth.

“He is my biggest supporter and biggest critic and will let me know when something doesn’t taste just right or if it isn’t perfect,” she said.

Her mom is the “queen of sprinkles” and her right hand in the kitchen.

Without them she wouldn’t be able to handle the business, she said. She was asked to make 1,500 cake pops for Easter; orders for Christmas started pouring in, in August.

Ms Robinson said balancing her career at Tokio Solutions along with the home bakery project hasn’t been an easy feat.

At one point she would knock off at 5pm and go straight home to make cake pops until 11pm. She quickly burned herself out.

“Now I plan to bake two nights a week and on the weekends when necessary,” she said.

She encourages people with a passion in anything to take a leap of faith.

“It took me a while to actually go through with starting this,” she said. “My parents and sister just kept telling me I could do it, but I doubted myself because you never know which way it will go. Now I’m so glad I took the leap and so proud of everything that has come out of it.”

For more information visit www.navidelytz.com