Hello my Lovelies! Sooooo it’s been a real long while since I published a blog post bit even longer from the Big Move Part 1 edition so for those who have been following – apologies for the delay.
The first month in the cakery was a real-life changing experience. It took me a really long time to adjust to my new space which is normal for me so it wouldn’t have bothered me too much….. if that was the only thing that was going on at the time. Unfortunately, I had jam packed my schedule with so many new things that I eventually became overwhelmed & depressed. Still, I pushed on each day trying to remotivate myself & regain the confidence I experienced when I dreamed this life up.
I like to do the Pros & Cons exercise for all big decisions/ measurements in my life, I think I learnt this from my work mentor a few years ago but I can’t be sure now – just grateful that it’s something that helps me make practical decisions. So here goes:
PROS
Get to have breakfast with my husband each morning because we work in the same area now.
More space – there’s so much space, the space at home was so squashed that I was constantly getting cut & hurt bumping into cupboards & drawers. I’ve never made my 5k step count at home & from the first day at the shop, I’ve been hitting it by 12pm.
Quiet time – at home I had a lot of distractions so for someone who easily gets distracted, this meant not working normal daytime hours & having to work into the late night/ early morning hours.
Creating a space that is unique & completely mine.
Increase in sales – I’m going to assign this to having an actual brick & mortar, I feel that people take me more seriously as a business owner since having an actual premises than when I was baking from home which is sad because its much of the same (with the exception of paying separate rent).
Had immense support from customers & friends with the raffle that I ran, I managed to buy a dehydrator (much needed for my cookie production time) & got the Kenwood Chef mixer for the shop so I no longer had to travel with my home one back & forth each day.
I had 2 donors (friend & family member) who truly believed in my passion & drive for this business & wanted to help me create efficiencies so in total I received R4500 from them – this was one of the major morale boosters I had in 2023.
More opportunities – launch of my SIP n SWIRL community building classes, kids baking classes, kids bake parties etc
CONS
Washing loads of dishes & scrubbing counters at least twice a day which contributed to me running out of time for actual baking.
Commercial fridge is not complying at all, so I am having to keep my cakes in a single door fridge until I figure this thing out properly.
Ordered a counter display fridge for the Christmas period in Oct & it still hadn’t arrived by Nov, further bad news that It was affected by the sea strike, so the supplier managed to make alternate arrangements which costed me a further R1500 of unbudgeted funds. Further to this, the fridge is doing its own thing, making my products dry.
People who have their cars serviced at Tiger Wheel & Tyre (in our complex) naturally start walking around which means I had so many people trying to walk in & look around which was not only distracting but also a little frustrating trying to explain the model to them each time. Keep in mind that these people were looking to buy 1 donut or 1 cupcake.
The shop has no built in ventilation system so the doors & bathroom windows are the only source of fresh air & for 100sq – this is definitely not enough. Dec temps were crazy so with the oven barely baking in the week it was hot & unmanageable, I invested in 2 fans which did help a bit but during loadshedding it was unbearable.
Loadshedding crisis went up to Stage 6 which means most of the day was without power meaning I had to take my work home to complete. At home I have a generator so even though it was the same crisis, I had a backup plan.
Adjusting to waking up early every day & travelling in the traffic had a major impact on my body & burn out came quickly. Working a full day also required some mindset adjusting which wasn’t coming as easy as you would think it would.
After 3yrs of working from home full time, I now needed to readjust to getting home late, cooking & eating late & losing time with my kids.
These are just the highlights & the CONS got me down for a while but after the sabbatical I had from Dec 16th – Jan 25th, my mind is reset, revived & my body is reenergized, so I am grateful & I have a list of ways to fix all the cons that I’ll deal with in small bits as time goes by.
In summary, the move was the right one for me, one of the biggest & most important decisions of my life & I am grateful for it. Watch this space to see how we proceed on this growth journey of ours. Remember to like & share on our social media platforms, there are lots of alternatives to help us grow if you are unable to purchase.
Until next time……. remember to bake people happy!