Hey, I'm Aurelia. I help home bakers get consistent, repeat orders so they can stop hustling and enjoy calm, predictable income in their Home/Micro Bakery Business.
5 Tips to Help Your Home Bakery Business During COVID-19

5 Tips to Help Your Home Bakery Business During COVID-19

by | Home Baking Biz Tips

5 Tips to Help Your Home Bakery Business During COVID-19

In December 2019 I made a long list of all the blog posts I’ll be writing this year… THIS post definitely wasn’t one of them.

Wherever you are in the world right now, I’m sure you can feel the tension, fear and mourning across the globe… COVID-19 has made its way around the world. Every day things are changing and escalating.

Schools are closed.
Businesses are closing.
Hospitals are overflowing.

And now comes the question; What should Home Bakery Business owners do during the COVID-19 pandemic?

In this post I’ll share some facts to help you feel more prepared and confident about what you CAN do during this time of uncertainty.

 

1. COVID-19 will absolutely affect your Home Bakery Business

The COVID-19 situation WILL affect your sales. That’s a guarantee. We need to accept that and make peace with this fact as fast as we can manage. You won’t be able to carry on with “business as usual” and still get the same income.

You’ll need to open yourself to the idea of doing things a bit DIFFERENTLY during this pandemic.

Whether you feel panic OR that people are exaggerating, none of your feelings are really relevant in your BUSINESS right now.

During this time your business will be shaped by how your CLIENTS are feeling.

Some clients will be too cautious to buy any goods from you and others will feel that it’s actually safer to buy from a home business (which it IS by the way! More on that later).

You can’t control how your clients are feeling about this pandemic.

And honestly I feel everyone has a right to feel and do whatever they feel is necessary to cope with the situation – whether it be to panic or to be in denial. One response isn’t “better” or “worse” than the other. It’s just how we cope with our emotions and we all cope differently with uncertainty and fear.

That’s okay.

But the bottom line is here that WE (Home Bakers) are PEOPLE and our clients are PEOPLE. People have emotions. And scientifically we know that emotions determine our decisions and actions.

So it’s not so much the virus itself that will directly influence your baked goods or something. The real thing that WILL affect your business is the EMOTION that people are experiencing.

All of the emotion in other people is totally beyond your control.

And please don’t judge any of your clients that are too scared to buy baked goods from you in this time. Make a point of respecting their emotions and their decisions.

You will get fewer sales. Your income will feel it. Try to make peace with this as soon as you can because you can’t avoid this effect and it’s outside your control.

That being said there are things WITHIN your control that you CAN at least try. You might not be able to make money from your Home Bakery the same way you always have, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do!

There’s plenty other income ideas you can test. Some of them will work more effectively for you than others. It all depends on how your clients respond. But it’s totally worth a shot! Some of these tips might really help you to use your home baking skills in NEW ways to earn money.

 

2. COMMUNICATE with your clients.

Personally I feel that the one WORST thing you can do in this time is to say NOTHING about COVID-19. You need to say something about it to your clients. Even if you just talk about what you’re feeling right now.

When you say nothing you’ll unfortunately come across as a heartless person and business. You and both know that’s not who you are. But when something serious like this is happening, your CLIENTS NEED you to show your humanity.

Your humanity is what connects your clients to you.

Home bakery businesses are all about humanity! The word “home” is in our trade. We HAVE to always represent the humanity of “home” to our clients.

So I encourage you to share an Instagram post, Facebook post and preferably also an email with your clients and followers to share your feelings and thoughts about the COVID-19 situation.

And since we’re talking about client-communication, also inform your clients THOROUGHLY about the extra precautions you’re taking to keep them safe.

Wash your hands, wear gloves while you’re baking. Tell them that your entire family is staying home during this time for THEIR safety (hopefully you are). Don’t just tell your clients about these precautions, SHOW them as well.

You can also offer to deliver goods to their home or to take goods to them in their car when they park outside your home.

Explain how it’s a LOT safer to park alone outside an isolated home than it is to go buy baked goods in a public grocery store with loads of people! Home Based businesses are safer because the public don’t gather there.

 

3. Alternative Income Options for Your Home Bakery

As I’ve said earlier, no matter how many extra measures you take to keep your clients safe, some of them just won’t buy from you anymore during this time of pandemic fear.

You’ll need to start getting creative with using your baking skills in DIFFERENT ways to generate an income for yourself.

I don’t have all the answers here, I only have suggestions. You’ll need to take responsibility to tap into your own creativity and brainstorm ideas!

You could consider hosting online baking classes through Zoom or doing a bake-along video like Cupcake Jemma on YouTube. People are confined to their homes so they ARE spending more time on social media and watching videos online.

Be sure to ask your clients if they’d be interested in something like this before you do it. That way you’ll know if it will actually add value to your clients’ lives.

You could also do Instagram lives while you’re decorating your bakes. Your skills might be boring to you, but they’re extraordinary to your followers! This is a great time to show people what goes into baking goods at your home and build relationships with them.

If you keep creating regular opportunities to connect online with your clients during this time, you’ll come out the other end with STRONG client relationships. And when a client has to choose between 2 bakers who bake similar goods they’ll ALWAYS choose the baker they feel they know, like and trust more!

Another idea is to make and sell baking kits for your recipes to your clients!

Package the measured and weighed dry ingredients and extras in baggies, print out instructions and put everything together in a pretty box. Since people are at home it might be a fun activity for them to bake with their kids.

This way they also have the peace of mind that any possible traces of the virus are being killed in their own oven. If they BAKE the goods in their own protected home, the treats will be 100% safe.

Baking from scratch seems too overwhelming for people who don’t bake often, but with a baking kit you’re making it easier for them.

Focus on easier things like brownies, cookies and various muffins. It’s baking fun to keep your clients and their kids busy!

 

4. USE your extra time WISELY!

In April 2015 I went through the most HORRIBLE & STRESSFUL time in the history of my Home Bakery Business.

First, one of my wholesale clients cancelled because they wanted to cut costs and try to rather bake themselves. I was sad, but this wasn’t a huge setback because this client provided about 15% of my income.

But then, just 2 weeks later, my biggest wholesale client cancelled… I baked everything for their FIVE coffee shops! So in a way I was losing FIVE clients, not just one.

In total I lost over 70% of my income in just 2 weeks.

It was devastating. My husband and I were honestly just getting by, living from month to month in between all the study debt and mortgage breathing down our necks every month.

That worst case scenario we all imagine… That picture we have of FAILING… Here it was! It was happening. It was REAL.

Fortunately this failure wasn’t because my products were bad. It was because my products were GOOD and not cheap.

For the first time in my baking journey I didn’t feel inferior to the coffee shop owners. I always thought that they were better than me in some way because they were more successful.

But in this case I knew that I did nothing wrong as a BAKER. As a business owner I did plenty of things wrong, lol! But as a BAKER I’d done nothing wrong.

And it was the first time I really started EMBRACING my unique baking voice. I’m NOT willing to compromise on quality and flavour just to save or make a buck. I’m NOT going to apologize for having a great product.

The WORST experiences in our lives can transform into DEFINING MOMENTS when we become humble and teachable.

Before this whole incident happened my husband told me for MONTHS to read this book called “The $100 Startup” #ad.

I kept telling him “WHY should I read it? My business is doing great!” That, my dear friend, is what pride sounds like. And nothing destroys a business as quickly as pride does.

"How is my Home Bakery Business going to survive the COVID-19 pandemic"... That's what most baking business owners are thinking right now! Read this post to get tips and ideas for how you can keep growing your home bakery during this difficult time AND stay safe. #homebakery #bakingbusiness #homebaking #cakebusiness

When I lost those clients and 70% of my income I unexpectedly had some TIME available!

I started reading this book my husband kept going on about; not because I felt I needed to. I was still too proud to admit that! In my mind it was still the coffee shop owners’ faults. But I started reading this book because I didn’t have much else to do!

Over the next few days of reading I finally realized how little I actually know about building a successful small business! I was humbled. And therefore I finally became teachable.

The information in this book helped my business to go from -70% income to being fully booked for 3 months in advance just a year later.

And it’s all because (by FORCE of circumstances) I had TIME to invest in my knowledge and skills.

So right now you may be facing unfortunate circumstances with COVID-19, you’re also now in the fortunate position to have TIME. Use it wisely!

Don’t spend all this time being sad or frustrated. USE THIS TIME YOU’VE BEEN GIVEN. Use it to educate yourself on business and marketing.

Use this time to GET AHEAD in your skills! This pandemic will end at some point. Won’t it be amazing if you’re way ahead of other Home Bakers simply because you considered your FUTURE instead of present reality?

I know it sucks t have less sales. This is NOT ideal.

But PLEASE do your future self a favour and start using this extra time to grow your marketing knowledge and skills. Read my previous blog post! Here’s the link >> The 5 best (and cheapest) resources to grow your Home Bakery Business!

 

5. Be HONEST with yourself and be safe

Here’s where I’m going to get a bit fierce. If there’s even a 1% risk that you might have the Coronavirus, please close your Home Bakery for now. You could always get tested to make sure and then re-open your Home Bakery.

Please consider your clients’ safety as if they were your own children. Don’t sell them things if you’re not 100% sure that you’re fine.

BUT please keep baking for as long as you feel it’s safe though, because people really need comforting home baked goods right now!

They need experiences that remind them of the BEAUTY of life.
They need HOPE and perspective.
Home Baked goods provide that for people.

Be the band that plays on the Titanic while it’s sinking. Super sad analogy, but I saw it on Cupcake Jemma’s Instagram Stories and I feel it’s such a noble pursuit to serve people with BEAUTY during panic.

 

And then as a last encouragement I just want to tell you that 80,9% of COVID-19 cases are mild.

Be careful what you consume in the media. The media knows that people are scared and they’re taking advantage of the situation by creating “click-worthy” articles and titles.

Their goal is to make money from people’s fear. And they do this by getting as many people onto their websites with ads.

Please be careful and only consume information from credible sources.

I struggle a lot with fear and anxiety – I’ve had to use strong medication for it in the past. I’ve resolved to only watch videos from Doctor Mike on YouTube. He’s really on top of things and has an “Alert, but not anxious” policy which I feel is very helpful and sustainable.

Also feel free to tell your friends not to send you panic-inducing content if it triggers you. Protect your body from stress, because stress only weakens your immune system.

Please be safe.

We’re going to get through this. It shall pass 🙂

Aurelia

Hi! I’m Aurelia 🙂

 Since 2018 I’ve helped home bakers learn the business side of baking and build lasting businesses that fit their lives.

POPULAR BAKING TIPS

Don't throw out your split chocolate ganache! You can save it and make is 100% smooth & shiny! :D Click through for all the tips you need to fix and prevent split/oily/grainy chocolate ganache. #chocolateganache #splitganache #bakingtips #bakingtipsandtricks
Want to get that thin, super shiny crust on top of your brownies? Great news is, you don't need to drop your favourite brownie recipe in search of a shiny-top brownie recipe! You can use this simple baking tip to get a shiny crust on ANY brownie recipe that contains dairy and sugar! Click through to get the step by step method for baking brownies with a shiny crust on top... #baking #bakingtips #brownies #homebaking #bakingtipsandtricks

POPULAR BAKING BIZ TIPS

Want to start a Home Bakery Business? Or maybe you have a business but you want more customers and consistent orders? Here's a free library full of resources, tips, tools, secret recipes and ideas to grow your Home Baking Business. Click through to access the free library! #homebakery #homebaking #bakingbusiness #cakebusiness
You absolutely DO NOT need to make fondant cakes to have a successful Home Bakery Business! Learn how I've been baking, full-time, for 6 years without EVER touching fondant! Click to learn how you can do it too... #homebakery #bakingbusiness #cakebusiness #homebaking #baking
One of the BEST ways to make your home bakery business stand out from your competition, is to pick a business name that actually attracts customers! In this post you'll get a behind the scenes look at what customers look for in a business name. You'll finally understand which types of business names attract them to a baking business, and which types of names put them off or bore them. Click the post to get the tips now! #homebakery #bakingbusiness #businessname #baking #homebaking
Plan your Home/Micro Bakery in 1 afternoon. Download this free Home/Micro Bakery Business Plan template to start turning your passion for baking into an income.

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The 5 Best (and cheapest!) Resources to GROW Your Home Bakery Business

The 5 Best (and cheapest!) Resources to GROW Your Home Bakery Business

by | Uncategorized

The 5 Best (and cheapest!) Resources to Grow Your Home Bakery Business


Honestly, I should have written this post AGES ago!

In this post I’ll share the BEST resources I’ve come across that have actually helped my Home Bakery to GROW. This post is ideal for you if you’ve already started your business and want to GROW it into a part-time or full-time gig.

Over the past few years I’ve been sharing these resources with bakers in emails when they ASKED for it. But it somehow never occurred to me that there are probably thousands of home bakers who have these questions too, but never ask them.

Questions like:

>> “I know my baking tastes really good, but I’m struggling to get clients consistently! How do I get more clients & sales?”

>> “I’ve had a few sales! I feel very excited, but I also feel totally overwhelmed… What am I supposed to do next to grow my business?”

>> “I’m working 24/7, but I’m barely making enough money to cover my expenses. What am I doing wrong? How do I grow my income?”

 

This post is here to answer such questions and point you to resources that will help you to reach Home Bakery Success FASTER.

Please note: This post has affiliate links. This means that if you purchase some of these products I get a tiny commission – but at NO extra cost to you. I’m super proud to recommend these resources to you because they’ve completely transformed my Home Bakery Business!

1. Pricing Calculation System

This is probably the most important part of a baking business, but home bakers often don’t realize how serious this is.

You can have the best website in the world and be the best baker in the world – that doesn’t guarantee a successful Home Bakery.

Even if you can have the best recipes in town and have a massive client base… Even if you’re fully booked for months in advance it does NOT guarantee a successful Home Bakery!

We bakers often forget that a baking business is in fact a BUSINESS.

It’s super easy for us to get wrapped up in the BAKING part of it, but a successful Home Bakery is actually only 30% great baking and 70% great BUSINESS strategy.

That’s why large commercial bakeries with average baking are so successful. They KNOW that their BUSINESS strategy matters more than double as much as the quality of their baking!

They may score low on their baking quality, but they’ve got their business strategy down! They’re great business people and therefor their companies thrive.

I’ve told you all of this as an intro to the ONE most important business strategy tip you need.

Here’s my top tip: Businesses need MONEY to stay alive.

It’s not about being greedy at all. Just like plants need water to stay healthy and grow, businesses need money to stay healthy and grow.

If your Home Bakery doesn’t make enough money, it’s going to die. Simple as that. It’s a fact.

Yes, it’s super forward of me to say this so straight. And honestly I wish someone told me things so straight when I first started out!

The MAIN source of income you have is selling your baked goods. That’s where the money is at and it’s VITAL to your success that this part of your business functions properly!

If you undercharge for your baked goods or give all your family’s orders to them for free, you’ll need to address this as soon as possible.

Remember, your business needs money to stay healthy and grow.

If you struggle with undercharging and pricing in general you can check out this blog post >> 6 Steps for Pricing Your Baked Goods with Confidence.

You can also get my Pricing Calculator when you subscribe to my FREE Resource Library! It’s a super nifty PDF file that calculates the recommended selling price FOR you based on your ingredient costs, time spent, etc.

When you have your pricing system in place, your business will make the money it’s supposed to make.

When you price correctly you’re setting your Home Bakery up for growth and success!

2. Marketing for Beginners

Some of the best advice I can offer you is to start educating yourself on MARKETING as soon as possible!

The best products don’t get the most sales. The best MARKETING gets the most sales!

Marketing is ALL about learning how to make strangers realize that YOUR baked goods are exactly what they’ve been looking for.

Bakers tend to view business in a very outdated way. I did too at first!

They believe that there are 2 things you need to do to build a successful Home Bakery Business; bake great treats and advertise them. This strategy may have worked in the 80’s, but it’s not enough anymore!

I’m sure you’ve been experiencing this reality first hand and that’s why you’re here looking for answers.

Down that path the inevitable happens… We believe we just need to “bake great treats and advertise them” but no matter how hard we try, we just DON’T get more clients and sales.

It sucks!

And we start assuming that the reason why it’s not working is because we:

A] Aren’t “good enough” bakers or
B] Aren’t spending enough money on advertising.

This is TOTAL GARBAGE my friend. You’re a victim of totally outdated information!

First of all I want to tell you that businesses don’t struggle because their products aren’t good enough. They also don’t struggle because they don’t advertise enough. And they definitely don’t struggle because they don’t spend “enough money” on advertising.

Want to hear a shocking fact?

For 4 whole years I didn’t need to spend a single cent on advertising and my Home Bakery was fully booked every month! And it’s all because of this ONE thing – Effective Marketing.

Truth is that if you’re not getting clients you have a marketing problem. NOT an advertising problem.

Advertising and marketing isn’t the same thing.

Here’s the difference between Advertising and Marketing:

Marketing is about all the things you do to ATTRACT people to your business.

When you understand marketing and apply it effectively to your business you’re essentially turning your biz into a high-intensity MAGNET that attracts your ideal clients to you on autopilot.

Advertising on the other hand is like deep sea fishing… You go OUT and hope to find clients. It’s stressful. It’s risky. And most of all it gets expensive very fast! I’m sure you’ve felt that with your advertising efforts!

The honest truth: My Home Bakery has been fully booked 98% of the time (sometimes for 3 months in advance) with ZERO advertising.

When I started out in 2013 I DID TRY advertising and I didn’t get any business from it whatsoever! But investing my time in learning about MARKETING has made all the difference in my business.

And the great news is that marketing doesn’t need to be this super expensive mission to learn! It’s actually super cheap and effective to learn from books! That’s what I did and it works 🙂

You don’t need to go to an expensive university to understand marketing. YOU have the power to take control of your education.

I picked up my first ever marketing book I highly recommend that you start with the book just after my baking biz lost a HUGE client and hence 70% of my income – overnight!

I picked up a book (thanks to my legit husband), studied it, applied everything I learned, and a year later my Home Bakery was booked solid for 3 months in advance.

This book is a fantastic introduction to marketing in a small business and it’s called The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau. It changed everything in my Home Bakery!

Get it as soon as you can. Read a bit of it every day. Apply what you learn and I promise you – your Home Bakery Business WILL grow.

3. An Effective Website

As a home baker I totally get how daunting it seems to set up a website! But the website building world has CHANGED drastically in the past few years. Don’t be scared off by the technological aspect of website building my friend. It’s really not a big deal at all. Since I built my first, super embarrassing website back in 2012; some amazing, USER FRIENDLY software has been developed to help non-techies like us to build beautiful websites in no time! But before we get to the “how?” of building a website, it’s essential that we cover the “why?”.

Why do you need a Website?

A] It’s professional: Home Bakeries are all about approachability and connection. But when it comes to your website, it’s the one place you really need to be super professional. According to a survey done by CNBC, a staggering 45% of small businesses don’t have a website!
And the fact of the matter is that today’s consumers LIVE online – so you need to be online to reach them.
Having a website communicates to clients that you take your Home Bakery very seriously and that you take them and their needs seriously as well. If you don’t have a website, there will also be confusion over your availability to bake for them. If you only have, say a Facebook page, it may seem to them that your Home Bakery is just a casual thing you do for friends and family. Having a website communicates to people that you mean business! And lastly, to be honest, NOT having a website in this online era will ONLY damage your business’s perceived value. The very first thing people do when they are interested in a business is to check out their website. The last thing you want is for someone to be interested in your bakes, but then dismiss your home bakery as sub-standard because you don’t have a website. Think of a website as your 21st century business card. Have you ever been in a conversation where you tell people about your baking biz and then they love it so much that they ask for your business card, but then you don’t have one? It’s such a sucky and embarrassing feeling isn’t it?! Well, NOT having a website is the 21st Century equivalent of that! You absolutely need a website to get business and sales to grow your business.   B] A Website Increases your Business’s credibility & reach: As soon as your business has a website, it’s seen as a LEGIT business. It’s like having an online office/shop address. A Website provides an opportunity for SEO (Search engine optimisation). This sounds complicated, but it’s really simple. SEO is about strategies that websites use to communicate to Google that you are a high quality bakery in your town/city/suburb. This makes it easier for NEW potential clients to find your business on Google search which means more sales and profit for you! Without a website, Google unfortunately and literally can’t recommend you to people searching for bakeries online.   C] A Website is an Opportunity to Exhibit What You Do: See your website as a portfolio of what VALUE your Home Bakery has to offer. If you fail to communicate online WHAT exactly it is that you do and how people can benefit from that, you are losing out on sales – BIG TIME.
Your home bakery essentially has a “job interview” with every single client that’s considering to order from you. And not having a website is like not even showing up for your job interview! Shocking!
  D] A Website Saves You Time: It does take some time to set up a website in the beginning, but it’s the most valuable time investment you’ll ever make. On a website you can put ALL the details about your business and services out there for clients to see. It brings them up to speed with your business workings. This means that you won’t spend hours answering the same questions over and over again every time someone wants to order from you. Questions like: Do you bake for weekends? How many people does your 9 inch cake serve? Is there corn flour in your gluten free bakes? Do you deliver? Prospective clients usually check out your website first before they will actually order from you. If they can find all the answers to their questions on your website, that means clearer communication for them and less work for you. Even if your home bakery is just starting out as a part time venture, build a website as soon as possible. I built mine when I was just baking once a week! And it has been a backbone of success in my business.  

HOW to Build a Website:

If you haven’t built a website yet, I strongly urge you to use Wix. They make it SO EASY to create a website – for free! My very first website was on Wix, but my cousin offered to help me build me a website on WordPress because she knew WordPress very well. When I became more serious about my blog I bought a super expensive WordPress theme that has helped my blogging endeavours in particular. But if I had to choose a platform for my HOME BAKERY’S website today, I’d absolutely choose WIX. I bought that ridiculously expensive WordPress theme because I was ignorant – to be honest. I had no idea that Wix had become so incredible. Squarespace is nice as well, but Wix’s free website themes & templates are better in my honest opinion and Wix is WAY more user friendly and cheaper than Squarespace. Wix has this very nifty “Wix ADI” which is built in software that creates a whole website FOR YOU based on the information you provide! So awesome! What’s also great about Wix is that they have a built in SEO program. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. When your SEO is good, then Google will give you a higher ranking which increases your chances of being seen when people Google bakeries in your town/city. SEO usually takes a lot of time & effort and it’s a steep learning curve to master it. Knowing that Wix takes care of all that will preserve your sanity. So, my friend, even if you are technologically challenged, you will be able to get the results you want without breaking a sweat. Another wonderful perk is that lifetime technical support is included! This means they have a team of people online 24/7 to assist you if you get stuck during the website building process. Click here to start building your website on Wix. With their amazing templates you could be DONE creating your website in like 4 hours max! And here’s a YouTube tutorial to help you build your Wix website.

4. Build a Story Brand for Your Home Bakery Business

For the first 5 years in my Home Bakery Business I always positioned my Home Bakery to “impress people”. I thought that’s what you need to do to get people’s attention. You need to IMPRESS them.

Maybe you feel that way right now in your business?

But people don’t buy because they’re impressed.

They buy when they clearly (and quickly) see that you UNDERSTAND their problems and can help them to solve those problems.

Here’s the most shocking truth of why businesses fail: They position themselves as the hero of the story. They make the story all about them and how amazing their company is.

But meanwhile all clients are only interested in ONE story – their OWN story!

Here’s a practical example:

We all tend to think we are Daniel LaRusso at the end of the Karate Kid movie.

On our social media and websites we parade around with our trophy trying to show people “Look! My home bakery it legit! Look at the delicious things I make! Look at the list of organic ingredients I use! Come over here and read my life story that’s all about me!”

I did this too. It’s how we all start out and there’s no shame in that because it’s what we see so many other businesses do.

But if you want your Home Bakery Business to GROW, you’re going to need to start to approach your business’ story DIFFERENTLY.

Truth is, my dear friend, we are NOT the hero of the story.

YOUR CLIENT is the hero.

Your business’ story is about guiding your client to success.

You’re Mr Miyagi!! You are the GUIDE, not the hero.

A successful business is the one guiding Daniel (your client) and helping him to overcome his problems and reach success.

When your business is all about YOU, it won’t attract new clients.

But when your business starts to revolve around your clients’ success, they start flocking to you automatically!

Believe it or not this is just ONE of the SEVEN steps that Donald Miller teaches you in his best-selling book – Building a StoryBrand.

When I started positioning my Home Bakery Business as the GUIDE and the client as the hero, things in my biz totally transformed!

Building a StoryBrand is THE BEST book on Marketing I’ve ever read. Period.

The strategies in this book are a bit more advanced though. This book will only be beneficial to you once you’ve already got a website and have worked through the book The $100 Startup already.

Building a StoryBrand has changed my life! You can also check out their podcast which is free and incredible >> Building a StoryBrand Podcast. But start at EPISODE 1! Don’t skip ahead and miss all the gold!

5. Free Home Bakery Business Training

I’ve shared a lot of valuable resources with you in this post.

Personally I had to digest all these resources and at least 100 others – I’m talking more books, endless podcast episodes, expensive online courses and more.

Then I had to spend years TESTING & TWEAKING all this info to see what works specifically for a Home Bakery to get you consistent orders – and what doesn’t.

I’ve already gone through this effort, so that means you don’t have to figure it all out by yourself! I’d like to invite you to my free Masterclass where I’ll show you how to create a Home Bakery Business with consistent orders and a stable income – without spending a cent on ads!

Register Now

That’s it for this post 🙂 I hope that you’ve enjoyed discovering what resources I’ve used to get my Home Bakery Business to where it is today!

Don’t wait to “have money” before you start learning. As I said in this post, books are cheap! Dive in and take responsibility for your own education. Apply everything you learn and I guarantee you that your Baking Business WILL GROW.

Cheerio

Aurelia

Hi! I’m Aurelia 🙂

 Since 2018 I’ve helped home bakers learn the business side of baking and build lasting businesses that fit their lives.

POPULAR BAKING BIZ TIPS

Want to start a Home Bakery Business? Or maybe you have a business but you want more customers and consistent orders? Here's a free library full of resources, tips, tools, secret recipes and ideas to grow your Home Baking Business. Click through to access the free library! #homebakery #homebaking #bakingbusiness #cakebusiness
You absolutely DO NOT need to make fondant cakes to have a successful Home Bakery Business! Learn how I've been baking, full-time, for 6 years without EVER touching fondant! Click to learn how you can do it too... #homebakery #bakingbusiness #cakebusiness #homebaking #baking
One of the BEST ways to make your home bakery business stand out from your competition, is to pick a business name that actually attracts customers! In this post you'll get a behind the scenes look at what customers look for in a business name. You'll finally understand which types of business names attract them to a baking business, and which types of names put them off or bore them. Click the post to get the tips now! #homebakery #bakingbusiness #businessname #baking #homebaking

POPULAR BAKING TIPS

Don't throw out your split chocolate ganache! You can save it and make is 100% smooth & shiny! :D Click through for all the tips you need to fix and prevent split/oily/grainy chocolate ganache. #chocolateganache #splitganache #bakingtips #bakingtipsandtricks
Want to get that thin, super shiny crust on top of your brownies? Great news is, you don't need to drop your favourite brownie recipe in search of a shiny-top brownie recipe! You can use this simple baking tip to get a shiny crust on ANY brownie recipe that contains dairy and sugar! Click through to get the step by step method for baking brownies with a shiny crust on top... #baking #bakingtips #brownies #homebaking #bakingtipsandtricks

POPULAR POSTS

How much income is your home bakery missing out on every month because you keep undercharging for your baking? It shouldn't be this way! You deserve to be paid well for your hard work! In this post you'll learn how to stop feeling guilty for charging customers full price. Then you'll get step-by-step tips for raising your prices so you can start earning more income from your home baking :) #homebakery #homebakerypricing #cakebusiness #homebakingbusiness
Struggling to find time for yourself and your family in your home bakery business? These AMAZING time management tips from a 6+ years full-time home baker are exactly what you need! Learn how to use what you've got to get your baking done faster. Learn how to prioritize and plan effectively so you are in charge of your schedule, make a great profit, and don't burn out in the process! #homebaking #homebakery #athomebakery #cakebusiness #cupcakebusiness
How do you price home baking? What if you charge too little for your home baking and don't make enough income? What if your home baking's prices are too high and no customers want to buy from you? In this post you'll learn how to do your baked goods pricing the RIGHT way, so you can make more profit and even turn home baking into your career! #homebakery #bakerypricing #bakingbusiness #cakebusiness

Do you dream of starting a home bakery, but then thoughts of self-doubt like these start flooding your mind… “People aren’t going to think my baking is worth it. All the other bakers are better than me. I’m not good enough.” Truth is pretty much ALL home bakers get these thoughts! You’re not alone! In this post you’ll learn how to beat self doubt so you can be free to pursue your baking business goals. Click through to get the tips now… #homebaking #selfdoubt #homebakery #bakingbusiness #baking
Plan your Home/Micro Bakery in 1 afternoon. Download this free Home/Micro Bakery Business Plan template to start turning your passion for baking into an income.

Got a question? Something to add? Let’s chat in the comments section down below! (I respond to every single comment)

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Why I’m Scaling Down From Full-Time to Part-Time Home Baking

Why I’m Scaling Down From Full-Time to Part-Time Home Baking

by | Home Baking Biz Tips

Why I’m Scaling Down From Full-Time to Part-Time Home Baking

Hey baking friends 🙂

This post has been on the back-burner for quite some time. I’ve felt so unsure about sharing this important update with you, but I’ve decided to finally post it.

For 6 years I baked out my heart and soul – and my body as well as it turned out!

It’s hard to believe how much I was baking every week from Jan 2013 – Dec 2018. At one point I was baking for 7 Different Coffee shops AND all my direct clients. There was even a time when I was fully booked for up to 3 months in advance!

I’m extremely grateful for my entire Home Bakery Business journey… It’s grown me into the person I am today. Starting my Home Bakery has been one of the most incredible adventures of my life.

However, over the past 2 years things have been changing in my business. That’s what today’s post is about.

I really want to be honest with you about the reality of my baking business. I’ve been so hesitant to share these things with you because I’ve been afraid.

There’s a fear inside me that you’ll think I’m not a “legit home bakery owner” if I don’t bake full-time anymore. And that you therefor won’t be open to anything I want to teach you about the business of home baking anymore.

But despite these fears I still desire to be honest with you, because that’s what friends do.

So here goes…

Here are all the reasons why I’ve decided to scale down from full-time home baking to part-time home baking.

 

1. My ankle (and the rest of my body) is annnnngggrrrry

If you’ve been following me on Instagram you’ll know that my right ankle started giving major trouble in August 2019.

I was just wrapping up a day of baking and suddenly felt quite a lot of pain in my right ankle. With every step the pain escalated severely.

I knew something was VERY wrong.

Less than a minute after the pain started I couldn’t put any weight on my foot at all anymore. I couldn’t even put my foot on the floor.

I went to a physio and apparently my walking action has been wrong for the past 19 years. This made me overuse a certain tendon in my leg & ankle.

For 2 weeks I couldn’t stand or walk. I had to cancel all my clients’ orders and take a month off from baking.

Despite exercises and stretching my ankle still isn’t doing that great. I can literally only bake 1 day per week otherwise my ankle freaks out.

Now please don’t worry that something like this will happen to you if you stand and bake a lot!

You’ll be just fine!

This is just happening because my body is FAR from normal.

Long story short I had a tumour in my spinal cord and brain as a baby. The doctor surgically removed half of it. The Lord Jesus Christ made the other half disappear. The doctor even wrote “miracle” on my file.

I still can’t believe this really happened, but it did. All glory to Father God.

The tumour had grown inside me for more than a year though and in that time it caused a lot of damage to my nervous system.

My entire right side of my body is smaller and weaker than my left side. My right side also has quite a lot less functionality. This is a photo of my feet and ankles.

When I was 12 I also had to undergo surgery on my right leg to make it straight because it was completely skew. During this massive operation the doctors also operated on my foot and ankle.

So with all these operations and permanent nerve damage and scoliosis – it’s safe to say that my body is FAR from normal.

I’ve been trying to ignore this fact my entire life.

All my life I’ve tried with every ounce of will power in me to look normal. All my life I’ve been trying to PROVE to other people (and myself) that I’m normal. And in the process I’ve totally overextended myself.

I’ve been pushing my body to do MORE than it’s able to… For YEARS now.

The TRUTH is that I’m NOT normal.

And I’m starting to realize that that’s okay.

My body is different. It’s weak and limited. And it’s not a reflection on who I am as a person. My body IS just different.

So I’m deciding to finally cut my body some slack. It’s been going along with all the crazy amounts of work I’ve forced it to do.

Now it’s my turn to go along with what my body really needs.

And that’s physical rest.

Over the past few months I’ve figured out that my limit is baking 1 day per week. If I bake more than that my ankle just starts hurting again.

I’m EXTREMELY grateful that I CAN at least bake for 1 day per week. It could just as well have been the end of my Home Bakery Business, but thankfully it’s not.

 

2. Right now, my help is needed more elsewhere

Philosophy of Yum was originally just the name of my Home Bakery Business. I never thought I’d start a blog.

As I kept baking the same things over and over and over again for my wholesale and direct clients I began to discover some fascinating baking tips & tricks!

Baking tips like:
How to bake perfect cupcakes.
How to get a shiny crust on your brownies.
The EASIEST way in the world to temper chocolate.
How to fix split chocolate ganache.
And so many more!

I figured that this info will be helpful to other home bakers out there and a blog seemed like the best way to share this info.

Eventually people started asking me questions about my Home Bakery Business and reaching out to me for help in starting their own.

I then realized that it might be a good idea to show people how to start & grow their own Home Bakery. Online courses seemed like a great way to help home bakers right around the world!

In August 2017 took an online course to help me create my own online courses. And the feedback has been INCREDIBLE!

Like Cameron’s story:

“In the course I felt empowered to just keep moving forward and not to be afraid even if I don’t have everything figured out and don’t feel ready. Then I decided on a date and launched my business. Week 1 – I sold out! Week 2 I’ve sold out again!”

And Angie Watts’s story:

“Since I’ve started working with Aurelia, I haven’t had one week go by without an order! It’s the best investment in myself & my business I’ve made. THANK YOU! I feel more confident in myself as a baker and moving forward in my home bakery business!”

After baking full time from home for 7 years I've started making some drastic changes. I want to keep being honest with you so that you make good decisions in your Home Bakery Business. Here are the reasons why I'm scaling down to part-time Home Baking... #homebakery #homebaking #bakingbusiness #cakebusiness

 

>> I never thought that I’d be a teacher or coach. And never in my wildest dreams did I think my little life would help bakers around the world to believe in themselves and start their own businesses.

What’s happened in the process is that the more students enroll, the more time I need to invest in supporting them. My students have become my top priority. Their success is my priority. Once they’re part of my programs, they have my support 100%.

There aren’t many people online who help home bakers to build successful businesses. There’s help for cake decorators yes, but for humble home bakers like you and me – not so much.

Look, I know that cake decorators have taken over the baking scene. There’s a time and place for cake decorating, but you and I both know that tasteless decorations can’t comfort people and connect families like DELICIOUS home baking can.

So it’s my mission to help flavour-obsessed home bakers to get the confidence and business skills they need so they don’t feel intimidated to share their irreplaceable gift of comforting home baking with people who need it.

These amazing home bakers deserve to get the help they need. Their community, the world, NEEDS their delicious home baking. And if I can show bakers how to reach those people, it would be wrong to just keep my head down and do nothing to help them.

Baking is still super important to me.

But helping other flavour-obsessed bakers to reach more people with their baking is now MORE important to me in this season of my life.

 

May I just say that I’m extremely grateful to the Father for TIMING everything so… so… perfectly (which seems like a total understatement).

He knew all along that my body would get to a point where it can no longer bake full-time.

He knew.

And He started carving out a new way for me 2 whole years before it happened… I’m just beyond humbled by His faithfulness.

 

If I’m totally honest I still would’ve preferred to have a stronger, normal body that could bake all day long. That would’ve been AWESOME.

That would’ve been a lot simpler.

I wouldn’t have needed to learn so many new things about blogging, online business, creating courses, optimizing my SEO (aka getting found on Google) and so many other complicated things.

I could’ve stayed in my comfort zone – my tiny kitchen – keeping to myself and never needing to put myself out there.

BUT…

I also wouldn’t have met YOU.

Or any of the other gold-hearted home bakers I’m blessed enough to support in their journey to confidence and success.

God’s way is BETTER.

It’s not easier.

And it’s not un-complicated.

It requires us to stop hiding and step into who He has MADE us to be.

It requires us to open up to letting mountains go and open up to His healing, Lordship and restoration.

His ways are higher than our ways.

And I’ve come to see that the more I look to Him and His ways, the more I become exactly who I REALLY am.

 

I hope this post encourages you to also open up to who God has REALLY made YOU to be. That you’ll stop fighting Him.

That you’ll stop running away.

That you’ll join me in surrendering to our glorious Father. And surrender to who He has made you to be; therein lies so much freedom.

We were made for Him.

And a kinder, more loving or patient being than Him has never existed.

Join me in continually hearing from Him who we REALLY are and not what the world tells us we’re “supposed to be”.

Lots of love

Aurelia

Hi! I’m Aurelia 🙂

 Since 2018 I’ve helped home bakers learn the business side of baking and build lasting businesses that fit their lives.

POPULAR BAKING BIZ TIPS

Want to start a Home Bakery Business? Or maybe you have a business but you want more customers and consistent orders? Here's a free library full of resources, tips, tools, secret recipes and ideas to grow your Home Baking Business. Click through to access the free library! #homebakery #homebaking #bakingbusiness #cakebusiness
You absolutely DO NOT need to make fondant cakes to have a successful Home Bakery Business! Learn how I've been baking, full-time, for 6 years without EVER touching fondant! Click to learn how you can do it too... #homebakery #bakingbusiness #cakebusiness #homebaking #baking
One of the BEST ways to make your home bakery business stand out from your competition, is to pick a business name that actually attracts customers! In this post you'll get a behind the scenes look at what customers look for in a business name. You'll finally understand which types of business names attract them to a baking business, and which types of names put them off or bore them. Click the post to get the tips now! #homebakery #bakingbusiness #businessname #baking #homebaking

POPULAR BAKING TIPS

Don't throw out your split chocolate ganache! You can save it and make is 100% smooth & shiny! :D Click through for all the tips you need to fix and prevent split/oily/grainy chocolate ganache. #chocolateganache #splitganache #bakingtips #bakingtipsandtricks
Want to get that thin, super shiny crust on top of your brownies? Great news is, you don't need to drop your favourite brownie recipe in search of a shiny-top brownie recipe! You can use this simple baking tip to get a shiny crust on ANY brownie recipe that contains dairy and sugar! Click through to get the step by step method for baking brownies with a shiny crust on top... #baking #bakingtips #brownies #homebaking #bakingtipsandtricks
Plan your Home/Micro Bakery in 1 afternoon. Download this free Home/Micro Bakery Business Plan template to start turning your passion for baking into an income.

Got a question? Something to add? Let’s chat in the comments section down below! (I respond to every single comment)

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How to Find Your Own Baking Style

How to Find Your Own Baking Style

by | Baking Tips and Tricks

How to Find Your Own Baking Style

A few weeks ago I did a poll on my Instagram stories and 99% of you said you’d LOVE to know how to find/discover/develop your own, unique baking style!

🌟 This is incredibly exciting because it means that deep down inside of you, you know there’s MORE to you than just copying other bakers’ cakes.

You know you’ve got creativity hiding inside of you and you’re longing to unleash it!

And if you’re here reading this post you’ve probably had ENOUGH of replicating Pinterest cakes that your clients email you, right?

It’s the best feeling when people can see a picture of a cake you made and KNOW instantly that it’s YOUR work.

 

But now the only question that remains is HOW do you find your own baking style?

I sincerely wish I could tell you to just clap your hands 3 times, twirl around twice and then your style will come to you… Sadly, it’s not that quick or simple!

👉 If you REALLY want to find your baking style, you’ll need to dig a bit deeper here into yourself. You’ll need to access parts of yourself you’ve been steered away from your whole life.

But it’s TOTALLY worth it!

Here are my 5 Secrets for Finding your Baking Style…

 

1. Stop Policing Your Creativity

When’s the last time you saw young kids paint?

Do you ever see them run out of ideas?

I recently babysat our friends’ kids; a boy and a girl aged 3 and 4. Adorable munchkins, but after 2 hours of trampoline jumping I was EXHAUSTED!! Yet they still wanted to keep going!

It’s hard to remember a time that I EVER had that much energy…

I was desperate for a more relaxing activity; one where I got to SIT down for a few hours!

And then it came to me – let’s draw!! That’ll be fun!

But when we sat down to start drawing I had zero ideas.

By the time I’d sifted through my “bad, horrible and stupid ideas”, the kids had already drawn 4 or 5 pictures each!! And they were having a BLAST! Not for a second did they consider to care whether they were “doing it right” or not. They never stopped and freaked out because they made a mistake.

To them, there were no mistakes.

They haven’t learned that lingo yet. They were bottomless pits of creativity and originality.

I know I was like that once upon a time and I’m SURE you were too! We were ALL born with a bottomless supply of creativity and originality. If we’re not sure, we’ll take a chance!

 

Sir Ken Robinson is the speaker at one of my Top 5 Favourite TED Talks EVER. He’s an advocate for change in the global education system – AND he happens to be quite hilarious too!

His ground-breaking Ted Talk that I was referring to is entitled: “Do Schools Kill Creativity?”. Here’s one of my favourite snippets in that Presentation…

So clearly, as we get older, school teaches us that things get done a certain way. Anything beyond that is a mistake and “mistakes are unacceptable and even punishable”.

And so we eventually BELIEVE with our entire being that we must avoid mistakes at any cost…

 

I once saw this quote by James Wedmore that just changed my entire understanding of mistakes and failure:

“There is no such thing as failure. Either you succeed OR you learn what you needed to learn.”

I feel that one of the huge lies we believe today is that success is an EVENT.

🌟 While the truth is that mistakes are 100% PART OF success.

Thomas Edison said “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps. Great success is built on failure, frustration, even catastrophe.”

 

The very notion that ANY type of learning or growth needs to happen without mistakes is ridiculous and FALSE.

Mistakes form a VITAL PART of your creative process! You NEED to go through them to get to the good stuff.

So stop avoiding mistakes & failure!

We’re not in school anymore. Go for it! Try things, make mistakes and improve. It’s ESSENTIAL for your growth and the process of discovering and cultivating your baking style.

RELATED: How to Overcome the Fear of Failure in Your Home Bakery

 

2. 100% Embrace Who YOU Really Are

WHEN exactly do we suddenly start becoming self-aware and comparing ourselves to others?

When do the lies about our unique creativity start creeping in and make us sensor and compromise our TRUE style?

It should come as no surprise that SCHOOL is where all this drama starts.

Now don’t get me wrong; I’m a HUGE fan of learning and growing!! The problem with school though is that the learning is overshadowed by ACHIEVING and being better than everyone else.

And if your art isn’t the “best” or at least “better than” Sally, Michael and Joe’s – then you suck. We’ve been conditioned to believe that if our creativity isn’t being praised by certain people, our uniqueness is embarrassing and not “good enough”.

 

THAT’S where we start to SUPPRESS or ALTER our true self.

We push down any parts of our creativity that isn’t what people are looking for.

And the rest of our creativity we BEND to suit people’s requirements.

And if you do this long enough, you’ll entirely forget how to express YOUR creativity.

It’s not because of learning and receiving an education. It’s just the fruit of being educated within a system that’s BASED on comparison, achievements and approval.

RELATED: 5 Mindset Shifts of Successful Home Bakery Owners

And at such impressionable ages we become addicted to achievements, comparison and approval from superiors!

Why do you think we all want our cakes to be “perfect”? Because we were taught that mistakes are bad and embarrassing.

Why do you think we want 1000 Facebook & Instagram followers? Because school made us addicted to approval from others.

So finding your baking style is not so much about learning NEW strategies or steps as it is about UNLEARNING everything false that we learned about ourselves as kids.

Through our years at school, our minds come to fully BELIEVE that our purest creativity is unwanted, unnecessary and often even embarrassing.

 

Hans Zimmer is one of the best examples here…

He’s a LEGENDARY score composer, meaning he composes music for movies.

He’s created music for hundreds of films and is arguably the BEST score composer of this age! Think of him as the Mozart of today.

Some of his film scores include; The Lion King, Gladiator, Sherlock Holmes, Pirates of the Caribbean, Interstellar, Inception, The Prince of Egypt – just to name a few!

(I cry every single time I hear the score music from The Prince of Egypt! Give it a listen. It’s incredibly moving and beautiful.)

What most people don’t know is that Hans was kicked out of Piano class after just 2 weeks. He was an impossible child that got kicked out of 8 schools as well!

“I grew up modifying the piano, shall we say, which made my mother gasp in horror.”

Lucky for Hans he WAS incredibly stubborn and difficult! Because that helped him to stick to his process and not compromise his creativity!

A unique baking style makes your Home Bakery Business STAND OUT in the crowd! And believe it or not, YOU also have your own style hiding inside of you. With a few simple steps you can unleash your creativity and find your own baking style. Click through to learn how! #baking #homebaking #cakes #homebakery #bakingbusiness

But bakers like you and me on the other hand have soft hearts, am I right?

We LOVE making people happy! And if it means we need to compromise our true self and true creativity, so be it.

Now we are adults though and NO ONE’S happiness is your responsibility anymore.

You don’t need to please your parents or teachers or peers anymore.

And you definitely don’t need their stamp of approval anymore either! (In fact, you never actually did…)

Just look at Hans’s creativity, style and success! And he NEVER had his teachers or parents’ approval. He TRUSTED in the talents, perspectives and creativity God gave him. He never restricted it to please anyone.

So you’ll need to make an intentional CHOICE to encourage your mind that it’s TOTALLY SAFE, GOOD and NECESSARY to unleash its creativity.

The ONLY way for your creativity to come out of hiding is to TOTALLY accept yourself and PRACTICE your creativity.

Regularly give yourself permission to go wild!

Whether it’s with drawing, dancing, painting – ANYTHING creative. Not just baking. When you learn to let loose in these areas you’ll start to get new ideas for your baking too.

 

And this is not a once-off thing!

You need to KEEP ON accepting and EMBRACING all that you are for your creativity to reveal itself – layer by layer.

Your style is exactly that; YOUR style. YOU are the center of it. So, the better you know, discover and embrace who you’ve been made to be, the clearer your style will become.

 

An Important Side Note:

👉 Honestly, it’s entirely possible and probable that your creativity/style won’t IMPRESS you!

You may think it’s a bit boring compared to other bakers’ work. Or that it needs to be FANCIER!

On top of that there will be thousands of people out there who won’t be impressed by your style either.

That’s GOOD.

You know you’re onto something if some people love it and others don’t.

 

And truth be told, my baking style really doesn’t impress me. To me it feels quite “basic”. Sometimes I wish I enjoyed making more elaborate, decorative cakes that get shared on Wilton’s Instagram feed!

But here’s what’s important; my style may not impress me, BUT it feels 100% COMFORTABLE and RIGHT.

All my most loyal clients love my style and to THEM it’s impressive 🙂 And there will be a heap of clients who feel the same way about YOUR style my friend!

 

3. Spark & Chase Your Curiosity

I recently heard a fantastic tip for overcoming writers block. Cool thing is that this tip actually works for pretty much ANY creative who feels stuck in their creative process!

Here’s what you do… Just ask yourself the question “what if?”

What if a wolf jumped out behind the tree?

What if the rudder of the ship broke?

Or what if the Villain is actually the hero’s father?

 

The phrase “what if” sparks our curiosity and opens up worlds of possibilities we haven’t considered before!

When I think about it, most of my baking philosophies, recipes and style come from asking myself this very question – even though I might have been unaware of it at the time.

Super sweet Fondant cakes with dry cake layers were EVERYWHERE when I started out.

I HATED their flavour (or lack thereof!)…

But WHAT IF cake could actually taste freakin delicious? Moist, soft and yummy in its own right – without drenching the cake layers in sugar syrup.

WHAT IF I could develop a different frosting that wasn’t just a paste of fat and sugar, but actually had FLAVOUR?

WHAT IF I garnished my cupcakes like the flower crown I wore this past weekend?

Or what if I just used recognizable, delicious ingredients to garnish my cakes?

 

The question “what if” helps us to get out of our current, plain point of view and see things from an entirely new perspective 🙂

Creating curiosity for yourself is like an invitation to take a boat ride around the island you’re living on.

And once that curiosity boat pulls up, get in it! Embrace it, chase it and see how far it will take you.

This exercise may be a bit outside your comfort zone, but that’s where the magic happens! And I promise, after you’ve done it 3 times you’ll LOVE it! It makes you feel ALIVE again.

Imagine how your Home Baking Business will STAND OUT if you have your own, unique baking style... Deep down inside of you, you know there’s MORE to you than just copying other bakers’ cakes. You know you’ve got creativity hiding inside of you and you’re longing to unleash it! Click through to learn how to find your own baking style... #baking #homebaking #homebakery #bakingbusiness #cake

 

4. Time and Persistence Bring Growth

It’s so easy for us to look at creative, successful bakers and assume that they had their awesome style right from the start.

But what we don’t see is that it took hundreds and often even thousands of attempts to get to their style.

It’ll take time, repetition and persistence to uncover all the layers of protection you’ve built around your creativity.

We all tend to focus on Thomas Edison’s most amazing invention – the light bulb. But did you have any clue that he actually created 1093 patents of which less than 5 were triumphs??

Everyone adores Mozart’s famous compositions and yes he was a prodigy, but EVEN HE had to create 600 pieces of which only 6 are included in the 50 Greatest Compositions of All Time!

“If you want to be original, the most important possible thing you could do is to do a huge volume of work.” – Ira Glass

 

It takes patience, repetition and persistence to strike gold because our first ideas are usually the most conventional ones.

But the more we produce, the higher our chance of originality becomes!

In my case it took about 2 years of baking the same 8 layer cakes over and over and over again to START developing my own style.

What’s now known as my “iconic swirl” to my Instagram followers only came about after 4 years of baking full-time!

 

5. Don’t Let Your Style Search Hold You Back

Now you may be thinking: “4 Years?! I can’t wait that long to become a successful baker!”

But you don’t need your style to be 100% figured out before you can start selling your baking. Your baking doesn’t have to be “perfect” before it will mean something to people.

So many bakers get stuck on having everything perfectly in place before they dare to sell any of their bakes. Don’t do that to yourself!

🌟 The most important thing is to keep moving in the right direction. START baking things you want to EAT! Be honest in your baking.

Customers know instinctively when you’re pretending to be someone you’re not in your baking. And that’s when they’ll want discounts because why would you pay full price for a fake Prada handbag?

As I’ve said, I baked FULL-TIME from Home for 6 years (making a full salary) before my style really came to life. All that time I was baking thousands of treats every month and earning good money for them.

The point of this post is this: if you want your Home Bakery to stand out and attract customers, then you’ll need to base your menu on what’s unique (that’s YOU) and not what’s popular (trends).

If you keep baking what everyone else is baking, your Home Bakery will disappear in the ocean of other bakeries who’s baking looks exactly like yours.

Does all this make sense?

xxx

Aurelia

Hi! I’m Aurelia 🙂

 Since 2018 I’ve helped home bakers learn the business side of baking and build lasting businesses that fit their lives.

POPULAR BAKING TIPS

Don't throw out your split chocolate ganache! You can save it and make is 100% smooth & shiny! :D Click through for all the tips you need to fix and prevent split/oily/grainy chocolate ganache. #chocolateganache #splitganache #bakingtips #bakingtipsandtricks
Want to get that thin, super shiny crust on top of your brownies? Great news is, you don't need to drop your favourite brownie recipe in search of a shiny-top brownie recipe! You can use this simple baking tip to get a shiny crust on ANY brownie recipe that contains dairy and sugar! Click through to get the step by step method for baking brownies with a shiny crust on top... #baking #bakingtips #brownies #homebaking #bakingtipsandtricks

POPULAR BAKING BIZ TIPS

Want to start a Home Bakery Business? Or maybe you have a business but you want more customers and consistent orders? Here's a free library full of resources, tips, tools, secret recipes and ideas to grow your Home Baking Business. Click through to access the free library! #homebakery #homebaking #bakingbusiness #cakebusiness
You absolutely DO NOT need to make fondant cakes to have a successful Home Bakery Business! Learn how I've been baking, full-time, for 6 years without EVER touching fondant! Click to learn how you can do it too... #homebakery #bakingbusiness #cakebusiness #homebaking #baking
One of the BEST ways to make your home bakery business stand out from your competition, is to pick a business name that actually attracts customers! In this post you'll get a behind the scenes look at what customers look for in a business name. You'll finally understand which types of business names attract them to a baking business, and which types of names put them off or bore them. Click the post to get the tips now! #homebakery #bakingbusiness #businessname #baking #homebaking
Plan your Home/Micro Bakery in 1 afternoon. Download this free Home/Micro Bakery Business Plan template to start turning your passion for baking into an income.

Got a question? Something to add? Let’s chat in the comments section down below! (I respond to every single comment)

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REAL Home Bakery Heroes – Pie, Pie My Darling (Chicago, USA)

REAL Home Bakery Heroes – Pie, Pie My Darling (Chicago, USA)

by | Home Baking Biz Tips

REAL Home Bakery Heroes: The Inspirational Story of Pie, Pie My Darling

The first time I encountered the wonders of Pie, Pie My Darling on Instagram I was MESMERIZED…

Firstly because ALL Heather’s cakes on her feed were just BEGGING me to eat them!! In a world of “pretty cakes” (brimming with overly sweet, flavourless, plastic, “edible” crap), it makes the kid in me instinctive leap for joy when I find baking that’s sole purpose is to BE and LOOK completely and utterly DELICIOUS.

Secondly, because it was so rare to find a home baker with an engaged following of over 50 000 people on their Instagram Account! People literally queue in lines up to 100 people, waiting to get their hands on her magical bakes. She ALWAYS sells out – even up to 2000 treats – at her pop up stores.

 

For a couple of weeks I kept going to back to Pie, Pie My Darling’s Instagram account… Endlessly scrolling and gawking at all Heather’s bakes…

There was a coherent effervescence of nostalgia…

A clear insight and conviction of the ROLE that baked goods fulfill in people’s lives…

A mutual belonging, devotion, care, loyalty and love between Heather and her clients… Her fans… Her people.

And that’s why I’m so honoured and excited to share this interview with you today!

Pie, Pie My Darling embodies the message of AUTHENTIC Home Baking to me. She’s a REAL Home Bakery Hero!

I’m confident that her story will comfort you, excite you and above all – inspire you.

 

Here we go!

 

For those who don’t know you; who are you, where do you live and what do you do?

My name is Heather and I’m the owner of an all vegan bakery in Chicago called Pie, Pie My Darling!

REAL Home Bakery Heroes: An Honest Interview with the sensational Vegan Bakery Pie, Pie my Darling in Chicago, Illinois, USA! Heather shares about her childhood, developing her unique style and building her amazing vegan bakery from scratch with no formal qualifications. Click through to read this incredible interview! #veganbakery #homebakery #bakingbusiness #piepiemydarling

Where did you grow up and what were your childhood experiences of cakes, desserts and baking?

I grew up in a little town about an hour west of Chicago called Oswego.

My mom was a health food hippie so everything in the house was all natural, refined sugar free, etc. I have memories of making carob brownies and sugar free apple crisp with her… but for the holidays sometimes we would get store-bought cookie dough or brownie mix.

I remember the one day I looked forward to all year was my birthday, because I got to have a super rich and super unhealthy chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. Best day ever.

 

Who first exposed you to baking?

I would say probably my mom, though again, we didn’t do much of it and it was suuuuuper minimalistic. As a teen/young adult I didn’t bake or go anywhere near my kitchen at all, so even though I’ve now been baking for several years, it’s still a fairly new thing in my life!

 

What were your school years like; how did you feel about yourself, about life and about other kids?

I hated school; hated every minute of it. I was bullied pretty bad by both the teachers and other students and would often fake sick so I didn’t have to go. I ended up graduating early and finishing my last semester from home because I just didn’t want to be around people anymore.

It was a really dark time for me and I’m just so glad to be past it and in a place in my life where I finally feel safe and accepted.

 

Did you always plan to be a baker or did you have other career plans at first?

Totally wasn’t in my plans at all! I always wanted to be a therapist, or a writer. Went to school for both and ended up dropping out because I just couldn’t focus. I was dealing with a lot of social anxiety that kind of spilled over from middle school.

I think in a way baking became an escape for me because I can do it alone and just kind of get lost in my thoughts and forget about all of the things that make me distressed or anxious.

 

Do you have any baking or business qualifications from a college or university?

Nope, totally self-taught and totally winging it! I considered going to pastry school at one point but never followed through with it. Everything I know was learned via trial and error & reading tons and tons of baking books.

RELATED: Library of FREE Resources for (aspiring) Home Bakery Owners

 

What happened that made you consider to bake for a living? What was that “oh wow! I could DO this!” moment for you?

I think the moment was at my first market when I baked a bunch of pies and they sold out within the first hour! I was just amazed and truly hadn’t expected that kind of a demand.

The next week my inbox was flooding with orders and people reached out with positive feedback and it just really made me feel like for once I had something to be proud of, something worth exploring.

 

How did Pie, Pie My Darling Start?

When I was 20 I worked at Whole Foods, had just dropped out of college, and felt really aimless and uninspired.

I started baking from home whenever I had a chance and bringing treats in to work for my co-workers to try, not really thinking much of it. It got to a point where I was baking so much and so often that my house was literally bursting with more treats than I could eat myself or share with friends/co-workers, so I decided to try selling them.

I went online and found a local market, picked a name for my business based on one of my favourite Misfits songs, and the rest is history!

RELATED: 5 Tips for Selling your Baked Goods at Food Markets

 

Were you scared to start your baking business and how did you deal with that?

Totally. I had no idea what I was doing and didn’t know what to expect.

I had major anxiety before my first popup. In my head it was like what if I make all these pies and literally no one buys them or cares? What am I even doing? There was so much doubt but I didn’t really have anything to lose by just trying it out once, so I went for it.

 

How did your family and friends respond to your desire to bake for a living? And how did you deal with that?

I think at first they were definitely a little skeptical, especially since I hadn’t ever really shown an interest in baking previously. But at the time I had been in a psychological rut for years so I think they were just happy to see me doing something positive with my time instead of being self-destructive.

More recently my dad grabbed lunch with me and told me how proud he was to see me owning my own business and calling the shots and just being creative and happy, and it really meant the world to me.

REAL Home Bakery Heroes: An Honest Interview with the sensational Vegan Bakery Pie, Pie my Darling in Chicago, Illinois, USA! Heather shares about finding herself, developing her own unique style and building her amazing, sold out vegan bakery from scratch with no formal qualifications. Click through to read this incredible interview! #veganbakery #homebakery #bakingbusiness #piepiemydarling

What were  the first bakes you ever sold? To whom did you sell them?

The first popup I ever sold treats at was this little market called Vegan Vortex in Chicago. It was super small and super affordable—just pay $40 for a table and you’re in.

I remember it was a Halloween market and I made 5 different flavours of mini pies in 6” and teeny little bite sized 3” tarts too. I think the flavours were pumpkin, apple, lemon cream, sweet potato, & chocolate cream.

 

How did you feel once you made your first sale? And how did it influence your life & plans?

Selling pies at that first little market was honestly life-changing for me.

I was so anxious and made all these little mini pies and didn’t know anyone there and was SO shy, but to my surprise I ended up selling out in the first hour!

People were asking me for my info so they could place orders and making posts about my stuff… it was crazy. I had just made my Instagram page a couple days before and had less than 10 Instagram followers. It was incredibly validating and made me think like wow…I could really make this a thing.

 

You have such a unique, stunning style. How did you find your baking style & voice?

Aww, thank you! I think in a lot of ways my baking style is influenced by the sheer fact that I’m not a professional, I’m a home baker at heart, and that reflects in my decoration choices.

I never learned how to make fondant or scrape a cake till it’s 100% smooth and perfect and pristine (and honestly never wanted to), so instead I chose to cover my cakes in colorful sprinkles or cookie crumbs or ganache drip.

Childhood nostalgia is the main inspiration for my baking—I’m not looking to impress necessarily—I want to make something that makes the kid in you squeal with joy. I want to make the treats my mom forbade me to eat when I was little 😂

 

How did you grow your baking skills to this level?

Lots and lots of practice, failure, and trial & error!

It’s interesting to look back at my photos from years ago and see how the growth was pretty organic. Like when I first started my ganache drip was a bit messy and frosting was more sloppy, and over time after doing hundreds and hundreds of cakes things just kind of naturally progressed.

 

How long did it take before you could bake full-time?

I think it took about two years! For the first year I had a full time job and baked on the side, and then towards the second year I went down to just three days a week, then two, then just one until things got so busy with PPMD that I just knew it was time to take the plunge into doing it full time.

 

Which books, podcasts, blog posts, videos or online courses helped most to grow you as a business woman?

To be honest, I haven’t read up much on how to run a business and even still to this day feel like I’m winging it and have a lot to learn!

For my baking influence, though, I give so much credit to Isa Chandra and all of her cookbooks + her website post punk kitchen. Her books not only made me feel like I could be vegan and still bake amazing treats, but they also made me feel like I can be myself and not some perfect cookie cutter cookbook model and still make it in the industry.

 

You have such a loyal group of utterly devoted fans. Why do you think people resonate so much with you and your brand?

I think some people may resonate with me and my story because I’m just an ordinary girl, you know?

I didn’t have any fancy training or schooling and I’m not above others in any way. I’m just a home baker who stumbled upon a passion and was lucky enough to make that passion into a career.

I’ve also been told by many customers/followers that my choice to share a lot about myself and my issues with mental illness, addiction/recovery/etc. brings me closer to them because they’re seeing the real me and lots of them can relate.

My customers are like friends to me, and actually many of them have become friends in real life! I feel incredibly lucky to have so much support and to feel like I finally found my people.

 

What are the 2 best decisions you’ve made in your Baking Business?

  1. Breaking ties with other business owners who were toxic and
  2. always staying true to myself and my passion/morals/aesthetic/worldview no matter what.

 

What are the 2 worst mistakes you’ve made in your Baking Business?

  1. Mistaking business relationships for friendships i.e.: expecting the other businesses you work closely with to care as much about your business as you do and have your best interest in mind.
  2. Overworking myself to the point of burnout.

 

What are the 2 most valuable lessons you’ve learned about running a baking business?

  1. Quality over quantity—you will never be able to please everyone, and there will always be people who want more from you than you are able to give.
  2. It’s OK to say no. The people who actually respect you and your work will always understand.

 

What are the 2 most valuable lessons you’ve learned about yourself in this process?

  1. I’ve learned that I’m stronger than I ever would have imagined, and that I’m not worthless, and do have value.
  2. I’ve also learned the importance of taking breaks and just stopping every now and then for self-care instead of constantly working myself into the ground. There is a lot of pressure to constantly be creating and I’ve learned that my mental health and sanity is worth more than that.

 

What are the 2 most valuable lessons you’ve learned about people/clients in this process?

  1. You can’t please everyone and for every person who will scold you for not being perfect/not giving them whatever they want when they want, there are 10 more people standing by supporting you, loving you, and caring for you.
  2. I love my customers so much and consider many of them to be my friends. I think as business owner you have the ability to teach people how to treat you, and if you let people step all over you there will always be a constant imbalance. The whole process is so much healthier when there is mutual respect on both ends.

RELATED: 6 Easy Steps to Deal with Difficult Home Bakery Clients

REAL Home Bakery Heroes: An Honest Interview with the sensational Vegan Bakery Pie, Pie my Darling in Chicago! Click to read this incredible interview! #veganbakery #homebakery #bakingbusiness #piepiemydarling

What are your plans & dreams for Pie, Pie My Darling going forward?

I would really love to make a storefront happen this year 🖤 It’s been a dream of mine for a long time and though there have been many, many roadblocks over the years, I’m never giving up on it. I would also like to let go of control a little and hire some full time bakers so I can grow and keep up with the demand.

 

What advice would you give to anyone wanting to start a Home Bakery, but feels they aren’t “good enough”?

YOU ARE SO GOOD ENOUGH!!

I know this sounds corny but seriously, if I can do it, you can do it.

I literally started from nothing with no business or baking experience, no following, and a tiny little gas oven in my home kitchen and now it’s my full time job. All you need is the passion and drive and you can totally do it.

Remember to be yourself and make an effort to create things that are your own instead of trying to be like other bakers. What you’re looking for is inside you.

RELATED: 4 MYTHS that are Delaying you from Starting a Home Bakery

 

If you are lucky enough to live in Chicago, you can check out Pie, Pie My Darling’s website to order.

The rest of us will have to stick to licking our screens on Pie, Pie My Darling’s Instagram Account!

Thank you so much for sharing your story with us Heather! I’m sure your story will bless all the other Home Bakers just as much as it has blessed me.

 

Do you have any Home Bakery Heroes you would like me to interview?

Let me know in the comments below and I’ll try my best to make it happen!

 

Chat soon

Aurelia

Hi! I’m Aurelia 🙂

 Since 2018 I’ve helped home bakers learn the business side of baking and build lasting businesses that fit their lives.

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You absolutely DO NOT need to make fondant cakes to have a successful Home Bakery Business! Learn how I've been baking, full-time, for 6 years without EVER touching fondant! Click to learn how you can do it too... #homebakery #bakingbusiness #cakebusiness #homebaking #baking
One of the BEST ways to make your home bakery business stand out from your competition, is to pick a business name that actually attracts customers! In this post you'll get a behind the scenes look at what customers look for in a business name. You'll finally understand which types of business names attract them to a baking business, and which types of names put them off or bore them. Click the post to get the tips now! #homebakery #bakingbusiness #businessname #baking #homebaking
Plan your Home/Micro Bakery in 1 afternoon. Download this free Home/Micro Bakery Business Plan template to start turning your passion for baking into an income.

Got a question? Something to add? Let’s chat in the comments section down below! (I respond to every single comment)

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