I currently write this as I shift into another chapter of life. Sleep deprived and a little scatter brained… bear with my lack of wittiness and editing skills… I am the first to admit, I am not an author or a poet.
As many of you know - I have been taking a bit of a "cake break" (well not a total break… I did make a cake for my sister in law and another cake for my cousin)… First of all, I struggle to find the time to fulfill orders. I have a pretty demanding full time job that doesn't always fit into the traditional 8AM - 5PM Monday through Friday schedule, and is often a 50 hour a week job. I also have a 2 year old at home, and just had a baby in April this year. On top of that, until recently, my husband frequently worked odd hours as well and I was often a pseudo single mom during my "non-working" hours. To try and juggle my own side business in the midst of all of that was near impossible if I wanted to get even a blink of sleep in and keep my sanity.
What most people don't realize is that the type of cakes I make are not just the traditional grocery store bakery cake - but are custom built works of art that take several, several hours - often times up to 36 hours of work. Between a full time day job, a 2 year old and a new born baby, where am I suppose to find an additional 15-36 hours in a week to make a custom cake art piece? And to also factor in shopping time for supplies and ingredients, baking time, clean up etc... - you get the point.
Additionally, please also consider the sacrifices that taking on said orders means for me… Little to no family time, no weekends, no evenings to just "relax" (and I tell ya, after a long hard day at work and an evening filled with chasing around a rambunctious 2 year old and an overtired 3-4 month old - an hour to veg out in front of the tv with a glass of wine is all too often needed), no sleep, no social time with my girlfriends, extra-curricular work events are out of the question…
Yes, I want to build up my business. No, I don't want to turn away work. Yes, I want to build up my portfolio and keep striking at the iron while its hot so to speak… but at this time in my life, the sacrifice just wasn't worth it. I was becoming a crabby, fat, depressed, introverted mom/wife/friend/daughter/sister/aunt/employee etc.
Here is a little background on how Cakeaholic was born if you are not yet aware. As soon as I saw the first custom created cake art I was obsessed. Totally amazed that these finely crafted works of art were actually edible. These cakes were often the center pieces or focal points of many people's celebrations to commiserate milestones of their lives. Weddings, Anniversaries, Engagements, Births, Birthdays, Graduations, Baptisms, Retirements and so much more… When a little extra money fell into my lap - I thought I would play around with this craft a bit and see if it was something I could more than just admire from afar. I caught on quick and before I could blink, the orders started rolling in. What I was intending on just being a hobby I could have fun with for the time being, had become a business whether I was ready for it or not. I quickly got my ducks in a row to keep it all legit, registered with the state, became kitchen certified/licensed, insured, put a website together and viola! Cakeaholic Cakery was officially born. Word spread quick and only a few months after I ever touched fondant for the first time I had way more order inquiries than I could ever keep up on.
I am not complaining here - this is a great "problem" to have, and I certainly recognize that. And had I not yet been a mother when I started - or had I been a stay at home mom - or had I been a housewife - or had my kids been a little older… had the circumstances been different generally speaking, I would have taken the bull by the horns and fricken ran with it! And, never once looked back. I still dream and hope to one day have my own little boutique shop, with not only cakes and the like but also party planning supplies or packages - more to come on that at a later time. My vision is still there… but I know that right now in life that is not where I am at, it's not where my family is at and we are just not ready for that yet. Regardless, the business grew before I could catch my breath and I needed to catch my fricken breath. The fun of it was being lost in the stress… I needed to not only take a break for my health and my family, but to re-evaluate to see if the passion was still there.
Guess what? It is. And I am so happy to have a clear vision of where I want to take this… SOMEDAY. Not today, and not tomorrow… but someday around the corner - when the stars align differently for our family.
All of that being said, I am re-opening my doors for business but it will be a bit more restricted for the time being - and I say that very hesitantly because I don't want to hinder the possible growth of my business. I simply want to ensure that I can give the orders I do take on, 110%, not a run-down, stressed out, insomniac version of myself who at their very best can give no more than say 60%… Just keep in mind the key words "For the Time Being". As of August 1st, 2012 moving forward until further notice, I will only be taking on 1 wedding cake order per month (simply because wedding cake orders tend to be larger and require further delivery) and limited celebration orders outside of that per my schedule. As of today, I am already booked until October [insert annoying smiley face here that I do still admittedly use quite often to convey tone] I have always and will always encourage early orders - this is especially true for wedding orders which are often placed 4-6 months in advance…
Thank you for those of you who have stood by with support, and a willingness to help as you saw me break down under the weight of life. Thank you for those of you who didn't walk away when I hesitantly, apologetically turned down your orders. And thank you for those of you who kept encouraging me even when I demanded a break. Your support, encouragement and understanding is not and has never been lost on me.
That is it, just a little glance into my life in regards to the current state of Cakeaholic Cakery. And to keep it fun, here are a couple of pictures of mi familia…
As many of you know - I have been taking a bit of a "cake break" (well not a total break… I did make a cake for my sister in law and another cake for my cousin)… First of all, I struggle to find the time to fulfill orders. I have a pretty demanding full time job that doesn't always fit into the traditional 8AM - 5PM Monday through Friday schedule, and is often a 50 hour a week job. I also have a 2 year old at home, and just had a baby in April this year. On top of that, until recently, my husband frequently worked odd hours as well and I was often a pseudo single mom during my "non-working" hours. To try and juggle my own side business in the midst of all of that was near impossible if I wanted to get even a blink of sleep in and keep my sanity.
What most people don't realize is that the type of cakes I make are not just the traditional grocery store bakery cake - but are custom built works of art that take several, several hours - often times up to 36 hours of work. Between a full time day job, a 2 year old and a new born baby, where am I suppose to find an additional 15-36 hours in a week to make a custom cake art piece? And to also factor in shopping time for supplies and ingredients, baking time, clean up etc... - you get the point.
Additionally, please also consider the sacrifices that taking on said orders means for me… Little to no family time, no weekends, no evenings to just "relax" (and I tell ya, after a long hard day at work and an evening filled with chasing around a rambunctious 2 year old and an overtired 3-4 month old - an hour to veg out in front of the tv with a glass of wine is all too often needed), no sleep, no social time with my girlfriends, extra-curricular work events are out of the question…
Yes, I want to build up my business. No, I don't want to turn away work. Yes, I want to build up my portfolio and keep striking at the iron while its hot so to speak… but at this time in my life, the sacrifice just wasn't worth it. I was becoming a crabby, fat, depressed, introverted mom/wife/friend/daughter/sister/aunt/employee etc.
Here is a little background on how Cakeaholic was born if you are not yet aware. As soon as I saw the first custom created cake art I was obsessed. Totally amazed that these finely crafted works of art were actually edible. These cakes were often the center pieces or focal points of many people's celebrations to commiserate milestones of their lives. Weddings, Anniversaries, Engagements, Births, Birthdays, Graduations, Baptisms, Retirements and so much more… When a little extra money fell into my lap - I thought I would play around with this craft a bit and see if it was something I could more than just admire from afar. I caught on quick and before I could blink, the orders started rolling in. What I was intending on just being a hobby I could have fun with for the time being, had become a business whether I was ready for it or not. I quickly got my ducks in a row to keep it all legit, registered with the state, became kitchen certified/licensed, insured, put a website together and viola! Cakeaholic Cakery was officially born. Word spread quick and only a few months after I ever touched fondant for the first time I had way more order inquiries than I could ever keep up on.
I am not complaining here - this is a great "problem" to have, and I certainly recognize that. And had I not yet been a mother when I started - or had I been a stay at home mom - or had I been a housewife - or had my kids been a little older… had the circumstances been different generally speaking, I would have taken the bull by the horns and fricken ran with it! And, never once looked back. I still dream and hope to one day have my own little boutique shop, with not only cakes and the like but also party planning supplies or packages - more to come on that at a later time. My vision is still there… but I know that right now in life that is not where I am at, it's not where my family is at and we are just not ready for that yet. Regardless, the business grew before I could catch my breath and I needed to catch my fricken breath. The fun of it was being lost in the stress… I needed to not only take a break for my health and my family, but to re-evaluate to see if the passion was still there.
Guess what? It is. And I am so happy to have a clear vision of where I want to take this… SOMEDAY. Not today, and not tomorrow… but someday around the corner - when the stars align differently for our family.
All of that being said, I am re-opening my doors for business but it will be a bit more restricted for the time being - and I say that very hesitantly because I don't want to hinder the possible growth of my business. I simply want to ensure that I can give the orders I do take on, 110%, not a run-down, stressed out, insomniac version of myself who at their very best can give no more than say 60%… Just keep in mind the key words "For the Time Being". As of August 1st, 2012 moving forward until further notice, I will only be taking on 1 wedding cake order per month (simply because wedding cake orders tend to be larger and require further delivery) and limited celebration orders outside of that per my schedule. As of today, I am already booked until October [insert annoying smiley face here that I do still admittedly use quite often to convey tone] I have always and will always encourage early orders - this is especially true for wedding orders which are often placed 4-6 months in advance…
Thank you for those of you who have stood by with support, and a willingness to help as you saw me break down under the weight of life. Thank you for those of you who didn't walk away when I hesitantly, apologetically turned down your orders. And thank you for those of you who kept encouraging me even when I demanded a break. Your support, encouragement and understanding is not and has never been lost on me.
That is it, just a little glance into my life in regards to the current state of Cakeaholic Cakery. And to keep it fun, here are a couple of pictures of mi familia…
Peace and Love,
Tam a Lam
facebook
No comments:
Post a Comment