Starting over is something I hadn't envisioned in my business plan. When I first started Happy Cakes it was in a town where I knew people, I had friends and those friends had friends and even connections. It wasn't easy starting, but it was easier than I had thought. I made a cake for a friend, who's friends saw it and one of them wanted a cake and then their friends saw it and well you know how it goes. It was a smallish town where it wasn't hard to know who was who and in the zoo. Now I find myself in a situation where I know absolutely no one and no one knows who I am or who Happy Cakes is. I don't know who is who and in the zoo any more. I don't know which expo's to go to, who the photographers are or the venues are. And I mean the good ones to. There's so many that it just seems so hard.
I thought I had a business, but it would seem that I don't anymore. Not only are all my existing customers in another state, my 17,000+ followers on Facebook, count for nothing, no offense. Facebook is no longer a place where you can create or establish a business. Which is pretty much how Happy Cakes started other than word of mouth, Facebook played a huge part in exposing my business. But now that Facebook limits your posts to a very very small percentage of your liker's, it's hardly worth anything. Whether you like my page or not, there is no guarantee I'll show up in your news feed unless I pay the big bucks. As a small business their fees are quite high to sustain on an ongoing basis. I can't complain it was good while it lasted!!
I can no longer rely on my wit, charm and good looks to get me through either. I have to create this business from scratch all over again. Which is not only a little disheartening but daunting at the same time. I worked pretty damn hard for the past 7 years getting it to a point where I could leave my full time job, to a part time job to a no time job and cake full time. I no longer had to cake at night and work a "real" paying job during the day to sustain the cake business. The cake business was able to sustain itself and my family without me having to work anther job. Does this mean I have to go back to working and caking at night?? Gosh they were hard times.
I also wonder if my old tricks will work this time around? Or will I have to sell my soul for cake hehehehe. Are my cakes good enough for this market? Are my prices competitive? Who are the wholesalers? These are just few of the things that I need to work on, all over again. Starting a business is hard. Do I have the energy to do it all again...For the love of cake can't I just bake already!! Running a business would be so much easier if all I had to do was make cakes and turn them into pretty little master pieces. Oh the joy that use to bring me. For some reason it's worth it, so I suppose it's back to the drawing board for me.
Leoni.
Happy caking
xx
