The Journey

 Here I am, week 1 of business classes.  I feel like I am both at the very beginning of this journey, and also miles and miles down the road.  This journey actually began 8 years ago when we started a cottage bakery from our home as part of a homeschool project, and Bearfoot Bakery was born.  

We began very modestly, just making sandwich bread and cookies for the farmer's market.  Within a couple of months we had sold enough to purchase our first commercial equipment, a 20 qt mixer.   Our goal was to never go into debt for the bakery, but to be able to pay everything with cash.  Now 8 years later we have been able to stick with that goal.  We have grown from a small table at the farmer's market, to become a well known resource in town for everything from specialty breads, cupcakes, pies, and now pretzels.  We now sell more in a day than we could in a month, so it feels like progress.  

As I start a journey of business education it feels like I am back at the beginning again.  There is so much to learn, and it feels overwhelming.  But that is part of the reason for this blog, to record the steps I am taking and witness the progress that is happening.  So I will start with what I feel is my greatest strength, my work ethic.  When it comes to baking, I am confident in my skills.  When someone has a special request that I have never made before, I have the confidence to make it and know that is will turn out great.  I spend the time to research items and practice the techniques to make a delicious product.  

My greatest weakness is my inability to say No.  I am getting better, but it 's sometimes hard to turn down a job when I am not sure that I can fit the time in.  Often I end up sacrificing family time to finish an order.  To be successful I am realizing that I also have to prioritize my time and be sure to create a quality of life that makes me feel fulfilled at home as well as serving the community. This will make it possible to keep going, even when things get hard. 

At this time I am meeting with the building manager for a new market place hub that is being built downtown.  We are working up floor plans, and working to subcontract a bakery design team to help with the layout before concrete is poured.  At this point everything is overwhelming, and a little frightening, as we will be taking out a hefty loan to begin the project.  Our first step is to finalize our business plan and take it to the building team and a bank for approval.  Next we need  to secure the loan amount, and sign a contract for the building site. I am sure there are a million tiny things we are missing in these steps, but these are the big ones I am working toward.   Each week will lead to some progress and I am sure there will be some set backs as well.  My goal is to be ready to step back in as each set back come up, and continue to more forward.  This week, I also have the goal of reaching out to a mentor, and hopefully have someone to help me identify the pitfalls along the way.  In the mean time, I will enjoy some bread. 



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