Dare to Dream

We all have dreams.  Those dreams might include a vacation, learning a new hobby, or reaching a goal.  All dreams should have a final destination.  


Do we give ourselves permission to dream?  For a long time I did not.  For over a decade I was too busy and too tired. I had four little kids, I was a homeschool mom and a wife.  Life was fine, but I went about each day the same as the last.  I didn't have any idea where I wanted my life to go.  I wasn't depressed, I was busy and tired.  Its not that I didn't allow myself to dream, I just didn't have energy to invest in myself.  

What stops us from dreaming, or pursuing a dream.  During that stage of life I didn't have the mental energy.  I had 4 children in 10 years and I was focused on providing them an education as well as all the other necessities of life.  Many others may find themselves with similar issues with family, health, or finances that make them feel stagnant.  This is when we can ask what are we looking for?  What do we want out of life?  What are our priorities?

At each stage of life the balance we are looking for will be different.  That is because during different phases of our lives we have different priorities.  During those early years I was living in survival mode.  It got me through each day, but didn't leave much energy left over for life.  Now my children are much more independent.  They still need me, but we are not stuck in the day to day monotony of diapers and lunches.  While they are more independent, I have more freedom to dream, and to pursue some of those dreams.  One of those dreams is getting my bachelor's degree, another is expanding my bakery.

9 years ago we started a family bakery in our home.  We called it Bearfoot Bakery to carry the Kodiak life into our business and honor the Kodiak Brown Bear.  At the time we only made sandwich bread and cookies and the kids would help set up a table at the local farmer's market each week during the summer farmer's market season.  We saw some gains and used that first summer profits to buy a commercial mixer.  Each year we have added new products to our menu and have learned how to max out our baking capacity in a standard home oven.  

*First year at the farmers market.  
We had one table, selling sandwich bread, cinnamon rolls, and cookies. 



*2021 Made in Kodiak Bazaar
Now we have 3 tables and a large variety of baked goods.

I never thought I would want to be an entrepreneur.  In high school we learned about taxes and the difference between being self employed or working for someone.  Being self employed seemed so much harder and I could not understand why anyone would choose that.   Now many years later I laugh at my teenage self.  Now I am ready to take on challenges.  It can be scary, it can be overwhelming, but now I am ready to dream.  Today balance is working hard at something that means something to me. Most weeks that looks like two to three 12-15 hour days.  At the end of the week, I crash, literally.  I take time to sleep, I take time to decompress, and I plan the challenges I am going to tackle next week.  It won't always be this hard, but it will be worth it

*Photo from San Francisco Baking Institute of products I and my class mates made. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Beginning

Bearfoot Bakery was started 8-ish years ago selling at the farmers market at the fairgrounds in Kodiak, Alaska. Over the years we've grown our product line and experience and have met many great people along the way. We've often dreamed of opening a store but it always seemed out of reach or just not the right time. Really, it never felt that we could ever be anything more than a home bakery. Last summer KANA announced plans for a new building, and we began looking into what it would take for us to open a shop. There have been many ups and downs in the 6-8 months since we began working on this project. Finances being a big one. We have worked hard to stay out of debt both as a business and personally. The equipment list has gotten long, as has the expense report. Up to this point that has been the biggest struggle. This week we signed a lease for a space. This is both terrifying and exciting. The planning, work, and money involved is overwhelming. However, we have...
Read more

The Road Taken

Image
I find that life is full of little decisions that lead us down winding paths and we can not foresee the destination ahead.  When my children were little I taught them to cook, and from there to bake bread, cookies, and cinnamon rolls.  On a regular spring day in May 2014 my then 13 year old daughter baked a couple loaves of sandwich bread for lunches as part of her homeschool assignment.   When my husband came home for lunch he made a sandwich on the fresh bread, and then took a loaf with him to share with some of the people at work.  He returned home with orders from people in the office to buy bread.  Within a couple of weeks we had established two baking days a week with regulars customers and were baking and delivering multiple loaves of bread and cookies as well as setting up at our local farmer's market.  That one day set us on a journey and a path to owning a business.   Teaching Alyssa to make cinnamon rolls Our first season at the Fa...
Read more

Time for Everything?

Image
 One of the biggest challenges I have had as I operate a bakery from my home is time.  There is just never enough of it.  This is not a foreign concept to anyone.  In this day of convenience food and high speed everything from internet to transportation; we all feel the pull of time and sometimes our lack of managing it.   Time, or the lack of, is a challenge every week; but this week seemed to be harder than others.  I work Monday - Wednesday as a project specialist for our school district.  Those are also the days that I focus on my school work for my degree.  This usually means that Thursday and Friday are devoted to my bakery; shopping, prepping, and baking for preorders.  Thursday is my prep day while Friday is massive production.   In any given week I will have 70+ items to produce in one regular home oven.  Timing is the magic that makes it all work.  On a good week I will have all the orders collected and crea...
Read more