I’m so excited, I’m so excited, I’m so…SCARED! Yes, I really did just take a line from “Saved By The Bell,” and if you don’t recognize it, where have you been?
Anyway, yes, I am so excited, because there is something my husband and I are starting that has been a long time in the making. I will be starting my own home-based baking business.
After I quit my job, I honestly didn’t know what I wanted to do next. I knew I wanted to stay in the baking/pastry field, but I wasn’t sure where in that field I wanted to be exactly. I knew for sure I didn’t want to work in a restaurant. I had worked for 6 years in a restaurant and it really wore me down. So I was thinking about working for an independent bakery, because at least there, I’d be able to focus entirely on desserts. I was also thinking about catering, but a lot of caterers already out-source their baked goods, so there probably wouldn’t be too much work available.
One night, my husband asked me what my dream job was. I told him I would love to have my own “dessert catering” business for parties and small events. For people who wanted really high-quality desserts, but didn’t have the time to bake or didn’t know how to bake, period, they would be able to order high-quality, home-baked desserts made by a professional. My husband said that was a great idea and if I ever wanted to go through with it, he’d support me 100%.
It took a while to decide for sure that’s what I wanted to do. It’s a little scary for me to jump into something I’ve never done before, but I knew that ultimately, it would make me so much more happier and fulfilled if I did something like this. For once, I would have creative control!
A few weeks ago, I told my husband that I wanted to move forward with the idea and he kept his word and supported me all the way. I even told my parents last weekend about my idea and to my surprise, they thought it was great! Not that my parents don’t support me, but I always thought of them as the type to tell me, “Are you serious? Go out and get a real job!” And ever since then, my husband and I have been telling people and I’ve gotten nothing but positive reactions. A lot of people have even asked me already if I’d be available to supply sweets for their baby showers and other little parties. My husband even snagged me my first potential client–a woman who is having a small wedding celebration!
Right now, we are working out a lot of the details, so we’re still in the early stages. But we finally chose a name: Sweet Baker Lady. If you watch NBC’s The Office, and you watched last week’s season finale, you might get the reference. Of course, the character says, “She’s sweet. Like a lady baker.” But we thought Sweet Baker Lady was better.
Pretty soon, we’ll have a website and lots more information. Since I’ll only be doing this locally, this won’t mean much to all of you, but I love to share my ideas, so maybe someone else will be inspired by this.
More to come!






5 comments
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May 19, 2008 at 8:40 am
CB
Wow. Dream big! Do your baking thang! Can’t wait to hear about your adventures
May 19, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Tanya
Thanks, CB! It’s scary, but exciting at the same time. I guess with any risk there’s bound to be some scariness.
May 29, 2008 at 9:46 am
Donna
Hi Tanya,
I just read your news over at Lick The Spatula. I hopped over here to read the rest of your news.
I also worked as a pastry chef at a number of inns. I got fed up with all of it and quit. I had lots of side jobs that I was baking for anyway, so I outfitted my kitchen with a new 6 burner Garland stove and got a used 20 quart mixer. That lasted about 6 months when I had quickly outgrown my kitchen. We opened a bakery cafe in town, then it evolved into wholesale and commercial baking.We were supplying 30 restaurants and 3 wholesale distributors by then. Very quickly, we had aquired a used Ben & Jerry’s freezer truck, walk-in freezer, convection oven, 10 burner range, 30 quart mixer, 2 KA’s, 2 proof boxes, 4 door cooler, a pneumatic cheesecake slicer, pie press and bread slicer, among many other toys.
Then, we got into catering. It started out small at first and by the time we were done, we were doing weddings for 200.
I say this, not to toot my own own horn, but to encourage you in your dream. It was my dream too and I lived that dream for over 15 years.
You go girl! And don’t look back!
May 29, 2008 at 10:36 am
Tanya
Donna,
WOW! What a story! Thank you for sharing. I love hearing these things and knowing what can be possible. You are so inspiring and you should toot your own horn! Your story proves what can happen when you have a dream and some ambition.
Thank you for the kind words of encouragement!
July 22, 2008 at 3:12 pm
wholeworldcooking
Dearest Chef,
Please come over and check out my blog WHOLEWORLDCOOKING I talk alot about the business of catering and being a personal chef. It really is all about business and self promotion. I would love to have you post on what your experiences are. Good Luck and happy Cooking!