Wouldn't it be cool to open a bakery in our home town that offered a duel menu - items offered baked with traditional recipes and again in vegan form.
Conversations continued, ideas came and went, and when we got back to Florida we were still excited. Still bandying ideas back and forth - how would the kitchen have to be set up? Perhaps with an open window so our patrons could see it. We started meeting once a week to bake.
The first year we took turns picking recipes and hosting baking night. Somewhere along the way, my house became the default kitchen. As time passed, I started accumulating vegan cookbooks in addition to crazy amounts of ingredients, though occasionally we would still work with a recipe from online, or adapted from a non-vegan cookbook.
In January 2010, I turned 33. Thinking about it, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life (and am still not). I also realized that this dream bakery, which I had grown fond of the idea of, had real danger of being one of those dreams you hold on to, and halfheartedly pursue, but never commit to doing. I also knew that if I half-assed it there was a chance that I would clutch onto this idea as a safety net, and allow myself to not consider other dreams. Because, well, I already had one I was (sorta) working towards.
I liked the idea of this bakery too much to let it suffer that fate. So, on my 33rd birthday, I set a deadline for myself. I would have two years to research and plan and putter around to my hearts content, but on my 35th birthday I would have to decide one way or the other. I would either commit to doing it, and start on the real steps to get my dreams off the ground, or would set the dream aside, nod my head in acknowledgment of how cool an idea it was, but concede I would never actually do it.
Basically, I wouldn't let this dream get stuck in "wouldn't it be cool if" limbo.
So I continued to bake with my friends and alone, though not as frequently as every week. I enrolled in a local college and earned a certificate in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management. I did brief research on local regulations, including the newly passed cottage food industry law (which means I can sell certain products from my home, without needing a certified kitchen). I took three Wilton cake decorating classes, and signed up for the fourth one the first time it's offered (next month). I talked with bakery owners from other cities, signed up and participated in online Daring Baker challenges, had marathon baking days making Christmas presents this year, and sold my first cake. This past week I researched and visited five farmers markets and spoke with vendors to get their opinions on that scene.
And even though it is still two weeks from my birthday, I have decided that I am going to go ahead with this dream.
I'll start small, at a farmers market, using that as a chance to see if it is viable as a business. And if that works, I'll either stick with it, or look to the next step.So over the next few weeks, I'll be writing a business plan and looking at what are the necessary next steps— registering a business name, making a webpage, figuring out packaging and labels, and most importantly, coming up with a menu and figuring out what I can manage for a farmers market while still working a full-time job.
As I came to the conclusion to commit to this dream — slowly over the last month (really, it has been longer, but has definitely been more definitive as my deadline drew near) I've start to feel overwhelmed. But I remind myself the even baby steps move me forward and I can afford to look at one small thing and get that done, working towards the big picture. Each step, no matter how little, is a step towards realizing this dream.
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