Taking the leap - a career change
Friends, this is a big moment for me. This is my first ever blog post and honestly, I feel a little out of my depth. I had never really thought about blogging before I re-branded my business this month and I’ve joined the party pretty late in the game! However, I promise I will blog once a month. You can hold me accountable if I start slacking.
The Greenfox Bakery is now my full time job which was the prompt for the re-brand in the first place. I feel a little smug because I get to do a job that I truly adore on a full time basis. Life threw me a little curve ball in November 2019 which meant I was no longer in full time ‘corporate’ employment. At the time I was devastated and angry about the whole situation, but actually it was the push I needed to make my full time baking dreams a reality.
Quite a few of my friends have recently set up their own businesses and I couldn’t be prouder of them. In this world nothing is better than having strong women absolutely bossing it in their respective fields. Yes, they’ve levelled up by working for themselves now, but ultimately they’re in the same industry as they’ve been in for 10 or more years ago. There is a degree of comfort to completely knowing your industry, and having made contacts in it for so many years - there is less of ‘starting from scratch’ mentality.
For me however, it’s a very different story. I have completely changed my career direction into an industry that doesn’t remotely relate to what I was doing before. Not only is it terrifying financially and emotionally draining, but absolutely exhausting. I’ve forgotten how hard networking is and how much time and money you need to spend in putting yourself out there in order for clients to see you, especially in a saturated market place. The world of Instagram is far more complicated that I had ever imagined as are things like AdWords and SEO which are so integral to any new business. Luckily I have very useful friends who work in PR and food journalism (shout out EMH Communications, Uncorked Communications and Clare Finney) who are on hand to help me through this marketing minefield. I’ve also met some wonderful industry people at various networking events and through the power of social media, who are so supportive, encouraging and really want to help you flourish. It doesn’t solve all the small business problems, particularly when you’re an impatient perfectionist like me, but having a community of like minded people to bounce off really helps ease the stress levels.
I have always loved making cakes. I think it’s because I have a deep rooted need to make people happy, and nothing does that more than cake. Presenting someone with a delicious baked treat and watching their eyes light up gives me all the feels.
‘Ooooh I really shouldn’t have this’ this they say, with a coy smile and a glint in their eye, ‘but..oh go on then…’. This reaction is what gives me the most pleasure. This is why I wanted to develop my hobby into a career that I can be proud of. To have more of those moments in my life.
Amongst all the uncertainty and angst, I know that starting this business is nothing but joyous and entirely the right thing for me to be doing with my life. I’ve got my sparkle back. Doing something you deeply love makes you work even harder than you ever have done, and it doesn’t even feel like work. I cannot wait to be part of more couple’s weddings, children’s birthday parties, parent’s baby showers, gender reveals, or even just part of someone’s Friday night in eating brookies with their friends. Cake makes the world a better place and I cant wait to start spreading that love on the regs.
You can read about my road to becoming a baker here and have a look at my website to read how I settled on the name Greenfox Bakery .