Hey Everyone, I've missed you! In this episode I'm telling you what has happened to the podcast, what's going to happen to it, and I introduce my latest project which I think you'll love. Thank you for your love, support, and listening in! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey Everyone, I've missed you! In this episode I'm telling you what has happened to the podcast, what's going to happen to it, and I introduce my latest project which I think you'll love. Thank you for your love, support, and listening in! See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Where Has BoB Gone?

Welcome to the last episode of season 3, and 2019! In the final episode of last year, I spoke about all the lessons I learned during 2018. Looking back and reflecting on everything that’s happened to me this year, I decided that it would be a pretty good way to end this season’s podcast episodes as well because 2019 has been both the worst and the best year I can ever remember, and I’ve learned such a lot from all I’ve been through. Today, I share my lessons with you in the hope that you will learn something from them too, so listen in, to find out what I learned from 2019.      I love doing this podcast! It’s great fun and it’s always such a pleasure to get wonderful emails from people all over the world, telling me how much they enjoy listening to the podcast, and saying that I keep them company while they’re mixing buttercream, waiting to pick up their kids, or when they can’t sleep at night. I think it’s very cool that I get to be part of so many of your lives! Thank you for that! And a big thank you to all of you for being part of the podcast and part of my life too! Tune in now, to hear about all the lessons I learned this year.   Show highlights:    This year, I had a pretty rough time with depression.  My kids are growing up so fast! Our industry has changed a lot. In some ways for the better and, in others, for the worse.  My word for this year is ‘phoenix’. Trust your instincts. I learned that people who tell you “this is your problem” don’t necessarily even know what your problem is. Tune in to your inner voice to figure out what’s really going on. Consistency will always trump one-hit-wonders. I’ve learned to walk every day and I found that consistently forcing myself outside has made a huge difference to my life. Getting out makes a huge difference in how you see the world and how you see your troubles. This year, I learned that our industry has leveled out a lot. Don’t allow other people’s judgment to force you to make changes you don’t want. People are more forgiving than you think so it’s okay if you drop the ball sometimes. Manifesting works. Giving feels good! The greatest gifts often come from the worst circumstances. We go through different seasons in our lives and some of them can be long and dark. The judgment of others should not dictate how you should live your life.  Links and Resources: Christine Kane - www.christinekane.com  You can purchase all the different classes I’ve done from The Learning Store, on www.thebizofbaking.com  If you enjoyed the podcast this year, please leave a review either on Google Podcasts or on any other podcast listener device that you use. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the last episode of season 3, and 2019! In the final episode of last year, I spoke about all the lessons I learned during 2018. Looking back and reflecting on everything that’s happened to me this year, I decided that it would be a pretty good way to end this season’s podcast episodes as well because 2019 has been both the worst and the best year I can ever remember, and I’ve learned such a lot from all I’ve been through. Today, I share my lessons with you in the hope that you will learn something from them too, so listen in, to find out what I learned from 2019.    I love doing this podcast! It’s great fun and it’s always such a pleasure to get wonderful emails from people all over the world, telling me how much they enjoy listening to the podcast, and saying that I keep them company while they’re mixing buttercream, waiting to pick up their kids, or when they can’t sleep at night. I think it’s very cool that I get to be part of so many of your lives! Thank you for that! And a big thank you to all of you for being part of the podcast and part of my life too! Tune in now, to hear about all the lessons I learned this year. Show highlights: <ul> <li>This year, I had a pretty rough time with depression. </li> <li>My kids are growing up so fast!</li> <li>Our industry has changed a lot. In some ways for the better and, in others, for the worse. </li> <li>My word for this year is ‘phoenix’.</li> <li>Trust your instincts.</li> <li>I learned that people who tell you “this is your problem” don’t necessarily even know what your problem is.</li> <li>Tune in to your inner voice to figure out what’s really going on.</li> <li>Consistency will always trump one-hit-wonders.</li> <li>I’ve learned to walk every day and I found that consistently forcing myself outside has made a huge difference to my life.</li> <li>Getting out makes a huge difference in how you see the world and how you see your troubles.</li> <li>This year, I learned that our industry has leveled out a lot.</li> <li>Don’t allow other people’s judgment to force you to make changes you don’t want.</li> <li>People are more forgiving than you think so it’s okay if you drop the ball sometimes.</li> <li>Manifesting works.</li> <li>Giving feels good!</li> <li>The greatest gifts often come from the worst circumstances.</li> <li>We go through different seasons in our lives and some of them can be long and dark.</li> <li>The judgment of others should not dictate how you should live your life.</li> </ul> Links and Resources: Christine Kane - <a href="http://www.christinekane.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.christinekane.com</a> You can purchase all the different classes I’ve done from The Learning Store, on <a href="http://www.thebizofbaking.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.thebizofbaking.com</a> If you enjoyed the podcast this year, please leave a review either on Google Podcasts or on any other podcast listener device that you use. See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Lessons Learned in 2019

Tracy Vasquez

Today is an exciting day because I'm interviewing Tracy Vasquez, the owner Sugar Beez, a cookie company that mostly makes really beautiful royal icing cookies. Tracy hails from Wonder Lake, Illinois. She's the mom of five grown-up daughters, and she works full-time as a police dispatcher. She is a very interesting person and her experience has been quite different to that of most of the other home-bakers that I've spoken to on the podcast, so listen in today, to hear Tracy's story. Last year, Tracy was approached by a national grocery chain. They asked her to supply their stores in Illinois with her cookies, and then that expanded to include Wisconsin as well. Tracy discovered that she had to obtain a GFSI certification from the Global Food Safety Initiative, to provide supermarkets with her cookies. So for the last year, she has been going through the challenging process necessary to become certified. In today's episode, she talks to us about this process. We also talk about marketing, working full-time, and raising a bunch of beautiful daughters. Tune in now, to find out what Tracy has to do to obtain her GFSI certificate from the Global Food Safety Initiative.  Show highlights:  How this all started for Tracey. Why Tracy has never spent money on advertising. The benefits of SEO. Tracy discusses the conscious choice she made to follow the website and SEO path to make her name known. The bulk of Tracy's business comes from Google or Instagram. Tracy has accepted that she does her best work under pressure. Making cookies brings a good balance to Tracy's life. How the supermarket approached Tracy. Tracy talks about the arduous process of getting certified. Some of the crazy things you have to consider when applying for certification. Tracy hired a technical writer to help her understand what she could not understand before. This motivated her to keep moving forward. Although it has been pretty costly, Tracy has learned a lot, she's grown, and she's become empowered from doing this process.  This process has helped Tracy become faster and more efficient, and her life has really improved as a result. Tracy makes custom cookie cutters for every order. Tracy offers her advice for going through the certification process as seamlessly as possible. All of Michelle's classes are now available online.  Links: To find out about Michelle's classes, go to www.thebizofbaking.com  Sugar Beez's website: www.sugarbeez.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today is an exciting day because I'm interviewing Tracy Vasquez, the owner Sugar Beez, a cookie company that mostly makes really beautiful royal icing cookies. Tracy hails from Wonder Lake, Illinois. She's the mom of five grown-up daughters, and she works full-time as a police dispatcher. She is a very interesting person and her experience has been quite different to that of most of the other home-bakers that I've spoken to on the podcast, so listen in today, to hear Tracy's story. Last year, Tracy was approached by a national grocery chain. They asked her to supply their stores in Illinois with her cookies, and then that expanded to include Wisconsin as well. Tracy discovered that she had to obtain a GFSI certification from the Global Food Safety Initiative, to provide supermarkets with her cookies. So for the last year, she has been going through the challenging process necessary to become certified. In today's episode, she talks to us about this process. We also talk about marketing, working full-time, and raising a bunch of beautiful daughters. Tune in now, to find out what Tracy has to do to obtain her GFSI certificate from the Global Food Safety Initiative.  Show highlights: <ul> <li>How this all started for Tracey.</li> <li>Why Tracy has never spent money on advertising.</li> <li>The benefits of SEO.</li> <li>Tracy discusses the conscious choice she made to follow the website and SEO path to make her name known.</li> <li>The bulk of Tracy's business comes from Google or Instagram.</li> <li>Tracy has accepted that she does her best work under pressure.</li> <li>Making cookies brings a good balance to Tracy's life.</li> <li>How the supermarket approached Tracy.</li> <li>Tracy talks about the arduous process of getting certified.</li> <li>Some of the crazy things you have to consider when applying for certification.</li> <li>Tracy hired a technical writer to help her understand what she could not understand before. This motivated her to keep moving forward.</li> <li>Although it has been pretty costly, Tracy has learned a lot, she's grown, and she's become empowered from doing this process. </li> <li>This process has helped Tracy become faster and more efficient, and her life has really improved as a result.</li> <li>Tracy makes custom cookie cutters for every order.</li> <li>Tracy offers her advice for going through the certification process as seamlessly as possible.</li> <li>All of Michelle's classes are now available online.</li> </ul> Links: To find out about Michelle's classes, go to <a href="http://www.thebizofbaking.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.thebizofbaking.com</a> Sugar Beez's website: <a href="http://www.sugarbeez.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.sugarbeez.com</a> See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Podcast Interview : Tracy Vasquez of Sugar Beez

In this week’s episode, Michelle shares an excerpt from her blog and book, The Business of Baking. This article, “You Couldn’t Pay Me Enough”, contains a collection of witty humor, entertaining anecdotes, and a comical simplification of the unfortunately relatable clients that bakers often encounter.    From the “Do you know who I am?” clients, the “Is she serious right now?” clients, and the “let me ask my husband” clients, Michelle has seen it all. Join Michelle in this episode for a light laugh and advice on how to deal with these terribly relatable situations.    Show Highlights:     How Michelle manages clients that aren’t worth the stress  Different stereotypes of clients that bakers deal with   Experiences Michelle has had with difficult clients  Listening to your instincts and not accepting orders that you don’t feel right about     Links:    Michelle@thebusinessofbaking.com    https://thebizofbaking.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this week’s episode, Michelle shares an excerpt from her blog and book, The Business of Baking. This article, “You Couldn’t Pay Me Enough”, contains a collection of witty humor, entertaining anecdotes, and a comical simplification of the unfortunately relatable clients that bakers often encounter.  From the “Do you know who I am?” clients, the “Is she serious right now?” clients, and the “let me ask my husband” clients, Michelle has seen it all. Join Michelle in this episode for a light laugh and advice on how to deal with these terribly relatable situations.  Show Highlights:  <ul> <li>How Michelle manages clients that aren’t worth the stress </li> <li>Different stereotypes of clients that bakers deal with  </li> <li>Experiences Michelle has had with difficult clients </li> <li>Listening to your instincts and not accepting orders that you don’t feel right about </li> </ul> Links:  <a href="mailto:Michelle@thebusinessofbaking.com">Michelle@thebusinessofbaking.com</a> <a href="https://thebizofbaking.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://thebizofbaking.com</a>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

You Couldn't Pay Me Enough

Kelly Hill

Is your cake business based in a small town? And, as a result,  are you experiencing problems making it work? Today, I'm very excited to introduce you to someone I have had the pleasure of teaching, who I am now very proud to call my friend, and who has, in my opinion,  a very distinctive artistic point of view. I'm delighted to be interviewing Melissa Kelly Hill today, from the Twelve-Five Cakery, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The purpose of Melissa's business is to make magic, and that's where she's headed! Listen in today, as I uncover her secret to running a successful cake business in a really small American town. I asked Melissa to share her story today because she's amazing and incredibly inspirational! And although her bakery is based in a very small town (Hattiesburg has only 46 000 people in it), and she's still at the beginning of her journey of owning a shop-front, she's really making it work. In today's episode, she talks to us about what it took for her to finally leave her hectic bakery job, to start a business of her own. And she shares what she's been doing to create her flourishing, fancy, big-city cake business in a very small town in Mississippi. Tune in now, to find out more.   Show Highlights:   How Twelve-Five Cakery came to be, and where it's at, currently. How Melissa gained bakery experience before starting her own business. Owing your own business is liberating, however, it can also be overwhelming. Melissa had to teach herself how to bake from scratch. After working so hard for so long, Melissa had to figure out who she really was. Melissa found it very stressful to work from home. Getting shut down by the Health Department.  Melissa was following all the rules, except one- advertising on Facebook. Running a team comes with a lot of responsibility, so that's why Melissa didn't want to start a retail bakery. Melissa recently bought another cake studio from someone else in Hattiesburg. Where Melissa's business is currently at. Melissa feels as if she's still only operating at ten percent of her creative capability. How Melissa gets past the small-town conservative price-points and tastes. People are afraid that Melissa is too expensive. Dealing with that is her latest challenge. The customer should not dictate what you sell. It's not easy for a customer to order a custom cake. Figuring out where to go with chocolate...  Links: Twelve-Five Cakery - https://www.twelvefivecakery.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is your cake business based in a small town? And, as a result,  are you experiencing problems making it work? Today, I'm very excited to introduce you to someone I have had the pleasure of teaching, who I am now very proud to call my friend, and who has, in my opinion,  a very distinctive artistic point of view. I'm delighted to be interviewing Melissa Kelly Hill today, from the Twelve-Five Cakery, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The purpose of Melissa's business is to make magic, and that's where she's headed! Listen in today, as I uncover her secret to running a successful cake business in a really small American town. I asked Melissa to share her story today because she's amazing and incredibly inspirational! And although her bakery is based in a very small town (Hattiesburg has only 46 000 people in it), and she's still at the beginning of her journey of owning a shop-front, she's really making it work. In today's episode, she talks to us about what it took for her to finally leave her hectic bakery job, to start a business of her own. And she shares what she's been doing to create her flourishing, fancy, big-city cake business in a very small town in Mississippi. Tune in now, to find out more. Show Highlights:  <ul> <li>How Twelve-Five Cakery came to be, and where it's at, currently.</li> <li>How Melissa gained bakery experience before starting her own business.</li> <li>Owing your own business is liberating, however, it can also be overwhelming.</li> <li>Melissa had to teach herself how to bake from scratch.</li> <li>After working so hard for so long, Melissa had to figure out who she really was.</li> <li>Melissa found it very stressful to work from home.</li> <li>Getting shut down by the Health Department. </li> <li>Melissa was following all the rules, except one- advertising on Facebook.</li> <li>Running a team comes with a lot of responsibility, so that's why Melissa didn't want to start a retail bakery.</li> <li>Melissa recently bought another cake studio from someone else in Hattiesburg.</li> <li>Where Melissa's business is currently at.</li> <li>Melissa feels as if she's still only operating at ten percent of her creative capability.</li> <li>How Melissa gets past the small-town conservative price-points and tastes.</li> <li>People are afraid that Melissa is too expensive. Dealing with that is her latest challenge.</li> <li>The customer should not dictate what you sell.</li> <li>It's not easy for a customer to order a custom cake.</li> <li>Figuring out where to go with chocolate...</li> </ul> Links: Twelve-Five Cakery - <a href="https://www.twelvefivecakery.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.twelvefivecakery.com/</a> See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Podcast Interview with Melissa Kelly Hill of Twelve Five Cakery

Have you been noticing how the face of our industry is changing? And have you seen how many businesses have been pivoting recently? My life has also changed a lot in the last year. My second book is already in the making, and although traveling to teach has been a really big part of my life for a very long time, I've decided not to do that this year. And, looking at my business, I've been making decisions about what to do with The Business of Baking, going forward into the future.  Pivoting happens a lot in business. And, recently, it happened to me. I finally made the decision to crack open the vault, so I've been spending time taking all the courses that I've created and made them accessible and affordable. On my website, you will find lots of the amazing things that I've created over the years, which are now available to you. You'll find everything from one-hour Masterclasses on a single topic, to things that are much more involved. Listen in, to find out more. Choosing to make these changes in my business got me reflecting on how it was for me when I first started a business of my own. In today's episode, I share with you a list of things that I really didn't expect when I decided to run my own business. Tune in today, to find out about the things that I never anticipated when starting out.  Show Highlights:  About my amazing All Access Pass. My favorite class is called The thirty Days of Awesome. It was the first thing I ever created when I left the bakery. Having to make pivotal decisions can be scary, but it can also be exhilarating and exciting! Coping with the push and pull of parenthood when running my business. The cost of business was higher than I thought when it came to both money and time. The sacrifice that comes with going into business. I didn't know that getting clients was going to be harder than I   thought. I didn't expect that my family and friends would shy away from being my customers. Some people exit themselves from your life when they see you achieving your dream. Why I didn't realize how hard it would be to take leaps. Doing things yourself doesn't mean that you're getting them done for free. I didn't expect to feel as proud of myself as I did when I went into business. I struggled to feel my own value when people were condescending to me about my business. It's really so important to recognize your value. I didn't realize how much perspective I would lose when I started my own business. A profound lesson from Maya Angelou.  Resources: www.thebizofbaking.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you been noticing how the face of our industry is changing? And have you seen how many businesses have been pivoting recently? My life has also changed a lot in the last year. My second book is already in the making, and although traveling to teach has been a really big part of my life for a very long time, I've decided not to do that this year. And, looking at my business, I've been making decisions about what to do with The Business of Baking, going forward into the future.  Pivoting happens a lot in business. And, recently, it happened to me. I finally made the decision to crack open the vault, so I've been spending time taking all the courses that I've created and made them accessible and affordable. On my website, you will find lots of the amazing things that I've created over the years, which are now available to you. You'll find everything from one-hour Masterclasses on a single topic, to things that are much more involved. Listen in, to find out more. Choosing to make these changes in my business got me reflecting on how it was for me when I first started a business of my own. In today's episode, I share with you a list of things that I really didn't expect when I decided to run my own business. Tune in today, to find out about the things that I never anticipated when starting out. Show Highlights: <ul> <li>About my amazing All Access Pass.</li> <li>My favorite class is called The thirty Days of Awesome. It was the first thing I ever created when I left the bakery.</li> <li>Having to make pivotal decisions can be scary, but it can also be exhilarating and exciting!</li> <li>Coping with the push and pull of parenthood when running my business.</li> <li>The cost of business was higher than I thought when it came to both money and time.</li> <li>The sacrifice that comes with going into business.</li> <li>I didn't know that getting clients was going to be harder than I   thought.</li> <li>I didn't expect that my family and friends would shy away from being my customers.</li> <li>Some people exit themselves from your life when they see you achieving your dream.</li> <li>Why I didn't realize how hard it would be to take leaps.</li> <li>Doing things yourself doesn't mean that you're getting them done for free.</li> <li>I didn't expect to feel as proud of myself as I did when I went into business.</li> <li>I struggled to feel my own value when people were condescending to me about my business.</li> <li>It's really so important to recognize your value.</li> <li>I didn't realize how much perspective I would lose when I started my own business.</li> <li>A profound lesson from Maya Angelou.</li> </ul> Resources: <a href="http://www.thebizofbaking.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.thebizofbaking.com</a>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Things I Didn't Expect About Being In Business

Danira Cancinos

Danis Dulce Confections

Dulce Confections

Would you like to make a good living out of a confectionary business? Do you believe that it's possible to do this? Today, I'm excited to introduce you to Danira Cancinos, from Dani's Dulce Confections, in Sylmar, California. One of the questions I'm asked very often is "Can you make enough real money out of this to support a family?". Although I always say you can, people still seem to think it's impossible. So Dani is here on the show with me today to prove that this is, indeed, possible. Listen in, to find out about Dani and her awesome, inspiring, and lucrative confectionary business. Dani has really achieved a lot! I've been her Instagram fan for a long time and her posts are amazing! When I see them, I almost drool over her creations because she makes some of the most delicious-looking treats that I have ever seen! Especially her caramel apples!  In addition to making all kinds of treats, she also teaches a number of online classes and some in-person online tutorials. She recently sold a caramel apple class, which earned her over five figures! This is truly incredible, so we will be talking about it in today's episode. Dani did not grow up in a wealthy family, so her business is all about dedication and putting in a huge amount of work. Tune in today, to hear her story. Show Highlights:  Dani tells the story of her business and how it got to where it is now. Dani is actually an introvert, so she's very shy. You need to step out of your comfort zone if you want to grow. Dani talks about her decision to start teaching. Dani's cake pop class is her most popular class, with close to eight hundred students! Dani's classes run on Facebook groups. People love to feel connected to the person behind the business and the classes. Dani really engages with her audience and this has helped her to sell so many classes. Dani seems to be taking fewer orders, and teaching more, lately. It takes a lot of dedication to do this kind of work. And it's taken a consistent effort for Dani to build her following. Why Danira took so long to leave her job. How Dani got to charge $200 for a class. She never imagined that she would be able to launch a course and make this kind of money! Investing in her business by learning from Amy Porterfield. Success doesn't happen overnight. You have to keep showing up and doing the work, even when you don't feel like it. Danira talks to us about the way that religion plays a big part in her life- and her business. It's not enough just to pray. You have to do the work. Dani gave a hundred percent to her caramel apple class. Using lists to plan, and time blocking to get beyond procrastination. Business requires a lot of sacrifices. What's coming up for Dani's Dulce Confections. Getting smart about managing money.  Links: Dani's Dulce Confections' website: https://www.danisdulceconfections.com/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Would you like to make a good living out of a confectionary business? Do you believe that it's possible to do this? Today, I'm excited to introduce you to Danira Cancinos, from Dani's Dulce Confections, in Sylmar, California. One of the questions I'm asked very often is "Can you make enough real money out of this to support a family?". Although I always say you can, people still seem to think it's impossible. So Dani is here on the show with me today to prove that this is, indeed, possible. Listen in, to find out about Dani and her awesome, inspiring, and lucrative confectionary business. Dani has really achieved a lot! I've been her Instagram fan for a long time and her posts are amazing! When I see them, I almost drool over her creations because she makes some of the most delicious-looking treats that I have ever seen! Especially her caramel apples!  In addition to making all kinds of treats, she also teaches a number of online classes and some in-person online tutorials. She recently sold a caramel apple class, which earned her over five figures! This is truly incredible, so we will be talking about it in today's episode. Dani did not grow up in a wealthy family, so her business is all about dedication and putting in a huge amount of work. Tune in today, to hear her story. Show Highlights: <ul> <li>Dani tells the story of her business and how it got to where it is now.</li> <li>Dani is actually an introvert, so she's very shy.</li> <li>You need to step out of your comfort zone if you want to grow.</li> <li>Dani talks about her decision to start teaching.</li> <li>Dani's cake pop class is her most popular class, with close to eight hundred students!</li> <li>Dani's classes run on Facebook groups.</li> <li>People love to feel connected to the person behind the business and the classes.</li> <li>Dani really engages with her audience and this has helped her to sell so many classes.</li> <li>Dani seems to be taking fewer orders, and teaching more, lately.</li> <li>It takes a lot of dedication to do this kind of work. And it's taken a consistent effort for Dani to build her following.</li> <li>Why Danira took so long to leave her job.</li> <li>How Dani got to charge $200 for a class. She never imagined that she would be able to launch a course and make this kind of money!</li> <li>Investing in her business by learning from Amy Porterfield.</li> <li>Success doesn't happen overnight. You have to keep showing up and doing the work, even when you don't feel like it.</li> <li>Danira talks to us about the way that religion plays a big part in her life- and her business.</li> <li>It's not enough just to pray. You have to do the work. Dani gave a hundred percent to her caramel apple class.</li> <li>Using lists to plan, and time blocking to get beyond procrastination.</li> <li>Business requires a lot of sacrifices.</li> <li>What's coming up for Dani's Dulce Confections.</li> <li>Getting smart about managing money.</li> </ul> Links: Dani's Dulce Confections' website: <a href="https://www.danisdulceconfections.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.danisdulceconfections.com/</a> See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Interview with Danira Cancinos from Danis Dulce Confections

Welcome to another exciting episode of The Business of Baking podcast! A few episodes ago, I read you an article from my new, yet unnamed book, and it had a lot of positive feedback.  Although I don’t really anticipate becoming a real-life coach, I have discovered that I can coach from my podcast by telling you how you can change your life, everyday. And it’s not always as scary as you think it might be! My new book is written more article-style than chapter-style. I talk about a business that I owned, and how it taught me a life lesson. I like to think that all life lessons are also business lessons, and the converse is true, as well! This book is when you need a shot of inspiration, a shot of love, or even a shot of tough love. Open to a relevant section, read a couple of pages, spend some time mulling it over, and see if it can apply to you. Your feedback has made me brave enough to share another article with you today, called “Are Ignorance and Faith the Same Thing?” I share a client’s experience, as well as one of my own. Please let me know if this resonates with you! Show Highlights:  A client’s amazing testimony and mindset concerning her experience with cancer Random conversation that changed so much for me Assuming total recovery and survival Negativity only brought about by others Was ignorance of the realities of breast cancer and faith in her survival so strong that it crowded out any negative thought? Does simply “not knowing” make us stronger? A happy woman on the road to health Mind and body connection Ignorance in the “details” may have forced her to have faith in her recovery  Her attitude was not only blissful, it’s hugely motivational Not knowing what the full options are, not only gives you faith, it gives you freedom Sharing my personal experience on giving birth to triplets My epiphany on asking for help Ignorance led me to faith that all would be Ok, and it was I didn’t know there was any option other than to make it Sometimes you have to fall back on a little bit of faith and a little bit of ignorance   Links &amp; Resources: To get a copy of Michelle's first book, The Business of Baking, go to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any other good bookstore. Michelle's email: michelle@thebizofbaking.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to another exciting episode of The Business of Baking podcast! A few episodes ago, I read you an article from my new, yet unnamed book, and it had a lot of positive feedback.  Although I don’t really anticipate becoming a real-life coach, I have discovered that I can coach from my podcast by telling you how you can change your life, everyday. And it’s not always as scary as you think it might be! My new book is written more article-style than chapter-style. I talk about a business that I owned, and how it taught me a life lesson. I like to think that all life lessons are also business lessons, and the converse is true, as well! This book is when you need a shot of inspiration, a shot of love, or even a shot of tough love. Open to a relevant section, read a couple of pages, spend some time mulling it over, and see if it can apply to you. Your feedback has made me brave enough to share another article with you today, called “Are Ignorance and Faith the Same Thing?” I share a client’s experience, as well as one of my own. Please let me know if this resonates with you! Show Highlights: <ul> <li>A client’s amazing testimony and mindset concerning her experience with cancer</li> <li>Random conversation that changed so much for me</li> <li>Assuming total recovery and survival</li> <li>Negativity only brought about by others</li> <li>Was ignorance of the realities of breast cancer and faith in her survival so strong that it crowded out any negative thought?</li> <li>Does simply “not knowing” make us stronger?</li> <li>A happy woman on the road to health</li> <li>Mind and body connection</li> <li>Ignorance in the “details” may have forced her to have faith in her recovery </li> <li>Her attitude was not only blissful, it’s hugely motivational</li> <li>Not knowing what the full options are, not only gives you faith, it gives you freedom</li> <li>Sharing my personal experience on giving birth to triplets</li> <li>My epiphany on asking for help</li> <li>Ignorance led me to faith that all would be Ok, and it was</li> <li>I didn’t know there was any option other than to make it</li> <li>Sometimes you have to fall back on a little bit of faith and a little bit of ignorance</li> </ul> Links &amp; Resources: To get a copy of Michelle's first book, The Business of Baking, go to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any other good bookstore. Michelle's email: michelle@thebizofbaking.com See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Are Ignorance and Faith the Same Thing?

Welcome to the Business of Baking Podcast! I’m so grateful to be able to chat to you every other week on the podcast. Some weeks I do solo shows, and other weeks I get to introduce you to some pretty amazing entrepreneurs who think outside the box, or have an interesting story to share. On today’s podcast, I’m so excited to introduce you to my friend, Miranda, who has a pretty amazing product line. She’s the owner of Sweet Sticks, which started life out as a cake pop company but as you probably already know, has morphed into an incredible, edible art paint empire! Join us, as Miranda takes us through her entrepreneurial journey which includes making and selling rave gear clothing to her friends at the tender age of 16, to making and selling scarf watches as a side hustle. Don’t miss this! We cover lots of other ground, from alcohol free edible art paint for the Halal community, to conquering your fears.  Show Highlights:  Reinventing the cake pop wheel Developing edible art paint Why packaging is very important The wonder at being successful Making motherhood and business ownership work Conquering your fear to free up your time for what’s important    The process of creating new products    Listening is #1 tool when it comes to marketing  Quality standards for premium products Having a mental health plan in place Looking after yourself, and ideas to fill your “personal cup” Dealing with copycats Resolving to be the better version of your business and your product  The future direction of Sweet Sticks Advice for other entrepreneurs just starting out  Links &amp; Resources: To get a copy of Michelle's first book, The Business of Baking, go to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any other good bookstore. Michelle's email: michelle@thebizofbaking.com  https://sweetsticks.com.au Instragram: sweetsticksauSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the Business of Baking Podcast! I’m so grateful to be able to chat to you every other week on the podcast. Some weeks I do solo shows, and other weeks I get to introduce you to some pretty amazing entrepreneurs who think outside the box, or have an interesting story to share. On today’s podcast, I’m so excited to introduce you to my friend, Miranda, who has a pretty amazing product line. She’s the owner of Sweet Sticks, which started life out as a cake pop company but as you probably already know, has morphed into an incredible, edible art paint empire! Join us, as Miranda takes us through her entrepreneurial journey which includes making and selling rave gear clothing to her friends at the tender age of 16, to making and selling scarf watches as a side hustle. Don’t miss this! We cover lots of other ground, from alcohol free edible art paint for the Halal community, to conquering your fears.  Show Highlights: <ul> <li>Reinventing the cake pop wheel</li> <li>Developing edible art paint</li> <li>Why packaging is very important</li> <li>The wonder at being successful</li> <li>Making motherhood and business ownership work</li> <li>Conquering your fear to free up your time for what’s important</li> <ul> <ul> <ul> <li>The process of creating new products</li> </ul> </ul> </ul> <li>Listening is #1 tool when it comes to marketing </li> <li>Quality standards for premium products</li> <li>Having a mental health plan in place</li> <li>Looking after yourself, and ideas to fill your “personal cup”</li> <li>Dealing with copycats</li> <li>Resolving to be the better version of your business and your product </li> <li>The future direction of Sweet Sticks</li> <li>Advice for other entrepreneurs just starting out</li> </ul> Links &amp; Resources: To get a copy of Michelle's first book, <a href="https://amzn.to/2XCCgrO" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Business of Baking</a>, go to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any other good bookstore. Michelle's email: michelle@thebizofbaking.com  <a href="https://sweetsticks.com.au" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://sweetsticks.com.au</a> Instragram: sweetsticksauSee <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Podcast Interview: Miranda from Sweet Sticks

Did you know that I'm busy writing my second book? To be honest, I'm finding the process of writing this book really hard. Not the writing part because that comes pretty easily to me and I love it. I'm finding it difficult because this time I'm writing about life and not about baking or about business. For today's episode, I decided to be brave and do something a little different, so tune in now, to find out more. My life has not been without its trials and tribulations but it has never been boring! Over the years, I've been collecting notes on all the various methods that have worked for me to live a really amazing life. So I decided to take everything that I know, and that I've learned about life, and write it all down in a book. I have included the things I've used in my own life to get to where I am, things I have heard about that I think are really useful, and also some of the lessons I've learned just from living a happy, exciting, and fulfilled life. This book is a departure from what I normally do because it's a self-help book, and in today's episode, I'll be sharing one of the articles that I wrote for it. Listen in today, to hear the article and to find out what I'm doing to get out of my own way in the process of writing this book. Show Highlights:  Over the years I've collected notes on all the various methods that have worked for me to live an amazing life. I have not yet worked out a title or a structure for my new book. At the moment it's just a big brain-dump. Some of the titles that I've thought of for the book. My book is still a work in progress and that's why I have not yet worked out a structure or a title for it.  I've never read anybody any of this book before. This book is not about something that I'm known for. It's more of a self-help book.  While writing this book I've had impostor syndrome rearing its ugly head. I'd love to get your feedback about what I've written. I share an article called The Three Day Rule. The article that I'm sharing today was written a couple of days ago. I've not re-read it, and it is totally unedited. The Three Day Rule is a great lesson in perspective. Difficult things really do get easier with time.   Links and Resources: To get a copy of Michelle's first book, The Business of Baking, go to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any other good bookstore. Michelle's email: michelle@thebizofbaking.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did you know that I'm busy writing my second book? To be honest, I'm finding the process of writing this book really hard. Not the writing part because that comes pretty easily to me and I love it. I'm finding it difficult because this time I'm writing about life and not about baking or about business. For today's episode, I decided to be brave and do something a little different, so tune in now, to find out more. My life has not been without its trials and tribulations but it has never been boring! Over the years, I've been collecting notes on all the various methods that have worked for me to live a really amazing life. So I decided to take everything that I know, and that I've learned about life, and write it all down in a book. I have included the things I've used in my own life to get to where I am, things I have heard about that I think are really useful, and also some of the lessons I've learned just from living a happy, exciting, and fulfilled life. This book is a departure from what I normally do because it's a self-help book, and in today's episode, I'll be sharing one of the articles that I wrote for it. Listen in today, to hear the article and to find out what I'm doing to get out of my own way in the process of writing this book. Show Highlights: <ul> <li>Over the years I've collected notes on all the various methods that have worked for me to live an amazing life.</li> <li>I have not yet worked out a title or a structure for my new book. At the moment it's just a big brain-dump.</li> <li>Some of the titles that I've thought of for the book.</li> <li>My book is still a work in progress and that's why I have not yet worked out a structure or a title for it. </li> <li>I've never read anybody any of this book before.</li> <li>This book is not about something that I'm known for. It's more of a self-help book. </li> <li>While writing this book I've had impostor syndrome rearing its ugly head.</li> <li>I'd love to get your feedback about what I've written.</li> <li>I share an article called The Three Day Rule.</li> <li>The article that I'm sharing today was written a couple of days ago. I've not re-read it, and it is totally unedited.</li> <li>The Three Day Rule is a great lesson in perspective.</li> <li>Difficult things really do get easier with time. </li> </ul> Links and Resources: To get a copy of Michelle's first book, The Business of Baking, go to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or any other good bookstore. Michelle's email: michelle@thebizofbaking.com See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

The Three Day Rule

This is the Business of Baking podcast with Michelle Green, the small business podcast that’s all about successfully running your own sweet food company without losing your mind. If you’ve ever brought dessert to a party and been told, “You can make a fortune selling those!” then you’re in the right place. This is an honest, straight talking podcast about the highs and lows of being in small business. Fuelled by late nights, crazy client stories and a permanent sugar high we’re going to listen, share and learn our way to sweet business success. Your host is writer, speaker, recovering cake decorator and incurable sweet tooth, Michelle Green.

Fabulous podcast!

You should really consider making a youtube channel! Lots of love from Puerto Rico ❤️

Love your podcast

The Business of Baking Podcast

Today we are going to continue with the Ask Me Anything questions. For those of you who missed the first episode of this, I recently put up a post in several of my Facebook groups saying that I'd tell you about anything you want to know. So in the first part, I dealt with the really fun questions that you asked me and today I will be answering some of the more serious,  interesting and harder hitting questions that so many of you have asked about running a small business. Listen in today to find out what they are! These questions all came from my Facebook group, Baking Business Confidence by The Business of Baking, or my other Facebook group, Build Your Profitable Cake Business. They come from people, just like you guys, who are truly in the trenches, so listen in to find out more! Show Highlights:  Best advice for someone thinking about opening a brick and mortar store. Why you really need to take a look at your lifestyle if you decide to open a store. Some things you need to do if you decide to open a store. How long to persist with your business before you can expect to start making a profit. Some warning signs to look out for when a business venture is in jeopardy of going under. What to do if things are not working out with your business. Be completely honest with yourself about what's really going on with your business. Persistence really does pay off. Some things to consider when thinking of employing staff. Some great tips for de-stressing, or for coping with overwhelming feelings when they hit you. Learning to eat an elephant one bite at a time. Breaking the perception that home-based cake businesses don't equal store-based businesses. Be the level of professionalism that you want to be so that location becomes irrelevant. Keeping things fun and relaxing with your business Remembering to be grateful for being able to do what you are doing- even when the going gets tough. Don't burn your apron just because of one mistake.  Remember that I have a lot happening for the podcast between now and the end of the year.  Resources Mentioned on the Show:  The Business of Baking On Tour, (www.bizbakeontour.com) which is my super fun, super informative  live, in-person classes that I teach. These will take place in the US, Canada, and in the UK for the rest of the year.  At the end of October, I'll be opening Build Your Profitable Cake Business, which is the biggest class that I offer. It's intended  for those of you who intend making a full-time business out of this.  And this August, my colleague, Sharon, and I are starting a brand new class called Sweet Side-Gig, (www.sweetsidegig.com) an online community and membership forum where we teach business skills to the people who are only doing this as a side-business but want it to be legit. You can email me at michelle@thebizofbaking.com  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we are going to continue with the Ask Me Anything questions. For those of you who missed the first episode of this, I recently put up a post in several of my Facebook groups saying that I'd tell you about anything you want to know. So in the first part, I dealt with the really fun questions that you asked me and today I will be answering some of the more serious,  interesting and harder hitting questions that so many of you have asked about running a small business. Listen in today to find out what they are! These questions all came from my Facebook group, Baking Business Confidence by The Business of Baking, or my other Facebook group, Build Your Profitable Cake Business. They come from people, just like you guys, who are truly in the trenches, so listen in to find out more! Show Highlights: <ul> <li>Best advice for someone thinking about opening a brick and mortar store.</li> <li>Why you really need to take a look at your lifestyle if you decide to open a store.</li> <li>Some things you need to do if you decide to open a store.</li> <li>How long to persist with your business before you can expect to start making a profit.</li> <li>Some warning signs to look out for when a business venture is in jeopardy of going under.</li> <li>What to do if things are not working out with your business.</li> <li>Be completely honest with yourself about what's really going on with your business.</li> <li>Persistence really does pay off.</li> <li>Some things to consider when thinking of employing staff.</li> <li>Some great tips for de-stressing, or for coping with overwhelming feelings when they hit you.</li> <li>Learning to eat an elephant one bite at a time.</li> <li>Breaking the perception that home-based cake businesses don't equal store-based businesses.</li> <li>Be the level of professionalism that you want to be so that location becomes irrelevant.</li> <li>Keeping things fun and relaxing with your business</li> <li>Remembering to be grateful for being able to do what you are doing- even when the going gets tough.</li> <li>Don't burn your apron just because of one mistake.</li> </ul> Remember that I have a lot happening for the podcast between now and the end of the year.  Resources Mentioned on the Show: <ul> <li>The Business of Baking On Tour, (<a href="http://www.bizbakeontour.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.bizbakeontour.com</a>) which is my super fun, super informative  live, in-person classes that I teach. These will take place in the US, Canada, and in the UK for the rest of the year. </li> <li>At the end of October, I'll be opening Build Your Profitable Cake Business, which is the biggest class that I offer. It's intended  for those of you who intend making a full-time business out of this. </li> <li>And this August, my colleague, Sharon, and I are starting a brand new class called Sweet Side-Gig, (<a href="http://www.sweetsidegig.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.sweetsidegig.com</a>) an online community and membership forum where we teach business skills to the people who are only doing this as a side-business but want it to be legit.</li> <li>You can email me at michelle@thebizofbaking.com </li> </ul>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Ask Me Anything - Business Stuff!

Did you know that I published a book almost exactly two years ago? It was a compilation of all the best blog articles that I had written at the time. I wrote the book because people really loved my blog and kept writing to me asking if I'd written an article about this or that, and then I'd write back, saying that I had, and giving them the link. This kept on going back and forth for ages, and I constantly got feedback saying that it would really be nice if people could read the blog like they read a book. So I downloaded all the blog articles, selected the best ones, ditched the worst, added some chapters, edited it all, and turned it into a book. That book is really amazing and it has gone all over the world and continues to sell really well. Lately, I've been looking at the book and thinking about updating it, as I've written loads more articles since then. While doing that, I came across one of the very first articles in the book and decided to read it to you on today's podcast, so that we could talk about how much things have changed in our industry (or not) since then. I originally wrote the article on 15 April 2004 and it is called A Typical Small Cookie Company Story. Listen in to find out more. Show Highlights:  A story about two women who contacted me, and asked me to teach them a private cookie decorating class. The crazy expectations of the two ladies. It turned out that they knew nothing at all about registering a business. What really bothered me about their situation. What their cookies looked like in the pictures they sent me. These nice ladies had learned everything they knew from watching Youtube videos for only one single month, yet they were in business, as my competitors! Why this upset me so much. How I started out in the cookie business. Our industry is full of people just like these two ladies, so their story is really not unique at all. Why you really need to be serious about your business. What was going on in our industry four years ago. One thing that has changed in our industry since then. The really low barrier of entry into our industry that still exists today. What has, and has not changed in our industry. Longevity in this industry actually has nothing to do with baking or baking skills.    Resources: To get your copy of my book, go to www.thebizofbaking.com/bookpage  or find it online at Barnes and Noble, Amazon or any good bookseller. Contact me at michelle@thebizofbaking.com  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Did you know that I published a book almost exactly two years ago? It was a compilation of all the best blog articles that I had written at the time. I wrote the book because people really loved my blog and kept writing to me asking if I'd written an article about this or that, and then I'd write back, saying that I had, and giving them the link. This kept on going back and forth for ages, and I constantly got feedback saying that it would really be nice if people could read the blog like they read a book. So I downloaded all the blog articles, selected the best ones, ditched the worst, added some chapters, edited it all, and turned it into a book. That book is really amazing and it has gone all over the world and continues to sell really well. Lately, I've been looking at the book and thinking about updating it, as I've written loads more articles since then. While doing that, I came across one of the very first articles in the book and decided to read it to you on today's podcast, so that we could talk about how much things have changed in our industry (or not) since then. I originally wrote the article on 15 April 2004 and it is called A Typical Small Cookie Company Story. Listen in to find out more. Show Highlights: <ul> <li>A story about two women who contacted me, and asked me to teach them a private cookie decorating class.</li> <li>The crazy expectations of the two ladies.</li> <li>It turned out that they knew nothing at all about registering a business.</li> <li>What really bothered me about their situation.</li> <li>What their cookies looked like in the pictures they sent me.</li> <li>These nice ladies had learned everything they knew from watching Youtube videos for only one single month, yet they were in business, as my competitors!</li> <li>Why this upset me so much.</li> <li>How I started out in the cookie business.</li> <li>Our industry is full of people just like these two ladies, so their story is really not unique at all.</li> <li>Why you really need to be serious about your business.</li> <li>What was going on in our industry four years ago.</li> <li>One thing that has changed in our industry since then.</li> <li>The really low barrier of entry into our industry that still exists today.</li> <li>What has, and has not changed in our industry.</li> <li>Longevity in this industry actually has nothing to do with baking or baking skills.</li> </ul> Resources: To get your copy of my book, go to <a href="http://www.thebizofbaking.com/bookpage" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.thebizofbaking.com/bookpage</a>  or find it online at Barnes and Noble, Amazon or any good bookseller. Contact me at michelle@thebizofbaking.com See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

A Typical Small Cookie Company Story Revisited

Are you building a business, are you enjoying a hobby, or...both? What's the difference between those two and why is it even important to care about? Does it even really matter? Are all those cheap cake ladies just hobby bakers who don't care that they are undercutting the rest of the industry? I've long been a supporter of the cheap cake lady (because we were ALL her at once point) but it's time to get real about what her role is in our industry, Okay so I might have gotten a bit ranty in this one....See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you building a business, are you enjoying a hobby, or...both? What's the difference between those two and why is it even important to care about? Does it even really matter? Are all those cheap cake ladies just hobby bakers who don't care that they are undercutting the rest of the industry? I've long been a supporter of the cheap cake lady (because we were ALL her at once point) but it's time to get real about what her role is in our industry, Okay so I might have gotten a bit ranty in this one....See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Hobby Versus Business

Everybody really loves to give advice, right? Especially when you become a parent...  And I've spent lots of episodes of this podcast giving you great advice too- from many other people as well as myself. So today, I've decided to share with you some of the best advice that I've been given, with the hope that you will find it interesting and useful- and maybe even hilarious. Listen in, to find out more! After both giving and getting advice from people for years and years and years, I thought it would be fun to do a podcast episode where I offer you some of the very best advice that's been handed to me over the years, from all kinds of interesting people. Because of me being me, a lot of these pieces of advice come with some amusing stories, so I really hope you will enjoy what I have to share with you today, with some of it being serious and some of it not really so much. Listen in now, to get some of the best and most interesting advice that I've ever been given. Show highlights:  The first bit of advice that I got from Joe, my Head Chef boss, to really up my productivity. Great advice, but it really pissed me off at the time! Learning why you should try before you buy. Some awesome and really simple advice that I got from David, the first ever Business Coach that I hired.  Learning to own the decisions that you have already made. Some business advice from my dad- and he really was the ultimate entrepreneur. Why you really need to want to do something, to make it work. A very unsexy bit of advice that I got from a potential mentor. Some advice that I took from a profound quote that I heard. This has given me the emotional freedom to let go of the people that I really need to let go of. Why we really never stop learning. Some wonderful advice that I got from my husband, David, during our honeymoon. Why you should listen and take in all the advice that you hear, even if you don't see the relevance if it straight away.      See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everybody really loves to give advice, right? Especially when you become a parent...  And I've spent lots of episodes of this podcast giving you great advice too- from many other people as well as myself. So today, I've decided to share with you some of the best advice that I've been given, with the hope that you will find it interesting and useful- and maybe even hilarious. Listen in, to find out more! After both giving and getting advice from people for years and years and years, I thought it would be fun to do a podcast episode where I offer you some of the very best advice that's been handed to me over the years, from all kinds of interesting people. Because of me being me, a lot of these pieces of advice come with some amusing stories, so I really hope you will enjoy what I have to share with you today, with some of it being serious and some of it not really so much. Listen in now, to get some of the best and most interesting advice that I've ever been given. Show highlights: <ul> <li>The first bit of advice that I got from Joe, my Head Chef boss, to really up my productivity. Great advice, but it really pissed me off at the time!</li> <li>Learning why you should try before you buy.</li> <li>Some awesome and really simple advice that I got from David, the first ever Business Coach that I hired. </li> <li>Learning to own the decisions that you have already made.</li> <li>Some business advice from my dad- and he really was the ultimate entrepreneur.</li> <li>Why you really need to want to do something, to make it work.</li> <li>A very unsexy bit of advice that I got from a potential mentor.</li> <li>Some advice that I took from a profound quote that I heard. This has given me the emotional freedom to let go of the people that I really need to let go of.</li> <li>Why we really never stop learning.</li> <li>Some wonderful advice that I got from my husband, David, during our honeymoon.</li> <li>Why you should listen and take in all the advice that you hear, even if you don't see the relevance if it straight away. </li> </ul> See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

The Best Advice I've Ever Been Given

Cori Keeton

Today, I'm pretty excited to be talking to someone who is a friend of mine and also a professional in an area that I really wish that I knew more about, so I think that this is going to be an educational experience, for me as well as for all you guys! Listen in to find out more.  Today I'm going to be talking to Cori Keeton Pope, who is the badass businesswoman owner of Keeton PR, which is based in Denver, Colorado. I invited her to the Podcast to talk about PR, Marketing and Social Media- the kind of stuff that you guys ask me about all the time. The most basic definition of marketing is letting people know who you are and what you do. However, understanding this doesn't necessarily help you to know how to go about getting people out there to know these things about you. Also, one of the things that we generally seem to struggle with, as an industry, is that we have lots, and I really mean lots of introverts. Perhaps this is because we like to spend our time with cake- and cake doesn't talk back! Listen in today, to find out how to get people to become aware of your business, how to get your name out there and how to get your whole marketing thing happening- even if you're an introvert.    Show highlights:  Cori explains the difference between Public Relations, Advertising, and Social Media. Facing the challenge of where to invest your money, when marketing your business. Some steps you can take, to get started with your DIY Marketing. Leveraging your community, to get yourself known. Remember National Chocolate Cupcake Day, on October 18th in the United States. It could be a perfect opportunity for you to market your business on your local TV Station.  Some really creative ideas for marketing your Baking Business over the holidays. Keeping up with what's going on in the world, to become more effective with your marketing. How to not die of exposure by working for free. Ways to maximise your media coverage, after you've appeared in a publication. Getting real about Social Media. Is it really the best playground for introverts?  Some advice about getting inexpensive exposure through Social Media. Some awesome advice for introverts, from Cori. Finding the connectors in your life. Some other options, if you've tried DIY Marketing, but you're not getting what you want out of it. Why you need to be a good writer, for great PR. Some tips for finding yourself the right PR/Consulting Partner. Remember that it takes time to build brand awareness, so stick with it a bit longer, if you feel it's not working.    Links: Cori's website: www.keetonpr.com   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, I'm pretty excited to be talking to someone who is a friend of mine and also a professional in an area that I really wish that I knew more about, so I think that this is going to be an educational experience, for me as well as for all you guys! Listen in to find out more.  Today I'm going to be talking to Cori Keeton Pope, who is the badass businesswoman owner of Keeton PR, which is based in Denver, Colorado. I invited her to the Podcast to talk about PR, Marketing and Social Media- the kind of stuff that you guys ask me about all the time. The most basic definition of marketing is letting people know who you are and what you do. However, understanding this doesn't necessarily help you to know how to go about getting people out there to know these things about you. Also, one of the things that we generally seem to struggle with, as an industry, is that we have lots, and I really mean lots of introverts. Perhaps this is because we like to spend our time with cake- and cake doesn't talk back! Listen in today, to find out how to get people to become aware of your business, how to get your name out there and how to get your whole marketing thing happening- even if you're an introvert.  Show highlights: <ul> <li>Cori explains the difference between Public Relations, Advertising, and Social Media.</li> <li>Facing the challenge of where to invest your money, when marketing your business.</li> <li>Some steps you can take, to get started with your DIY Marketing.</li> <li>Leveraging your community, to get yourself known.</li> <li>Remember National Chocolate Cupcake Day, on October 18th in the United States. It could be a perfect opportunity for you to market your business on your local TV Station. </li> <li>Some really creative ideas for marketing your Baking Business over the holidays.</li> <li>Keeping up with what's going on in the world, to become more effective with your marketing.</li> <li>How to not die of exposure by working for free.</li> <li>Ways to maximise your media coverage, after you've appeared in a publication.</li> <li>Getting real about Social Media. Is it really the best playground for introverts? </li> <li>Some advice about getting inexpensive exposure through Social Media.</li> <li>Some awesome advice for introverts, from Cori.</li> <li>Finding the connectors in your life.</li> <li>Some other options, if you've tried DIY Marketing, but you're not getting what you want out of it.</li> <li>Why you need to be a good writer, for great PR.</li> <li>Some tips for finding yourself the right PR/Consulting Partner.</li> <li>Remember that it takes time to build brand awareness, so stick with it a bit longer, if you feel it's not working.</li> </ul> Links: Cori's website: <a href="http://www.keetonpr.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.keetonpr.com</a> See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Making Sense of Advertising, Marketing, PR and Social Media with Cori Keeton Pope

Are you strictly a chocolate or vanilla person? Or are there other flavors that you really like? I recently received a question from one of my followers, and I loved it because it really made me laugh! But it also offers a great learning opportunity, so today we're talking flavors! Listen in to find out more about this very sweet question! The question was: "Why do people always go with either chocolate or vanilla? Is it even really necessary to offer anything else? On the other hand, how many options are too many options? Do we really need strawberry cake with pineapple buttercream and whipped white chocolate ganache on our menu at all times?" Well, personally, I'm not too sure if the idea of strawberry pineapple white chocolate is actually delicious or disgusting, but today I will give you my opinion about why I think people make the kinds of choices that they do when it comes to flavors. Listen in as I offer my advice for the best flavors to have on your menu. Show Highlights:  Not everyone likes chocolate! Why I think people tend to pick mostly chocolate. Why people pick the boring things they do for weddings. People tend to get overwhelmed by choice. My choice for my own wedding cake- a choice that most people actually liked. Go with what you enjoy for your wedding! All the cool flavors that I used to offer. What happened with my really fancy menu. Red velvet doesn't really go down too well in Australia. Should you have a fancy menu? What to consider when choosing to have unusual, interesting flavors. Thinking about your target market when creating your menu. Rural areas are very different from big cities. Why I push people towards the less exciting flavors. I would much rather decorate than bake. Fancy flavors cost a lot more. How to make a boring menu much more interesting. Giving normal things fun, exciting names. Get people to create their own custom flavors- with boundaries. Some of the mistakes that I've made in the past. The lesson that I'd really like you to walk away with. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you strictly a chocolate or vanilla person? Or are there other flavors that you really like? I recently received a question from one of my followers, and I loved it because it really made me laugh! But it also offers a great learning opportunity, so today we're talking flavors! Listen in to find out more about this very sweet question! The question was: "Why do people always go with either chocolate or vanilla? Is it even really necessary to offer anything else? On the other hand, how many options are too many options? Do we really need strawberry cake with pineapple buttercream and whipped white chocolate ganache on our menu at all times?" Well, personally, I'm not too sure if the idea of strawberry pineapple white chocolate is actually delicious or disgusting, but today I will give you my opinion about why I think people make the kinds of choices that they do when it comes to flavors. Listen in as I offer my advice for the best flavors to have on your menu. Show Highlights: <ul> <li>Not everyone likes chocolate!</li> <li>Why I think people tend to pick mostly chocolate.</li> <li>Why people pick the boring things they do for weddings.</li> <li>People tend to get overwhelmed by choice.</li> <li>My choice for my own wedding cake- a choice that most people actually liked.</li> <li>Go with what you enjoy for your wedding!</li> <li>All the cool flavors that I used to offer.</li> <li>What happened with my really fancy menu.</li> <li>Red velvet doesn't really go down too well in Australia.</li> <li>Should you have a fancy menu?</li> <li>What to consider when choosing to have unusual, interesting flavors.</li> <li>Thinking about your target market when creating your menu.</li> <li>Rural areas are very different from big cities.</li> <li>Why I push people towards the less exciting flavors.</li> <li>I would much rather decorate than bake.</li> <li>Fancy flavors cost a lot more.</li> <li>How to make a boring menu much more interesting.</li> <li>Giving normal things fun, exciting names.</li> <li>Get people to create their own custom flavors- with boundaries.</li> <li>Some of the mistakes that I've made in the past.</li> <li>The lesson that I'd really like you to walk away with.</li> </ul>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Cake Flavors - How Many is Too Many?

Are there things that your customers do that really bothers you? Today I am going to be discussing the kinds of matters that we, as cakers, tend to complain about in relation to our customers, that is not really okay to complain about. This is actually about the kind of things that we do as consumers - and this is why I honestly don't think that it gives us very much right to actually complain about them. So join me for today's episode and listen in as I talk about the kind of stuff that we tend to grumble about - which is actually pretty unfair to complain about.  Every day I read emails, Facebook posts and other social media stuff where people complain endlessly about the behavior of clients. Sometimes though, we as business owners, are actually part of that problem. We can't expect to be treated one way by people unless we abide by those very same rules, because I just don't think that's cool. I think it's really important to treat people in the same way that we would like to be treated, so listen in today as I discuss some of the things that we shouldn't be complaining about at all. Show highlights:  People sometimes want to talk about price- and we claim that's all they care about. I will check the price of pasta, however, I'm not usually too concerned with the cost of ice cream. (Unless I'm having a kid's party.) Sometimes price does matter, but more often than not there's way more to it than the price- especially with a custom product. People who are only concerned with the price may simply not be the best customers for you. We are customers too- and sometimes we only care about the price. We tend to hate it when people get several quotes. If you don't send in your quote, you are certain not to get the gig. Some people keep on texting you and they demand a quick answer from you. Demanding texts become your problem when you don't have reasonable boundaries. Ways to set reasonable boundaries with your customers. Big ideas with a really small budget can be irritating, frustrating or even disappointing for a caker. Remember that the general consumer who is buying from you has no concept of the work required to get the job done. We get annoyed when our customers don't give us feedback. Taking responsibility for encouraging a culture of feedback with your customers. Providing feedback for goods or services that you have bought.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are there things that your customers do that really bothers you? Today I am going to be discussing the kinds of matters that we, as cakers, tend to complain about in relation to our customers, that is not really okay to complain about. This is actually about the kind of things that we do as consumers - and this is why I honestly don't think that it gives us very much right to actually complain about them. So join me for today's episode and listen in as I talk about the kind of stuff that we tend to grumble about - which is actually pretty unfair to complain about.  Every day I read emails, Facebook posts and other social media stuff where people complain endlessly about the behavior of clients. Sometimes though, we as business owners, are actually part of that problem. We can't expect to be treated one way by people unless we abide by those very same rules, because I just don't think that's cool. I think it's really important to treat people in the same way that we would like to be treated, so listen in today as I discuss some of the things that we shouldn't be complaining about at all. Show highlights: <ul> <li>People sometimes want to talk about price- and we claim that's all they care about.</li> <li>I will check the price of pasta, however, I'm not usually too concerned with the cost of ice cream. (Unless I'm having a kid's party.)</li> <li>Sometimes price does matter, but more often than not there's way more to it than the price- especially with a custom product.</li> <li>People who are only concerned with the price may simply not be the best customers for you.</li> <li>We are customers too- and sometimes we only care about the price.</li> <li>We tend to hate it when people get several quotes.</li> <li>If you don't send in your quote, you are certain not to get the gig.</li> <li>Some people keep on texting you and they demand a quick answer from you.</li> <li>Demanding texts become your problem when you don't have reasonable boundaries.</li> <li>Ways to set reasonable boundaries with your customers.</li> <li>Big ideas with a really small budget can be irritating, frustrating or even disappointing for a caker.</li> <li>Remember that the general consumer who is buying from you has no concept of the work required to get the job done.</li> <li>We get annoyed when our customers don't give us feedback.</li> <li>Taking responsibility for encouraging a culture of feedback with your customers.</li> <li>Providing feedback for goods or services that you have bought.</li> </ul> See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Cakers Behaving Badly: Solving the Problems We Complain About Most

Over the course of my business, I lost over 150 pounds - or the equivalent of a supermodel holding a very full handbag. I learned so much about myself through that process and I also learned a whole lot about business too. When I think about it now, those two things are more intertwined than you might think. When it comes to small business, so much of it is personal...and there's nothing more personal than our bodies and how we feel about ourselves. Small business also requires us to be so visible - we have to be in front of clients, our faces need to beam from our websites, and WHO we are matter so much to our success. This is my story of how my business grew and my body shrank. Enjoy - and fair warning, you might need some tissues before you start listening. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the course of my business, I lost over 150 pounds - or the equivalent of a supermodel holding a very full handbag. I learned so much about myself through that process and I also learned a whole lot about business too. When I think about it now, those two things are more intertwined than you might think. When it comes to small business, so much of it is personal...and there's nothing more personal than our bodies and how we feel about ourselves. Small business also requires us to be so visible - we have to be in front of clients, our faces need to beam from our websites, and WHO we are matter so much to our success. This is my story of how my business grew and my body shrank. Enjoy - and fair warning, you might need some tissues before you start listening. See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

How My Business Grew and My Body Shrank

We’ve all heard the saying “if I only knew then what I knew now”, especially when it comes to business. If we could all avoid the mistakes and hard learned lessons that come with maintaining a business, we would. Today, Michelle shares her cheat sheet to managing your own business and how to establish the foundation you need to be successful. To learn more about how you can create a flourishing business and maintain a fulfilling life, tune into this episode of The Business of Baking.  Show Highlights:   A cheat sheet Michelle wrote for owning your own business  The benefits of getting to call the shots  The importance of marketing yourself well  Making sure your tide is built up of people who encourage you  Not spending your energy on things or people that drain you  Long term planning and anticipating success  Acknowledging that life happens and dealing with unexpected situations Creating procedures  Recognizing that it is about the money  Prioritizing your money and making smart decisions  Setting boundaries in life and business   Links:  Michelle@thebusinessofbaking.com  https://thebizofbaking.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’ve all heard the saying “if I only knew then what I knew now”, especially when it comes to business. If we could all avoid the mistakes and hard learned lessons that come with maintaining a business, we would. Today, Michelle shares her cheat sheet to managing your own business and how to establish the foundation you need to be successful. To learn more about how you can create a flourishing business and maintain a fulfilling life, tune into this episode of The Business of Baking.  Show Highlights:  <ul> <li>A cheat sheet Michelle wrote for owning your own business </li> <li>The benefits of getting to call the shots </li> <li>The importance of marketing yourself well </li> <li>Making sure your tide is built up of people who encourage you </li> <li>Not spending your energy on things or people that drain you </li> <li>Long term planning and anticipating success </li> <li>Acknowledging that life happens and dealing with unexpected situations</li> <li>Creating procedures </li> <li>Recognizing that it is about the money </li> <li>Prioritizing your money and making smart decisions </li> <li>Setting boundaries in life and business </li> </ul> Links:  <a href="mailto:Michelle@thebusinessofbaking.com">Michelle@thebusinessofbaking.com</a> <a href="https://thebizofbaking.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://thebizofbaking.com</a>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

10 Lessons You Should Remember in Managing Your Business

Today’s show is part one of an experiment! Normally, on the podcast, I plan all the content and just outline my answers and record the show. But recently, in my Facebook group, I put out the invitation to ask me anything and I would answer the questions on the podcast!   I thought you would give me some easy questions that I could answer easily. What I got was anything but easy questions! So today we are focusing on the fun or what I would consider the funny questions - and there are business lessons to be learned, even in the funny questions.   The business oriented questions will be answered in a separate podcast, so stay tuned for that.   Show Highlights:    My hair - oh wow, are you serious? Crack cocaine in a jar A Christmas baby - and how I was able to win at life by having 2 birthdays in one year The emotional memories of raising the triplets Vegan cakes?? Who cares as long as it is cake! Stupid things happen to me all the time, so it’s hard to narrow it down to my most stupid. Cake nightmares? I’ve had many sleepless nights worrying about cakes falling Find out whether I am a midnight snacker - having such a sweet tooth, it’s an interesting concept. Find out about my favorite pets growing up and what kind of animals we have today. All things are possible, so does other life exist? I share my take on it. Find out if I have been cursed or hexed by someone, and no, I’m not talking about my hair! My favorite Disney movie - the first movie I remember seeing in a theater Lots of movie questions…….I love movies! If I could change one thing in life, I would call my Dad. Find out why and how I still don’t have questions answered. Topsy turvy cakes are the worst idea ever! Drip cakes look like cakes that I want to eat, so I love this cake trend. Yummy cake is my favorite. What cake decorating icon would I like to meet? You’re going to have to listen to find out. There are thousands of lessons that I would teach young Michelle, so where do I start?        Life isn’t all about business or baking, so i hope you’ve enjoyed today’s episode and more importantly, I hope I’ve answered all of your crazy questions! Don’t forget to join me again when I finally get around to answering your serious business questions. I can’t wait to share them with you!       Resources:   bizbakeontour.com - See me in person and join me on my world tour Build Your Profitable Cake Business - opening in October  Sweet Side Gig - opening in August - this is different that anything I’ve ever done!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today’s show is part one of an experiment! Normally, on the podcast, I plan all the content and just outline my answers and record the show. But recently, in my Facebook group, I put out the invitation to ask me anything and I would answer the questions on the podcast! I thought you would give me some easy questions that I could answer easily. What I got was anything but easy questions! So today we are focusing on the fun or what I would consider the funny questions - and there are business lessons to be learned, even in the funny questions. The business oriented questions will be answered in a separate podcast, so stay tuned for that. Show Highlights: <ul> <li>My hair - oh wow, are you serious?</li> <li>Crack cocaine in a jar</li> <li>A Christmas baby - and how I was able to win at life by having 2 birthdays in one year</li> <li>The emotional memories of raising the triplets</li> <li>Vegan cakes?? Who cares as long as it is cake!</li> <li>Stupid things happen to me all the time, so it’s hard to narrow it down to my most stupid.</li> <li>Cake nightmares? I’ve had many sleepless nights worrying about cakes falling</li> <li>Find out whether I am a midnight snacker - having such a sweet tooth, it’s an interesting concept.</li> <li>Find out about my favorite pets growing up and what kind of animals we have today.</li> <li>All things are possible, so does other life exist? I share my take on it.</li> <li>Find out if I have been cursed or hexed by someone, and no, I’m not talking about my hair!</li> <li>My favorite Disney movie - the first movie I remember seeing in a theater</li> <li>Lots of movie questions…….I love movies!</li> <li>If I could change one thing in life, I would call my Dad. Find out why and how I still don’t have questions answered.</li> <li>Topsy turvy cakes are the worst idea ever!</li> <li>Drip cakes look like cakes that I want to eat, so I love this cake trend. Yummy cake is my favorite.</li> <li>What cake decorating icon would I like to meet? You’re going to have to listen to find out.</li> <li>There are thousands of lessons that I would teach young Michelle, so where do I start?</li> </ul> Life isn’t all about business or baking, so i hope you’ve enjoyed today’s episode and more importantly, I hope I’ve answered all of your crazy questions! Don’t forget to join me again when I finally get around to answering your serious business questions. I can’t wait to share them with you! Resources: <a href="http://bizbakeontour.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">bizbakeontour.com</a> - See me in person and join me on my world tour Build Your Profitable Cake Business - opening in October  <a href="http://sweetsidegig.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sweet Side Gig</a> - opening in August - this is different that anything I’ve ever done! See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Ask Me Anything - Part Fun!

Kim Werker

Are you willing to try something new? And then try it again if you fail? In today's episode, I'm talking to the inspiring Kim Werker, who I think is completely amazing! She is totally my people! She is an unbelievably talented woman who describes herself as a camp counselor for grownups and she thinks we need to aim for creative, messy fun, rather than hoping for perfection.  This season, my intention is to interview people who are not necessarily in the baking industry, but who have lots of things in common with those of us who are, like photographers, florists, and crafters. These people are creatives who experience similar struggles and successes in their businesses to those that we experience here, in our industry. So I'm really excited to be talking to Kim today, about her life, her work, her website, and the way she inspires people to try new things. Tune in now to find out more! Kim is a super-guru of the crochet world, and she's also a freelance writer, editor, and speaker. And most interestingly to me,  she's the woman behind the Mighty Ugly website and movement, a website that encourages everyone to try things. (Mighty Ugly is all about celebrating the benefits of failure so that we're not so afraid of doing the big things.) Kim has edited magazines, she's written seven books, she created and then sold an online magazine, she curates online communities, and she teaches her own creative classes. She also used to be a podcaster and currently, she runs an online community for creative adventurers. She's even dabbled in a bit of baking too, so listen in, to find out what Kim has to share with us in today's episode. Show Highlights:  Kim tells her story and explains how she ended up with such a varied business. Knitters and crocheters are completely different demographics as far as the industry is concerned. How Kim's online magazine started out. Book royalties have never been a big part of Kim's income. Most of Kim's books are now out of print. Kim's first book, Teach Yourself VISUALLY Crocheting, is now in its second edition. Make It Mighty Ugly was in print for five years and will most likely be going out of print at the end of this year. Kim teaches workshops about Mighty Ugly, and it also forms the foundation for most of the writing she does. Kim now has multiple income streams and her husband provides her venture capital. Kim enjoys doing editing work most of all. The choice that Kim faces right now in terms of her revenue stream. All about Kim's workshop to help people confront their fears. Kim has an ongoing theme in her life, of bringing people together, to go on creative adventures and building something.  The pros and cons of social media. Doing the best you can right now, in this moment! There is so much meaning in gratitude! You can try, fail, and try again. Coping with burnout and finding balance again. How Kim keeps herself inspired to make things every day.  Links and resources: Book mentioned: Stitch 'n Bitch by Debbie Stoller Knitty.Com (Online knitting magazine): www.knitty.com Mighty Ugly Website: www.kimwerker.com   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you willing to try something new? And then try it again if you fail? In today's episode, I'm talking to the inspiring Kim Werker, who I think is completely amazing! She is totally my people! She is an unbelievably talented woman who describes herself as a camp counselor for grownups and she thinks we need to aim for creative, messy fun, rather than hoping for perfection.  This season, my intention is to interview people who are not necessarily in the baking industry, but who have lots of things in common with those of us who are, like photographers, florists, and crafters. These people are creatives who experience similar struggles and successes in their businesses to those that we experience here, in our industry. So I'm really excited to be talking to Kim today, about her life, her work, her website, and the way she inspires people to try new things. Tune in now to find out more! Kim is a super-guru of the crochet world, and she's also a freelance writer, editor, and speaker. And most interestingly to me,  she's the woman behind the Mighty Ugly website and movement, a website that encourages everyone to try things. (Mighty Ugly is all about celebrating the benefits of failure so that we're not so afraid of doing the big things.) Kim has edited magazines, she's written seven books, she created and then sold an online magazine, she curates online communities, and she teaches her own creative classes. She also used to be a podcaster and currently, she runs an online community for creative adventurers. She's even dabbled in a bit of baking too, so listen in, to find out what Kim has to share with us in today's episode. Show Highlights: <ul> <li>Kim tells her story and explains how she ended up with such a varied business.</li> <li>Knitters and crocheters are completely different demographics as far as the industry is concerned.</li> <li>How Kim's online magazine started out.</li> <li>Book royalties have never been a big part of Kim's income.</li> <li>Most of Kim's books are now out of print.</li> <li>Kim's first book, Teach Yourself VISUALLY Crocheting, is now in its second edition.</li> <li>Make It Mighty Ugly was in print for five years and will most likely be going out of print at the end of this year.</li> <li>Kim teaches workshops about Mighty Ugly, and it also forms the foundation for most of the writing she does.</li> <li>Kim now has multiple income streams and her husband provides her venture capital.</li> <li>Kim enjoys doing editing work most of all.</li> <li>The choice that Kim faces right now in terms of her revenue stream.</li> <li>All about Kim's workshop to help people confront their fears.</li> <li>Kim has an ongoing theme in her life, of bringing people together, to go on creative adventures and building something. </li> <li>The pros and cons of social media.</li> <li>Doing the best you can right now, in this moment!</li> <li>There is so much meaning in gratitude!</li> <li>You can try, fail, and try again.</li> <li>Coping with burnout and finding balance again.</li> <li>How Kim keeps herself inspired to make things every day.</li> </ul> Links and resources: Book mentioned: Stitch 'n Bitch by Debbie Stoller <a href="http://Knitty.Com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Knitty.Com</a> (Online knitting magazine): <a href="http://www.knitty.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.knitty.com</a> Mighty Ugly Website: <a href="http://www.kimwerker.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.kimwerker.com</a> See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

An Interview with Kim Werker of Mighty Ugly

Positive and inspirational stories are great, right? But we all somehow seem to really love a crappy, "OMG everything went wrong" kind of story more. I've noticed this because although everyone loved my show last season about the best business advice that I ever got, many of you have asked me to do a similar show, but this time about the worst business advice that I've ever been given. This is really hilarious! Anyway, you ask and I deliver, so listen in now, to get the worst business advice ever. As a rule, the worst business advice that I ever got was from people who were not business owners themselves. Anyone who is a parent will totally appreciate this, because the minute that you get pregnant, everyone in the world starts giving you advice about every aspect of parenting. So when you say that you're opening a business, you tend to attract a whole lot of people who want to give you a whole lot of really crappy advice. Remember, though, that people come to give you advice because they think that they're doing the right thing, so I hope that none of you actually take this advice seriously and that you listen to this episode knowing that I mean it only as tongue in cheek and me being silly. So listen in as I roll out the terrible advice!   Show highlights:    The worst advice came from the people who had never actually done it themselves and their advice seems to be a reflection of their own problems and their own concerns. People love to tell stories about businesses that failed. It's always best to only take advice from people who have actually walked the walk themselves. Some really devastating things that I was told by Joe, a boss that I used to have. Sometimes I don't want to do something simply because somebody told me to do it, so some of the worst advice I ever got actually came from me! Getting pressured into mistakenly believing that I really needed to spend money on advertising and marketing. Why you shouldn't just believe it when somebody tells you that your business will fail if you don't do as they say. Learn to trust your gut when you're given advice about your business. Bad advice that I've been given about having to make certain things. The kind of advice that I really didn't appreciate getting. People who give bad advice really tend to want to shove it down your throat. Some crushing advice that I got from my Dad. Some poor advice from my dodgy accountant when I first started out with my business. Why you should avoid advice from people who lack vision. Why you should learn to listen to your inner voice, regardless of the advice that you've been given. My enrollment is opening for my Build Your Profitable Cake Business towards the end of March this year. Go to www.thebizofbaking.com to get the details. I open up the enrollment to my live In Person classes at this time of year. I'll be in Sydney and Melbourne in Australia this year and then in Los Angeles, Houston, Cincinnati, and Virginia in the USA and I'll be in Toronto, Canada. Keep an eye on my blog and my social media sites for details. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Positive and inspirational stories are great, right? But we all somehow seem to really love a crappy, "OMG everything went wrong" kind of story more. I've noticed this because although everyone loved my show last season about the best business advice that I ever got, many of you have asked me to do a similar show, but this time about the worst business advice that I've ever been given. This is really hilarious! Anyway, you ask and I deliver, so listen in now, to get the worst business advice ever. As a rule, the worst business advice that I ever got was from people who were not business owners themselves. Anyone who is a parent will totally appreciate this, because the minute that you get pregnant, everyone in the world starts giving you advice about every aspect of parenting. So when you say that you're opening a business, you tend to attract a whole lot of people who want to give you a whole lot of really crappy advice. Remember, though, that people come to give you advice because they think that they're doing the right thing, so I hope that none of you actually take this advice seriously and that you listen to this episode knowing that I mean it only as tongue in cheek and me being silly. So listen in as I roll out the terrible advice! Show highlights: <ul> <li>The worst advice came from the people who had never actually done it themselves and their advice seems to be a reflection of their own problems and their own concerns.</li> <li>People love to tell stories about businesses that failed.</li> <li>It's always best to only take advice from people who have actually walked the walk themselves.</li> <li>Some really devastating things that I was told by Joe, a boss that I used to have.</li> <li>Sometimes I don't want to do something simply because somebody told me to do it, so some of the worst advice I ever got actually came from me!</li> <li>Getting pressured into mistakenly believing that I really needed to spend money on advertising and marketing.</li> <li>Why you shouldn't just believe it when somebody tells you that your business will fail if you don't do as they say.</li> <li>Learn to trust your gut when you're given advice about your business.</li> <li>Bad advice that I've been given about having to make certain things.</li> <li>The kind of advice that I really didn't appreciate getting.</li> <li>People who give bad advice really tend to want to shove it down your throat.</li> <li>Some crushing advice that I got from my Dad.</li> <li>Some poor advice from my dodgy accountant when I first started out with my business.</li> <li>Why you should avoid advice from people who lack vision.</li> <li>Why you should learn to listen to your inner voice, regardless of the advice that you've been given.</li> <li>My enrollment is opening for my Build Your Profitable Cake Business towards the end of March this year. Go to <a href="http://www.thebizofbaking.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.thebizofbaking.com</a> to get the details.</li> <li>I open up the enrollment to my live In Person classes at this time of year. I'll be in Sydney and Melbourne in Australia this year and then in Los Angeles, Houston, Cincinnati, and Virginia in the USA and I'll be in Toronto, Canada. Keep an eye on my blog and my social media sites for details.</li> </ul>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

The Worst Advice I Ever Received

Welcome back to the podcast for 2019! I'm really excited to be back and I've come up with a whole list of topics that I want to talk about and a range of really interesting people to interview. My plan is to interview people who are a little bit left of center in our industry, related to it but not necessarily directly involved, like wedding photographers, marketers, or crafters. There are also some experimental episodes coming up this season where I do things a little differently. So tune in now for today's episode! Today I'm going to be talking about being at a crossroads in your business. Last summer, I had a truly life-changing experience when I went on a month-long trip to South America, the Antarctic Peninsula, and Antarctica. Thinking about the business during that time prompted me to sent an email to my subscriber list. In today's episode, I will be sharing a bit about that email, what was behind it, and what I'm thinking about now, going forward into the future. Because many of us, at this time of year, reach a crossroad in our business and this will give you a number things to think about. Listen in to find out about my crossroads, the crossroads in our industry, and where to from here. Show Highlights:  Some of the email that I wrote. I've been running my business for five years now, and I've turned it from a hundred dollar, three-hour class in my bakery into what it is now.  My business is now a community, a blog, a book, a podcast, online classes, in-person classes, social media communities, etc.  I wasn't sure if just making more of stuff was the best way to go forward, so I wanted to know what my community needed from me. The crossroads in our industry. People in our industry are giving up a whole lot faster now. Why I think the number of people going into business in our industry has slowed down significantly. Lately, baking shows have become super niched. There is still money to be made from sweet foods. My love-hate relationship with the whole tools thing! My personal crossroads. Some of the responses I got from the email I sent. Do what you love, and do it from your heart! Business is really about both passion and profit. Reaching the grow or stop phase in our business. Doing a check-up from the neck up.  Links: Email me at michelle@thebizofbaking.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome back to the podcast for 2019! I'm really excited to be back and I've come up with a whole list of topics that I want to talk about and a range of really interesting people to interview. My plan is to interview people who are a little bit left of center in our industry, related to it but not necessarily directly involved, like wedding photographers, marketers, or crafters. There are also some experimental episodes coming up this season where I do things a little differently. So tune in now for today's episode! Today I'm going to be talking about being at a crossroads in your business. Last summer, I had a truly life-changing experience when I went on a month-long trip to South America, the Antarctic Peninsula, and Antarctica. Thinking about the business during that time prompted me to sent an email to my subscriber list. In today's episode, I will be sharing a bit about that email, what was behind it, and what I'm thinking about now, going forward into the future. Because many of us, at this time of year, reach a crossroad in our business and this will give you a number things to think about. Listen in to find out about my crossroads, the crossroads in our industry, and where to from here. Show Highlights: <ul> <li>Some of the email that I wrote.</li> <li>I've been running my business for five years now, and I've turned it from a hundred dollar, three-hour class in my bakery into what it is now. </li> <li>My business is now a community, a blog, a book, a podcast, online classes, in-person classes, social media communities, etc. </li> <li>I wasn't sure if just making more of stuff was the best way to go forward, so I wanted to know what my community needed from me.</li> <li>The crossroads in our industry.</li> <li>People in our industry are giving up a whole lot faster now.</li> <li>Why I think the number of people going into business in our industry has slowed down significantly.</li> <li>Lately, baking shows have become super niched.</li> <li>There is still money to be made from sweet foods.</li> <li>My love-hate relationship with the whole tools thing!</li> <li>My personal crossroads.</li> <li>Some of the responses I got from the email I sent.</li> <li>Do what you love, and do it from your heart!</li> <li>Business is really about both passion and profit.</li> <li>Reaching the grow or stop phase in our business.</li> <li>Doing a check-up from the neck up.</li> </ul> Links: Email me at michelle@thebizofbaking.comSee <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

At a Crossroads

Today, it's all about how the Cake Industry has changed, so we're going to be talking about what I've observed to be happening in our industry over the last ten to fifteen years and also how the face of our industry has really changed a lot, during that time. Listen in to find out more! Back when I was a girl, just starting out on my cake decorating journey, there was no Youtube, or Craftsy. In fact, there was pretty much nothing at all really, except for cake decorating books and a couple of guilds, so it was really quite a sad and lonely place. Things have really changed, though and a lot of growth has happened, since then. Join me on today's show, as I discuss some of the things that I've become aware of lately in the cake industry, and the effect that our current culture of social media, online classes and gimmicky tools has had on it. Listen in now! Show highlights:  The growth that has happened, as a result of TV shows and the accessibility of Learning Channels, like Youtube and Craftsy. Some of my observations of what I've noticed that has changed, in the industry. The cake that my older sister asked me to create for her wedding shower, when I was sixteen. (There are actually pictures of it on my blog!) The Wilton Level One Butter Cream Class that some friends of mine got together and bought for me, back when I was a young Mom, first living in Australia. We have a lot more awareness of our worth, as artists today, yet we tend to focus far less on the actual artistry, as the industry has grown. The stunningly beautiful work of the true artists of our industry, that are actually pushing the boundaries of the definition of cake, of art and even of edible. The widening divide, between the non-artists and the true artists of our industry. My love-hate relationship with the stamp out tools that are available currently for our industry. The sadness of the really easy to replicate cakes, that are available in today's mass market. The X-Factor about today's cakes that I wish were a little more X-factorish... What I've noticed about the average age of the people in our industry today. What I've noticed to be happening lately, with the 'Facebook famous' crowd and their culture of sharing. How the questions from my Coaching clients have changed lately. What's happening with live classes, today. Why you need to actually sign up for live classes as soon as possible, after deciding to do them. Cookies don't even look like cookies anymore! Pushing the boundaries of artistry. My predictions for what's to come in our industry.  Resources: Join us on FacebookSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, it's all about how the Cake Industry has changed, so we're going to be talking about what I've observed to be happening in our industry over the last ten to fifteen years and also how the face of our industry has really changed a lot, during that time. Listen in to find out more! Back when I was a girl, just starting out on my cake decorating journey, there was no Youtube, or Craftsy. In fact, there was pretty much nothing at all really, except for cake decorating books and a couple of guilds, so it was really quite a sad and lonely place. Things have really changed, though and a lot of growth has happened, since then. Join me on today's show, as I discuss some of the things that I've become aware of lately in the cake industry, and the effect that our current culture of social media, online classes and gimmicky tools has had on it. Listen in now! Show highlights: <ul> <li>The growth that has happened, as a result of TV shows and the accessibility of Learning Channels, like Youtube and Craftsy.</li> <li>Some of my observations of what I've noticed that has changed, in the industry.</li> <li>The cake that my older sister asked me to create for her wedding shower, when I was sixteen. (There are actually pictures of it on my blog!)</li> <li>The Wilton Level One Butter Cream Class that some friends of mine got together and bought for me, back when I was a young Mom, first living in Australia.</li> <li>We have a lot more awareness of our worth, as artists today, yet we tend to focus far less on the actual artistry, as the industry has grown.</li> <li>The stunningly beautiful work of the true artists of our industry, that are actually pushing the boundaries of the definition of cake, of art and even of edible.</li> <li>The widening divide, between the non-artists and the true artists of our industry.</li> <li>My love-hate relationship with the stamp out tools that are available currently for our industry.</li> <li>The sadness of the really easy to replicate cakes, that are available in today's mass market.</li> <li>The X-Factor about today's cakes that I wish were a little more X-factorish...</li> <li>What I've noticed about the average age of the people in our industry today.</li> <li>What I've noticed to be happening lately, with the 'Facebook famous' crowd and their culture of sharing.</li> <li>How the questions from my Coaching clients have changed lately.</li> <li>What's happening with live classes, today.</li> <li>Why you need to actually sign up for live classes as soon as possible, after deciding to do them.</li> <li>Cookies don't even look like cookies anymore!</li> <li>Pushing the boundaries of artistry.</li> <li>My predictions for what's to come in our industry.</li> </ul> Resources: Join us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/bizbake/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

The Changing Cake Industry

Bronwen Weber

Hilarious, honest and hugely knowledgable about all things cake and cake business, Bronwen Weber is an incredible character and asset to our industry. Full of sass and brilliant insight, she's the MD of Frosted Art Bakery in Dallas, Texas and she's a force to be reckoned with. Our chat runs the gamut of topics from offering cake slices via UberEats all the way to the controversial cottage food laws in Texas AND what really happens behind the scenes of all those competetive cake shows. Entertaining, informative and frankly all kinds of awesome, my chat with Bronwen is not to be missed! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hilarious, honest and hugely knowledgable about all things cake and cake business, Bronwen Weber is an incredible character and asset to our industry. Full of sass and brilliant insight, she's the MD of Frosted Art Bakery in Dallas, Texas and she's a force to be reckoned with. Our chat runs the gamut of topics from offering cake slices via UberEats all the way to the controversial cottage food laws in Texas AND what really happens behind the scenes of all those competetive cake shows. Entertaining, informative and frankly all kinds of awesome, my chat with Bronwen is not to be missed! See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Interview with Bronwen Weber

Today we’re talking about marketing and I'd like to give you some ideas that are a little out of the box, as well as some stuff to motivate and inspire you. I also want to give you some things to help you to think about marketing in a different way, because I know that everybody really seems to hate it. So today, we're going to lift the lid off that and come up with some really cool and fun stuff that you can do, that doesn't cost the earth. Listen in today, as we make this a Playful Marketing Monday (even though it may not even be Monday when you listen to this) and really have some fun on the show.   I actually love marketing and I'm constantly out there, taking photos of other people's marketing that I think is cool, or even ads that I think are fun. I often look at funny viral ads on Youtube, because I really am a fan of clever marketing- of the kinds of things that are so funny or clever that you don't even know that you're being marketed to. So I've come up with ten ideas that I'd like to share with you today. These ideas are really intended to get your creative juices flowing, so listen in and be inspired!   Show highlights:    #1: Figure out ways to cross promote yourself to other products.  #2: Using some sidewalk chalk, to create something that really captures people's attention, perhaps like a huge mural.  #3: Create an info-graphic for you. #4: Create a competition on Facebook.  #5: Harness word of mouth marketing.  #6: A Cookies and Milk Story Time, done somewhere locally. #7: Do some video story telling on social media. #8: Market to a specific niche group. You need to offer the right thing to the right people.  #9: Chase the Corporates.  #10: Do a blind taste test between your cake and a plain bought sheet cake.   The thing about marketing is that it has to be do-able, as well as being really fun and effective. Show off your personality and have some fun!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we’re talking about marketing and I'd like to give you some ideas that are a little out of the box, as well as some stuff to motivate and inspire you. I also want to give you some things to help you to think about marketing in a different way, because I know that everybody really seems to hate it. So today, we're going to lift the lid off that and come up with some really cool and fun stuff that you can do, that doesn't cost the earth. Listen in today, as we make this a Playful Marketing Monday (even though it may not even be Monday when you listen to this) and really have some fun on the show. I actually love marketing and I'm constantly out there, taking photos of other people's marketing that I think is cool, or even ads that I think are fun. I often look at funny viral ads on Youtube, because I really am a fan of clever marketing- of the kinds of things that are so funny or clever that you don't even know that you're being marketed to. So I've come up with ten ideas that I'd like to share with you today. These ideas are really intended to get your creative juices flowing, so listen in and be inspired! Show highlights: <ul> <li>#1: Figure out ways to cross promote yourself to other products. </li> <li>#2: Using some sidewalk chalk, to create something that really captures people's attention, perhaps like a huge mural. </li> <li>#3: Create an info-graphic for you.</li> <li>#4: Create a competition on Facebook. </li> <li>#5: Harness word of mouth marketing. </li> <li>#6: A Cookies and Milk Story Time, done somewhere locally.</li> <li>#7: Do some video story telling on social media.</li> <li>#8: Market to a specific niche group. You need to offer the right thing to the right people. </li> <li>#9: Chase the Corporates. </li> <li>#10: Do a blind taste test between your cake and a plain bought sheet cake. </li> </ul> The thing about marketing is that it has to be do-able, as well as being really fun and effective. Show off your personality and have some fun! See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

10 Fun Marketing Ideas to Increase Your Revenue

Have you ever heard of a Cake Decorator, or a Cake Artist being described as 'award-winning', or  'internationally famous' and wondered how that actually happens? Well, that's what we're going to be talking about, on today's episode. We're going to be discussing competitions, how to get into them, how to do them and even the emotional side of competing. Listen in to find out more. A couple of weeks ago, I came back from attending Cake International, which is held every year in November, in Birmingham, in the UK. It is the biggest Cake Show in the world. Although there are other Cake Shows, this is considered to be the golden one, because it really is so massive. In fact, it's quite overwhelming, with so many people there!  One of the hallmarks of Cake International is that it has this really huge competition, with about fifteen hundred competition pieces submitted this year. It really is the most amazing thing you've ever seen in your life! (I have posted a couple of my favorites on Instagram.) Listen in today, as I discuss this incredible show with its fabulous competition and beautiful artwork and also, competitions in general and the emotional aspect of competing. Show highlights:  How I felt about myself and my skills as a decorator, being around all that really beautiful artwork. So many of the pieces felt so far from cake - they were so untouchably incredible, more like sculptures. What I found very fascinating, about people's reactions and comments, around the competition. How to actually get into these kinds of competitions. Why it would be a good idea to get in touch with people who have entered a Cake Competition before, if you'd like to enter one yourself. The two basic types of competitions that there are in life. Using competition with others as a motivator. When healthy competition is a good thing for us. Why I've never been competitive with what I call value metrics. I will always ask for feedback if I did not win a competition. Sometimes the feedback can be really frustrating, though! I was in also in the UK to attend the Cake Master's Award Ceremony. What really excited me and made me proud about being nominated in the Best Book category. Looking for the silver lining, the lesson, or the gratitude in it, when entering a competition. Television Competitions- are they really worth entering? The stress level of competitions. One of the nicest things I've ever learned about competitions, from Bronwyn Webber.  Resources:  Cake International Bronwyn WebberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you ever heard of a Cake Decorator, or a Cake Artist being described as 'award-winning', or  'internationally famous' and wondered how that actually happens? Well, that's what we're going to be talking about, on today's episode. We're going to be discussing competitions, how to get into them, how to do them and even the emotional side of competing. Listen in to find out more. A couple of weeks ago, I came back from attending Cake International, which is held every year in November, in Birmingham, in the UK. It is the biggest Cake Show in the world. Although there are other Cake Shows, this is considered to be the golden one, because it really is so massive. In fact, it's quite overwhelming, with so many people there!  One of the hallmarks of Cake International is that it has this really huge competition, with about fifteen hundred competition pieces submitted this year. It really is the most amazing thing you've ever seen in your life! (I have posted a couple of my favorites on Instagram.) Listen in today, as I discuss this incredible show with its fabulous competition and beautiful artwork and also, competitions in general and the emotional aspect of competing. Show highlights: <ul> <li>How I felt about myself and my skills as a decorator, being around all that really beautiful artwork.</li> <li>So many of the pieces felt so far from cake - they were so untouchably incredible, more like sculptures.</li> <li>What I found very fascinating, about people's reactions and comments, around the competition.</li> <li>How to actually get into these kinds of competitions.</li> <li>Why it would be a good idea to get in touch with people who have entered a Cake Competition before, if you'd like to enter one yourself.</li> <li>The two basic types of competitions that there are in life.</li> <li>Using competition with others as a motivator.</li> <li>When healthy competition is a good thing for us.</li> <li>Why I've never been competitive with what I call value metrics.</li> <li>I will always ask for feedback if I did not win a competition. Sometimes the feedback can be really frustrating, though!</li> <li>I was in also in the UK to attend the Cake Master's Award Ceremony.</li> <li>What really excited me and made me proud about being nominated in the Best Book category.</li> <li>Looking for the silver lining, the lesson, or the gratitude in it, when entering a competition.</li> <li>Television Competitions- are they really worth entering?</li> <li>The stress level of competitions.</li> <li>One of the nicest things I've ever learned about competitions, from Bronwyn Webber.</li> </ul> Resources:  <a href="https://www.cakeinternational.co.uk/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Cake International</a> <a href="http://www.frostedart.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Bronwyn Webber</a>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Competitions and Competitiveness in Cake Decorating

Are you just starting out in your business and feeling somewhat daunted at the thought of having to register your kitchen with the local Health Department? If so, don't worry because I want you to do everything possible to keep your business legal! The featured guest is a bit of a crazy mixture- she's a Cake Maker and she's also a Local Health Inspector, working in the United States. I get lots of questions about this as most people seem a little afraid to get their kitchens registered because they don't really know what it's all about. Today's guest with de-mystify the health inspection process and you can finally see that it's nothing to be afraid of!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you just starting out in your business and feeling somewhat daunted at the thought of having to register your kitchen with the local Health Department? If so, don't worry because I want you to do everything possible to keep your business legal! The featured guest is a bit of a crazy mixture- she's a Cake Maker and she's also a Local Health Inspector, working in the United States. I get lots of questions about this as most people seem a little afraid to get their kitchens registered because they don't really know what it's all about. Today's guest with de-mystify the health inspection process and you can finally see that it's nothing to be afraid of!See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.

Confessions of a Health Inspector

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