I worked all over Christmas last year with Christmas Day being the only day that I didn’t do any cake preparation. I finally got to see my family and my new baby niece for a few days after delivering a wedding cake at the end of December. First thing in the morning on New Years Day my car broke down and we ended up spending 10 hours being towed back to Norwich from Sussex. This just felt like yet another thing in a list of bad luck things that happened in January.
A Festive Wedding Cake
Then everyone went back to work and school and social media was full of fellow small businesses goal setting, sharing motivational quotes and choosing their “power words” for the year. When others were choosing Focus, Grow and Brave as their word of the year the only thing I could come up with was Knackered, Exhausted or Frazzled!
All I wanted to do was curl up in a ball, watch trashy TV and eat left over Christmas gammon. I wasn’t in the right place for grabbing 2018 by the balls and setting some life changing epic goals. I was knackered and needed a break. The break that most people had over the Christmas period. So after 4 days of beating myself up about not being ready for 2018 and being behind everyone else who had already advertised their Valentines and Mothers Day offers and were booking up all their weddings, I had a big old cry, spoke to a couple of friends and felt a lot better. I then gave myself a metaphorical kick up the bum and started work again.
I needed that little break, although I wish I had seen it as a break rather than chastising myself for being un-productive.
This year I would love to not be working all over Christmas but people will still be getting married and those people will still need cakes. So I can’t guarantee that Boxing Day won’t once again be spent up to my eyes in buttercream and ganache. However if that is the case, I will schedule in a few days off in the first week of Jan where I will not look at social media and will not attempt to do any admin. I will rest, recover and yes, I will watch some rubbish TV. I will be good to myself and I will know that it is doing myself and my business a lot of good. The world will not fall apart if I don’t post about about festive engagements and wedding consultations on the 1st of January and people will still be actively looking for wedding cake makers on the 8th, 9th, 10th of January and many other days beyond.
Please remind me of this in 12 months time!
Turning the January blues a lovely shade of pink…
One thing which I was very much looking forward to in early January was a Business Boost course led by Louise Beukes at B.LOVED.Hive. It came at the perfect time!
I loved the course. It was great to spend the day working with fellow wedding industry creatives, doing some realistic, achievable goal setting and I learnt some great tips for helping focus and grow my business.
One of the key things I took from the day was that the wedding world is a big place and its important to find your niche.
It was useful to really look into what makes my business stand out. What is my niche?
Art
Art is where I think my niche lies. Having spent my entire life in art and design, I know that this is the little extra that I bring to my cakes. I love working with colour, pattern, texture and textiles. I love painting onto cakes and creating one off truly personal designs is what I thrive on. I always aim to bring as much individuality and personality to my client’s dream creations.
Visions and Dreams for 2018
We did a quick vision board exercise to pinpoint our hopes for the coming year. (I couldn’t find a picture of a car at that precise moment but it definitely would have been on there.)
My 2018 Vision Board (missing a working car though!)
CollaborationNotCompetition
Collaboration Not Competition is a phrase I’ve heard a lot recently and it’s something I totally stand by. I love meeting new people and sharing ideas and inspiration. Here are the talented ladies that I met at the Hive;
Johanna is a florist with worldwide experience;
Nikki Stark makes beautiful jewellery including super stylish wedding rings;
Helen is a fine art wedding photographer who captures the most stunning images;
Angela from Blossoming Events has years of theatre experience and specialises in incredible interactive lighting installations;
And Dalia runs Norfolk Brides from my favourite city of Norwich. Dalia is a one stop hub for all things wedding related in East Anglia;
And for loads of super gorgeous wedding inspiration see Louise’s B.Loved blog
If you’re in the wedding industry and feel the need for a bit of a boost, I can highly recommend the course I took at the Hive and there are loads of other options available such as coaching and styling.
So after that really inspiring day, I feel properly energised and excited about this coming year with a strong emphasis on finding lovely clients who are super cool and up for something a little bit different. If that is you, or if you know any couples who are looking for an awesome wedding cake, get in touch and lets come up with something fabulous!
January looks so much better in pink 🙂