Living the cupcake dream

This story continues...

2011-09-25T10:42:00.000+01:00

My Living the Cupcake Dream blog continues at http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/blog/

I will be posting every 10 days or so.

Thanks for all the visitors to this site, thanks especially for all your wonderful messages of support and I hope you stay with me and continue to enjoy the unfolding account of my business and all that life throws my way!

Sweets for my sweets

2011-09-14T22:58:00.000+01:00

I love making cakes that people find IRRESITIBLE. I have some wonderful regular customers who seem to have developed a mild addiction to Classy Cupcakes. I know their favourite flavours and they trust my design ideas. Great relationships!

Cakes and other sweet things have always been a big favourite in my family. I will admit to a little weakness for sugar but there are worse things to be addicted to!

I recall with pleasure: special cakes and treats for birthdays; gingerbread biscuits hanging in the Christmas tree; the excitement of swapping comic coupons for chocolate at the newsagent; extreme portion control that still allowed chocolate as a calorie counting student (5 smarties a day in the 2nd year); my first ever crème brulee in Paris (AMAZING) and my eternal weakness for good ice cream. When an excellent ice cream parlour opened just round the corner from our house a few months ago, in the first week my husband, 3 stepsons and I spent more on ice cream than petrol! We decided to nip that behaviour in the bud.

There has always been plenty of healthy eating going on in households I have been part of too, starting with my mum and dad’s year round allotment hauls.

I have a lifelong adoration of well cooked, fresh food and I love sharing it with others. And sometimes having a big pudding to finish with!

What’s wrong with that...?

Raring to go this Autumn!

2011-09-02T17:08:00.000+01:00

After an action packed summer I enjoyed a short and very restful break in Derbyshire with my husband last week. It was lovely to get lots of fresh air and loads of sleep and we really chilled out. I’m afraid I took my order book with me, just to get organised, but I managed not to think about work too much. I was really ready for a break.

Autumn is always my favourite season and I am so looking forward to this one. I have some great events and orders coming up and I am on standby, as always, for those wonderful unexpected requisitions from old and new customers.

I have some great ideas for new products and also have some exciting promotion arrangements in place. I am also looking forward to getting a bit more help. More about that in due course...

It’s also a time of huge change for the family as my two eldest stepsons prepare to leave our busy summer household to go off to the next stage in their studies – one to do a Masters and the other to start his much anticipated degree.

So, watch out on the Classy Cupcakes website, Facebook and Twitter for news about Posh Patisserie cupcakes, royal icing furniture, more cupcake themed birthday parties, demonstrations, Rotary club talks, and possibly the tallest stack of cupcakes you will have ever seen – topped with a paper mache hot air balloon! All coming soon to a hotel, church hall, pub and office in the Nottingham environs soon!

Looking forward to seeing you there...

Inspirational baking

2011-08-25T10:51:00.000+01:00

Competing in the National Cupcake Championship Final contest in London recently was a fantastic experience. Trooping up to the Institute of Contemporary Arts (on the Mall) to compete was exciting and slightly surreal.

I was so proud to be there and, as always seems to happen when I meet fellow cake makers and bakers these days, felt totally at ease and attached to this crowd.

There was one unfortunate moment when the competitors were ushered into a lecture theatre while judging took place and various commercial products were demonstrated to distract and tempt us all. These products were mainly dispensed out of pre packaged bags and there were audible gasps of distaste (or was it just me?). I think these were probably the wrong products to showcase to a group of people who are very committed to high quality, fresh production. I was alarmed when my stomach started rumbling violently (I was not alone, it had been a very early start!), not wanting to be tempted by the premade goods.

Something wonderfully fresh and wholesome arrived just in time, in the shape of Outsider Tart – two guys from New York who moved to London a few years ago and worked tirelessly on their American themed bakery. They bought lots of lovely freshly baked goodies which were quickly devoured by the ravenous audience. These guys have just had their first cook book published and spoke openly and generously about their experiences, practical operations and baking philosophy. It was a truly inspirational experience for someone who is a bit further back on the same track. Their obvious delight for the quite different and often difficult circumstances attached to the new career was a joy. They seemed to truly believe that the 18 hour days - long days in the kitchen followed by hours at the computer, the difficult customers, the suppliers from hell, the juggling and stress – were all worth it for an opportunity to produce something they love and others appreciate.

I totally understood the values and have started to share their favourite thing - the intense pleasure of having people coming back a year on to celebrate the same occasions with Classy Cupcakes.

All by myself

2011-08-15T21:45:00.000+01:00

Hubby and boys were away on holiday last week. A particularly heavy order book prevented me joining them but frankly I was quite looking forward to being on my own for more than 3 days for the first time in more than 4 years. I had quite forgotten what that felt like.

The week started well, with overdue meetings scheduled with friends, lots of lovely new customers to talk to, a few good films on the recorder and some M&S food to indulge in. With this basic structure in place, I moved on to increasingly daring pursuits, such as singing very loudly in the kitchen, using the bathroom with the door open and even a naked dash up the stairs after a bath!

I barely filled a bin bag full of rubbish, which is about our normal daily rate. When I got out of the kitchen each day, the TV schedule belonged to me but I often chose silence for a while. I enjoyed the strongest internet signal in recent memory and I didn’t feel uncomfortable or guilty about staying up late, watching Jerry Springer and Wife Swap and shamelessly eating ice cream.

But after the initial euphoria, the calm quickly gave way to lonely feelings. And when the dreadful news started to come through about the riots I really missed my little clan.

Things went even further downhill when I left the freezer open and had no one to blame!

On a quiet night, I worked out that I’ve lived on my own for only 1.4% of my life. Quite surprising that I kept going on about finding it difficult when we all moved in together 5 years ago. In hindsight, life immediately became interesting (though sometimes wearisome), busy (though not always efficient) and enlightening (though not always comfortable).

And I could not wish for better cake company supporters. Just as I try very hard to accept, support and delight in my family’s differences so now I feel they do mine.

It’s very good to have everyone back.

National Cupcake Championship Finalist!

2011-08-01T09:22:00.000+01:00

More information has arrived about this competition and I am ridiculously over excited. The main challenge will be getting 12 perfect cakes to the Institute of Art in London (near Trafalgar Square) for 8.45am on a Monday morning. I’m sure there will be a way! Surely lots of people have had to get important (and rather posh!) merchandise into the middle of London for hundreds of years...

It promises to be an amazing experience, with 50 bakers from across the country taking part. Classy Cupcakes is the only participant from Nottinghamshire and the competition is rather southern-centric.

The judges are the people who write the cupcake books on our kitchen shelves. Tarek Malouf, the owner of Hummingbird Bakery; Peggy Porschen, whose book ‘Cake Chic’ is so inspirational (this book is so special, it is not even allowed in the kitchen); master patissier Eric Lanlard; Exquisite Cake Company owner Abigail Moule and ‘the Queen of baked goods’, Lily Vanilli.

My new Posh Patisserie creation ‘white folie’ has been entered into the best presented cupcake class, competing against around 10 others.

The other competition categories are:

- Best decorated cupcake

- Best tasting cupcake

- Most innovative cupcake

- Best Cupcake for multiple outlets

- Best free-from cupcake

All entrants go forward to the overall champion category. I was trying to explain this to my stepsons and came up with Crufts as a rather unsavoury but appropriate analogy.

The press blurb says that cupcake consumption in the UK went up by 52% last year. The organisers, British Baker, reckon that nearly a third of all cupcakes are baked at home, meaning that professional suppliers have needed to raise their game and innovate. I am absolutely delighted that my work has been recognised in this context and I intend to have a fantastically fun day, whatever the outcome.

The end of several eras

2011-07-23T16:11:00.000+01:00

It’s only been seven weeks since I posted my last blog and such a lot has happened in a short time. I feel rather burdened by not writing about it, so I am ready to subject the world to my blogging again. (I will be posting at least once every two weeks.)

There have been a lot of changes at home for various family members, including the end of year 8, the end of A levels, the end of a degree course and the end of a college course (for me). All the boys are at home for summer and transition is in the air. It’s quite exciting really, but equally a time for strong nerves.

The cake highlights have included high tea for a brigadier, a naming ceremony, High School garden party, several bright and sunny weddings, one classy chocolate wedding, a few Group On vintage afternoon tea voucher redemptions, lots of musical cakes, baby showers, magic cakes, a pretty christening and a long journey with a 2 tier 1st birthday cake.

Some of the stuff between the cakes has been rather challenging but I have learnt so much over the last few years about being as pleasant a person as possible whilst being true to and standing up for myself. I am more open than ever to the personal development that comes with self knowledge gained when being exposed to difficulties in life. I can only attempt to control my own response - who knows what motivates others?!!!

I have developed some of the new skills I learnt at pastry chef college and have been working for months on a new range of cupcakes. I have called them ‘Posh Patisserie’ and they build on my fascination and admiration of excellent European cake shops. Please do have a look at my product page to find out more...

The fantastic news is that one of my ‘Posh Pats’ has been shortlisted in the National Cupcake Championship Final, taking place in London in a few weeks time. Stay tuned for more details.

So, with many changes likely to take place here at home, hopefully I am moving into my posh era!

Blog is moving!

2011-07-15T12:26:00.000+01:00

After a short break, I am resuming this blog from a link on my homepage.
Please access at http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Classy Cupcakes – onwards and upwards!

2011-06-04T14:52:00.000+01:00

I have seen many articles in various magazines over the last two years speculating about what the next big thing after cupcakes is going to be. In the meantime, everyone still loves them, everyone is using cupcake images to enhance their kitchen products and lots of people want their own cupcake business.

I have been SO busy and indeed very lucky to spot this trend early enough to enjoy some fruits of my labour.

I have written a couple of times about my opinion that cupcakes (especially very good ones!) have longevity and I am now planning to build further on a winning formula.

In the meantime, I have decided that I have said just about everything I needed to say about starting this business, enjoying all the hard work, the effect on the family, the profound changes in my outlook and the many, many other rewards.

I’ll put a signpost here very soon directing you to my new blog, which will keep readers updated on the exciting new products Classy Cupcakes has been working on and the continued adventure.

Please feel free to dig back over my journey during the last year. There are 41 blog entries in total.

Many thanks to everyone for their feedback, most of which was personally delivered. I have derived great support from all your good wishes. (I have also just realised that I had the wrong settings on this blog, making it difficult for people to leave comments, so I’ve just rectified that – better late than never!)

Yes, I finally found that soft centre! What a lovely way to do it.

Karen
x

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Reviewing the situation

2011-05-27T21:06:00.001+01:00

Here we are then.

I have spent the year producing thousands and thousands of cupcakes with love and consideration. Cakes made carefully, using the best possible ingredients. Lots of time, lots of care and attention.

I have been celebrating everything about cooking at home, filling the house with beautiful, nostalgic aromas.

I have been making my own statement about baking something to devour within a few days, not filling a product full of preservatives, putting it in a box and stacking it on a shelf.

I have developed an artistic skill and enjoyed every second of the creativity.

I have been delighted with my own abilities in many ways.

I have learnt to live with less money. I am doing without treats and luxuries which seldom fully compensated for a compromised lifestyle.

I have been really enjoying joining in with happy times. This has indeed made me much happier. I have been reminded again and again how much people care about each other and that has helped me care for others more.

These are the things this last year has mainly been about.

I’m ready to go on now, older and wiser, more appreciative of important things.

Stand by for my final ‘Living the cupcake dream’ blog, coming soon!

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Weighty issues

2011-05-21T18:21:00.002+01:00

I wrote about my preoccupation with good food last week...

I haven’t exactly been counting calories this year. Who would start a cake business and sign up for a pastry course and then eat lettuce? However, I was pleasantly surprised as I stepped on the scales last week for the first time in a year or so. Not as bad as I feared! But some work to do. Must try harder.

Even at my grand old age I am sometimes confused about weight and body image. Half of me wants to conform wholly to the advertised ‘ideal’ body image. The other half of me rejects that concept and wants to impress people with everything but my body. To make matters worse, I have much more often felt happier in my life within a size 16 body than a size 12!

A couple of years ago I lost a lot of weight on a well known liquid/food pack diet. Sure, I lost weight really quickly and it was interesting to examine food habits. Then my hair started falling out! I was also rather disappointed with a few shallow reactions.

Anyway, it should be easy to cut down, especially with a bit of planning. I love good food and we are entering a beautiful season of fresh fruit and vegetables. I will just have to not encase them in choux pastry or baste them in butter or set them in pastry cream!

I have also just inherited a wii from the youngest son, who had it replaced with something much more suited to shooting games. Being bottom of the technical chain in the house has its benefits. I am busy mastering wii fit, which seems to be much more entertaining than most prime time TV.

There’s no goal related to my shape or weight on the scales, my aim is not to worry too much, feel good about myself and take it from there...

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Gastronomic reminiscences

2011-05-13T20:57:00.001+01:00

Whenever I have time, I love spending weeks planning a great dinner party or special event.

I have wonderful memories of what I have cooked in the past. I remember the first ever Christmas dinner I cooked for 15 anxious relatives in the 80s. Then, Mexican parties, Chinese banquets and French feasts. A particularly memorable HUGE pile of profiteroles which was passed around the garden during a 70s themed fancy dress party. Fundraising tea parties; birthday cakes in various shapes and sizes; the first beef wellington I ever made, which made people swoon; the first dinner I cooked for a boyfriend (chicken in cheese sauce, a long time ago); fifty handmade pork pies for a Beeston Volunteer Centre dinner in the 90s, the manufacture of which would probably break every health and safety rule in the book now. Also the dinner my brother, boyfriend and I made for my mum’s 50th birthday – in her new kitchen, while she waited nervously.

Most recently some wonderful homemade bread, a whole stilton, an ice cream van and, of course, some personalised cupcakes (!) for my husband’s surprise 50th birthday party.

I remember some of these events more vividly than holidays.

It was a bit of a shocker to move on to the daily trudge of cooking for the boys and their various fads and fancies. Two vegetarians and no commonly consumed vegetable between them! But we have got there and I’m now planning to give some basic cooking lessons to the second one going off to University.

I don’t buy so many cook books now. However, the library at Clarendon College has been a wonderful resource this year. I have trawled through it and been hugely inspired by classic cake and patisserie recipes. As far as cooking at home is concerned, I have grown in confidence over the years and now tend to look at pictures and then make up my own recipes. I rarely watch cooking shows on TV, especially since being so busy with Classy Cupcakes, but I do find time to squeeze in the occasional ‘Come Dine with Me’, more for a laugh than the gourmandise.

I do realise that my relationship with food veers towards the obsessional! Don’t blame me - it runs in the family! We find it a wholesome expression of love. I have found that really good food, often simple and not necessarily in excess, can be used to celebrate and commiserate and generally enhances most occasions!

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Choices

2011-05-07T12:12:00.002+01:00

As I reach the end of my college course there is a mild feeling of anxiety creeping up on me. This is a self imposed anxiety as I promised myself I would wait until the end of the course and then decide what to do next. During this year I have investigated shops, traded at markets, supplied outlets, catered for many varied events, run workshops, learnt advanced pastry chef skills, supported charity events and supplied thousands of cakes. I have looked at new ways of marketing and reaching new consumers. I have asked many questions, done lots of research, kept a diary and hardly ever said no to a potential customer!

When I set off with Classy Cupcakes I wondered what the options might be. I had an inkling it might be good but I never dreamt I would be SO busy. It has been wonderful and I am extremely grateful to all my customers and supporters.
I need to keep the momentum up now and will start to showcase my new expanded portfolio very soon.

At the same time I hope for a more ordered portfolio in my head. I have learnt many things this year. One of the main things is that I must be true to myself. I sincerely hope for no more wasted time pursuing things that are simply to impress others or doing what I think people think I should be doing.

When all of that is stripped out I am left with myself - my simple ambitions - hopefully spending time with those I want to be with and being happy, and doing something I want to do and doing it very well.

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Running a business

2011-04-28T21:54:00.003+01:00

I had a really good conversation this week - with someone who has run his own business for quite a while.

I’ve been so busy over the last few weeks it’s been difficult to have any significant time for reflection, but since the really good conversation, it’s been interesting to think about what has been achieved to date and how I feel about this new working existence.

It is a totally different state of mind. Exciting, scary, liberating, isolating.

After consideration, I think the most valuable personal attributes are the abilities to hold ones nerve and remain focussed. But at the same time, you need to make sure great opportunities are not missed. Translucent blinkers!

Other characteristics that come in handy are tempered optimism, cheery cheerfulness, boundless energy, meticulous organisation and bendy flexibility.

It also feels as if I have developed a gut feeling about people and products that are the right fit for what I am doing. I trust that gut feeling more and more – it has rarely let me down.

Networking has always been important in all the jobs I’ve ever done but never more important than in this one. I’m also getting good at working on my own for a few days then quickly connecting with an audience. And I’m working on the boldness and risk taking!

Let’s not forget the multitasking.
At the moment I am highly successful at being chief executive, chief sales person and chief pot washer.

That might be about to change....watch this space!

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Busy, busy, busy

2011-04-15T22:50:00.001+01:00

How interesting that the week that Heat magazine declares they have had enough of cupcakes, Classy Cupcakes have had one of our busiest weeks ever.

This week, cupcakes have been used to send piggy birthday wishes, create a stunning impression at a corporate event, act as the centrepieces at a magical Alice in Wonderland wedding , celebrate an 18th with some cheeky monkeys, produce a lovely effect in a garden room at an evening wedding reception and send various assorted best wishes and birthday wishes.

We are also very busy next week with school holiday workshops and preparations for the Royal Wedding event in the Park.

Despite Heat’s protestations, I am still convinced of the longevity of the cupcake for at least a little while longer. Everyone thinks they look sweet, and bespoke items are really cute/funny. At events, they are versatile and informal and easy to serve and share. In mixed gift packs, you get the ‘chocolate box’ effect of choosing a favourite flavour and it’s easy to send a highly personal message.

I know there’s some attempted modernisation and diversity currently going on, with giant cupcakes, pops and pies, but I intend to stick to the pure cake. My interest lies with old fashioned baking at its purest and highest quality - the delight of tea and cake served on pretty china, the excitement of a kids’ party, the spectacle of a big event and the enjoyment of a special gift.
Long may that continue!

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Media exposure

2011-04-08T22:15:00.002+01:00

I’m on Radio Nottingham again tomorrow morning, reviewing the papers. This is the fourth time I have been asked to take part and I very much enjoy it. I was extremely nervous the first time, right up to the point until I started talking, then it was fun.

This was never the plan for this year really. I have not purposely chased such exposure - all this radio work has come from a short email to the Nottingham Evening Post last year asking if they wanted to cover the full time launch of Classy Cupcakes during National Cupcake Week. They came to my house and took a photo of me pouting over some cupcakes. It was quite an impressive photograph - I didn’t even recognise myself! The radio people called the day after the article appeared.

I was also photographed this week at Woodborough Hall for a Nottinghamshire Hospice event. The last time that happened me and my cakes were in the Nottingham Today magazine.

To be honest, I’m not sure all this activity raises many extra cupcake orders, but it is excellent experience in this extraordinary year.

I remember that a much admired teacher at primary school told me he thought I would be famous one day. My disentangling thinking processes this year have helped me realise that this did have an effect on me and may have been partly responsible for the driven approach I often adopt. Always keen to impress, always keen to overachieve.

I think baking is making me wiser! I have learnt that I don’t really need to impress anyone, particularly people who don’t impress me.

Maybe more interestingly than anything, for the first time in some time, I have quite impressed myself this year.

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Mother’s Day

2011-04-01T22:51:00.001+01:00

I’m usually not very good at participating in Mother’s Day. Probably because I’m not a mother! This year, no doubt, I will phone my own darling mum for a long chat and then I am heading to a large hotel , which has hired me to give out classy cupcakes to the mothers attending their hotel for lunch on their special day.

My maternal position at home is difficult to define. Along with my husband, I care for 2 boys (and occasionally 3 when the eldest sporadically returns home from University). I often think about my responsibilities, my status, my ambitions and my life choices as I am pairing socks or cooking tea. Sometimes it feels as if I can have a moan about the fact that I feel that I have little influence over the way they behave, the values they learn or how much they contribute to the household but then again have to admit that sometimes I really don’t want that responsibility.

Four years after we all moved in together I am still learning daily what it takes to live in this formerly strange and unfamiliar territory.

This is what I know:
- I care about the boys deeply, and will always be on their side

- I will always give them my best advice, especially if requested

- I thank them sincerely for what they have taught me about me - my strengths and my shortcomings

- I cherish the way that my relationship with my husband has been tested and has ultimately triumphed through this rather unexpected set of circumstances

- I am learning to be more content to be a member of the older generation, and note interestingly that this was my biggest resentment when the youngsters first appeared

- When looking after a bunch of boys, it’s easy to become the skivvy - but asking for help is much better for everyone concerned

I don’t really need a greetings card to reinforce all this. It’s all a bit too complicated to sum up in a single gesture.

As always, I’m sure, we will have a nice day together. We will exchange smiles and ask how each other is and, on some level, know what lies beneath those interactions.

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Corporate speak

2011-03-25T22:38:00.001Z

There have been a couple of reminders of a former life over the last few weeks. The first was an accidental guided tour of a refurbished hotel and the second was a corporate order for cupcakes. Both revolved around the delivery of corporate messages.

The accidental tour was delivered by a smart, committed girl who appeared to sincerely believe that the hotel chain she works for is the best in the world. She explained carefully how every employee needs to learn the 4 golden operating rules which were displayed prominently on the staff canteen notice boards. All very impressive, but this did seem to come as news to two workers I spoke to quietly in the canteen on the way out!

I was once a very corporate message person, delivering similar endorsements around the world on behalf of textile brands, dot com services and higher education institutions. I always loved being part of the team!
I understand much better now what these messages are for. They aim, of course, to deliver uniform service and try and get the people responsible for delivering the service to buy into a fixed set of values.

It was a surprise to find that I found the hotel tour experience rather shocking. I have lived with my own version of customer service values, Classy Cupcakes values, for 2 years now and I hadn’t realised how wonderful it has been not to have to compromise on that.

And now I am sitting here wondering whether I have unlocked Pandora’s box by starting my own business. Will I ever be able to comfortably work to someone else’s values? Whether or not I do, I will always hope to remember that there has been nothing more refreshing than enjoying making the absolute most of my skills, trusting my instincts and delighting my customers.

The best thing I can hope for in the future, if things do change, is that I share as many values as possible of a prospective partner or employer.

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

More speculation about cupcake fascination

2011-03-18T22:39:00.001Z

There have been articles appearing in papers and magazines about the national obsession with cupcakes for ages now. I think just about everything has been offered up as an explanation, or blamed, for the captivation.

A friend sent me a very funny article from the Daily Mash a couple of weeks ago. It has to be my favourite article about cupcakes. You might argue that maybe a cupcake supplier should not be giggling at it but I am content that my cakes are not frou frou enough to spoil my enjoyment!

Very amusing, here it is (with the rude bits removed)...

Cupcakes will not plug gaping chasm where your soul used to be, say experts.
Small cakes with brightly-coloured icing will not bring boundless childish glee to your meaningless existence, it has been confirmed.
The Institute for Studies has spent the last two years studying the lingering trend for cupcakes as an adult food, at a self-consciously quirky tea shop called something like 'Little Missy Yum Yum' or 'Alice's Adventures in Cakeland' where every purchase somehow always comes to at least a tenner.

Professor Henry Brubaker said: "One of our key findings is that cupcakes are actually for children.
"We also found that the adult cupcake eaters were predominantly females with too much disposable income who are either trapped in damaging relationships, have recently had their heart shattered into a million tiny pieces or who simply hate themselves because of who they really are.
"Whatever the problem, the cupcake, be it 'Scrummy Strawbie', 'Banana Baby Bear' or 'Nanna Noo-Noo's Nougat Nicie', is not the answer, it's actually the question."

Trend analyst Nikki Hollis said: "For many grown-ups cupcakes offer a portal to the halcyon days of childhood, when the world was full of wonder, colour and excitement. It's pathetic.”
The Daily Mash, 03-03-11

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Wedding etiquette

2011-03-11T20:46:00.001Z

I am attending my third wedding fair with a Classy Cupcakes stand this weekend. I have enjoyed doing all of them so far and it’s been great to meet some excited people planning a day to remember.

I have created some wonderful personalised wedding cake sets in the last year and have lots of weddings coming up in the diary. Each one is completely different and highly bespoke. They include classic sets with quirky twists, brightly coloured carnival styles, bright pinks, pastel pinks and ‘Mr and Mrs’ cakes. I have upcoming Alice in Wonderland themes and even cloud cupcakes topped with a hot air balloon basket cake and paper mache balloon. I remember smiling at ridiculous pictures of people decorating Queen Victoria’s daughter’s wedding cake on stepladders but, given my height, I don’t think the hot air balloon set will be far off!

I’m not sure I’m totally at ease being part of the wedding industry. I will not do wedding fairs that cost me a fortune, because inevitably that cost would need to be passed on to my customers. I have made a decision not to charge any extra for my wedding cakes because generally they do not take me any longer to make than any of my other celebration cakes. Customers seem delighted and surprised at that decision when I tell them at tasting sessions or the fairs. I’m not sure some other people selling their wares are entirely comfortable with it. But, it’s my business and it’s my choice and I really enjoy being involved with such happy occasions.

I read somewhere recently that Mary Douglas, a British anthropologist interested in human culture and symbolism, said that if an alien came to a wedding on earth, he would be ‘baffled to make up his mind whether the central focus of the ceremony was the marriage or the cake’. Some of the wedding cake symbolism dates from Roman times, when bread was broken over the head of the bride. The traditional wedding cakes we all recognise evolved into the current form in the late eighteenth century. A frequent debate for some of my customers, usually between the mother of the bride and the bride, is whether to have all cupcakes or to also have a small cake to symbolically slice. My orders are about 10% with small cake, 90% without. All debaters might be interested to know that one modern theory for the symbol of cutting the cake is that it is the equivalent of piercing the hymen (not really very nice at a reception in front of your relatives), but it is also thought to be a representation, when the bride and groom cut together, of their joint work ahead.
Many of my wedding customers want to fulfil the tradition but usually just massacre a cupcake with a big knife!

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Advertising

2011-03-04T22:10:00.001Z

A funny thing happened to me....this week on my Classy Cupcakes Google profile. I won’t bore you with the details but it did show how easy it is for someone who hadn’t even tried my products to send bad vibes to potential customers. It’s all sorted out now, hopefully there’s no harm done and one good thing is that the incident gave me the chance to speak to another local lovely cakey person.

Since advertising locally when I first became a full time cake maker, I receive almost daily calls from all sorts of publications, outlets and websites asking if I want to spend some of my hard earned money with them. Given that I am getting most of my business now through word of mouth (and Google) it seems like a waste of time talking to them really. I do make a point of not being rude, they are only doing their job, but I find it hard to work out whether I am missing an opportunity. Who knows what will be the most effective?

Another local supplier advertised cupcake workshops on a discounted ‘deal of the day’ website this week. Word got around quickly and it certainly seems to be a very popular medium for selling these days. The ‘discounted’ price is about the same I am proposing to charge for my kids workshops. Not quite sure how that happened!

In terms of Ecommerce, I am happy with my website as my shop window. I have got to grips with Facebook, which I am using as a bulletin board. I have carefully constructed a You Tube video, but I’d be happier to categorise that as a bit of fun rather than advertising. My blog is more about how I’m feeling rather than selling my wares. And I’m trying with Twitter, I really am. However, I would much rather DO things than stop to tweet about them.
I have no idea how I rose up the Google rankings but long may it continue!

So, I am happy to stick with my current aims:
• to keep delighting my customers
• to continue improving my repertoire
• to be really flattered by recommendations
• to enjoy every moment of doing something I love

Note the lack of ambition to make millions, hence fewer ads. Perhaps surprisingly, these days I consider myself to be much more artisan than capitalist.

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Cupcake workshops

2011-02-25T20:03:00.001Z

This week Classy Cupcakes ran its first ‘Art and Science of Cupcakes’ children’s workshop.

I had a lot of fun getting ready for this event by preparing the presentation, thinking about nice little details, working out the best visual aids and making chef hats (obviously!). I also met lots of interesting people and was quite overwhelmed with offers of help.

I suppose it would have been quite easy to simply give each child a piping bag and clear up the chaos afterwards but I wanted the workshop to be much more interesting than that, so I drew on my fascination about the fact that when you add eggs and flour to sugar and butter and bake it, you get cake! So, we talked about each ingredient and each process and hopefully I have left even the youngest children with some appreciation of how lucky we are that science makes cake work.

I did a little section about the history of the cupcake, speaking about the fact that the Magnolia Bakery in New York took the fairy cake concept to a new level, one day in the mid 90s, when they had some cake mix left over and had run out of big tins. Apparently one corner of their shop window was filled with the new cupcakes until they sold out. Over time, more and more of the window was filled and interest grew so much that they had to limit customers to a maximum of 12 cakes each per day in order to stand any chance of keeping up with demand.

All the kids at the workshop let out a little ‘aah’ after I decorated every demonstration cake. When they took over the decorating their creativity was overwhelming.

There are various theories about the massive appeal of the cupcake. I favour the ones about them suggesting idealised versions of 50s and 60s housewives mixed with modern desires for gentle domesticity. They evoke simple pleasures and fill the house with home baking smells. Young and old, they induce nostalgic tradition and/or kitsch desire.

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Give me a break!

2011-02-18T23:02:00.001Z

I am only kidding, I’m still loving it! I had some fantastic Valentine customers this week and great feedback on the special cakes.

It’s now 18 months since the creation of Classy Cupcakes and I have been reflecting on the fact that I have been very, very busy for a long time now.

This is my recent work history:
Jan 06 – Promoted to new job at the University. It doesn’t take long to realise that it’s mad.
July 06 – Becomes clear that my husband’s three boys are coming to live with us full time, and fast.
August 06 – Quickly find rented house, juggle between two bases for a while.
December 06 – After a few setbacks, finally find a suitable house for us all to live in.
March 07 – Move in to new house, set it all up and establish new routines.
April 07 – Collapse, exhausted, can’t move. Take 3 weeks of work sick (for the first time in my life!), then go back to normal very quickly, maybe too quickly.
May 07 to Dec 08 – Struggle to deal with living in a busy teenage environment after a long and peaceful adult existence!
Jan 09 – Take 3 weeks unpaid off work. I wasn’t entitled to any time off when the boys came to live with us. I didn’t question that at the time, but in hindsight maybe I should have asked for more help.
Feb 09 – Come back to work part time, 4 days per week. This appears to be supported by most people at work but I am dismayed to find it is criticised by a couple of more senior people.
April 09 – Take on extra work in other departments in an attempt to try and move on. Decide to give existing career a year to improve.
April 09 – August 09 – In spare time, develop Classy Cupcakes – because it is a fun thing to do. Get a great deal of help and encouragement from husband and boys, who are my greatest baking fans.
October 09 – Classy Cupcakes launch!
January 10 – Invited to help with even more extra work at the University. Go back up to full time. Bake by night.
March 10 – Interest in cakes is growing quickly.
May 10 – Cake creation is making me happy, work is not. Catering is calling to me and I’ve had enough of current job. Hand notice in and enrol for part time pastry college.
Since August 10 – Existence includes full time (and overtime!) Classy Cupcakes duties but also pastry college one day per week and extra domestic work. LOADS of baking. I’m now in the heart of the house and in the right place to support my whole family. I’m also speaking to and meeting lovely customers every day. In addition, I have more time to think, read and write. Because I’m working from home, I also have a sense of a 24 hour commitment to Classy Cupcakes if necessary.

I have been overwhelmed for a long time, really. But looking back, I have amazed myself.

I am purposely not projecting in to the future too much at the moment. For now, I will carry on getting used to my new lifestyle and really, REALLY enjoy the growing interest in my products.

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

The never-ending skills of women!

2011-02-12T03:00:00.002Z

This week I had an unexpected three way conversation with a female law graduate who has postponed her dreams of having a family until her professional career is established, a woman who fell unexpectedly pregnant in her 40s, and me – a pretty competent girl who is still coming to terms with her rejection of a conventional management career and fitting into a boy dominated step family. It was an interesting discussion which covered a lot of coping with traditional family roles and career expectations for women. All three of us were clearly multi tasking experts!

I was also asked to review the papers on BBC Radio Nottingham last weekend. It was a good, fun experience. I found myself delivering a mini rant about an article in the Guardian where prominent women lined up to make statements about ageism in broadcasting. The trouble for me was that they were all sat there with maximum make up and shiny, skinny dresses. I thought they undermined their points by trying so hard to look ‘young’. “Just be yourself” I found myself professing to the Nottingham public. And then later had a nervous, wobbly moment where I was worried about my own integrity.

On reflection, women should be shouting out loud! Our skill set is immense. The contradictory messages coming in to women from media and advertisers about having successful careers, great bodies, perfect families and wonderful lifestyles are immense. Yet we cope with all this and deliver so much. I feel that the time has come for some personal celebration rather than concentrating on failure to tick all boxes. Yes, I am a good wife and step mum. Yes, I am great at baking, being jolly, thinking about things and supporting others. But yes, I am also really bad at accepting compliments.

Women’s Hour are currently running a series on Women in Business, about women setting up their own businesses. In the trailers, there are lots of messages about success and the measurement of that success being primarily increasing turnover and profit.
I wrote them this email:

"Dear Woman’s hour

Re. Women in Business. Your web introduction seems to concentrate on expansion/profit but I urge you to cover other positive aspects for women running their own business. I’m a science graduate who worked successfully in 3 different sectors before starting my own catering business. I’ve now gone back to college to train as a pastry chef and earn much less than before. Previous earnings enabled me to start financing the new venture, but the move to full time caterer in August 2010 was a huge leap of faith. However, I now have a job that allows me to better look after my newly acquired step family as well as energetically satisfying a long held dream. I am astounded that I’m not just measuring success in £s. Starting to discover what really motivates me (age 47) has so far been more fulfilling than impressing a corporation, having a company car or big office. I no longer belong to (mostly male) bosses, I’m free to be myself and I’m learning to be happy with that."

I doubt I will hear a thing but the most important thing to me is that I can hardly believe these heartfelt sentiments have come from my mouth. I think this was utterly unpredictable six months ago when I set out to make my fortune. What a wonderful change!

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Reignited creativity

2011-02-04T22:24:00.002Z

Along with other enthusiastic Music for Everyone members, I practised Elgar’s ‘Dream of Gerontius’ all last weekend and we are due to perform in what promises to be a grand and moving spectacle this Saturday night. Nottingham singers who like this sort of thing are very lucky to have this wonderful organisation in their city and with the boundless energy and creativity of Artistic Director Angela Kay at the helm, I have enjoyed some magnificent experiences over the years in both the large chorus and the chamber choir, the East of England Singers.

For a long time, this has been my main creative outlet. As a child, however, I remember enjoying doing artistic things all the time - drawing and sewing, making all my own Christmas cards from an early age and cooking. I vividly remember the mammoth and very exciting task of making all the party invitations, table settings and other decorations for my grandparent’s ruby wedding celebrations in the 70s.

In my new business, I take great care to make special cakes. Each cake must look lovely and each set must fit together well. I am an OCD cupcake maker! I am really enjoying the artistic element of making the cakes and particularly relish a special challenge - I am making a paper mache hot air balloon to go with a set of cakes for a wedding late in the year.

The cakes and the cooking and the work I am doing at catering college has reignited my wider creative interest. I am reading more and listening to good music more often. I have also decided not to switch the TV on at all during weekdays. Though cooking in bulk is not particularly glamorous, it feels highly creative - with the need to respect ingredients, juggle processes and react to sometimes unexpected circumstances as and when they emerge.

I am not sure creativity was always encouraged or celebrated in recent jobs. I made a mistake in thinking that the academic environment was essentially creative. Methodical and innovative approaches to research, yes, absolutely. But looking for new ways of doing things with people and encouraging resourceful/imaginative solutions to management problems, no – not in my experience.

I can now see that’s what I was yearning for and that’s where the last career didn’t work for me in the end. Onwards and upwards!

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Wages

2011-01-28T19:51:00.002Z

Presumably along with every other self employed person in the UK, I have just returned my self assessment tax form on line. I’m a self assessment virgin. It has taken a bit of work to get my head round getting everything together and working out what to return in which section. It’s much more complex than someone else working it all out for me, which was the case in all my previous jobs.

The process has allowed me to reflect on income, where it comes from and what it’s for.
To complete the tax form, I first worked out the cost of operations, a bit tricky since currently working from home. Items ‘shared’ between household and business such as cooker, car and gas/electric need to be taken into account. I then looked at the cost of all my raw ingredients including food components and packaging. The equipment I have bought for the business such as fridges and ovenware go in another category. When all of this is balanced against my income whatever is left over is what my time and effort is worth!

When I have taken different jobs in my life, especially when I have changed career and taken a reduced salary, I have always attempted to work out the monetary equivalent of extras such as the ability to walk to work or work in a lovely environment. These were all valued highly (by me) and I totted up such features alongside the salary and benefits offered. I’m struggling to do the same thing with the new job because I am now paying myself. What salary am I worth? What do I need?
Obviously, I do like money. But it feels like I am working much harder for my money now and the risk is all mine. My appreciation of the value for money has definitely been enhanced. Maybe current politics are elevating this view. The news about where cutbacks are going to be made is unbearable.

I keep on coming back to consideration of a new measure of success, not just the money but also the pain/pleasure of earning it.

At the moment I am learning more about myself, just being me, every day whilst receiving the new wage. How much is that worth?

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Afternoon tea

2011-01-21T20:07:00.001Z

We have reached a nice time of the year. Officially, everyone is supposed to be at their lowest ebb but for me, it’s time to celebrate my birthday – as usual I will string it out for as long as possible!

As far back as I can remember, birthday celebrations have involved some lovely form of food in agreeable surroundings, from the ‘cooking’ party I helped organise for my 8th or 9th birthday, to occasional meals out in posh pubs in my childhood, luxurious days in Nottingham in my 20s, themed food and fancy dress parties in my 30s and lovely European weekend trips in my 40s. (I am very lucky!)

This year’s trip was one of the best to date - a couple of days in London, taking in the marvellous architecture, seeing some wonderful exhibitions, travelling on the top deck of buses and in the front row of seats on Thames clippers. The food highlight was undoubtedly afternoon tea at Langham’s Hotel. Budget cuts were made for other meals in order to facilitate this expense. Rather than eating exclusively at cafes and restaurants, we ate sandwiches on the run, breakfasted from Sainsbury’s pastry counter and enjoyed a rather splendid Lebanese meal which was excellent value. Even though the Langham’s price was probably enough to make you spit your tea out spluttering, it was a wonderful treat.
I was not really accustomed to ‘proper’ afternoon tea before now but this is a meal I could get used to. The welcome was warm and not stuffy or cheesy. The chairs were low slung and pretty soon we were too. The table was lower than a dining table, which immediately put us at ease. The piano was tinkling gently in the background. Conversation was flowing along with the tea (we later estimated we had drunk around 2 pints of tea each). Having skipped lunch, we were hungry, but the meal was so filling we could not eat anything else all day. Nothing was rushed, yet we were constantly attended to. The tasty sandwich course flowed into buttery scones – all in full view of the delicate cakes that were bought out with the first pot of tea. All through the meal they sat near us on the stands, ready to tickle our fancy.

This afternoon tea evoked many childhood memories for me and reminded me again of the trips my family made to Europe in my early childhood (my dad was a language academic) and my first sightings of beautiful patisserie cakes in France and Germany. I remember my jaw dropping open in St Malo a few years ago when I saw tall, tall cakes (11 or 12 layers) in a shop window, exquisite and delicate, obviously decorated with a light touch, with fruity flavours and rich chocolate. Utterly inspiring.

I am doing my best to learn more about this fine art and hope to continue to develop some of the techniques in my own cake making. I do think such finesse is rare in this country. But it is alive and kicking at Langham’s – we have seen it and devoured it joyfully!

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Aspirations to cater

2011-01-14T19:38:00.001Z

I knew there was something weird going on when, after visiting a quirky new cafe in Nottingham in April 2009, I handed my name to the bemused manager in case she had any part time jobs. I have no idea what I was thinking, given that I had a full-on/full time job, a family to look after and countless other responsibilities along with no waitressing experience.

The catering industry has always called to me. I nearly opened a cafe 15 years ago and a few years later set up a recipe/ingredient sourcing website. Both ideas floundered due to lack of commitment from me, being shunned so I could concentrate on other, arguably, more mainstream jobs and a safe wage. However, I was always the one to volunteer to cook for charitable events and for clubs and groups I attended. My cakes for the office always went down rather well and some of the feasts I prepared for special parties were pretty memorable (I still get reminded of the three foot tower of profiteroles for a 70s style housewarming party).

It might just be my imagination but people seem much more interested to talk to me about my new career - or maybe it is just because I can talk about it with real energy and affection, which I have been told is quite infectious.

I can see that handing my name over in the cafe that day was yet another step I took towards setting up Classy Cupcakes. It was a hasty moment that betrayed what was really in my heart. The difficulty for me was always wondering what everyone else would be thinking. Once I made the decision to set the business up, the rest was much easier. What a daunting prospect - but what a wonderful opportunity.

I heard a brilliant quote by J B Priestly on a radio programme this week that sums it up for me:

"There are occasions in a man's existence when he must make something happen, must fling a flash of colour into his life or some part of him, perhaps the boy in him, will perish, flying before the grey armies of age, timidity and boredom."

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Resolutions

2011-01-07T22:27:00.002Z

Happy New Year everyone!

When I eventually had the chance to have a rest, it came easily. The year ended with a crescendo and I was much more tired out than I realised. I’m sure it was the same for many of you.

During the holiday, I visited and valued my parents more than ever. I also enjoyed a quiet and happy time with my family in Nottingham. I didn’t bake any cakes but thought about my business quite a bit, considering the aspects that have been working the best, those I enjoyed the most and the areas I want to develop. I also made a happy Classy Cupcakes You Tube video to celebrate my experiences to date (I’ve added a link from this blog).

I have also made a few changes to the blog. My intention is to post every Friday evening/Saturday morning, unless I am extremely busy but if you choose to follow the blog, you will be emailed automatically with the latest post. You can sign up as a follower, either privately or publically, via the new ‘followers’ section. Thanks very much to everyone for all the individual feedback you have given me over the last few months, I really appreciate it. I know a lot of people are reading the blog so please do feel free to get in touch and let me know what you think, or if you have similar experiences to talk about. You can contact me via my Classy Cupcakes website.

After several months of looking outwards – developing my brand and publicising my product, meeting lots of lovely new customers and delivering thousands of cakes, I feel as if I want to spend some time looking inwards next. It has taken me some time to get to this stage, there has been such a profound change in my daily life I think it has taken a while to get over the shock!

Sometimes I feel as if I have been leading a rather hedonistic life since leaving the University last August, although my husband says that the definition of hedonistic does not usually involve working as madly hard as I have been with so many concurrent ambitions and activities. What I really mean is that the new existence feels a bit self indulgent sometimes. I feel extremely lucky to be doing something I love that people seem to really appreciate. But this new way of life has led to a few unexpected preoccupations - a growth in self esteem, a continued search for personal identity and a need to take some action to attain my personal goals.

I have taken a few positive steps – I have joined a meditation class and I have started a steady and gentle diet and exercise routine. Over the next few months I am hoping to make some lifestyle changes that will stick but at the same time I will be careful about my motivations. I will attempt to enjoy just being me, not trying to over achieve - although I am very excited about some of the cake related plans I am making.

I will try to be loving, happy and supportive to all my family and friends - as much as I can.

Oh, and I will be making twice daily applications of hand cream, a wonderful new practise developed during the holiday. See what I mean about the hedonism?

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Check out the new Classy Cupcakes You Tube video! Happy New Year everyone!

2010-12-31T12:43:00.001Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb2u93CUsgA

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Christmas with the family

2010-12-17T08:48:00.001Z

I’m really looking forward to all our plans after a long, busy and pretty traumatic year.

There aren’t that many plans actually - we are going to chill in Nottingham and go visiting in Yorkshire and Northampton. I am having 10 cupcake-free days (unthinkable!), starting on Christmas Eve!

With that in mind, I am keeping this Christmas blog short so I can start chilling with (nearly) immediate effect. Just one more busy weekend and a few more Christmas delivery days to go...

Happy Christmas, everyone! And very best wishes for a wise and wonderful New Year.

Karen xxx

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Crisis of confidence?

2010-12-10T23:12:00.001Z

I have had a torrent of interest in my business and excellent feedback every week for more than a year but, for once, I have got a reasonably quiet order book next week. Naturally there are ups and downs in any business but when I am not feeling quite as bouncy and optimistic as normal, I can be quickly be dragged into self doubt.

So, here’s an alternative view:
- I have worked extremely hard without a break on my new business since August 2010, someone somewhere is telling me it’s time for a break!
- Everyone is busy with Christmas preparations. It is wonderful to have some time in hand to enjoy singing in the East of England singers ‘wassailing’ concert this weekend and get ready for Christmas with my family.
- I have got some time to work on other projects such as my ‘Science of Baking’ kids workshops I plan to run in February and more work on perfecting my patisserie techniques.
- And just a little thought – maybe I could go for a walk, have a rest, watch a great film, have a chat, help someone........or maybe even chill out???

It would be so good to be able to measure my current success in ways other than turnover and profit. Other measures such as heightened happiness, broadened experience and general contentment should be valued higher more often. This would require quite a big change in my brain and it would be so good to accomplish.

Challenges like this help to remind me of what my journey could/should be about. What’s the point of changing so much but learning nothing new?

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Flexitime working

2010-12-02T19:02:00.001Z

I have worked from home once before, when I worked for a small dot com company based in London in the late 90s. I commuted to London twice a week and spent the rest of the time in a little office at the top of the house I lived in then. The company was brand new, there were very few employees and there was a stack of work to do. I found it extremely difficult to switch off, checking my email and fax for responses to our offer to appear on the new website from early in the morning to late at night. The day in London was very long – often involving getting the 6.35am train from Beeston and arriving back at just after 9pm.

I guess this aspect of my personality and approach to work was always going to be a potential down side to working from home in my new business. The boundaries are even less pronounced than before, using the same cooker and work surfaces to cook family meals and cake orders; using the same computer to send personal and work messages; using the same car (with cakes on the side!) for deliveries and going to visit family and friends.

I saw the future when I went to work at the School of Computer Science in 2006. These academics worked in a 24 hour environment like I had never seen before. It didn’t matter what side of the world you were in or what time zone, communication was possible, indeed mandatory if you didn’t want to be left out of any loop. I can see that, over the last few years, everyday people have all caught up with this pretty manic state to a certain extent with the blackberry being a huge part of everyday life at the University as I left. It felt that the ability to communicate when you’re at another meeting or out at a restaurant seemed quite addictive to many.

Facebook is another wonderful invention (though similarly addictive, I have observed). I can now see how many people have looked at a particular image I have loaded on my Classy Cupcakes Facebook page. I can also see how many people have looked at my blog – and which part of the world they are viewing from (hallo everyone in the US, Germany and Brunei this month!) The boundaries merge even further – with a presence on both these facilities I am open for business 24 hours a day and so is everything I have taken a picture of or written over the last 6 months.

I do have a lovely additional flexitime feeling about my cakes. After a fervour of activity, usually centred around Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning, I do all my deliveries and then sit back and think about the people enjoying the fruits of my labour around the city and environs.

A temporary halt to an expected order schedule appeared last weekend and a long, snowy walk to the local nature reserve with my husband was even more precious than if it had been predicted.
So, I have resolved to start to set my own boundaries, something I have not been achieving very well over the last few busy weeks.

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Living with boys

2010-11-20T00:41:00.001Z

My husband has been away on the other side of the world this week. I have missed him hugely but happily he’s due back tomorrow. I plan to overwhelm him with love and attention!

His occasional absence always seems to amplify the fact that I am surrounded by boys – his three sons (now aged 21, 17 and 12) came to live with us full time about 4 years ago. The eldest is now away at University but it’s definitely usually a team effort to look after the varied needs of the household.

From the career focussed, control freakish, rather child unfriendly position I previously adopted in life there were some dramatic changes. In the 90s I used to love watching ‘Men Behaving Badly’ never realising my day to day existence was destined to turn into an episode!

I was always the tomboy at school, taking science subjects and not liking pink, fluffy things at all. I then went on to take on a traditionally masculine career path, utilising my brute strength and tenacity rather than any femininity to get results. But when the change occurred at home, all of a sudden there were 7 males (husband, 3 boys, 1 old cat and 2 little kittens) in the house together with me. My lovely old cat died soon after and I arranged for the kittens to be neutered!
I felt outnumbered but it forced me to play the female role more than at any other time. I was the one who sorted out the curtains and cushions, the one who did the majority of the cooking (that’s when the love of baking was revived) and supervised the cleaning (though it took me three years to take this on single handed and not rely on external cleaners). I did not automatically become the subservient one, it’s just that I was better at some of this stuff and I cared more about it.
It caused me to revisit previous conclusions reached about the roles of my parents while I was growing up, it was maybe not quite so black and white as I previously imagined.

I have learnt a lot about boys. These are my personal conclusions:
- I don’t believe they do messy stuff on purpose, just to upset girls
- They are so much better at single tasking than women
- There’s no point shouting at them, reasoning is the way to go
- Food cannot be bought and cooked fast enough

The biggest resentment in the early days was that they make me feel older than I wanted to. I was forced to take the role of the responsible, middle age female. I guess this just happens gradually to people who have kids who grow up with them!

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Taking stock

2010-11-13T13:44:00.002Z

This week, it’s exactly 6 months since I handed my notice in at the University.
It feels like so long ago but time has passed very quickly. I worked 3 months notice and now I have worked 3 months full time at my new business.

During the notice period, I:
- got very stressed, every day, worrying about whether I was doing the right thing, what people thought about it and feeling in turn excited/irresponsible/empowered/defeated
- spent hardly any money on clothes & luxuries
- made plans for joining a gym & reading more
- had a break from singing in the choir
- wrote and polished my leaving speech
- arranged to say a proper goodbye to pleasant colleagues I knew I was unlikely to stay in regular touch with
- updated the Classy Cupcakes website
- got really organised for baking duties
- courted some potential customers
- made plans for some well placed advertisements and marketing activity

During my 3 months since leaving, I:
- have made and sold thousands of cupcakes/savoury muffins and biscuits
- met some lovely customers and have really enjoyed contributing to happy times
- am less stressed, but still have a tendency to stress, now about different things
- spent even less money on clothes and luxuries
- have not had a moment to join a gym but have worked through the physical challenges of the new job
- listened to hours of high quality radio but not increased the reading yet (apart from cook books)
- rejoiced in singing again, resolving never to give choir up again as a result of an overburdened schedule
- have become EVEN MORE organised with baking duties
- have really enjoyed home life, having more time to take proper care of and pay more quality attention to my family
- feel as if I have just started the process of deciding what to next – how to develop my business and fulfil my ambitions
- have really impressed myself with my ability to be creative, positive and self sufficient

Let’s see what the next 6 months brings...

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

The broad appeal of cupcakes

2010-10-30T15:42:00.001+01:00

I have met some wonderful cake enthusiasts over the last year or so. I always knew that there would be a market for gifts from yummy mummys, children’s parties and maybe there would be a few weddings and birthday celebrations. But when I started I was immediately struck by the broader interest, especially from people who liked the bespoke element of my offer. I started catering for corporate events, christenings, shop openings, comedy club events and retirement dos. People were using the cupcakes to send or reinforce a special message. One lady wanted something for her team who had reached a sales target of 28.8% - I will always remember that number, having piped it on many cakes! Next came the High School garden party cakes using school tie colours, mad hair cakes to celebrate the opening of a hairdressing salon, owl wedding cakes, and the latest creation of full size edible spiders for Halloween. I have provided bespoke cakes for someone leaving a lingerie firm to have twins, celebration of merging departments, a Hollywood themed birthday and the implementation of a new IT system. 50th birthday parties are proving particularly popular!
Forthcoming orders include a USA themed party and the brightest wedding you will have ever seen.

Cupcakes seem to have started as a US trend. When they came over here they crashed headlong into fairy cakes and the UK love of baking and afternoon tea. No matter how hard they try, the supermarkets (even the posh ones) are not able to recreate that ‘just baked’ cake effect. As one lady in a recent tasting session pronounced: “cakes like they used to be”. Combining that with the bespoke elements and grown up flavours, as I have done, is proving irresistible to lots of people in Nottingham – and beyond. Up to date, my furthest orders have come from Sheffield and Northampton. But this weekend, I received a call from a lady in London who has set her sights on Classy Cupcakes to help celebrate her daughter’s 1st birthday and is making a special trip to collect them.

A realisation of the broad appeal and the great fun surrounding the product is what made me give up my ‘conventional’ job. I made quite a few people happy in previous jobs but I have never had adults jumping up and down with excitement and grown men asking permission to kiss me to say thank you before!

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Support mechanisms

2010-10-22T21:28:00.001+01:00

I am a pretty resilient, independent person. But less than I used to be. A few years ago, I had a small circle of friends and socialised mainly with people I worked with. I maintained a pretty steely exterior - always chirpy, always optimistic, able to cope with most things. Specialising in science subjects and being not very girly, I was closer to boys at school. I was close to girls at University, enjoying living with five fantastic flatmates in a house full of fun in Newcastle. But I seemed to lose contact with a lot of early friends when they had children, thinking that we had less and less in common.
One exception to this is meeting up about 4 times a year with my lottery syndicate pals – a collection of (mainly ex) textile industry sales boys and girls. Our winnings usually buy the first round of drinks! It has been really interesting meeting up over the last 15 years, discussing our various career and family highs and lows.
Over the last few years, my circle of friends has widened. I found the University a wonderful place to be in contact with thoughtful and altruistic people, some of which I know I will always be friends with, even though I don’t work there anymore. Some of these special relationships have evolved into mutually supportive mechanisms, helping each other by talking through difficult circumstances and decisions. I am now much happier to share my dilemmas, show my inner feelings and trust my friends’ opinions.
Recent support has been found in particular from several strong and brave women - some who started their own businesses many years ago, some who went through personal difficulties and emerged wiser at the other side and some who are mothers bringing up children the same age as my stepsons. Talking it through and sharing experiences all helps me make sense of my life – leaving the last job, setting up my own business, looking after the boys, juggling my time, supporting my husband and the rest of family, living my life and coming to terms with some of the choices I have made in life.
I now make good quality time available to see people, rarely cancelling however busy I am.
Thank you very much all you friends!

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Never too old to learn

2010-10-15T22:08:00.003+01:00

I have just received my NUS card but unfortunately I am so old I don’t know where I can use it!
Last month, I went back to college to study a part time NVQ3 in Patisserie – well, the full title is Level 3 Diploma in Professional Cookery – Patisserie and Confectionery. It is not going to be a thin year.

The busy college is full of energetic young people learning about catering, computing, business studies, hair & beauty and more - all of life is here. Maybe it is my imagination, but there seems to be more excitement around these FE students than my recent HE experience. They are certainly louder! In both the FE and HE environments, I have found there is something wonderful about being around young people just starting out under their own steam. The energy seems to be a bit more accessible when studying alongside them.

I am really enjoying the course. First, I am so pleased not to be in charge! The course is run by an incredibly competent, approachable and inspiring lady who used to work in the catering industry in London. Second, I really like the feeling that I have to learn the most, the course being populated by people who have worked in the catering industry for years – a pastry chef working at an award winning restaurant, the head of a fashionable department store patisserie section, a chef working at a huge conference centre, a lady who is hoping to open a cafe in Warwickshire, extremely competent city cafe cooks and aspiring trainees. Privately, I have categorised myself as the passionate amateur in the group but that has only served to highlight that my brain has still to catch up with the fact that I am running a busy little catering business now.

It was interesting to observe that I felt internally apologetic when my new business was featured in local paper on the first day of my course – I felt pretty unworthy alongside these highly qualified people. I didn’t tell anyone there about the article or the subsequent radio interview.
I was also initially embarrassed when I recently met one of my fellow students in his working environment when I delivered cakes for a function this week. But when he complemented my work I was enormously proud of what I had supplied.

I am wondering whether maybe I can allow myself to relax a little for a change. Maybe I can just enjoy studying and working with people who share a common interest in beautiful and delicious foods and strive to delight my customers with the same.

During my studies, I am hoping not only to extend my baking knowledge and gain industry insider information, I am also looking forward to a little internal rewiring!

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Being serious

2010-10-08T22:53:00.003+01:00

It is time for a serious decision – which Autumn weekly competition show to watch on TV. The problem is, I can get hooked too easily, which means it turns out to be a serious commitment. Some shows are easy to dismiss - I think the X factor is a horrible, totally manufactured-but-trying-to-look-spontaneous programme. Some shows are unmissable - The Apprentice, brilliant.
Last weekend I had to make the annual choice between Strictly Come Dancing and the US version, Dancing with the Stars. I chose Dancing with the Stars last year mainly because of all the ageism rows going on in the UK version (Nicole Scherzinger went on to win, it was a good decision). However, this year it has to be the UK version, it should be good entertainment with these contestants. On the first programme, Pamela Stephenson danced fantastically and then said something that struck a chord. She said: “I have been way too serious for way too long.”

I have been thinking about this comment a lot this week. Over the last few years, I did take my last job and new family responsibilities very seriously. They both arrived at the same time and between them did not provide much spare time for relief. But I wonder how much any stress was simply down to a state of mind. This week, I had a serious meeting about cakes on Wednesday, clinching a big, big Christmas order. I was using the same skills as some of my old jobs but it was great fun! I felt relaxed and confident and I guess someone somewhere needed to have a reasonably serious meeting about Christmas cakes in Nottingham – it might as well be me! The city centre cafe owner I supply this week commented how much I clearly love what I am doing. I am working very hard but my good humour is obvious and increasing and it appears to be quite infectious.

I guess I could make a choice to be much more serious right now. I could be worrying about my oven breaking down, baking going out of fashion, tax returns, the fact I should lose some weight etc. But, refreshingly, I have chosen not to worry too much about these and other things at the moment.

Originally, I thought dying my hair red was all about being brave but maybe it was just a signal for some enjoyment. It’s quite difficult to have a REALLY serious meeting with red hair.
So, I am sticking with a non serious state of mind right now. There may be some more serious times ahead but right now it’s fun, fun, fun and I am loving it.

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Keeping it local

2010-10-01T16:11:00.001+01:00

I spent a long time in the 1990s living in Beeston but spending a lot of time away. The normal pattern was twice weekly commutes to London and frequent business trips further afield, then catching up with local friends (usually work colleagues) in local pubs/cafes at the weekend. I knew a few neighbours but not intimately. In an attempt to remedy this feeling of not belonging, I did some work with a local volunteer group, which was highly enjoyable, not least because it often involved some form of catering!

My last job was located much closer to home but connecting mainly with students from remote locations and operating in a rather isolated community.

All my new cake customers are truly local and I am enjoying the sense of community, having my details passed between friends and family, dealing with the same venues and supplying bespoke items for local businesses. One customer recently offered to pay for me to deliver some strawberry & chocolate delicacies to Sheffield but I managed to combine this delivery with a long overdue visit to a National Trust property with a beautiful kitchen garden.
A very nice lady from the North East called last week and wanted my cakes for a 1st birthday celebration in Durham. I assumed she was visiting Nottingham and planning to collect but I soon realised she wanted me to post them to her. This was alarming, given that the main point of my product is that it is very freshly made, high quality and pretty fragile. She was pretty insistent and I said I would see if I could find a way. After several calls, the best estimate I had been given was £150 (for delivery of a box of 25 cakes!) So, I called the nice lady back and told her I could not guarantee the quality/safety and that I hoped there was an equivalent of Classy Cupcakes up north! We had a pleasant chat and wished each other well.

So, Classy Cupcakes is officially rejecting the idea of food being shipped up and down the motorway. But I really love the way the internet allows remote people to find Classy Cupcakes and connect me with local people – only this morning I delivered a set of cakes to a lady leaving a local underwear company to have twins, on behalf of a customer from Kent.

I was on local radio this week – BBC Radio Nottingham, generally enthusing about cakes and the change of career direction! It was pretty terrifying walking in but I soon relaxed with the warm and welcoming presenter. It didn’t feel like a marketing opportunity at all – I even forgot to mention the name of my company! I found it highly enjoyable delivering the upbeat message and watching the presenter drooling over my cakes. Very satisfying!

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Perfect skin

2010-09-25T13:12:00.001+01:00

I love listening to classical music, 40s jazz or the radio while I am working in the kitchen. Just as I did when spending half the week working from home in the mid 90s during my dot com days, I am getting hooked on Radio 4. I like the reassuring tones of someone gently talking about something interesting in the background rather than silence. I let it wash over me to such an extent that recently my 12 year old vegetarian stepson pointed out from the next room that I appeared to be listening to a repeat of the ‘Food Programme’, all about pork scratchings. Ashamed, I put some Ella Fitzgerald in instead. He went to do his homework!
I can let all sorts of programmes drift along in the background but a couple of times recently I have found myself switching Woman’s Hour off in disgust. It’s sometimes a violent reaction. The pieces that have provoked me are serious and pretty humourless. Even attempted celebrations of what women do have to be debated. The latest item was about make up. They were talking about the value of fillers for older skins. Fillers, never even heard of them! It got worse and worse as they discussed the disgusting notion of being seen without make up and it got switched off. Later the same day, I needed to visit a photo booth to have a picture of myself taken. I was so critical of my looks - it was clear the colour was out because my hair didn’t look the right colour, but I was quite happy to take the blame for not looking good.
I am at an interesting point in my life with regard to feminism. I am questioning the values. I consider myself to be a female misfit with regard to school and University choices (science), childhood friends (mainly boys), textile industry career (few women worked in production, most were in design), marriage (only happened age 40), children (disinterest in my 20s and 30s, had to be forced to participate in my mid 40s), weight (reasonably happy to drift around size 16) and make up (often wear none, even in public!) Since I gave up the conventional job, I seem to be much happier to take main responsibility for traditionally female roles such as cleaning, shopping and cooking. I can see clearly see the value of nurture as well as provision of cash and ‘stuff’ to my family. In my new career choice and the subjects I want to study this year, I feel as if I am just starting to celebrate some of my more female attributes rather than fighting them. In fact, during the last few years, it has slowly become apparent to me that my approach to management was that of a ‘mother hen’ - helping staff develop, caring for them to help get the best/most out of them, developing a team approach, protecting them from disputes.
So, the decision of the week is that I will continue to run my new business and proceed with my life happily without the aid of fillers. Another significant cost saving.

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

What is a job?

2010-09-17T22:40:00.004+01:00

My new existence is really starting to feel like a proper job! I have built up a customer base and I am planning to email them all next week to thank them for all the support during my first year of operations. Many are repeating orders and spreading news of my work, which is very encouraging. I have a proper portfolio, a marketing strategy and a production schedule. I make deals and I am making money. Unlike any other job where I have employed exactly the same skills, this stuff all belongs to me. Every order I make reflects my brand and the time I am scheduling is my own. This is special and even though I tended to pour myself 100% into anything I did at work during previous jobs, this one feels like more than that – 100% with knobs on!
I have been reflecting on the nature of a job and what I get/got out of it. Previous jobs have given me a sense of identity, a title and status, controlled personal challenges, company cars, other benefits and something to do all day. I took all my jobs very seriously and often enjoyed them (to varied extents!) I have often been in charge of things which allowed me to indulge my enjoyment of being in control.
When my husband’s three boys came to live with us, I struggled to deal with the self sacrificing nature required to bring up children. It seemed like an alien language and being the step mum I didn’t feel able to set the rules or to discipline effectively. During difficult times or mundane tasks, I sometimes found myself full of resentment that ‘this isn’t my job’. But thanks largely to the support of my wonderful husband, who has negotiating skills worthy of the United Nations, I have learnt the huge benefits of altruism. Eventually, after quite a struggle, I let go and embraced the job like any other. But it was quite unlike any other. Instead of being in control of everything I needed to listen, learn and nurture. An approach that worked with one boy did not apply to another. The 9-5 ‘mask’ that I could wear in previous jobs didn’t work at home.
Over the last few years I have learnt so much about my own strengths and weaknesses – some of it was difficult to face up to. I have grown very close to my family and enjoy being at home and connecting with everyone. I could not ask for more enthusiastic supporters for my new business. The boys seem to be far more impressed that I am doing something I love rather than earning a huge amount of money!

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Buying and cooking good food

2010-09-10T15:52:00.001+01:00

This week I was delivering wedding cupcakes to a venue and got talking to a very nice chap there (as you do when you deliver cakes!) It turns out he and his wife used to run a fine bakery in the area. A few days later I took them some samples, as requested, and they showed me round the old bakery which has since been converted to their residence.
I was extremely flattered that the nice man was very complementary about my products. We spent a bit of time talking about how lovely patisserie goods are common in Europe, with people buying it by the kilo.
I have started my business in the shadow of a very large supermarket opening nearby. Supermarket land! It would be hypocritical for me to be too negative about supermarkets. As someone who works very long hours (in both former and present working existence), feeding three boys with very different tastes (two are vegetarian) and a busy life, I have done more than my fair share of on line, home delivery bulk buying, often ending up with cupboards full of the same stuff like 17 tins of vegetable soup or 25 toilet rolls. The choice is overwhelming but there’s no time to enjoy the choice. I often find that buying food is not really a pleasurable experience.
My business is a small rebellion! I know that people enjoy good quality ingredients and they love fresh homemade food, it tastes so different. Add in the option of using your favourite colour, include your name or a special message - wonderful. My original idea was to create gifts but the same feelings apply to corporate events, with logos on good quality cakes, and city centre cafes with a homemade touch. I am delighted to report that I am very busy!
I love the new interest in home baking I was talking about last week. It has shown another generation the simple pleasure of good food.

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

The joy of baking

2010-09-03T23:01:00.003+01:00

I have really been enjoying the BBC2 baking competition ‘The Great British Bake Off’. I am very grateful to a friend for alerting me to its existence - I nearly missed it due to my new cooking regime! It’s a gentle affair, concentrating mainly on the cooking and not on ‘personalities’. I love the science of baking which they are covering in some depth. The end product is affected by all sorts of external factors including the obvious ones like oven temperature & ingredients, but also beating style, humidity and how precise the ingredient measuring is. It cannot be rushed and the result is inevitable depending on all the elements.
All this cooking has reawakened memories of my chemistry degree where I remember that I was quite good at following instructions and carefully reacting to the outcomes of experiments. Spending a summer vacation analysing washing powders made me realise that being a chemist was not for me but I have only recently made the connection between my science success and the skills I now employ in baking.
Of course, the cookery programmes don’t show some of the less visually stimulating aspects such as the meticulous planning needed to juggle different orders, the stocktaking, the physical demands, the invoice writing and the accounts! I have had all the pangs of a body shocked into action after many years of hunching over computers and using the lift rather than the stairs, but I feel better already, much fitter and also I feel as if this activity is very good for my brain. I am eating well and drinking loads of water.
The order book is filling up nicely, I am feeling very organised and passionate about my product. I am speaking to and meeting lovely people every day. The other day, a charming retired marketing executive (who used to work for a large chocolate company) called to order some cakes for his Nottingham based daughter. We got into a conversation and I told him about the new business. “Of course”, he said “you are not just selling butter and sugar, you are selling happiness”.
And it really does feel a bit like that at the moment!

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

The relative value of money

2010-08-28T09:11:00.001+01:00

We had cleaners up to the week I handed my notice in. They came once a week and did a great job cleaning up after the boys and doing the ironing. We just got the final cleaner’s bill – just over £500 for 3 months of cleaning & ironing. This has been going on for years! In my new financial state I am appalled. This is now my job and I enjoy it. I like looking after my family.
When I started work at my previous employers 10 years ago it was after an intense period working for a dot com company in London, commuting from Nottingham at 5.30am and not getting home until 9pm. I was being paid extremely well but the lifestyle was dreadful. Just before I accepted a much more junior position in Nottingham, I weighed up the value of related features as well as the new salary. For example, working in a beautiful environment was worth £2k per year to me, getting extra holiday was significant, being able to cycle to work instead of 4 hours on a train was worth another small fortune. Now that I have moved from another high salary to less I have done more similar thinking. Doing something I love is worth a lot. The potential for more flexibility than I have ever had is significant. The ability to be relaxed enough to chat to my family - parents, boys and friends is one of the biggest changes so far. I have time to do this now. Before that, I felt constantly distracted. By something that was not making me happy. To get money, I guess.
There have been big changes in my spending. I used to pick up whatever I needed whenever I needed it. I bought expensive food that got thrown away, clothes I hardly wore, taxis, cleaners.
I am a lucky girl who is hardly destitute. I have worked very hard for many years. I am well aware of my blessings and have huge gratitude for them. But now, I can see this is a wonderful time to enjoy things other than money and not take what I do earn for granted.
One dilemma I have now is whether the cakes I am offering are just a luxury commodity, but I am resolving this by taking great care over the production, making them with love and care, and making them highly bespoke which customers really appreciate. I am using my time now to make lovely things for other people to make them smile. And that’s worth quite a lot!

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Cake and boy adventures

2010-08-20T19:05:00.001+01:00

Cake adventures
I am having a lot of fun during my first week of full time baking. I had a great meeting with a cool city centre cafe owner who contacted me during the holiday last week and will start supplying him next week.
I received good feedback from every one of my orders last week. This makes me very happy!
I am taking great care over my creations and preparing them with love and attention. It has taken me only three days to realise this is a job that deals with my aspirations. It’s quite straightforward really - something that needs me to be organised, creative, communicative, meticulous and obtains instant feedback. It’s also allowing me to do something which I really enjoy and that I am good at.
I dipped into a charming family’s life last week when I supplied cakes for a big 18th birthday party. It was great meeting them just before the party, getting excited about the family and friends arriving and literally jumping up and down with excitement over the cakes.
What a privilege to be involved with people at happy times!

Cake and boy adventures
Even though I have been busy, I now have a lot more time at home with the boys during the summer holiday which has been great. All the blokes/boys in the family seem to like the new job. They love the left overs and they love the new car logo decorations and I’m sure they love my much improved frame of mind.
I made my middle stepson an enormous 17th birthday cake this week and enjoyed seeing him sitting outside in the sunshine with his mates, on the day before the AS level results, before life starts really changing, having a laugh and devouring a whole chocolate cake between them.
Cake is magnificent.

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Classy Cupcakes on holiday

2010-08-15T20:06:00.001+01:00

The attempted chilling is underway! Last week we were on holiday in Robin Hood’s Bay with my youngest stepson, age 12 and his friend, the wonderful husband and the red hair.

This is the fifth year of summer holidays for me with kids and I may just be getting used to it now. In the early days I could not believe that a holiday was not all about what the adults wanted to do. This is the area I came on holiday as a child so I was reminded frequently of the times the holidays were all about me! This time, we had some great times playing crazy golf, board games and making sandcastles. I felt very happy but not relaxed, not yet.

One of the 12 year old’s stipulations for our holiday location was wireless access and with that, along with my iPhone, I could almost carry on with my business, taking orders and discussing cakes – everything but the baking. This feels very different from checking work emails in previous times but I suppose it is the same really. There were only a few enquiries per day which made the rate a bit more sensible than ‘old’ work. I found thinking about cheese muffins, shortbread and ginger biscuits for a new Lace Market cafe enquiry much more exciting than normal work activities.

I missed my garden and my cookery books the most but I am excited about coming back to Nottingham with a full order book for the next three weeks.

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Being brave

2010-08-10T10:42:00.002+01:00

So, the leaving do from the ‘conventional’ job has come and gone. Everyone was lovely and smiled and bought me a really cute little apron as a leaving present, perfect! I was very pleased with my leaving speech in which I had to say the right things in the right order and use the right tone.

On my last day at work, I went out and got my hair dyed bright red in a lovely salon full of young people. It seemed absolutely the right thing to do but I think that maybe it was just to help me feel brave. (Whatever the reason, I do love my new Facebook profile picture and I enjoy bouncing around Sainsbury’s smiling broadly while people try not to stare.)

I have been thinking about being brave. I wonder if it was a cowardly thing to do giving up my job or whether it was brave to admit it wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do and go it alone. I had to be pretty brave every day I went into my job but at the same time I also had to be pretty brave coming home to a house full of boys that I needed to help bring up.
I guess this new period I have just started is where I face myself. Do I still need to be so brave?

I am struggling to rank these issues about work life in order of courage:
- Carrying on doing a hard job that you don’t enjoy enough
- Walking away from such a job
- Doing a high paid job in charge of lots of things
- Losing status to do something easier
- Fearlessly dealing with difficult issues
- Being honest about your limitations
- Fighting against unreasonable situations
- Accepting that not everything can be controlled in my way

I can already see that similar dilemmas can be applied to the new cake job:
- Do I supply something that I do not totally believe in?
- Do I supply something I do not enjoy making?
- Do I go for maximum turnover/profit as my main motivation?
- Do I keep on supplying an outlet that doesn’t respect my goods?
- Do I constantly look outwards at my rivals rather than inwardly at the best I can do

The answers to the second set of questions are as clear as day to me. ABSOLUTELY NOT.

So, this may be naive but I this is what I am going to do with my cake business.
I will trust in my passion and my skills. I will act with reliability, honesty and integrity. Every day, I will be grateful for this opportunity and will try and make the most of it.

I am hoping that once I have got my motivation in order I can chill a little and share out my energy rather than using it up on toughing it out.

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/

Living the cupcake dream (currently at night)

2010-07-31T17:34:00.001+01:00

I’m at the end of a pretty remarkable era of my middle age. After 25 years of pretty high powered, varied career activity, I am just about to voluntarily step away from a well paid, responsible, relatively secure job to do something quite different. I am going to supply cakes to people in order to make them smile. And I am sure that in turn that will make me smile (quite a lot!)

When I was on a business trip in China in April 2009, sleeping on a very hard bed, I had the most vivid dream about cupcakes. I woke with a start and filled a notebook with ideas on recipes and presentation. I started reading about what was going on with these cakes in the US, Australia and London and I rediscovered baking. It was a wonderful meditative and joyful antidote to a stressful job and lifestyle. My family were particularly appreciative! Month by month, I started taking pictures of my work, created a website, made some flyers, did some costings, developed some ranges, practiced my piping, created some test orders for friends and before I knew it, I had a business – and people were interested in it.

Since October 2009, I have been simultaneously:
(i) doing the day job (9 to 5)
(ii) trying to make absolutely sure there was no way I could juggle this seemingly irresponsible activity with a sensible element of part time ‘conventional’ work (taking on extra work in the evenings and weekend)
(iii) baking (by night)
(iv) nothing much else!

In May 2010, a combination of:
(i) the lovely cake obsessed people I have met so far
(ii) the level of repeat cake business from happy customers
(iii) a particularly ghastly period at work
(iv) being more knackered than I have ever been in my life
gave me the courage (and, apparently, a attitude which allowed me to ignore the obvious pitfalls) to hand my notice in.

I have had many reactions. I know some people think I’ve lost my mind. Others think I have been let down because my ambitions have not been met by my employer. Very few actually ask the difficult questions ‘how are you going to manage financially?’, ‘what does the husband think?’ and (surprisingly I thought, because I am 46 years old) ‘are your parents still alive and what do they think?’

And my response?

I am very excited. I feel very lucky and I know this is a wonderful opportunity. I am expecting to work hard. I feel brave (most of the time), ready to learn more and grow as a person. I am eager to enjoy more time with my family and friends, especially my brilliant husband and his three sons who came to live with us nearly 5 years ago. I am looking forward to appreciating the value of money again and earning treats rather than just expecting them every day. I expect to consume less in many ways. I hope to value myself and the skills I have and work towards goals I can respect.

I am living the dream – the cupcake dream. (Or is it my Auntie Beryl’s dream? She’s even more excited than me!) Let the fun begin!

http://www.classy-cupcakes.co.uk/