Stuck Doors & Stained Glass: A Brutally Honest Look Back

We've looked different at times but the brief has always remained the same to create indulgent, tasty cakes that everyone can enjoy!

When trying to free up some storage space on my devices I came across some old, pretty ugly, pictures of the bakery. I had completely forgotten what it used to look like. It had one of those wooden doors that would swell up in the winter and would need a good kick to get in each morning. It also had an outside toilet which was freezing cold all year round. 

Looking at it today you’d think it had always looked this way- quaint courtyard with some pretty (at times) flower boxes. And it made me realise how far we’ve come as a business. 

From developing recipes in the evening as a means of escaping from a world consumed with itchy skin and allergic reactions to being open six days a week from our very own bakery. Along the way we’ve had different locations and members of staff, but the brief has always remained the same to create indulgent, tasty cakes that everyone can enjoy. 

Looking at the photo I was also struck by the fact that, in my experience, you can’t just jump to the perfect end product. We couldn’t just open a brand spanking new bakery and start serving cakes from our cake counter 7 days a week. We didn’t have the budget, the capacity or the demand.

Instead, bit by bit, small change by small change we have slowly, grinding slowly at times, adjusted and adapted and improved the bakery as and when we could balancing life and everything else that comes along with it. And sometimes that has meant putting up with something that isn’t exactly as you’d like but is ‘good enough’ for now. And that can be hard. But you can't let it stop you from trying or getting started in the first place. 

Because if there is one thing I’ve learned through my journey with this bakery, it’s this: Waiting for perfection is the fastest way to stay stuck.

If I had waited until I had the perfect bakery unit and the perfect packaging and the perfect product, I would never have started at all. 

It’s easy in this social media world to feel like we aren't moving fast enough, that we aren’t making enough progress. That we aren’t where we want to be. But this is where remembering to look back can really help us move forward.

We can spend so much time looking at the bakery floor that needs replacing (note to self!) that we forget to look back at how much nicer the door is or more importantly upward at all the lovely customers that buy from us each week.

Looking back at our products, packaging, and bakery, we certainly don’t see perfection. But at The Brutally Honest Bakery, we’ve learned that being honest about the struggle is just as important as the cakes we bake. What we see is progress, which helps us to trust the journey and encourages us to keep going.

I can’t be the only one with a story about a stubborn door or a freezing workspace! What’s one 'ugly' or difficult detail from your early days that you can laugh about now? Let me know in the comments below!