we have lift off

So a couple of weeks ago my new business, The Handcrafted Cake Co, officially started trading. I'm a total creative, love baking and decorating cakes which is perfect for someone like myself who is a people pleaser. What I hadn't considered was the fact I'd also need a good business head.

Prior to launch I'd been working behind the scenes for months. I started planning in January and aimed to be fully ready by May. Ha! Alongside my health problems, which I won't discuss here, and working full time and trying to have some form of quality time with my boyfriend, that time scale wasn't realistic. Launch day happened and I hadn't even pinned down my prices or flavours or got a bank account or typed out consultation forms and wait, I need terms and conditions just in case. ARGH! Paperwork overload.

I hadn't anticipated I would need to do so much paperwork. I keep thinking maybe I'm overcomplicating things but part of me hopes I'm just being thorough. I still have so much to do.

So far I have the skeletons of all the forms I need, it's taken me 4 months to figure out my prices but every bone in my body is still screaming "they're too high". No! I'm confident I've got them right. I've been over and over them and even compared it and applied it to other people's cakes. I've been careful not to undercharge or undercut my competition. I just need to be tough with myself.

I have business cards but in hindsight I wish I had invested in flyers instead. Live and learn I guess.

There's still this doubt in my head as well. Am I ready? Am I good enough? The simple answer is no. I'll probably never be ready but I'm a lot more ready than I was this time last year. My skills are far better, I know more about business and my confidence and knowledge grows with every project. I'll also never be good enough. I'll always want to be better. I will always look at someone else's work and wish I was that good. My boyfriend has a great quote on his whiteboard at the moment that says "Excellence withers without an adversary".

It's times like this that I love looking back at my first cakes from 5 years ago and realising how far I have already come on my own. I should be proud of myself. I really hope this works. I can't imagine myself doing anything else.......maybe travelling for a living? Is that a thing?

Business advice I've found useful so far is:
cake office
http://mrsbumble.tumblr.com/post/14970740279/names
And this book I've had for a while
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Small-Business-Start-Up-Workbook-step-/dp/1845280385/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1400098422&sr=8-4&keywords=small+business+guide

Check back to follow me on my business journey. Hold on! It's gonna be a bumpy ride.