Opened a bakery / coffee shop in a historic small-town downtown with my brother and his fiancee in Sep last year and the three of us are staff all week other than 2 very part time friends. They bake everything and I run the coffee program. All this is so real and anytime someone says "wow I've always wanted to open a coffee shop!!!!" I tell em it's so fun but also draining and a huge commitment. Not glamorous most of the time lol so many dishes so much cleaning and not so fun back end stuff. Recently for myself it's been trying to balance all the essentials but also wanting to take care of myself so I can serve our amazing customers 100% rather than run myself into the ground and not be fully present for them. Being an introvert and doing customer interaction for 10 hour days six days a week can be ROUGH but I've got better at having good rest time in between all the craziness. I'm glad Cou Cou popped up on my feed so I can follow along :)
ahh thank you so much for sharing your story - this is why i love substack so much, it's so heartwarming to connect with people who are willing to share a bit of their life🥹 running a brick and mortar bakery/coffee shop sounds like a dream but also... 10 hrs 6 days a week work??? damn girl that is A LOT😭 so glad you're finding rests in between, i'm manifesting a year of good work/life balance for both of us✨✨
Hi Joy. I love that you are sharing as transparently and vulnerably as you are because you're demonstrating something we all can relate to- being multidimensional human beings trying to survive capitalism lol combining passion with work can be absolutely soul sucking because expectations of success at/in work under capitalism literally requires that we sacrifice our wellness for bigger, greater, more more more which you illustrated in your journal entry. Thanks for sharing that. You opened yourself to criticism from grind culture who might say "you signed up for this, suck it up, make it work" etc. But you're speaking truth to power in that it's not possible to be in service to yourself and others by commodifying your passion for the sake of commodification and we all need that reminder. Love your work, thanks for sharing with us!
yes yes yes !! "being multidimensional human beings trying to survive capitalism" is so real😮💨 i sometimes wonder what it'd be like to work without having to worry about $ but then i have to remind myself that i'm already so so privileged... anyways thank you so much for your words- you capture my thoughts perfectly.
As another small business owner (online micro bakery much like you) I relate to everything you said 100%. Been feeling burnt out this summer and slowly getting back at it, just like “regain passion” on the sims. 🤣
As someone who has toggled with the idea of eventually opening up their own small bakery, I really appreciate this honest take on what it’s like! You’re clearly incredibly talented and so hard-working. I always love seeing your creations!! Amazing job, but I’m sure it’s immensely difficult. Lots of admiration from me🫶🏼
i can't believe i only just saw this! thank you so so much for your kind words🥹🤍 i really do think i got really lucky & i'm humbled every time i scroll through instagram and see so many amazing bakers out there (imposter syndrome is real🙈)! i'd love to see your journey of opening up a small bakery, sounds amazing☺️
i am so glad to have stumbled into your substack! i'm currently in the process of launching a pop-up microbakery (strangely also with a blue bird as a logo) and this is SO helpful. i would love to hear more of what it's like and i'm also planning on sharing some of the ups and downs on substack. coucou looks fantastic and if you weren't on the other side of the world i would love to taste your creations – subscribing and sooo excited to follow along with your journey!!
This is so incredibly relatable! I had to take a long, extended break from doing pop-ups after last summer so I could focus on custom orders (and to give my body a break from the intensity of pop-ups).
As much as I love doing pop-ups for the opportunity to leave the kitchen for a few hours and meet/interact with new people, the prep before and clean-up after are the hardest parts. But reading about your experience, which is oh so similar to my own, is very encouraging!
Opened a bakery / coffee shop in a historic small-town downtown with my brother and his fiancee in Sep last year and the three of us are staff all week other than 2 very part time friends. They bake everything and I run the coffee program. All this is so real and anytime someone says "wow I've always wanted to open a coffee shop!!!!" I tell em it's so fun but also draining and a huge commitment. Not glamorous most of the time lol so many dishes so much cleaning and not so fun back end stuff. Recently for myself it's been trying to balance all the essentials but also wanting to take care of myself so I can serve our amazing customers 100% rather than run myself into the ground and not be fully present for them. Being an introvert and doing customer interaction for 10 hour days six days a week can be ROUGH but I've got better at having good rest time in between all the craziness. I'm glad Cou Cou popped up on my feed so I can follow along :)
ahh thank you so much for sharing your story - this is why i love substack so much, it's so heartwarming to connect with people who are willing to share a bit of their life🥹 running a brick and mortar bakery/coffee shop sounds like a dream but also... 10 hrs 6 days a week work??? damn girl that is A LOT😭 so glad you're finding rests in between, i'm manifesting a year of good work/life balance for both of us✨✨
I really loved reading this post and eagerly waiting for part 2
ahhh i’m mortified that i haven’t posted part 2 yet🫢 you reminded me to work on it, thank you haha!
Hi Joy. I love that you are sharing as transparently and vulnerably as you are because you're demonstrating something we all can relate to- being multidimensional human beings trying to survive capitalism lol combining passion with work can be absolutely soul sucking because expectations of success at/in work under capitalism literally requires that we sacrifice our wellness for bigger, greater, more more more which you illustrated in your journal entry. Thanks for sharing that. You opened yourself to criticism from grind culture who might say "you signed up for this, suck it up, make it work" etc. But you're speaking truth to power in that it's not possible to be in service to yourself and others by commodifying your passion for the sake of commodification and we all need that reminder. Love your work, thanks for sharing with us!
yes yes yes !! "being multidimensional human beings trying to survive capitalism" is so real😮💨 i sometimes wonder what it'd be like to work without having to worry about $ but then i have to remind myself that i'm already so so privileged... anyways thank you so much for your words- you capture my thoughts perfectly.
As another small business owner (online micro bakery much like you) I relate to everything you said 100%. Been feeling burnt out this summer and slowly getting back at it, just like “regain passion” on the sims. 🤣
hahaha we all need to recharge sometimes😭 i'm glad you're slowly getting back at it though- it's so hard to find a pace that works🥲
As someone who has toggled with the idea of eventually opening up their own small bakery, I really appreciate this honest take on what it’s like! You’re clearly incredibly talented and so hard-working. I always love seeing your creations!! Amazing job, but I’m sure it’s immensely difficult. Lots of admiration from me🫶🏼
i can't believe i only just saw this! thank you so so much for your kind words🥹🤍 i really do think i got really lucky & i'm humbled every time i scroll through instagram and see so many amazing bakers out there (imposter syndrome is real🙈)! i'd love to see your journey of opening up a small bakery, sounds amazing☺️
i am so glad to have stumbled into your substack! i'm currently in the process of launching a pop-up microbakery (strangely also with a blue bird as a logo) and this is SO helpful. i would love to hear more of what it's like and i'm also planning on sharing some of the ups and downs on substack. coucou looks fantastic and if you weren't on the other side of the world i would love to taste your creations – subscribing and sooo excited to follow along with your journey!!
this makes me soo happy🥹🤍!! best of luck to you launching a microbakery and i'm excited to witness your journey as well🕊️
u are amazing joy!!
thank you jess🥹💙!!
so proud of u!!🥹🫶🏼
🥹🤍!!!
This is so incredibly relatable! I had to take a long, extended break from doing pop-ups after last summer so I could focus on custom orders (and to give my body a break from the intensity of pop-ups).
As much as I love doing pop-ups for the opportunity to leave the kitchen for a few hours and meet/interact with new people, the prep before and clean-up after are the hardest parts. But reading about your experience, which is oh so similar to my own, is very encouraging!
Do you have recipes for these? 😍