Some changes are coming and they're much needed! First, some background:
This year started with some personal challenges within my family. I won't get into details here for privacy reasons, but needless to say I spent much of the months of January and February with my parents and siblings in central Indiana, having difficult conversations and constantly having my heart feel very heavy. I was feeling about the most stressed out that I'd ever felt in my life.
Then came March. That's about all I'll say about that.
I literally threw myself into more baking as it was the only thing I could think to do. It kept my mind occupied and my hands busy. Early on, within the first couple weeks of March, I did a complete 360 with Crackling Crust and decided to do free home delivery. Yes, if you can believe it, back with I first started this business the model was home delivery! On a COLD day in January 2015 I had orders for 14 loaves of bread, and I drove to 14 different houses to deliver them. After a couple of months of that, I decided I better figure out a different business model, haha! I picked up a couple of wholesale accounts that spring, and that summer I started vending at Wyoming Avenue Farmers Market. Since then, farmers markets have been my main sales channel, and each summer I've vended at three markets - one midweek, and two on Saturdays.
As we neared May, deliveries were going out twice per week, I had four drivers, and I was completely unsure of how markets were going to go. I thought at the very least, I could always stick with the delivery model if the markets didn't bode well this year. It seemed that nearly everything was being turned upside down, and I had zero reason to think the markets would be any different.
The first week of May come around and both Saturday markets I required preorders. To my complete surprise, that first week the orders were double what they were last summer. Okay, that was probably a fluke, right? But then the following week they were 25% more than the prior week. I decided to hire help.
By June we started accepting walk-up orders in addition to the preorders. During those first few weeks of June it became apparent that I would need market help in addition to production help. I hired a second worker to pitch in with Saturday at Deerfield as well as help in the bakery. Sales have finally leveled off to a point where I can predict what's going to sell, but we still sell out of online inventory and market product each Saturday, and often it's a lot earlier than I'd like.
With ten weeks of sales under my belt (and in a spreadsheet!) I've decided to make some changes. First and foremost, these changes are for ME. Each Saturday afternoon I'm absolutely wrecked. I'm exhausted, I'm hot, and the past couple of weeks I've just felt "sick." I come home, lay down with zero appetite, and sleep for almost five hours. My body is telling me something. I need to listen. ESPECIALLY during a time when it's so so important to keep our immunity systems strong, I'm going to pay attention to what my body is telling me. I need to better balance my work week.
Secondly, changes are needed to better balance production. Bread is my absolute passion. I want to make more of it. I need to free up production time and space for more loaves. Bread is what we're selling out of early on Saturdays, and I want to make sure we are able to keep it in stock.
Lastly, I need to better manage costs. More money is coming in, but according to my spreadsheet, more money is also going out! This business is not impervious to what's going on in the food supply chain. Pastry requires lots of sugar, butter, milk, vanilla, cream, eggs, and other specialty products. Those costs are only increasing, and frankly as we enter uncertain economic times ahead, I will not in my good conscience raise prices for you. Logically, the only option is just to cut back on the pastries.
You'll see starting this week that Crumb Coffee Cake and Dark Chocolate Brownies are taking a break. But you'll also see more loaves of Natural Country and Seedy Sourdough. I'm hoping to also increase loaves of Wander Bread as we get "back to school," whatever that means for your family. I've invested in more equipment to make this possible, and you'll see more of these types of changes over the next couple of weeks as I keep my finger on the pulse of customer needs - as well as my own needs!
It seemed that at the beginning of the summer I had let myself get swept up with production. But as always, if we let ourselves be still and really LISTEN to what's inside, we'll often hear things that are counterintuitive to the daily grind in which we find ourselves. I want to continue to bake for you for as long as possible, and these changes are what will facilitate that longevity.
As always, I can't ever say it enough, THANK YOU for being here. Thank you for being you, for believing in this little endeavor, for coming out to the markets, for ordering online for delivery. We're not going anywhere, and we will continue to make more bread as long as you need it.
In closing I'll share one of my favorite musings, one that I read in 2014 when I was still in a corporate job. I often come back to this when I need to be re-centered, when I feel like I should just say YES to every new request, when I feel like I should just grow the business without intention. It feels relevant right now - to remember to ENJOY your work, and not be attached to any outcome of the work, i.e. financial gain. Quite a difficult feat in a capitalist environment, though!
"You have the right to work, but never to the fruit of work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction (laziness). Perform work in this world, Arjuna, as a man established within himself - without selfish attachments, and alike in success and defeat."
~"The Bhagavad Gita"
