Bye bye cookie business (sniff) - Page 4

Thank you TracyLH!! I'm learning so much here and get to practice when a small event (birthday) or time of year (teacher appreciation) comes up.

Texas is cool! Bakinccc is already there!

Luv2bake - You got it - just keep practicing! I have so much more that I want to do/try/learn and I have been at it a while! Just remember to photograph it all. Each time I make a set of cookies, I make sure I have one extra to photograph the next day when things aren't so hectic with packaging, etc. It gives me time to play with lighting, background colors, etc. Then my kids can take it in to school or my DH takes it to work (or I munch on it myself ) Just a thought, but do remember to photograph your work. It is also fun to see how you progress over time.

I keep reading parts of this post over and over. I think I'm still surprised at how many of us feel the same!! We somehow need to clone ourselves so one of us can make cookies and the other can be the parent we need to be!!

Tracy - you said it good...take pics of everything you do so you can continue to build that portfolio for future endeavors. The bigger your portfolio the less likely someone will order something that you've never done before!! Then you'll have the advantage of "oh ya..done that" so you don't lament over the design process all the time. Just a little tweak of colors and you're good to go.

I wish everyone the best in whatever path you're taking and thanks to many for the kind words when my name is mentioned. You all mean more to me than you know...that sense of fulfillment Tracy talked about...well...you've all contributed greatly to mine. Once again, best wishes to you SweetDreamsAT!!!!

Count me in for the meeting in TEXAS! My sister lives in Dallas (I used to live there too) that would be AWESOME!

my brother lives at the bottom of OK. i guess i'll have to time that one

you gals have all said it much better than i can put it in to words. i miss being mom. i've been off from the bakery and cookies for a week with a rotator cuff injury. we went ot our cottage and spent the weekend. we played cards. we went fishing. i actually got a sunburn. it was so nice just to spend family time.

sweetdreams thank you for starting this post. it reminds me of a desperate housewives episode where one of the moms had a breakdown and everyone said we've all been there. then she says "why didn't someone tell me? why don't we talk about this?". when i first read that jennifer had put her cookies on hold, all i could think was "oh my gosh...you mean you can do that?". and now with sweetdreams, i think it just makes me think even more how tired i am and how much i miss my family. i feel like i need to reclaim my kids and my house. i'm surprised i haven't been condemned yet. i'll be moving my stuff out of my rental kitchen next month. thanks again!

Secretly, I felt like maybe I was being a slacker for not wanting to take my hobby into "real" job status. I cringed at the thought of the hassle to become legal, the long hours of decorating, the stress over money issues. This thread has been enlightening, to say the least! It reaffirms my belief that I LOVE this as a hobby, but not enough to open a business doing it fulltime. I'm still dreaming about being someone's employee, though!

Dawn,

Hope your shoulder is on the road to mending! Have you given up the commercial kitchen? I know it was quite a drive from your home. And will you just bake out of the kitchen where you work?

By the way, still using the bags I bought from you and I've even given a bunch to my daughter in Chicago that has begun baking cookies for clients at her P.R. firm. I guess she was genetically programed to make cookies

Dawn...WOW...moving out of your rental kitchen...will you still be selling cookies somehow?

Kudos on your decision to put cookies on the back burner for a while. Baking is a passion for us but being a mommy is the icing on the cookie!

Oh, Dawn - Jaybug is right, but that was really hard to read. Really hard. I completely know why you are doing it, but that causes a pang in my heart. A big one. I support you though in whatever you do, but auughh, it is still really hard to read. I hope that you can still sell somehow. I don't want to see that door close. I am glad you had such a nice time with your family and that your shoulder recovers soon. (Just please don't hang up those pastry bags completely.)

Gemini - Oh, I fully understand where you are coming from with the whole 'feeling like a slacker'. For me, it is not having a 'title'. There is nothing like going to a cocktail party and having all these VP's ask me what I do and I funble for words and their eyes glaze over. All of my friends are professionals, so I feel the pressure, but like you, this thread has really helped me.

Here is something that really hit home for me - Bakinccc told me that she had stopped taking orders and now she was finding time to do other things - regularly excercising, now finding time to focus on other activities and doing cookies for fun. I read that and thought' "Wow! That is nice! I would love to do that!" and I immediately thought, "What am I doing?" and I envisioned how on earth I was going to do all of the things I promised my kids I would do with them this summer and do cookies. All the more backup I needed to keep balance. One design a week - that is it. All in moderation. (But I do think I will take a couple of weeks off at the end of summer. )

I will reaffirm what Bakincc said about how we all help fulfill one another. My fellow CC'ers believed in me before my DH did (and that took quite some time) and had it not been for all of you (most of you have been posting on this thread) I wouldn't have found my little niche, not matter how big or small I make this. Thankyou from the bottom of my heart.

And, Dawn, this is still really tugging at me. I hope you can continue to sell or at least find something closer to be able to make it all work. If not, we all go back to the idea that raising our kids is temporary and we don't let ourselves pack away the pastry bags. Bakinccc seems to be having fun with her break in order to focus on her boys, etc., and is still cookie-ing, except this time for the fun of it and there is a lot to be said for that.

Ditto!

Just a thought....are you any less of a cookie artist if you do it just for the joy it brings you, rather than for cold hard cash? And Tracy, you DO have a title. You're a wife. You're a mom. You're a cookie artist extraordinaire (sorry about the spelling!).

You are right, Gemini. I am just surrounded by titles, but that is my issue. You are right though. Completely right.

I totally understand. Our society puts too much emphasis on titles, and jobs, and money. I loved the time I spent at home with my children. They're almost out the door now (seniors in college this fall), and I treasure each day with them. If I died tomorrow, who would miss me most? My co-workers would miss the goodies I bring in, but after a couple days, their lives would return to normal. My husband and kids...that would be a different story. Even all the wonderful people I've met here, I don't think it would be too far down the road when they'd be saying, "Gemini who?"

You are a tremendously gifted decorator. You are the heart and soul of your family. They love you and cherish you like no other. Don't get caught up in titles that will mean nothing when you are gone.

Ok, I don't normally do this, but in this situation is called for. I am going to offer, for a limited time only, to bestow upon you beautiful women, the titles I use. You have a choice. For this example I will use a 'fake' name, please feel free to insert yours to try it on and choose which one fits best. You can also experiment with adding or moving punctuation to make it most impressive to your circle of friends. Now... you do not require these titles to make you awesome, but sometimes it's just fun!

Jane Doe C.G. (Cake Goddess) or (Cookie Goddess)
Jane Doe WMMW (Wife, Mother, Miracle Worker)
Jane Doe E.T.E (Everything To Everyone)
Jane Doe DM (Domestic Maven)

I have several more that I often toss around, but these should get you started. When I first became a SAHM when I'd fill out paperwork for doctors, etc. I'd fill in the usual job description field with "Domestic Goddess" and I can't tell you how many smiles that got! I think the ladies behind the desk liked that a lot. One in particular, when I'd come in and she'd confirm verbally that nothing had changed, (phone, etc.) she'd say, "And you're certainly still a Goddess, correct?" and she'd smile really huge. It was really cute.