BAKING MYTHS | SMALL BUSINESS ADVISE

This sentence will be on my headstone on the day I die hahahaha

One of my lovely followers Marianne made such a perfect analogy of this statement.  

“We are all taught how to write, but everyones handwriting is completely different. ” This is so true.  This applies to every aspect of our lives, not just piping buttercream flowers.  My daughter for example makes spaghetti bolognese exactly the same way I do.. same ingredients, same timings everything but it tastes completely different.

I remember about 5 years ago looking at other peoples flowers and thinking ill never be as good as that.. I use to say it to my husband all the time. 

I always tried to get my big roses to look like other peoples but I never could. In the end you realise, ok this is how mine look and that is ok.  We also don’t want to all be the same.  How boring! I love the fact that everyone has their own style.  

For example, when I’m scrolling through Instagram, Facebook or any social media platform and I come across a photo I know straight away who’s they are.. and that is the best reaction.  That is you building your brand.  

Why would you want them to look like mine? You want them to look like yours.  Your style, your interpretation.  My flowers are far from perfect although you all seem to think they are.  If you look closely enough there is a flaw in everyone of my cupcake bouquets.  But I don’t worry. 

If you actually look at real flowers, not one of them are the same.  It was always my aim to get to the point where my recipients didn’t know they were actually cupcakes.  It happened about a year into the buttercream flowers.  I was delivering a cupcake bouquet to a dear older lady and she said aww they are beautiful flowers, and I said no they are cupcakes! She would not have it until I physically took one of the cupcakes out of the bouquet! Wahooooo I did it and I’ve never looked back.  So from then on I aimed for botanical realism as opposed to perfection.  Perfection immediately makes you feel pressured.  Flowers aren’t perfect and neither are my cupcake bouquets.  

So every time one of my students say their work isn’t perfect I say good! You want them to look real.. 

Lots of reasons for this, its a waste of ingredients, buttercream and your time to keep repiping a cupcake just because one petal is slightly out of place.  It’s silly and stressful.  

So start thinking differently about your work and say to yourself “This is just fine” and be proud of yourselves.  Your customers clearly love what you are doing or they would not of asked you to make it in the first place.

Have a bit of faith and just do it.

Love Jane x