I’ve had a solid month off from baking, and have to admit I really needed it. I’ve been pretty “restful” (read: lazy), but it’s allowed me to recharge my battery, and get my creative juices flowing. There are so many things I’m thinking about; how to be more efficient in 2021, how to spend more time with my dear husband in 2021, and whether or not 2021 will be as busy as 2020 was.
In 2020, I had 4 times the sales of my best year ever, which was simply amazing to me. My mother and I talk daily, and so often we talked about the early years and how only 1 or 2 people would stop, or how what I used to bake for a long weekend, I was now selling out of in a morning. Last year was a real learning curve for me, and I’m hoping to be better at it this year. One of my biggest goals is to open on time. So many people had to wait as I was running late last year, and I felt terrible about that. I try to bake fresh every day, so inevitably I was always pulling bread or cinnamon rolls out an hour before opening, where it still had to cool and be packaged. Hopefully this year I will be better at planning and waking up earlier.
Another goal is to spend more time with my new husband, Bob. We got married in September, and are both busy with our work and side businesses. It’s been hard to carve out time to do things together. I’m debating both opening an extra day after Memorial Day, but also taking Sundays off to spend time with Bob. I’d even like to take a weekend off once a month so that we can go camping or to his family cabin in the UP, so stay tuned for those potential changes in 2021. If business stays as busy as it was last year, I may be able to hire occasional help, and they may be able to set up the farm stand if I’m gone. It’s just an idea, and I’d love to hear yours if you have any for someone trying to build/maintain a business and have a life too.
I’ve got an event coming up on February 13th. It’s a mid-winter break/Valentine’s day event working together with a local chef/caterer and florist. I’m excited because I’ll be baking a variety of things and packaging them differently than usual. It’s so fun to plan and then execute these things. I will have baked goods to sell and for people to sample, and my partners in crime will have dinner to go and beautiful flower bouquets. This event will be held at the Maple City Lions Club from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on February 13th. If you have interest in more details, go to my Valentine’s Day link at the top of this menu.
That’s it for now, just wanted to give an update on what’s swirling in my brain and some of what I’m contemplating for 2021. I will open again once the weather is decent enough not to worry about the food freezing. I’m hoping, based on how it’s been so far, that it will be by April. If you have questions, give me a call, I’m happy to bake on demand or field your ideas about how to better manage what I’m doing or what days to be open this year. Thanks for reading, all my best to you! Andria
Phone: 231-228-2577 email: redgatefarmmichigan@gmail.com
Red Gate Farm 