Recently my husband told me that the radio took 38 years to reach 50 million users, television took 13 years, the internet 4 years and facebook 2 years. Spreading the word about your business or music or blogging about your life and interests is easier than it ever was and sometimes It feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day and that life is rushing away from us faster than we can keep up.
So where does the time go?
When it comes to blogging, I’m a newbie. I’ve been reading some past posts from my blog and I’ve been thinking how lovely my life sounds. I always seem to be either popping around a friends house for tea and cake, or buying some special ingredient for a new recipe or deciding which dress to wear to tonight’s party.
I’ve noticed that I don’t seem to have the time to mention how busy i am. Why?
I often work more than 10 hours a day including weekends and there is a stream of constant duties to perform including administration, staff management, ordering supplies, sketching designs, meetings and consultations, or arranging deliveries and collections. While at the same time I am writing a book and marketing and promoting my company. I am running a thriving business and the cost is my time but I’ve noticed that I don’t blog the stress.
The other night we were invited by friends to share a bottle of wine and to watch our favourite TV series ‘Lost’ at their house. When we arrived my husband found a book in their kitchen called ‘The dummies guide to cognitive behavioral therapy’… according to this book ‘You are what you think’. This is so true.
Focusing on all the positive aspects in my life and work has been really beneficial to me and everyone around me. Yes, i have lots of duties to perform and things to do that I’d rather not - but I also have so many things that I cherish and enjoy.
This is what my blog is about. It is about freedom.
Starting my own wedding cake company was the second best thing i ever did (the first was marrying my wonderful husband!). I now own my time. There is no one here to tell me when I can eat lunch or who decides what I wear or who I can talk to. I have real job security too. If my company goes under it’s my fault not some anonymous board of directors. So, if you are a hobbyist or an amateur sugar-crafter then my advice to you is to start your own business. In the current climate it’s a perfect solution to redundancies and job losses and though it’s very demanding, it’s also so much fun. So if time is rushing by and you’re stuck in a job that you don’t like then defrost your passion and pop a cake in the oven.
In the meantime I’m going to waffle on about all the wonderful things that I love in my life..incidentally one of them being waffles with maple syrup!
21 Comments
Thank you very much Evelyn! x
hi, as with everyone else i find your style and designs very inspiring.
Thank you Jess! x
Hi, thanks so much for such a sweet message, I’m really pleased that you are enjoying my blog and that baking makes you smile! Keep at it I say! Your boyfriend and family are very lucky to have freshly baked cakes every weekend! Happy baking and warm wishes, Maisie xx
Hi May.
I am so glad I have found this website
I know who I will be coming to for a wedding cake in a couple of years time.
I enjoy baking as it frees me from the stresses of my office job in sales. You can dream a little when you are decorating your cakes and let your creative mind wonder. My boyfriend says he often see’s me smiling to myself on a Sunday afternoon when I am baking my cakes. My 9-5 job pays the bills but my hobby of baking fulfills my emotional needs. That one day a week I am doing something I enjoy without having to worry about sales targets this and sales meetings that etc. I am not in a position to start my own business but am happy enough baking cupcakes for friends and family as gifts to brighten up their day. Thank you for brightening up my afternoon with your lovely blog. I will be brightening up my boyfriends and families weekend with your lovely recipes. Well done on your success you well and truly deserve it x
Thanks Tracey, it is so important to get the designs right and provided they are realised to a high quality then everything else will fall into place. I hope it works out for you, it sounds like you deserve it! Happy Baking x
Thank you Jess, you are very kind! x Happy Baking.
I just adore the subtlety and delicate beauty of your work! I’ve seen some fairly gairish other cakes and they just look like “ugly sisters” to your “Cinderella at the ball” cakes!
I am only at the very beginning stage of cake decorating - I’d love nothing better than to be in a position, one day, to open a couture cake design shop.
You are a true inspiration, May! Many thanks for producing such gorgeous books & cakes.
Hi May and also hi to everyone especially Kathryn and Anita,
I just wanted to add my very sincere thanks and congratulations to Maisie Fantaisie for being so successful, so brilliant and such an inspiration to so many people, including myself. I’m very much like Kathryn and Anita in that I have been baking for many years, but have spent the last 2 years trying to get my cake decorating business off the ground, while also bringing up 3 children and working a 30 hour a week job!!
I do waste so much time looking for inspiration, designing my cakes, making them, sometimes I drive my family mad with it all…. but it is my dream to have a successful business and one day open my own shop. One day!
Dear May
Your words are very inspiring!! I have wanted to set up my own business for ages but what with financial commitments i.e. a mortgage it never materialised however after doing my best friends wedding cake in December she told me to go for it. It is hard work and promoting is my downfall as I still work full time in London! I do one farmers market a month to try and promote myself and I have advertised at a few schools etc….can you recommend any other way? Your cakes are fantastic and apart from doing a course last year I am pretty much self taught and follow and constantly read books!! Anita x
Hi Kathryn, it is a lot of hard work! But with four children I’m sure you already work very hard. I’m very impressed! Good luck x
Thank you donafish you are very kind! good luck with your baking.
Dear Maisie,
thank you so much for the touching words…
I know if you have a dream you have to give a try to carry it out.
Making cake was not my dream since after I visited Laduree in Paris.
The fantastic feeling of seeing a beautiful cake before your eye and after eating it my tear was running in my eyes.
I was so lucky to get the chance to do pastry apprentice with age of 30 in Munich after I came back to Munich. Since then I falled in love with baking cake. The world of making cake is so amazing. Look at what you have created. Its fantastic and impressive!!!
I will keep on making cake and learning more about it!!!
I hope one day I can do as good as you in my country Taiwan….
Thanks!
donafish from Germany
hi, as with everyone else i find your style and designs very inspiring. i am in the process of setting up a cake business from home. i have four young children and so have given myself a year to get everything ready and put the word out that i am doing this. everything always seems to take so much longer than you think, particularly working out how to cost, what form layouts to use etc. but i love the designing and making side and spend/waste a lot of time thinking about it! it was good to read your blog and reinforces my belief that i am doing the right thing.
thankyou
kathryn x
Hi Katy, I am self taught too but I’ve heard a lot of good things about Le Cordon Bleu and their courses here https://www.cordonbleu.edu/programs/London (look at the Grand Diplome) also try squires kitchen http://www.squires-shop.com/pages/school.html for a great range of sugar craft courses. Happy baking x
Hi May,
I’m new to this bloggin, and from reading the other comments you’ve probably heard what I have to say hundreds of times. I love looking at your website at the amazing cakes you produce. The first time I found your web site I went straight on amazon and bought your book so I could gain further knowledge in how to improve my cake decorating skills. Like many others I started baking with my mum as a child and then progressed to making family and friends occasion cakes as a hobby.
I now own a coffee shop in the village in which I live, baking homemade cakes for the shop, and occasion cakes for friends and family as a hobby as its something I find relaxing and enjoy doing. I can completely relate to the 10 hour plus days and the organisation, staff management etc that you talked about in your very inspiring blog. I have had the shop a few years now and would like to make my life a bit more stressful and persue the dream, having my own cake business.
The problem is I have no actual qualifications when it comes to cake decorating as I am self tought and just have an eye for detail. I would now like to take it further and learn as much as I can. I’m currently looking into the different courses available and just wondered if you would be able to help me by sugesting any courses your aware of or that you have studied yourself that might help me on my way.
Any suggestions at all would be great!
Many Thanks
Katy x
Thank you for a truly sincere advise I felt so warm and honest.
I’ve been starting my own cake business for several months now and I do experience all that you shared.
Through many trial, errors n succes I will still keep on striving for excellent.
Love your work. it’s very inspiring!
Thx u,
much love from Indonesia
This story is very inspiring and encouraging to me seeing how I have a goal of opening my own cake shop. Thank you so much for sharing.
hi maisie! your work is so, so beautiful! congratulations, love your website too!
loved this story i want to open a celebration cake shop after my divorce left me living hundreds of miles away from my customers and nowhere to run my cakes from i know what i do is exceptable but am finding it hard to convince people it will be viable any suggestions maise?
What necessary words… super, magnificent idea