SWEET BOSS

Your Ideal BUSINESS MODEL

BY CYDNI N. MITCHELL

Cydni N. Mitchell (a.k.a. Cyd) is a bakery consultant and the sweet business coach behind Sweet Fest®. Based in Atlanta, GA, Sweet Fest® is an online company that supports the business needs of the sweets community in the areas of professional development, marketing, branding, and web design. By trade, Cyd is an accountant and financial analyst with a master’s from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the co-founder of the Sugar Coin Academy, an online business academy for business owners in the baking and sweets industry, and she is also the organizer of The Ultimate Sugar Show, Georgia’s largest annual baking and sweets expo in Atlanta.

thesweetfest.com facebook.com/thesweetfest instagram.com/sweet_fest It’s hard to believe that a new year is just around the corner, but it will be here before we know it. At the end of each year, I always take time to reflect on how things went in my business. What did I enjoy? What do I never want to do again? Those types of things. This process helps me to refine my business, and it has allowed me to build a business and a suite of services that I actually enjoy doing. Since I’ve gotten my process down to a science at this point, I wanted to share my steps to help if you’re also looking to refine or reshape your business going into the New Year.

REFLECT ON YOUR “WHY.”

Most of us in this industry found ourselves in business by accident. We started baking for family or as a hobby, and next thing you know friends and co-workers are offering to pay you for cakes and treats. I call this being an “accidental entrepreneur.”

When you’re an “accidental entrepreneur,” it can be easy to be thrown into doing everything because, in the beginning, you’re not sure exactly what you want to do. But when you take on all the orders and do everything, you can find yourself feeling burned out and unhappy because you’re not necessarily doing the things that give you joy or fit your purpose.

The first step in creating your ideal business model is to reflect on why you started your business and where you want to take it. Did you go into business so that you could be more available to your family? Was it more about having a creative outlet? Is this a career path that you want to continue in the future? Once you have a clear idea of why you do what you do, make sure to write it down and keep it somewhere that you can easily find.

IDENTIFY YOUR LIKES AND DISLIKES.

Create a list of what you like and dislike in your business. This can include menu options, services, policies, systems, and even types of customers. These will help you identify the pain points and can help you better understand what needs to change to make you happier.

If you don’t like making custom cookies, why offer them? If people aren’t paying you on time, establish policies to promote more timely payments such as financial penalties. If you don’t like dealing directly with customers, create a policy that you’ll

only communicate with a planner after the initial tasting. There is likely a solution to any problem you have in your business, but you can’t know what needs to be fixed if you don’t take the time to identify the issues.

PURGE WHAT DOESN’T FIT YOUR PURPOSE.

Cut out those items on your list that don’t fit your purpose or don’t make you happy. Just because you run a baking business doesn’t mean you have to offer every type of cake or treat that’s ever existed. It is within your rights to focus on only wedding cakes or celebration cakes. If you hate cakes and only want to make cookies, only take cookie orders.

I know by now you’re probably thinking that this might be easier said than done, but I can assure you that shifting your customer requests is much easier than you think. If you want to stop taking cake pop orders, post the orders that you’d like to take. If you have an email list, focus your campaigns on the projects that you’d like to create. Want to take on more weddings? Start a blog that discusses the wedding-planning process. You are the one in control of your business and it is what it is because of your decisions.

I’m not suggesting that the transition will happen overnight or even in the next couple of weeks. But this exercise is about establishing goals and designing a road map to create your ideal business.

ESTABLISH SYSTEMS.

When you created your list of likes and dislikes, I’m sure that you came across some items that you don’t

necessarily hate but that you wish ran smoother. For these items, you’ll want to develop tweaks or solutions to help improve how they work in your business. This may mean that you’ll need to create an order form, make a change, add a policy, update your website, or even hire a new team member.

If there are minor changes that will make it more enjoyable or efficient, develop solutions that can make it work better. After you’ve implemented those changes and six to 18 months have passed and it still doesn’t work, then consider eliminating that part of the business.

MOVE FORWARD WITH THESE GOALS IN MIND.

I’m a living witness that the changes could take weeks or even years to stick, but if you remain focused on the goals, you’ll mold the business into an environment that fits your needs personally and professionally. It took me three years to cut out logo creation services in my graphic design business. It was a significant part of

my income and I had to strategically add on different services and take on different types of clients before I could just drop it from my service offerings.

I share this example because by this time next year you may likely have your ideal business, but it’s possible that you won’t. And that’s okay. As long as you’re focused and have a plan for molding your business into what you want it to be, that is all that really matters. ACD

THE FIRST STEP IN CREATING YOUR IDEAL BUSINESS MODEL IS TO REFLECT ON WHY YOU STARTED YOUR BUSINESS AND WHERE YOU WANT TO TAKE IT.