Did you know that I published a book almost exactly two years ago? It was a compilation of all the best blog articles that I had written at the time. I wrote the book because people really loved my blog and kept writing to me asking if I'd written an article about this or that, and then I'd write back, saying that I had, and giving them the link. This kept on going back and forth for ages, and I constantly got feedback saying that it would really be nice if people could read the blog like they read a book. So I downloaded all the blog articles, selected the best ones, ditched the worst, added some chapters, edited it all, and turned it into a book. That book is really amazing and it has gone all over the world and continues to sell really well.

Lately, I've been looking at the book and thinking about updating it, as I've written loads more articles since then. While doing that, I came across one of the very first articles in the book and decided to read it to you on today's podcast, so that we could talk about how much things have changed in our industry (or not) since then. I originally wrote the article on 15 April 2004 and it is called A Typical Small Cookie Company Story. Listen in to find out more.

Show Highlights:

• A story about two women who contacted me, and asked me to teach them a private cookie decorating class.
• The crazy expectations of the two ladies.
• It turned out that they knew nothing at all about registering a business.
• What really bothered me about their situation.
• What their cookies looked like in the pictures they sent me.
• These nice ladies had learned everything they knew from watching Youtube videos for only one single month, yet they were in business, as my competitors!
• Why this upset me so much.
• How I started out in the cookie business.
• Our industry is full of people just like these two ladies, so their story is really not unique at all.
• Why you really need to be serious about your business.
• What was going on in our industry four years ago.
• One thing that has changed in our industry since then.
• The really low barrier of entry into our industry that still exists today.
• What has, and has not changed in our industry.
• Longevity in this industry actually has nothing to do with baking or baking skills.

 

Resources:

To get your copy of my book, go to www.thebizofbaking.com/bookpage  or find it online at Barnes and Noble, Amazon or any good bookseller.

Contact me at [email protected]

 

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