We’re in a constant state of flux around here lately, and I must say that needing to switch gears isn’t easy.
Let me back up by saying that we had a great plan for our business and bakery. I was super excited about starting, we incorporated, purchased our domain to begin building our business website, spend hours baking up new recipes, and worked tirelessly on branding.
In order to get our business licenses, we had to fill out the detailed 35 pages of forms to include action plans, where a dirty mop goes, where business food is stored and the action plan on how it will all stay separate from our own food supply, the layout of the kitchen, where the hand washing sink and bathrooms are located, a map of the land and where the garbage bins are, as well as the well and septic. Who will be home during operation hours, and so many more questions. Questions about what we’ll be making, and to describe them all.
Make breads, muffins, the best baby cakes I’ve ever had, jams, jellies and other yummy treats to sell, and we’re in business. Or are we?
One of the things that must be settled in the heart before embarking on a business venture are the following questions:
“Do I believe in what I’m doing, or am I just trying to make money? Is this something that will serve others, or hurt them in the long run? Can I work this way and still maintain a high level of personal integrity?” If the answer is ‘no’ to any of those questions, you have to be willing to stop, re-evaluate your position and switch gears.
Starting a home based business takes discipline, organization, understanding, and integrity. If there’s no discipline and organization, things can go down hill quickly. If there is a lack of understanding and integrity, forget ever advancing your business. I’m grossly simplifying things right now, but I’ll give you the greatest struggle we face at the moment:
For many…MANY months, I’ve been working on forming our business. We had a vision of what we wanted and the steps we would take to get there. We were working on product lines, which items we wanted to bring to market, and how our products would change over the next five years. Yes, that’s a lot of work, but its always good to know where you’re going, even if its a few years out.
Here is our biggest problem…we as a family are moving towards eating traditional foods. The Weston A. Price Foundation has influenced a lot of the changes we’ve been making in our diet.
So what’s the problem? Refined flours, sugar, vegetable oils, and basically all the foods we’ve been raised to believe were good for us…throw it out the window. This is a paradigm shift happening for the last six months. Cupcakes? What? Bread that’s not a traditional sourdough?
My question is this:
If we as a family are refusing to buy anything fat free, low fat, reduced fat, pre-made frozen foods, canned food, food in plastic containers, pastas, refined sugars, flours, and other non-nutrient dense foods, how can we prepare what we don’t believe in and sell it to the general public? That would be like having a vegan prepare full on meat products for the omnivorous and get paid.
Dom’s question to me was, “If we are moving in another direction, why would we sell foods that can cause potential health problems, fertility problems, dental problems and so on since they aren’t traditional foods? Why can’t we sell the kinds of foods we believe in?”
He has an excellent point. It upset me to no end, I must admit. Why? Because I’ve worked so hard to this point putting certain things together, and now I have to scrap it all and start from scratch. I wasn’t upset that he was talking about our integrity…just about the change.
So now what? Where do we go from here?
I guess I’ll need to delve even deeper into Nourishing Traditions and maybe a few other resources. I’m starting from scratch. When your man is right…ya gotta listen.
We don’t dramatically change our lives overnight, but instead, its usually a slow agonizing journey to our goals. I don’t know why we drag these things out. I’m not resistant to change, but sometimes I do wish we’d move a little faster…then I remember that I’m the one that takes the longest to get somewhere important. LOL
For anyone who doesn’t know what a traditional foods diet is all about, here’s one of my favorite Weston A. Price chapter leaders, Sarah the Healthy Home Economist:
This is another great video (although long)
He does make an excellent point – and kudos to you both for recognizing the issue and following your hearts and ethics on it!Will you have to completely reapply with all that paperwork if you change over to a business plan that is still the same basic concept (for storage of brooms, who’s home, etc) but simply offers a different type of product – NT-inspired food items that are good for people to eat AND good for your souls & hearts to make? Hopefully they’ll let you keep the basic concepts in place and just fill out some sort of brief addendum that you’ll use different recipes, but make the “same” products. It’s really tough to have to stop, scrap something, and start over, but hopefully you won’t have to completely reinvent the bureaucratic part of the wheel – just the “cookbook” part. š
Hi Melonie,
Unfortunately, with traditional foods, some of the recipes call for lactofermenting, letting breads rise via sour dough or adding whey, and they typically don’t use quick rise yeast or baking powder. Fermentation is a very big part of eating this way. Some of the recipes also call for grinding fresh grains. When running a cottage food kitchen, you can’t ferment sour dough, and the grains must already be commercially milled.
To solve this problem, I can purchase organic sprouted and milled flour in bulk. The problem with this is the expense…it’s way too expensive. I don’t think we have a market for a $9-12 loaf of bread.
However, if we have a commercial kitchen installed (which was our plan for the future), we can make these kinds of foods.
We can also teach classes on traditional food preparation, such as making kefir, cultured butter, making a sour dough culture from scratch, breads and so on.
We can also still make soaps, hard lotions, and natural cleaning products. I also sew, and I was planning in the future to add a line of aprons for men, women and children, and a few Vera Bradly inspired bags. š
I would like to check out if I need a commercial kitchen to prepare dog treats and biscuits.
My daughter Gina knits, and will also becoming out with her own line of products.
So all hope isn’t lost, it just means looking at all this with new eyes.
I love the positive attitude that come across in your reply comment! š All about diversification in these parts, and you’re being a great example there. Thank you for sharing the options and the changes that would be required. I’ve done nothing on the commercial food scale so this is really neat to learn!
Hoping you have announcements about the other products in your line very soon. Do let me know if I can help promote them in any way. We’d sure love to bring my husband home for work too – a goal I’m personally working toward while he finishes his current military contract. I confess I’m living vicariously through you all on that aspect! š Feel free to holler if there’s any way I can help spread the word when you’re ready with the new items!
Hi Melonie,
Thanks for the encouragement and support. I’ll definitely let you know when we get ready to cross the homebased working bridge. LOL
I wonder if you can put together Thriving Packages for sale. I think that would be so cool. š
Yes, holler when ready! š
I’d love to do something along those lines – what I’m actually trying to narrow down right now is what is most applicable to the “most” people…. but will still be easy enough for families to personalize to meet their specific needs too. There are so many great resources out there, from tangible products to general information options, that it is easy to head off on a rabbit trail.
Admittedly much of my day is spent on rabbit trails – er, market RESEARCH. heehee
Hey Angela,
I know it is more expensive, and you’re definitely aware of alternative baking products, but there is a definite market for “healthier” sweets wherever you go. We all have a bit of a sweet tooth.
I am not sure whether or not you follow her blog, but Real Food Forager has a ton of baking recipes that are GAPS friendly. They have always been good inspiration for me whenever I needed to make a good treat that wasn’t loaded with sugar and refined flours. I know there are places where you can buy good coconut flour in bulk for a reasonable price, it’s just the shipping that hurts… Perhaps with better research you could find some place that gives you a discount on bulk orders.
I know for a lot of people unless they are trying to battle candida, honey is still an acceptable sugar replacement. Stevia is much cheaper than it used to be and there are now even more options, albeit not as affordable sometimes… Either way, I know you’ll figure it out. Baked goods without all the crappy oils, sugars and flours are something I would and still pay good money for.
I wish you luck and must give you a pat on the back for all your hard work. I thoroughly enjoy reading your blog weekly/daily.
Regards,
Meagan
Hi Meagan,
I’ll have to check out Real Food Forager. Is her blog the same as the title? I’ve been enjoying checking out some real food blogs, and totally amazed at what they’ve come up with.
Even though I’ve been through a myriad of different healthy food lifestyles, I think I’ve come across a diet that will make me a lifer for sure.
I feel a lot better following a traditional foods diet, lost 20 lbs. that just fell off my body, and I’m starting to feel an overall sense of well being.
The biggest problem for us is purchasing the 50 lb bag of sprouted flour to start working up recipes. We did purchase a sprouted flour baking book which looks amazing, but I won’t know until I’ve tested her recipes and they are consistently the same each we make the recipe.
Thanks so much for all your encouragement, great comments and awesome feedback. I really appreciate it Meagan. š