Happy 5th Birthday to me

Five years and still going strong!! It does not feel like a year had passed since I was celebrating my last business birthday. I still feel that sense of pride and achievement with each birthday that passes. I love reflecting over the year and what celebrations and challenges I have faced along the way. I guess one of my biggest challenges continues to be the global pandemic that we are all still trying to find our way through. We have all had to adapt to a new way of living and working and my business is no exception. It has had to evolve to take account of this. I assume we all have a new normal but with this comes a lot of uncertainty about what the future holds for us. This uncertainty has certainly made me push my boundaries and look for new opportunities.

In addition to the above we now have the dreadful situation in Ukraine. My heart is so saddened for all the loss of life, destruction and sadness it has caused to so many families. I am doing what I can personally to ease some of the suffering by adding my support to awareness globally via my social media channels. I am also adding my support to local groups in my area for displaced people. My thoughts go out to everyone suffering at this time.

On a more positive note, I have to admit I continue to love working in my shiny new kitchen and in late 2021 I received a visit for my food hygiene inspection with the food standards agency. I’m sure these official visits fill us all with a touch of trepidation. I am proud (plus relieved it is out of the way) to say that I have maintained my 5 star rating (the highest rating) for food hygiene standards.

2021 saw the release of several new online tutorials. Development is an area during lockdown I have been turning a lot of my attention to. For some time, I have been considering diversifying from florals with other buttercream cupcake art. I love animals and decided to design and release some woodland animals but they still of course have my unique floral twist. If you haven’t already seen them, check them out here. I would love to expand this concept further in the following months so watch this space.

On a personal level I think you all know that I am a real family person and I put huge emphasis on successfully balancing both my work commitments and home life. I feel that my productivity, motivation and general happiness are far greater when I am successfully maintaining this balance. This continues to be a key factor for me each and every year. I firmly believe it is integral to a successful business whilst maintaining your stress levels and ultimately your mental health. If you have read my previous blogs, you may know that in the early days of my business, I lost my life work balance completely and this has made me a strong advocate of the importance of managing both. I hope if you are reading this and have felt a sense that you have lost control over any aspects of your life, refocus and re-find what is really important to you. We all have a reset button and we just have to make sure we use it sometimes. I am looking forward to 2 weeks away with my family in August where we will be travelling to the coast and spending our time splashing in the waves and making precious memories. At this time, I do my best to leave the running of my business to others so I can reset my own work life balance button.

So, what’s ahead for Kerry’s Bouqcakes. I have a number of new online tutorials in the pipeline which I am excited about. I am also looking forward to some exciting new brand partnerships in 2022 but I can’t say too much on this yet but all will be revealed soon. I am already booking up for Mother’s Day and this is always a big day for me each year. I try not to forget that I am a mum too so save some time for my little people on this special day.
Most excitingly, I am shortly to bring out Kerry’s Bouqcakes business support package. This new package is designed to support students in important aspects of managing a cake business. This is a new project for me and is intended to assist new starters and those who want to improve their business model. This is based on my own experience of business and has been gained through my own trial and error. After 5 years in business, I feel I have learnt a great deal and I feel it is the right time to share this knowledge with others to help them with their own cake journey.

The buttercream flower business has blossomed (no pun intended!!) since I started my journey 5 years ago. I love to see how successful and proficient so many have become and to see your businesses grow. My Facebook VIP Cake Community has become a successful forum for you to help each other and to encourage those less confident. Well done all of you and keep up the positive vibes.

Keep an eye on the website as I am running an online course sale to celebrate my birthday with you all.

I am looking forward to the year ahead with positivity, enthusiasm and love in my heart for what I do each day and I hope you feel the same.

Take care
Kerry xx