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I Can Teach You to Make Money Baking!

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asdkfjtI want to share my report card with you.

Well, remember when you were a kid. When it came time for the report cards to be issued, you either felt fairly confident, or perhaps a little nervous.

As I developed my program to teach moms to make money helping non profits with fund raising, I have had frustrations with my lack of technology knowledge, but the thought of teaching others to bake has excited me.

Well, I have to be honest, I was nervous as I prepared all the written materials, but teaching the actual class was awesome. I loved working with these amazing women, and so I want to share this with you.

First Class

Many Thanks


I am so blessed and honored to be able to work with them. If you share the dream of making money baking, I would love to talk to you.

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Will Your Dream Business be a Good Fit for Your Family?

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What Do I Mean by a Good Fit?

Well, when considering a good fit, you have to take an honest look at your life and what you want to get out of it. It means choosing a business that fits not only you and your special gifts and talents, but one that fits you all the way around! It also falls in line with your priorities.

If you are choosing a good fit, it won’t rob your family of the time they desperately need and wantto spend with you. Sure, most business owners do spend more time working on their business than employees do. That is understandable, your business is your baby.

The thing is, you have to be careful not to confuse your babies. Just as a parent must work on spending equal amounts of their time individually with each child, this new kid on the block, (your business) can’t be allowed to consume inordinate amounts of your time.

That is why, as you take an honest look at your business idea or dream, you need to accurately consider the amount of time you will need to invest. If you neglect that important aspect, your family may soon grow to resent your business, and trust me, you don’t want that to happen.

In my experience, in the beginning of a business life, you have to nurture it, spend countless hours developing it and doing what it takes to make it grow. It is so easy out of desperation to jump at anyone who waves a dollar bill in your face. It happens to most business owner in the early stages of a business.

That is where it is important to take the time to develop a strategic plan for your business. What do you really want your business to be when it grow up. More importantly, what will your life be like when it grows? By that I want you to include all aspects of your life, and certainly how it will affect your family.

You see, business is a strange animal. In the beginning, it is like pushing a huge ball up hill. At a certain point, you reach the pinnacle point, and then it begins to roll down hill and pick up speed, and you are chasing it. It is then that it can take control of you instead of the other way around.

You are right, I am speaking from experience. In the beginning of my business, I had only planned to provide corporate breakfast, that was my chosen niche because it fit my family needs. I started out on the right path, but reached the pinnacle point, and things got out of whack.

One of my customers asked if I would possibly consider providing lunch for them. I stood my ground at first and said I only did breakfast. They begged, flattered, and promised never to tell anyone that I was providing lunch for them. Long story made short, I caved, they blabbed, other customers got wind of my new lunch offerings and the business took a new directions I had never intended.

I have to confess, that was the beginning of a long road. I kept taking turns that were not on the original road map I had planned, and over time, the business I had dreamed about, was not a good fit for my family, or me.

In closing, to be sure, as any business grows, opportunities appear that you did not imagine. I am not saying you should walk away from those. What I am saying is that you need to evaluate each opportunity to see if it aligns well with you and your dream. Stay focused on your goal.

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We Started a Home Bakery

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I have a licensed commercial kitchen that we added to our home. I can’t tell you what an absolute blessing it has been. I am often asked just how we did that. For ten years I ran my home based catering company from home, and did it legally.

I wanted to stay at home with my kids, and investigated all sorts of ways to help generate income. One of the things I was pretty good at, was baking, and many friends suggested I start a business selling some of the great homemade baked goods I made regularly. After investigating the possibilities, I decided to give it a try.

I started my business working out of our churches kitchen. It was a true gift, however, proved to be a lot of work since I had to work in the middle of the night, clean the kitchen and be out by 7:00am in order to get the deliveries made for the corporate breakfast meetings that I baked for. I used that kitchen for about nine months, and then decided I needed my own space.

Okay, this is a long story!

Let’s face it, the story spans ten years, so it will take awhile to tell the whole story. I have decided to break it into bite size pieces, I will include a “To Do” list for you if this sounds like something that fits your dream. Rome was not built in a day, and neither are most successful businesses.

I am an impatient person, you may be too. I can’t stress enough that a fatal mistake too many small business owners make, is lack of complete planning.

I know you may need to start making money now, most of us do. You might not like what I am going to tell you, but realistically, if you are at the very beginning, you could be 2-3 years away from running a profitable business. Please don’t get discouraged right off the bat, if I can do it, chances are really good you can too!

Well, I don’t want to overwhelm you here, so I will end on this note. If you have not read a book in awhile, today is the first day of the rest of you life. The library, bookstores, Amazon, the internet, podcasts, online classes, audio books are about to become a BIG part of your life from now on.

The first thing on my suggested “TO DO” list is to go to the library and checkout “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. It is available on audio, you can listen while you work, drive, walk etc. If you would like to add this book to your personal library, below is a link to Amazon. I must tell you that using this link is a blessing to my family because it is an affiliate link, however there is no additional charge for you. If you prefer, you can simply go to Amazon and search for it by name.

I know that you probably are thinking, what does that have to do with baking.You are right, I don’t think he was known for his baking skills. He does however, provide a critical foundational piece to the success of any business, it is his recipe for success, in business and in life. Enjoy, I’ll talk to you soon.

Please leave a comment or question, I would love to get some great dialog going here as you embark on the path to your specialty baking , and hopefully starting your home bakery business. We can all help each other.

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Market Research Really is Your Friend

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I would like to tell you a true story.

I had been working with a woman’s business center. One day the director asked me if I would talk to a customer of hers in another state. I told her I would be happy to offer her any help I could.

The next day, the woman called me and we had a long conversation. Basically, she was considering opening a store selling her baked goods, because all her friends were encouraging her to start a retail business. She was convinced that since everyone LOVED her baking, she could open a shop and the customers would simply flock through the doors.

Boy, I have to tell you, she reminded me of me. I had heard the same thing from friends I had. When I started asking my friends opinion about opening the coffee shop, encouragement was coming in from every direction.

I asked her who her target market was, and her answer was “Everyone”. She had never heard of anyone who did not like what she baked. I cringed at her answer, but I totally could identify with it as well. I felt like I was hearing a recording of conversations I may have had years earlier.

I thought” I“ had done my market research. In my mind, coffee shops had a great profit margin, and it was a no brain er that “Everyone” loved what I baked. I went to the library, took a look at the business section. There were tons of articles about how coffee shops raked in huge profits.

In addition to that, many friends and acquaintances assured me that “If you build it, they will come.” How could I possibly go wrong? I took the numbers about coffee shops to my class advisers, they took a brief look at it, nodded, and said it looked promising. That was it, market research – done.

The reality of the matter is, most often, people don’t go out of their way to do business with you. They may truly love what you do, however, the majority of us are busy, and even though people may love what you bake, if it takes much time to do business with you, they quite likely won’t.

The problem, is that to be convenient, you have to be in the right spot. We have all heard it, in real estate all that matters is location, location, location. The problem with that reality, is that location usually means big bucks.

If you are just starting out, unless you are independently wealthy, investing big bucks is a huge risk. My point here is that it is prudent to really have more than a hope and a prayer that your business will flourish. Please keep in mind that all those friends who are offering encouragement will not be putting their names on the dotted line, you will.

I guess you think that I am raining on your parade. Believe me, I am all about encouragement, as I have said earlier, if I can do it, just about anyone can. My point here is to follow the steps that help you avoid the pitfalls, and yes, signing a contact that will cost a small fortune is a big pitfall!

From my experience, I would want to advise you to truly take the time to identify your niche market. Being the best at something, is way better than trying to be all things to all people. That just makes you mediocre, and that is not the path to a successful business.

So……the “To Do” this time around is to realistically start your market research. The good news is that you probably don’t have to go to the library and start by looking us SIC codes, you can simply start by searching Google for keywords and the numbers associated with them. For example, if you are wanting to sell pound cake, using your Grandma’s favorite recipe, take a look at the interest in homemade pound cake.

There are a number of research tools you can use for that, Google “keyword research tools”. There are some free ones there and they will give you at least a good place to start.

If you have not yet signed up for my newsletter and top ten favorite ideas to make money baking, I would love you to do that now. In my newsletter, I will go into more details about starting and running your business. Please leave you comments and questions so we can get to
know one another.

There are ways to get around the problem of location, and in the future, I will talk more about that. After making an almost fatal mistake, I was able to regroup, work like crazy to clean up the financial mess I had made, and live to sell another day, another way.

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What Matters Most?

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The Answer to that Question has been debated for centuries!

If we are honest, the answer varies by the hour. For instance, I have been sick for the last week, and at this very moment, I am writing this in the middle of the night. I am an early riser, but this last week I have been a drug induced night owl. My answer at this minute to that question would be SLEEP!

Honestly, although I can not tell you that I have really enjoyed the graveyard shift, it has led me to some eye opening self introspection. I realized that one thing that  matters to me is that I want my efforts to actually count.

Lets face it, nobody wants to spend valuable time on things that have no value to anyone. Sure, doing laundry may feel like that at times, but that is not what I am talking about.

What I am referring to is spending efforts on a project that can make positive changes in someone’s life. Things like taking time to help stock your churches food pantry, helping a child living in poverty learn to read, helping a single mom learn skills to get a better job, you get the drift.

We all know that, but so few of us actually do it. We all lead busy lives, and finding time is a daily struggle. At the end of the day, many of us feel frustrated that although tasks have been accomplished, we don’t truly feel like we made a difference.

I have dreamed of the day when I could just go out and spend time helping others in a way that truly would make a difference in their lives. I bet you have too. I have a million excuses why I haven’t done that already.

During the long nights of the past week, I think I have come up with a solution to solve the problem. I just read a great ebook by Susan Scott, “Fashioning Your Best Year Ever”.

In her book, she has great suggestions for finding your priorities, setting them, and then implementing. One thing she said that struck me was:

If you aren’t committed to working toward your goals, someone will come along with the things they want you to do. They will have plenty of ideas of what you should be doing. However good those activities might be, if they don’t move you closer to the goals and dreams that are a part of your life purpose, they are not the best thing for you to be doing.

Too many times I have been guilty of letting others set my agenda to achieve their goals, and that has delegated the things that are important to me, to second place. My priorities are part of God’s plan for my life, I need to assist others with their goals, but not let their goals overshadow what I NEED to do in my life.

What am I going to do about it?

    Set one priority of my OWN for each week.
    Break my month into weeks, each with a small actionable list of goals that I can reasonably accomplish.
    Set goals, large and small, and write them down
    List what needs to be done to get to the goals
    Discover where I get the information I need to develop whatever skill I need to meet that goal

So what are you going to do? Please share ideas and comments that will get all of us closer to doing things that matter.

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Work Hard and Pray

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My Father was a mechanic, who worked very hard to provide for his family. As a little girl, I remember his hands permanently stained from the grease of the motors he fixed daily. The hard work took quite a tole on his body, but he held fast to his motto “Work hard and pray”

He was a successful family and business man. He supported his church throughout his life with his time, talent and treasures. He trusted God, and worked faithfully for the church and all people. He always helped someone in need.

One of the keys to dads success was that he ran an ethical business, stood behind his work, and treated his customers like gold. He was a gifted mechanic, and used his gifts well. In return, God blessed him with success.

He had it figured out, and all we have to do is read Deuteronomy 28:12

“The LORD will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to
give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of
your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.

Thanks Dad, I will try and live up to your motto and Work Hard and Pray.

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Daniel’s Story

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Wow, how can it be Thursday already!

I have struggled to blog constantly and I am working on that. Maybe in a future I will be able to report that I am winning the battle with consistency.You will notice it did not make the list this week though.

I love reading the other success stories, so I will share mine with you as well.

I struggle with technology,
and have been working on a
sales page for my website for quite awhile. It is finally done and up!

It is more than just the technology struggle though, it has been an internal struggle to go out and do the sales. You see, I have spent a lot of time on my knees praying about this business, and truly feel I need to do this, yet I guess it is Satan in action sitting on my shoulder and planting the seed of doubt in me.

Moms making money in this way, not only helps the mom stay at home, but helps the youth groups they work with be empowered to help others, both things the devil would love to prevent. I need to acknowledge what I am up against here.

My teenage son Daniel reluctantly recorded a video for me.

He  was embarrassed and felt like he was sort of bragging. Listening
to the video, and hearing his true feelings brought
tears to my eyes, and then opened them to what I have to do.
(To see the video, click on “How to Join ” in the top menu  and scroll down watch the video)

I joined a Faith Based Business group to help me focus on doing business in a faithful way.

All in all, it has been a week of positive forward movement. Thanks for reading this.

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Incredible Return on $10.49 Investment

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I Decided to Fight Work at Home Scams Aimed at SAHM’s

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Scammers Make Me Mad.

By reading the title, you probably have figured out that I have gone around or two (or ten) with work at home scams. I am the mom of twelve, and staying home with my children is my top priority, but contributing to the family finances was also important.

I searched far and wide for a legitimate way to generate money from home, and fell victim to more than my share of scams. You know, after awhile, you get pretty darn sick of that game. I finally wised up, and took a look at what I was good at and decided to do my own thing. I could bake well, so I started my own business doing just that.

I ran my business for ten years,
but there was something missing.

You get to a stage where you try and figure out what you want to be when you grow up. I started the search, and let me tell you, it was pretty hard. That really is an understatement, it involved a lot of soul searching, prayers, and finding the right people to mentor me.  I took all the skills and personality tests to discover my strengths and talents, I read lots of books, listened to a ton of podcasts, took classes, and finally the results are in.

I am passionate about helping moms.

Many moms want the privilege of staying at home with their children, but I know that many times finances make that hard to do. I have facilitated Dave Ramsey’s “Financial Peace University” classes many times, and know that extra income is important in lots of households. Therein lies the dilemma, how to generate the income needed AND stay at home.

I discovered that one of my gifts is teaching, paired with the fact that I love communicating with people. In my search for the answer to what I wanted to be when I grew up, I decided to see if I could teach baking skills to other people who did not have experience baking. Then I got a scathingly brilliant idea. My friend Judy cringed at the thought of baking, but she is a great sport, and agreed to let me teach her how to bake, and even let me video the lessons. Check out the videos in our recipe section. We have a great time, and Judy is becoming famous for her baking. All her friends and neighbors are lining up to get on her good side (she is spreading great food and good cheer to those near and dear to her.)

I wanted more proof, so I decided to teach a class how to bake, and had great reviews, so now I am going to open my doors and finally start helping stay at home moms learn to generate income for their families, and be able to stay at home with their kids. I have been greatly blessed and I am excited that I can help some moms do what I have done.

I will be posting more information in the coming weeks, and so watch for more information about how I can help some other stay at home moms generate money for their families.

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Dave Ramsey Says You Could Retire a Millionaire!

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IMG_6096

I know that l have been talking about the need most of us have to generate money, but today I just have to talk about the other side of the equation, the outgo. On August 17th, Dave Ramsey had a great piece on his show in the second hour.

He was referencing an article from Yahoo Finance called  “Millionaire Myth Busters”. He covered the seven myths, but followed that by doing some math for all of us to take note of.

He made the argument that even someone who makes minimum wage has the opportunity to retire wealthy. Yep, you read  that right, wealthy. Sounds too good to be true doesn’t it. I don’t want to try and give the complete explanation of how you do that, he is the expert.

The short summary though is that through consistent savings of under fifty dollars invested your working lifetime of fifty years could make you a member of the millionaire club!

So, stay at home moms can really make the difference long term through frugal living and being disciplined about saving money. Hey, it is Friday, and that is a sweet way to start your weekend off right. Monday we can get back to working on the other side of the equation.

I highly recommend that you take a few minutes today to just go to the archives of his show on August 17, and listen to the second hour of the show. Simply go to the sixty minute marker and listen.


Creative Commons License photo credit: srish

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