Happy Storefront Anniversary !
Hello TSFB friends! It's been a long time since I did the "monthly" coffee chat blog post. 7 months to be exact. The last blog post was my announcement of going brick and mortar! I figured no time better than the 6-month mark to catch up.
It is so hard to believe that the bake shop has been open for 6 months today, and what a whirlwind it's been!
Starting or expanding a business, in general, is risky. Add to that the turmoil of the state of the world we are living in, and things get pretty darn scary. Nothing is certain in life and sometimes even the best-laid thought-out plans don't work. Since opening the doors on December 14th, 2021, some things have gone according to plan, some things have gone better than planned and some things have gone absolutely horribly wrong. However, with all things considered it's been pretty great!
A huge thank you to my family for the long grueling hours we put in prior to opening the doors and the first few weeks we were open. An endless amount of thanks to my amazing team who work hard every day to help me make my dream a reality. Thank you for caring just as much as I do! And most importantly, thank you to the community for your support and excitement on the opening of the shop. Without all of you, we wouldn't be here doing what we love every day. We love seeing your smiling faces daily, and reading your suggestions, recommendations, and comments online. We love the new friendships we have made with our regulars, and are honored when you choose us to be a part of your family's special celebration. We thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate new equipment, and work to tweak and retweak certain items. As we continue to grow and expand services to meet your needs and wants, we ask that you please continue to be patient as with each new item or service comes some trial and error until we get it just right.
As great as things are going for us, id be lying if I said I wasn't a little scared. Prior to Covid 19, small mom-and-pop businesses were already struggling. Corporate America with its big box stores and online shops overpowered small businesses putting them on the road to extinction. Over the past couple of years, things have gotten even harder for small businesses to not only survive but thrive. As the world we live in continues to change every day, you feel the effects of these changes every time you shop at the grocery store, fill your car with gas or open your electric bill. Please keep in mind that the bakery is also feeling those same effects, and feeling them on a much larger scale. During these challenging times, your support is needed more than ever to make sure we are here for the long haul and that we come out of this alive.
Social media interactions of liking, commenting, and sharing our posts, take nothing but 2 seconds of your time. Taking a photo of you at the shop, a picture of you enjoying your purchase then tagging us in your social media post takes 2 minutes of your time. Leaving a review of our product and service on Google, Yelp, and Facebook takes 5 minutes or less of your time (direct links to these review sites can be found at the bottom of our website's home page, making it an easy one-click process for you.) Recommending us on social media foodie groups, and recommending us to your friends, co-workers, and family are all small (and free) acts of support that have such a POWERFUL IMPACT on the business. These acts are as important to us as your purchases are.
What is in store for us over the next 6 months? Only time will tell. A lot is determined by all of you.
I am a bakery first and foremost but I want to give my customers what they ask for so I will entertain different services when requested. I have been receiving a lot of requests for lunch items (sandwiches, salads, soups, etc.) Unfourtantly we are not there yet. When you asked for breakfast I gave it to you, but in 3 months of serving breakfast, I have not yet seen the benefits of this addition, therefore I am not willing to jump into something with an even higher cost associated with it. I hope to someday add lunch to our already extensive menu of offerings, but it won't be anytime soon.
We are working on plans for a Grand Opening Celebration later this summer, as well as toying with the idea of bringing back the popular monthly mailed cookie subscription (I previously offered this service when working out of my home). Stay tuned for more details on these topics!
Our legendary Pie Season has begun! have you gotten your pie yet? If not no worries! We have them available Thursday - Sunday in the cases. No more one time per month and waiting in line for over an hour to snag a pie! Not sure what I mean? You can learn more about TSFB Pie Season here www.thesugarfairybakes/pieseason
On the home front, my youngest just attended her senior prom and is graduating high school next week! She finished out her high school year by making prom court, the National Technical Society, and winning a Senior Award. Proud Mama!! She's still deciding where she goes from here. Early childhood education, pediatric nursing, or something else...regardless of where she ends up I know she will do great things!
My oldest, my son, is getting ready to leave the ADK and head out West! He has accepted a job opportunity out in Colorado. The job will allow him to continue on the path of working outdoors in nature and enjoying his love of the mountians. I'm so excited for him and the opportunity to do what he loves, to travel and experience new places and things, but I'm incredibly sad. The ADK was far enough away from home and now he wants to go even farther !!! Thank god I have the bakery to keep me busy during these early empty-nesting years LOL
That's about all for today. I am going to make a conscience effort on trying to be more consistent with these blog posts and Jenn our Marketing Manager will be getting involved in some different structured blog posts. Until then, be sure to stay up to speed on all things TSFB by following along on social media.
Thank you for the continued support, and for allowing us to be your community bakery! We appreciate each of you so very much.
