I have always admired and strived to be a successful person. I believe success is measured in many ways and each individual has their own idea of what successful looks like. For me, I always saw being a business owner as one of the many ways to measure my success.
I’m fairly certain that at some point in everyone’s life, you have tried to think of that million dollar idea. Since I can remember, my parents instilled in me the value of money; I was told from a very young age that I would go to Uni and become a wealthy doctor or lawyer; when I was a kid, these were two very successful industries and in the eyes of middle class families, it was the dream. Now as an adult, I realise that being a doctor or a lawyer isn’t necessarily all glamour and it certainly isn’t all about the money. Did you know that quite a large number of qualified lawyers don’t even practice law? And that’s how I became one of those people in search of a million dollar idea.
A couple of years ago I discovered that I can cook, so I began practicing and refining my skills. Before I knew it friends and family were ordering cakes and cupcakes from me. I wanted to turn this little hobby into a business, but at the time I just wasn’t really motivated enough to take it anywhere so I left the idea alone. Over time, I was getting more and more orders and this hobby begun consuming my life. I remember sitting on the floor of my kitchen one night, balling my eyes out because my friend’s wedding cake was disastrous; I had been baking all day and had hours to go, exhaustion had definitely kicked in. It was at this point that I realised that baking as a business was not for me. Any baker out there will agree that you never get back what you put in, there are so many people who just don’t understand or appreciate the time and energy a baker puts into their cakes. I decided to put the idea on hold.
In case you were wondering, the wedding cake made it to the reception and it was a hit! It was one of those moments in life where you just have to pull up your big girl panties and get on with it.
When I met Mike, I was totally in awe of him; Mike is what I would consider to be successful. From an early age Mike had strived towards greatness; buying his first house when he was 19 and then going on to be a partner in various business ventures over the years. Mike and I knew when we met that we were going to spend our lives together. There were so many reasons we knew, but the biggest reason is because we drive each other to be the best (we drive each other crazy as well).
In August 2015, Mike had an idea (he always has ideas); he had heard about a tiny little lolly shop in Bailey’s Arcade that was for sale, and thought that we could start a small project together. I can’t even remember if I actually said yes, but before I knew it Mike had begun engaging all the right people to make this happen. I was definitely excited, it was certainly something I had considered doing previously, but I did not know what I was in for, so much so, that I didn’t even know where to start.
And so, the journey of becoming a Canberra small business owner began.
Over the next weeks and months, Sophia will take us on her journey to becoming a business owner and building her cafe.
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