A little history of My Brother's Bakery

Well, My Brother's Bakery has officially entered a new phase of it's life! Yay! We even have our very own website http://www.mybrothersbakery.com/ , albeit a work in progress.

So it has been a couple of long years waiting for the opportunity to bake for the public, although my friends and family haven't really mind being my "test kitchen" while I waited for the chance to bake for others.

When I was taking my first Wilton class at Michael's, my mind started working (as anyone who really knows me knows it does:)) and I began thinking that there really was a need for a bakery that could cater to people afflicted with food allergies. I started talking to my family and before I knew it, I was working on a business plan with my brother Bill. He lives in Colorado, so we emailed back and forth and he offered me invaluable guidance and advice every step of the way.

The first draft of my My Brother's Bakery business plan was completed in the Fall of 2006 and I was absolutely thrilled to move forward with opening the bakery....but there was just one small catch. Things don't happen overnight. I quickly learned that all of the things that had to happen in the town of Bel Air in order to open a food related business were, to put it simply, overwhelming.

My first step was to meet with the health department, since I wanted to learn the rules that I had to follow in order to move forward. I had a feeling that I couldn't sell baked goods from my home, but several creative ideas began to flow to make a home business compliant with the health department regulations. One such idea was my husband's (God bless him!). He offered to convert our garage into a commercial kitchen for me. Well, the health department said "That might work for us, but you need to consult zoning." I was elated, only to find that they only said that because zoning would never allow it. Suddenly, elated went to deflated, but I plugged on.

Next, I looked into finding a commercial place to work from. That was, for many reasons, a circus act. I found a really cute space that seemed perfect in a large shopping plaza in Abingdon. There was a little ice cream shop that has gone out of business and I thought it would be a win-win situation if I could take over their lease and occupy the space "as is." I spoke with a dear friend at church who works in the real estate department of a large gas station/convenience company and he gave me some guidance on how to approach the property manager. So, feeling confidant, I made the phone call to offer what I thought was a great solution to his problem of an out of business, unoccupied space in his shopping plaza. I honestly have to say that I have never been treated so condescendingly by another business person before or since I spoke with this man. He told me that he had "several offers" to take the space as is and that he would be fired by the property owner if he even presented such an offer to him as my taking over the lease at the current rate. He said that the property was worth much more and he would have no problem filling it. Well, needless to say, almost two years later it is still vacant and the poor occupant that went out of business was probably completely ruined because this person wouldn't allow anyone to take over his lease and let him out of it. I really feel that what comes around goes around, but also that God has a better plan for me.

After that, I found myself driving down Route 924 asking God to just show me what I am supposed to do and about two minutes later, I drove past a little Art school for sale right in Abingdon. That was it- even though lots of things have transpired with the Art school and I will condense that long story by saying that it didn't work out for me either (and is also still on the market two years later) I feel like that was my message to avoid renting and just wait until something presented itself that I could purchase. I have read and been advised that a business such as a bakery really could have a hard time staying afloat with an expensive lease to pay. I have the utmost confidence that God will continue to reveal to me the steps I need to take to make this business work. For the past two years, I have definitely built quite a buzz surrounding my cakes at family and friends' parties, all while taking care of my most precious gifts, my babies.

Now that my son is on his way to Kindergarten and my daughter on her way to preschool, I appreciate the time I have been given to spend with them the past couple of years and realize the blessing I have been given in my business being put off for a little while. This seems the perfect time for a little controlled growth. So, world, here I come!