What a week.

These past 7 days have seen my the highest, and lowest, I have been on a long time. Why I hear you ask? Well come a little closer and I shall fill you in...

Firstly, The Nottingham Evening Post (my local paper) ran a lovely feature about Star Bakery. It was better than I could have hoped for and the journalist was so complimentary about my cupcakes. The article has led to a surge in emails/enquiries and I have had some great orders this week so I have lots to keep me going. This business has always been about having the opportunity to do something I love whilst making people happy and I feel that I am now one step closer to this.

Purely for research purposes.

Honestly. I mean, I wouldn't buy cupcakes from other people unless I was just checking the quality....would I??

Well, yes. Some people find it very strange that I continue to buy cupcakes from other competitors or that I can still manage to stomach cupcakes after being surrounded by them all day. But I assure you, once you have a sweet tooth its with you for good. And I do recommend you do thorough research of your local competitors or else how else can you know what you're up against?

So yesterday I decided to try some cupcakes from a stall at my local farmers market. My heart pounded just thinking about another competitor so close to me but my husband bought a box and we eagerly opened it to try the goods. And what a disappointment.

Mummy's little helper

This weekend was very exciting. All my orders were completed by Friday so I had 2 full days to spend with my boys! A family weekend is a rare occurrence of late so I like to make the most of them. Even if they do involve doing very little and slouching around the house...

I love roses. Especially edible ones.

I am currently working on a few wedding orders and (I'm sure I will regret saying this) I am finding that I love making fondant roses! It must be therapeutic or something...

I really want to try and cover the top of one whole cake with lots of little roses so stay tuned for piccies if I ever get time to sit down and make 100 or so of them...

I should have listended to my maths teacher.

After many months of procrastinating (and nagging by my other half) I finally sat done today to get my finances in order.

As ever, my first port of call was Business Link who have some great hints/tips on how to set up your accounts system. I always go there whenever I have a business query and this gave me a really good indication of what information I have to capture. There isn't much that is legally required but you do need to know the basics when it comes to tax time!

Go on...

Trio of pink pastel cupcakes
Originally uploaded by Star Bakery

...treat yourself. Or someone else you know!



I have been experimenting with photos and background colours so watch this space for more photos in coming weeks. I like the look of text on photos too hence me little message this evening.

I have been taking more photos in readiness for my new website (exciting times!) which should be ready soon. Can't wait!

Managing the quiet times

When I started this business I was prepared for the quiet times. I was not prepared the busy times (!) but I knew not to let it get me down if things were slow. To help me stay focused, I have a list of 'things to do' that helps me continue to stay busy even when cake orders are few and far between.

For instance: when cake orders are frequent, my admin really falls by the wayside. I mean totally. It's all I can do to create an invoice/receipt for a client let alone log cake costs, payment, update social networking sites etc. So I try and fit it all into a quiet time. I make a list of what needs to be done - SFBB health & safety logs, receipt books etc and then everything else is saved up for a weeknight like tonight. I try not to beat myself up if things slide a little, I joke to my hubby that I already need an admin person! I have received some great advice from a friend who has her own business and she says to keep on top of the money situation. Doing your taxes can be hard enough without trying to find long lost receipts that you put in a 'really safe place'...

Let's celebrate National Cupcake Week 2009!

It seems that we now have another way to celebrate all that is cake - and it's all thanks to National Cupcake Week.

British Baker is organising what will hopefully become an annual event to raise the profile of our favourite little cake from 14-19 September 2009.

And you too can get involved by supporting your favourite bakery or cupcake maker and placing an order of your favourite treats, in fact why not share the love amongst your friends and family and surprise them with a box of cupcakes?