What more could you ask for?

August 1st, 2009 - Back in the Day Bakery is 6 years old.
It's hard to believe we have been open for this long, but
the wear and tear feels a lot longer than 6 yrs.

It's also been a long road of learning how to run a
business and we still feel like we have a lot to learn.
We always thought that what we did was pretty easy.
Bake from scratch, from recipes we know work and taste
good and sell to customers who will "get" what we do.

The concept of artisan baking in the South was something
I wouldn't have started with in describing what we do as a
business. It confused a lot of people.
We should have used the simpler terms like: down home,
baked from scratch and traditional.
due to the fact that food in the South has always been
made from the heart and not from a lost tradition.

After years of trying to make a conceptual idea work
and now refocusing on the fundamentals of stripping away
the marketing mumble jumble. It's all about being
true to yourself and our product and loving what we do.

We have had a lot of people work for us and to be honest
a lot of those people didn't love what they did...it was a job.
Looking back it seemed like a good idea to hire someone
with no experience (or educated experience) and thought
that baking would be a fun job.
The psychology of individuals dealing with
life markers: teens, 20's, 30s, 40s, 50s is interesting.
All of us are dealing with issues in our life that affect who we are
and what is keeping us from being happy.

I've seen a lot of issues roll through our bakery and some are
deep and some are just lost direction. For the most part
if I had realized as an early teen my baking skills could
have been a nice a career for myself, maybe I wouldn't have
wasted so much time "trying to find" what I should be doing.

Our business has blossomed into something we didn't really
believed could happen. Back in the day, we thought it was
something so original to bake good food. But, we are no
different than any other small business owner doing the
same as we. What makes us stand apart from the average
is the fact that Cheryl and I love what we do and believe
food is more than nourishment...it's a memory of comfort,
a way to slow down and remember the important things
in life, an experience of texture and flavor, interacting
and creating relationships with people.

I'm all about local business, I try in any way to support
an existing or a new business. I have learned to love what
they do, be it: food, retail or a service because I now know
the risk they are taking and the commitment it takes to
start from square one. A major pet peeve of mine is the
decline or pure laziness of that idea falling into the category
of failure.

It's takes years for a business to fail (if that is it's destiny),
unless it's a bad idea from the start.
The concept starts strong, owner works hard, employees
can either dissipate or grow the company.
The single most important marker in any business is the belief
that employees care about what you do. The relationship
is critical to the point of success or failure. we have dealt
with this issue from day one. Interview questions and
experience don't add up to the simple fact that I always
fall back on..."would I have dinner with this person?"
in what way does this person connect with me on a personal
level. My gut has never been wrong and sometimes I don't always
follow the guidance it gives me.

A major pitfall is the owner believing a certain individual
can do what they do. I've seen it too many times with restaurants.
They start out great and down the road the food gets worse.
Being an owner I realized that it's important for me
to be a part of every aspect of our business...
of course this is next to impossible, if not healthy.
But, if you own the business, it's best to stay connected.

After a while business owners "check out" just like
the employee who gets bored doing what they do.
It's a relationship that somehow become fuzzy logic.
Again, what stage of life are you and what's important.

So, long and winding theories it's all about taking a deep
breath and realizing that " hey, I'm not going to take over the
world, I'm a part of something big. a piece of the puzzle.

Back in the Day Bakery has always been about making
people happy. That's all our business plan was about.
So finding people who believe in that was kinda hard;
both customer and employee. We did not want to take over
Savannah and become a cornerstone to feed everyone.
We believed in being a neighborhood
business that makes good food and if we run out,
just be alright with that. Don't expect us to have it all,
everyday, anytime you decide to show up. That isn't our
idea of fun....just relax and enjoy the options for the day.

So my ramblings have taken over, so much more I could
write about people and issues, but what's the point.
It's time to have a happy face as Cheryl would say and
be comfortable with where you are. I've learned to take
deep breaths and realize what we do is pretty amazing.
People actually like what we do and we will always make
the best chocolate chip cookie in the world *thanks Cheryl.

Me? I make bread, feed you lunch and work a little too
hard but WTF, it's called life - and running a bakery is kinda
cool. Making food and seeing people feel good when they
eat our food, what more could you ask for?

Moving Forward to More Important Things

I was going to title this post.
...Four TATTOOS and a WEDDING
Catered PARTIES
LOCKED out fees
Bailed out SCHOOL LOANS
Thousands of FREE lunches
Karaoke HANGOVERS followed by
Burnt Recipes and FAILED Frosting's...
How an employee can ruin your business

But thought that I should write about
a positive aspect of running a business.

Over the years it's been a learning curve
much like any I've ever had. Running
a business is much easier than I thought.
But what I didn't take into consideration was
the intricate complications of human relations
would levy on the day to day operations.

We have built multiple relations with business
owners in Savannah and there is a common thread
that weaves through every conversation concerning
owner employee dynamics. I've come to a general
simplistic equation about being an "employee" and
now an owner of a business.

What relates to what I did and what I do now
is, I now see what I did at a job and see it repeated
by my employee and understand why they do it.
There are those who have a work ethic and
there are those that don't...simple, right?
Work ethic that can be changed, it's just a
matter of where you are in life.

I could get into bashing employees who stole,
showed up drunk, didn't do the job that was
required of them, took advantage, or never
thanked us for the opportunity, but that would
undermine everything that I've learned over
the years.

Granted I am guilty of not understanding
the dynamics of a situation gone bad and
being unable to express in a positive way
to solve the issue at hand. Most business
owners understand exactly what I mean
when I say "I wish I could have handled that
in a better way".

But the fact of the matter is, there is a reason
why people come work for your business and
why they are the way they are. If someone
comes to work with a lazy attitude, then that
person is in a stage of life that you have no
control over. So the choice is to give guidance
or replace the employee. Your gut will tell
what's right, but more than often you keep
giving that employee a second, third,
forth and possibly more chances thinking
that person will figure it out and
become a better employee.

We all think we are the best worker when
it comes to our jobs, we have good days
and bad. What's expected is someone who
goes above and beyond and gets the
"Big Picture" of how your role helps and
motivates others around you. If you just
want a job to pay the bills, your not really
contributing to your employer or yourself.

You have to really love your job, learning
and pushing yourself to learn more, accomplish
harder task and become "The Expert" in what
you do...possibly opening your own business
someday.
Otherwise your just working a job. A job that
bores the shit out of you and then it reinforces
your insecurities and self worth. Then when
that happens, your boss sees you're not doing
your job and it becomes a viscous cycle.
Your not moving forward, boss criticizes, you
get pissed off and now it's the bosses fault
because you can't do your job.

Oh well, what can you do?

What I've learned is people have the opportunity
to have a great job at what they love to do.
I have the opportunity to respect what they do
and have an open honest dialog about how we
can all be our best. Moving backward, or staying
stagnant isn't an option anymore.
Moving forward is the objective.

I've learned over the years that some people will
always talk bad about you no matter how nice
you are. And then there are people in the world
that carry a positive outlook on life.
I now have learned from all former employees
good and bad what I can do better to be a better
boss. 2008 was a pivotal year.

So moving onto more important things is my
motto. I can't worry about people who want to
spread negative rumors or post negative
reviews...

I am already successful at what I do,
nobody can take that away from me.
It's all about moving forward.

There comes a time

Great news is on the way.

Opportunity Abounds

Opportunity Abounds

What Me Worry? I'm On Vacation

Ah, the Summer vacation always recharges
the batteries. We've been closed about 10
days and planned a short trip to NYC
to get some new ideas and confirm what
we already know about our business.

Having to deal with a group employee
walkout before our trip (that was weird),
we quickly had the opportunity to rehire
qualified individuals (thanks Johdi & Isaac
for your help and smiles) that I feel will
make us even better.

It's always interesting when confronted
with what you think is a major obstacle,
but turns out to be a blessing.
It's unfortunate about the current state
of mind some folks have about working
I could rant, but won't.

Working as a baker is hard work. You
actually have to know what your doing
and be dedicated to the art of baking.

Anyway, enough of that. We always rise
above the occasion every time, moving on.

Cheryl and I toured NYC from
Central Park down to SOHO.
This city is impossible to see it all in 5
days. Zeroing in on our favorite businesses
we have been reading about for years.

From cupcakes to bread, we tried all
kinds. In my opinion here are my
highlights of NYC.

Sullivan St. Bakery.
Focusing on Italian breads and desserts
this bakery in Hell's Kitchen is simple
and brilliant.

Balthazar Restaurant
Having lunch here was like the closest
thing to heaven in New York.
The food was the gold bar that I will
strive for in everything I do. It was just
plain good, what food should taste like.

That's it, yep my (2) favorite places in
NYC. I now know my talent and our bakery
is more than equal to anything I saw in NYC.
We walked all over NY and fully enjoyed
the experience and learned so much.
We connected with friends ate food
and enjoyed our visit.

Thank you to Sam & Jimm for their apartment
in Midtown Manhattan, The perfect location
and a very generous gift they gave

Sunday Bliss

Sunday mornings are meant be lazy sleep ins,
but for us sleeping til 8 am is nice. Cheryl has
started a new tradition, fresh blueberry syrup
and pancakes. Nothing fancy, not hard to do,
quick and easy.....makes me happy.

What is a Baker

Here at the bakery we're coming up to our
5 year anniversary in August. And over the
years our biggest challenge has always
been finding employees who can bake.

What we do best is baking from scratch.
That has always been our business model
and always will.

To find that person who is willing and to
believe in that concept is like looking for
a needle in a hay stack

Our customers tell us the joy and happiness
we bring them with our products.
And they also let us know when something
isn't right when a baked product is not
meeting our standards. That always leads
us to a "baker" who isn't following our recipes.

We've had Pastry Chefs who can't bake a chocolate
chip cookie to novices who start from nothing
and become the cream of the crop to some who
just don't get it. It's been tough to find people
who really care about baking.

We have, between Cheryl and I, over 50 years
of baking experience. We both starting baking
with our moms and grandma's when we were
both around 8 years old.

My mom wasn't the greatest baker, but she
made it with care and it always tasted good,
something moms are always good at.
Inspiring me to bake on.

So at this stage, we are bakers true and
true who are committed to baking from
scratch the old school way.

No generic methods from a pastry school
text book, no shortcuts on ingredients,
no quick solutions to a time consuming
recipe.

We bake our desserts and breads with
tradition and our hearts with no excuses.

So, what is a baker to me?
It seems to be a lost art, but I know
there are folks out there that believe in
baking just like us.