10 Years in the Dough!
This month has been heavily nostalgic for me as I mark 10 years of official business selling bread under the moniker As Kneaded Bakery. As I sit here sipping a latte on a quiet morning in our new café, I am filled with a feeling of deep satisfaction, pondering all I've been through this past decade.
Our storefront opened in November of 2018- but the business started out in a commercial kitchen in San Mateo where I rented space by the hour/square inch. My first 2 years were all about getting proof of concept: can I run a business, and do people want what I have to offer?
Many of you dear readers have seen us through it all from the beginning. You might remember receiving my newsletter for our weekly bread subscription, Bread Club, or perhaps you shopped at our market stall at the College of San Mateo that blustery first March 2019 market. Maybe I personally handed you a sample of your first taste of Honey Rye Porridge at a grocery store. I could wax poetic for days about the many pop-up events held, 3-hour sleep sessions at my parent's house between bake off and market, business models attempted and squashed. And maybe I will one day in a memoir/book of humor, but for now I will jot down a list of digestible accomplishments and challenges that come to mind to give you a sense of what my last ten years has been like.
- Fostered relationships with over 50 different grocery stores, restaurants, and sales outlets all around the Bay Area
- Employed 100 employees and managed a 25-person team when we were at our largest
- Applied for a received a PPP loan
- Grew our hours and receded our hours during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Launched Femme Marche event series and later the Lady Larder to spotlight dozens of women-owned businesses
- Created 200 unique products
- Participated in 7 different farmer's markets
- Hosted 2 organic farms by carrying their community-supported agriculture boxes
- Purchased and maintained 10 vehicles and over 30 pieces of bakery/café equipment
- Carried and birthed 2 babies into the world
- Created and managed 13 iterations of our custom production spreadsheet
- Survived 10 sleep-deprived Thanksgiving production weeks (one while pregnant)
- Utilized 500 lb of produce from our local San Leandro neighbors
- Donated thousands of pounds of breads and pastries to local organizations in need
What I have learned through it all is that I love to bring ideas to life from the ground up, analyze what works and what doesn't, and work with passionate, competent people to improve products and processes, and provide quality edible goods and services to people who need them.
For a girl who thrived at circus camp and has an Anthropology degree, I can say with some certainty that being an entrepreneur is the right fit for me and I look forward to the next decade of trials and tribulations.
