Introducing the First VGB Newsletter
Introducing the VGB Newsletter ! Thanks for reading.
My goal with this communication is to provide you with more detailed updates on what’s happening with the VB Bakery, as well as a whole bunch of other ‘fun’ insights and stories (K&W) about the Bakery.
Over the past 6 month I have been using social media to provide insights into what was happening – which included a lot of adhoc and ‘fun’ moments. This format will dive into it deeper.
How this newsletter will work – Pretty straight forward - I write up a whole bunch of updates and stories, post it to the website (think of it like a Blog), and then will send out a email giving those who signed up for the newsletter a heads up.
I don’t have a ‘schedule’ of how often it will come out, but you can be sure it won’t clutter your mailbox like Cyber Monday Sales emails (OMG sooo many!!).
So in order to get a heads up that the newsletter is out - sign up for email notifications to receive a link to the newsletter. Or your other option is to continue to follow along on social media and i’ll let the community know there too.
VGB Newsletter
Let’s get into it!
2022 Summer Wrap Up
If you have been following along from the beginning – or if you haven’t – and to keep it simple – I am so proud of season one and loved every minute of it. I am beyond happy of what was accomplished.
And yes it was a massive challenge, yes we did great and we also made mistakes. We were on warp speed from the beginning - all the way to thanksgiving weekend.
And no I wouldn’t have changed one thing - okay maybe a zillion things. However zero regrets. I would it over again and again….maybe with a bit more time lol.
My goals for Year One of the Village Green Bakery was:
Open the doors the summer 2022 – ✔
Have something on the shelves – ✔
To have a team that is engaged and having fun – ✔
Not break the bank - lol
For the business junkies and the curious – yes I had a business plan before I signed the lease, and yes I did have a sales and expense/capital forecast. However, once the doors opened on July 1st – my business plan was put on a shelf, but never far from my mind and my dreams.
And So It Begins - Plan,Spend, Build, Spend, Build
Recognizing that I was building a business and building from scratch with very little time, and a very fixed budget, I was not focused on creating a ‘pretty’ business. Of course that is what I wanted - a girl can dream, but there was no time for dreaming that big.
In May of 2022 I officially (financially) kicked off year one of the business plan - which was spending money like a cra cra business person (within budget of course) - playing as much catch up as possible to keep the ball rolling (and starting). I had to build a business and the goal was to be open by July 1st.
CAVET - BUILDING A BUSINESS AND OPENING WITHIN THIS TIME FRAME IS NOT NORMAL…..but clearly not impossible!
Did you Know?
Throughout the build of the bakery and 2022 season I host over 700 people on tours of the bakery. I wanted the community to be a part of the story - so I shared with them the story of how I became the key holder of 112 Birch, the goals I had set, the challenges we had/were having/foresee facing and lessons we are learning.
Throughout May and June I was aggressively locking down baking equipment with deposits, scouring for quotes and humans to fix the building, humming on hawing on design and feasibility of what I could and wanted to do in year 1, 2, 3 4 and 5.
I was making a ton of lists - filtering through all the operational requirements of running a business - marketing, branding, packaging, product development, pricing, hiring plan, retail opportunities for makers, POS set up, licensing, health code, food handlers certificate, financing, sourcing flooring, and so much. If you can think of it - it probably was on my list or was about to be. “I have an idea” was the new catch phrase in my family.
There was a lot of focus on what could and should not do in year one with the budget I had planned.
The original first year Business & Game Plan:
Get the flooring, electrical, plumbing and kitchen to code.
Build a functioning kitchen with all new baking equipment that would produce ‘something’.
Establishing HR with payroll and an actual team.
Figure out marketing/product/production and all other operational requirements ASAP.
Any build with “Pretty” was going to be creative and minimal – card tables and unfinished walls was the Year ONE plan. Pretty would show up by the time we hit year 5.
What Actually Happened!
If you were at VB this summer you weren’t greeted with card tables or unfinished anything – the place was gorgeous and amazing. I achieved it all - including every “pretty” I could pull off in six weeks!!
How??
Cole Notes - or Elevator Summary for the newbies:
Owning or operating a bakery was never on the radar. In March 2022 I found out about the opportunity to apply for the Bakery lease with the RM of Victoria Beach. By end of March my proposal was voted on, I won the right to a lease. I signed the lease on April 19th. The business build was already in the works. May 21st - the water came on at VB and the physical work could begin! In six week we renovated and built up a new bakery with the help of the community, my family and all my friends!
Because of YOU. Our community rocks.
Within 5 days of announcing I was taking over the lease and as the deposits starting to go down I was gifted the ultimate gift – community support.
The community wanted to be involved – both financially and physically. They were excited that someone was stepping up to the Bakery plate, but also that it was one of their own VB’ers.
Before the lease was signed I had done my homework – I knew what was there would not pass code…grandfathering would be out the window if it existed. The electrical and plumbing needed a lot of work, and I was very concerned about the flooring both in the front retail and the kitchen to bring it to code. And then to add to plan all the display cabinets / retail were gone. Anything that was left – had to be removed. So yes - I welcomed the support – however I didn’t expect the magnitude of support!
Question : Would you turn down help? Heck no – one of my first update communications indicated that this was a huge job and I couldn’t do it alone.
And if you are still one of those that are confused on why everything was taken - it wasn’t mine to have. It didn’t belong to me. Honestly I am so grateful that EVERYTHING was gone…it helped huge in being able to get right into it. A blank slate is exactly what I needed to help our success.
The community support enabled me to complete my year one business plan, but also fast track my five-year plan into 6 weeks – assuming I could pull in all my resources & support. I was cautiously optimistic.
When I finally got the keys at the end of April to the building we were ready to get dirty, get to work ….. when the water came on that is (May long) and be ready for July 1st.
Did I have my doubts ?
Heck Ya ! Some would say I was on ‘manifesting overloading.’ But I asked for help, I welcomed help and I focused on what was in my control. I could only do so much - but damn I did so much more with help!
When you walked into the bakery this year you saw what a community could do together. You witnessed a pretty damn cool story!
I didn’t do this alone – I did this with you. We did it – and I thank you all for it.
Lessons Learned
Throughout this and future newsletters I will share more stories of the evolution of the bakery, and various lessons learned along the way.
Since this the first Newsletter– I’ll start with my first lesson learned.
“I can only do so much”
This statement was my mantra on day one of agreeing to put in a proposal for the bakery, the lease and then the keys, and the everyday after that.
I could & can only do so much – so anything moving us forward was a win in my books. We pulled off a business plan, a brand, a product, a beautiful retail space, a fully functioning bakery, an AMAZING team and a season that ran longer than I had thought I could do – wowza!
Who knew my Mantra would define my reach of being able to do so much to what it ended up being? Turns out you did….thank you for all your support and love. Even to the Karens & Walters - thank you for challenging and teaching me.
I am beyond proud!
What’s Jen working on now?
Currently I am still working through QuickBooks and all the bookkeeping / reconciliation that comes with it. We didn’t have much time to set up processes before the bakery opened, so we are playing catch up.
Don’t worry all of the bills are paid, but we need to get prepped for taxes 😊
Did you know: In 2022 VGB made over 10,000 face cookies, and over 12,000 imperials!
I am super pumped we won’t have to worry about the biggies in equipment, electrical and plumbing costs in 2023. Phew. So much learning going on when it comes to ‘the math’.
I have a laundry list of work to focus on for next season – which I will share as we go along. I am all about sharing if you haven’t already noticed.
For now – my focus is on Quick Books/Accounting, how to share information in the off season (VGB Newsletter), setting up Gift Cards for the holidays (fingers crossed), and test baking over and over again.
I post my to do lists often in social media - this way I can hold myself accountable to what I need to get done, but also let you in on the work that is required….even if it does sound boring, fun, lame, or interesting.
Karen & Walter Stories / Lessons Learned
It is actually comical how many Karen & Walter (K&W) stories I have. Everyone told me I would not be able to please everyone – which is hard for the chronic people pleaser person I am. However I wasn’t expecting the rudeness, the I know better than you ‘advice’ and the meanness of some. But again – everyone said ‘it is to be expected’. Jeesh.
Throughout my social media posts/stories I did elude to a lot of the stories and how I handled the situations. Talking about it is my way of managing my own emotions – there is a lesson in every K&W story. And face it – this is how our world is – there are some folks out there that ‘want’ to be heard regardless of who is listening.
My advice to those who ‘want’ to be heard – ask yourself if you would be okay being the receiver of your advice? Just smile and keep it to yourself – you don’t have to share. Please.
Story #1:
Situation: Pre July 1st
K&W: Question - “Are you even a baker?”
Jen: Answer – “Yes”
Lesson: I didn’t go into my qualifications or background into answering their question. The question did not come from a good place from the individuals (yes more than one) that asked the question. They were looking to challenge, to play a game. I wasn’t playing – I had work to do.
Thank you for reading along. I love to talk – clearly – and writing is an extension of that. It is up to you if you want to follow along. I will share as long I feel that it is something I don’t want to do – or feel uncomfortable doing…..lol nah I will probably even share those feelings.
If you know of someone that is not on social media but would be interested in getting the VGB Newsletter please share my email, or this link to sign up.
Jen
Owner, Baker, Mom, and other duties assumed.