In the Bakernomics introduction we gathered a bunch of numbers. That's awesome. Now let's do some dreaming.
Grab a notebook, a pen, and a coffee (so you stay awake) and find a quiet place to sit for 30 entire minutes.
If you have a partner, invite her too, so you can dream this dream together.
Tell me what you want… #
I want you to seriously think about the bakery you want, as opposed to the bakery you have.
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What do you love? What do you hate?
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What's the best part of your day? What's the worst part?
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If you could snap your fingers and generate the cash you needed, what would you do?
Look, there's no point in planning to add a baker so you can build out a cafe when you just want to work with dough all day.
Likewise, don't be planning to shrink back to solo baking if that feels like a trap, where you're chained to the bench even more.
This is not a trivial exercise. At Orange Boot, I went through phases where I wanted to focus on the craft and win the Coupe du Monde. There were other phases where I never wanted to see the bench again and just wanted to re-design. repair and operate this flour -> bread -> money machine.
And hey, there were times where I wanted to get in the car and head for the nearest highway exit ramp. It happens to all of us.
…What you really, really want #
Don't forget to add the personal bits too. What's in it for you?
Imagine yourself in this glorious future state. What are you doing? How do you feel? Write that down too.
All I have to do is #
At this point, don't worry about how you're going to pay for everything. Just write down the outcomes. The changes you want to occur, both for you and the bakery.
Something like: "I want to step back from the bench and focus on the business, plus take a day per week for myself. To do that, all I have to do is hire and train a full time baker and give someone else the task of feeding starters and ordering ingredients."
That boldy point is really important, so be sure to include it.
"All I have to do is..." Humans didn't get to the moon while convinced it was impossible. We got there by thinking "All I have to do is..." a few thousand times.
How does it feel now? #
Once you've written it all down, take a nice long sip of coffee and revel in the joy of recording a proper goal. Let yourself smile even. It's OK to feel excited about the future. Remember this feeling for when a bump inevitably occurs.
That's it for this session, bakeroo. Rather than leap straight into implementation, take some time to let this future state sink in a bit. Let it really settle in your mind, the same way the idea of opening a bakery drove you crazy until you finally did it.
And don't worry, we'll use those numbers you collected really soon. We're going to use them in service of your goal, not to prevent it.
So, how did it go? Was this an easy step? A real struggle? Let me know in the comments. Share your goal if you like. I'd love to see where you're heading.