Sweet Release is turning 9 years old! It’s an exciting milestone, and one I am very happy to reach!
A lot of hard work has gotten us here, and for me personally (and I'm sure for many small business owners), behind the scenes, it resulted in an unbalanced life.
Shortly after we came out of lockdown 2 years ago I had to ensure the shop kept going, as well as planning and preparing for my (2-year postponed, thanks covid) wedding. At this point the shop was 7 1/2 years old. 7 1/2 years of me constantly working, and I didn’t even realise that I had lost the ability to make room for personal projects. This brought me to the realisation that I needed to rebalance.
I had to relearn how to value myself, and I did this by making sure I ate properly, committed to an exercise regime, and prioritised spending time with the important people in my life instead of letting work consume me. I felt better, I looked better, and I even found a new appreciation for how far the business has come.
But it can be easy to fall back into old patterns. It wasn’t long after my wedding that I found myself overworking, and neglecting myself again. Thinking in the months leading up to the shop turning 9 years old I realise that now is the time to refocus on my personal goals again. At least this time, I know what I need to do.
I’ve learned that I fall back into those old patterns because there’s comfort in what feels familiar. So this year I’m going to focus less on work, and more on living my life.
Many of you have been with me since day one of opening the shop in a food court. Some of you are even my prior (pre-Sweet Release) workmates, who tasted my first ever cakes and crazy experiments when I was just learning to bake. I’ll never forget celebrating my first 100 followers on Facebook - I remember thinking it was crazy that that many people wanted to follow what I was up to. Now we have over 11,000 followers! Together we’ve built a special Sweet Release community full of people that are kind, generous and supportive. THANK YOU for being a part of the 9 years.
Changes are coming. It’s going to be challenging, exciting, maybe even a little bit scary.
I’ll keep you all updated, but for now I hope to see you in the shop on Sunday to help us celebrate our birthday. Cheers to 9 years! 🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂🥂
Here's a picture of 28 year old me who didn't even know what was ahead of her. I didn't know that the following year, I would be facing radiation treatment and opening a shop.
❤️🍃
Kris
