2 minute read
A Piece Of Cake Advice Consultant Lauren
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PLAN AHEAD AND PREPARE
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Look to the next few months and see what you can prepare in advance. Sugar flowers keep for a long time if stored correctly, so it may be worth making a start on these before the season gets too busy.
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ORDER SUPPLIES WELL IN ADVANCE
At the start of each month, check through upcoming orders for all the necessary supplies and order them all together. Not only will you save on postage fees, your admin time will also be reduced if you take a day to do this.
KEEP ASIDE TIME FOR RUNNING THE BUSINESS
New enquiries will come in during this time and you need to be responsive to not lose these orders. Take half an hour each day to sit down and reply to urgent emails – this also gives your feet a rest! It’s also important to maintain social media presence, deal with website issues, update finances and so on. Mondays are usually good days to manage these tasks.
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PLAN OUT THE WEEK AHEAD
Sit down with a weekly planner before the week starts. Work backwards from delivery day and write down your tasks. Cover boards and make decorations at the start of the week. Make ganache the day before you need it. Remember to add in time for business admin.
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SET AN AUTORESPONDER WITH REALISTIC RESPONSE TIMES
Use these to tell customers you’re busy working on cakes (this also adds to your desirability) and will reply within a certain time period. Good customers will be patient and understand that you can’t respond immediately – if they don’t, you’re best without them! However, don’t leave them waiting too long, as you want them to feel valued and not ignored.
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TIME BLOCK EACH DAY
What will you do when? What hours do you have available to you, working around childcare, a day job, activities? Plan out the day so that you can be sure your weekly plan is realistic. Can you really fill, ganache and cover six tiers in one day before the school run? Make the most of all the time you have – for example, make buttercream while the cakes are cooling.
9KEEP TO-DO LISTS Consider using software such as Trello if you like working digitally, or good old fashioned paper and pen if not! There are so many things to keep on top of and things pop into your head when it’s not a convenient time to action it. By writing it down, you don’t have to dedicate headspace to remembering to do it.
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THINK ABOUT INVESTING IN A VA
A virtual assistant can take some of the pressure off by managing a few of the tasks that take up your time outside of the kitchen. This leaves you with more time to make more cakes, or possibly just get some sleep!