Why a Tech Consultant Started Baking Sourdough Bread
Post Pandemic, people are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet. The solution may be as simple as sliced bread.
Let me start with a short personal story. 2024 started out like any other year, full of optimism and big plans, I was excited to get a new venture off the ground. I started making content, and promoting my books, and started writing again. The 3rd and 4th book were coming along nicely, and then it happened. I hurt my back somehow. I have no idea when or how, but I woke up one Monday morning after running 2 miles to excruciating pain.
This was the kind of pain that made it impossible to sit, stand, walk, or lie down. I’ve wrenched my back before, so I figured I would take it easy, and in a week or so, it would go away. That was not the case. After 3 weeks, I got an MRI, and long story short, it was going to require surgery. Not at all what I had planned for this year!
So, the thing about being a consultant is you need to work to earn a living, and as a family, we were finding it difficult to live on one income. I started to slip into a deep, dark place, and decided I had to do something. The thing about pain you don’t think about is, it is ALL you can think about! So I looked for anything to distract my mind, and then it happened…I found…SOURDOUGH!
Sourdough had become popular on social media, and I seemed to fit the algorithm. It showed up everywhere, X, Instagram, Facebook, I could not escape the tantalizing thought of fresh, hot, home baked bread! One problem though, I was waiting for my surgery, and could only stand for about 30 minutes at a time. This might thwart my plans for dominating the sourdough cravings I was having, so I decided I would give it a shot. What did I have to lose?
I had to try, and try I did! Over and over, I made flat, dense loaves, without any of those great air pockets, and crispy crust. It was about loaf number 12 or 13 when I threw all the expectations and instructions out, and just trusted my instincts. I’ve made bread before, but this sticky, gooey mess did not behave like normal bread. I was then I realized my starter did not look like those videos, and my boules (French for round ball) were not behaving the way they should. Chock it up to Florida! The humidity was affecting the dough and starter, so I made some adjustments to the starter recipe and quantity of water in the mix. Viola! The very next loaf was wonderfully light, airy, and full of flavor!
I decided I could handle this, baking fresh, low sugar impact, (pretty low carb), sourdough bread, and like most things I love, I became bossed! I made more starter, and more loaves, and baked sometimes two or three times a day! The bread was FANTASTIC, so I started to share with friends and family. I began a new Instagram account, and started posting photos and videos, just for fun at first, and then it happened again, I had a business making bread from home!
I had my surgery, and thankfully, made a pretty quick recovery. So, I went right back to making bread, and found I could not give it up! I began taking bread to meetings with me, and slicing fresh hot sourdough in front of my prospects and clients, and without fail, they all loved it! It’s a pretty great feeling when someone raves about something you made, especially when you’re usually the one delivering them bad news about their network or their marketing budget!
So, have I quit my job to become a baker? No, not really, I found time to do both! I still love being a tech consultant, but, like most people, we as a family could use a bit of a boost to our monthly bottom line. It’s difficult sometimes to balance both, and I have a loving wife who helps out, but in this economy, it’s necessary to get creative with our budget. Enter the Cottage Industry Business Plan.
How You Can Make $$ Baking Bread
Starting a home based business can be intimidating. There are State and Federal regulations, IRS issues, shipping concerns, and finally, making the product! Many of you are interested in sourdough for many reasons, but the biggest reason you want to make bread is NOT LIKELY to become a PROFESSIONAL BAKER!
You ARE more likely to be interested in earning a bit of extra cash each month, without all the headaches associated with becoming a small business owner. In that case, you really should look into your state’s Cottage Industry laws.
What is a Cottage Business?
A cottage industry is a small-scale business, often operated out of a home, rather than out of a factory or storefront. Cottage industries are traditionally defined by their small size, low investment requirements, and labor-intensive nature, often involving family members and small community participation.
Cottage industries were popular when businesses were just growing in the United States. With the advent of the industrial revolution, many of these small-scale operations were overshadowed by large-scale factory production. However, cottage industries have not vanished; rather, they have evolved and adapted, and continue to play a crucial role in many economies, particularly in rural and developing regions.
It should be noted that the rules for running a home-based bakery, or craft shop differ from state to state. Many states, like Florida, Georgia, and Alabama have fairly lenient regulations, with only a few food related items being banned from home distribution, for health and safety reasons. Being that I am based in Florida, I’ll speak to some of our state’s rules later on. Google your state’s Cottage Food rules to be certain of your restrictions, before you go and spend a bunch to register a business you can’t legally sell from your home!
The cottage industry was born out of necessity, when rural farmers had leftover crops, milk, cheese, etc, and had no marketplace to sell what was left over from the season’s harvest. Many of them created the famous “roadside carts” you’d see where they sold their goods, right in front of their farm. The “cottage cheese” craze came from the leftover milk that the farmers made to sell in these stands, thus creating the “cottage industry”. (Here is an overview of Cottage Industry state-by-state)
Most farms did this just to get by between harvests, or after their products had been sold at the end of a season. Often times, farms would trade left over milk, cheese, corn, or flour, and bake with these items to earn some extra cash. No one bothered them, because everyone loves a fresh baked pie!
So Really, What does it Take?
Like anything, mostly time. Time to learn the recipes, get the baking supplies (most you already have) and a bit of patience to learn how to make a good product. Just so you know, we’ve already done the math, and in most cases, you can earn an extra $400 to $600 per week, making bread from home! Sure, it may start out to be less at first, as most of your expenses will be in getting the supplies together and learning the system, but, you’re in luck!
We’ve come up with a complete “Cottage Business in a Box” system that will walk you through, step-by-step on setting up everything from your first business license, to marketing your bread on social media, Popup and Fresh Markets, in business networking groups, and face to face, just like they used to do at “Ye Olde Farmer’s Market”! We have designed a complete system, with a private newsletter called “The Baker’s Dozen”. We even have an advanced system for when your side gig really takes off, and you have one of those really good problem to have, “I can’t make bread fast enough to fill all the orders!”
And, if that’s not enough, we even have a system where you can earn more cash based on referrals! If you recruit other friends or family, we’ll compensate you for your efforts, and give out bonuses and prizes each month! (NO, it is NOT multi-level marketing or any other scheme, this is your OWN legitimate business!)
Don’t sit around waiting for another opportunity to fall into your lap, this may be your sign to break out of the rut, and get going on your own side-gig, that can turn into some REAL DOUGH for your real fast!
As of September 13th, 2024, we are only accepting a few new members to test our our plan, so please take advantage of this now, while it is priced lower than it ever will be! An honest to goodness ground floor opportunity for you to start your own business, and make money, right out of the starting gate!
