So, I wanted to put a cool photo of me leaping in to mid-air, buuut I decided that's boring, so I decided to put this gif of a strange frog jumping on his skateboard. 😂

Enough leap frogging...

In October last year, I made the decision to leave my job as a Medical Photographer to focus on The Bakery Den full time.

I was incredibly apprehensive about taking this step, a leap in to the unknown. This was especially hard for me because it involves have faith in yourself, a level of confidence, I’ve just never quite reached (I’m working on it...).

Although I had the best support from my family and friends, the last few weeks at work were a mix of emotions, not only because it was just before Christmas (I was mainly excited)!

The fact is, I had not been whole-heartedly enjoying my job for over a year, and I knew that I had to do something to snap out of the increasingly sad and stressed place I was in.

It came as a surprise to many of my colleagues, not only that I had started my own bakery company back in April, but that I have broader graphic design and photography skills than creating patient questionnaires or photographing noses.

Don’t get me wrong, of course I am truly grateful for having had the opportunity to work as a Medical Photographer, and to the hospital for furthering my education. I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with patients and staff alike, and got a real buzz out of being able to put a smile on my patients’ faces when they were apprehensive about having photos taken (because nobody likes being told they have to have photos taken, ever). But I can honestly say, there hasn’t been a day yet where I have longed to be back at the hospital.

There are, of course, days where I stop and think WHAT HAVE I DONE?!? But then I’ll get an order for a cake and everything clicks back in to place again.

Now I get to do the two jobs I love, baking cakes and photographing them. And yes, it’s still unnerving that I don’t have a guaranteed regular income, but I think I have finally come round to my husband’s idea that this will take time. I enjoy being my own boss and running my own business, seeing it become more established and reaching out to the community. It’s a great feeling when you get a request for a wedding cake or celebration cake from people who have seen you on social media, or heard about you through their wedding venues.

If I think about what I have achieved in the last 11 months, the cakes I’ve made, the things I have learnt about business, for probably only the 3rd time in my life, I’m feeling proud of myself. Of course, I’m still my biggest critic and I’m always striving for perfection. That’s how I’ve always been, and how I always will be.

I owe a big thank you to my friends and family for supporting me, and spreading the word about The Bakery Den. I couldn’t do this without all of you, not only because you commission me to make fun cakes!

And an even bigger thank you to my husband. He’s kept me going despite my inner turmoil with taking that leap, and it is he who has enabled me to pursue this career path - not only because he is my cake delivery man 😜

So I suppose my take-away message is this; take a leap of faith, you can learn from the things you do, but you will only ever regret the things you never tried.

Thanks for reading, soz if I bored you..go and look at the gif again 👍🏻

Holly @ The Den

🦊