Owning and operating one’s own business is hard.

I know it may seem like being one’s own boss is all sunshine and rainbows… especially when day-to-day operations involve an endless stream of cookies. And yes, of course, I am incredibly grateful for all the success Tremonte’s has enjoyed since I started this endeavor. But, it’s only honest to share some of the mistakes, setbacks and meltdowns that have occurred along the way.

I started my bakery business because I love baking and sharing my food with people. What I didn’t fully realize, is that not only would I assume the role of baker, but also take on the tasks of: dishwashing, janitorial, marketing, financial, compliance, networking, scheduling, customer service, social media, delivering… The list goes on and on. And this all takes place in my own home kitchen, often with my small children around. Which is, in some ways, a blessing, and in others, totally insane.

It’s a lot.

So, here I am, keeping it real and sharing a couple recent hiccups. Including the one, that spurred me to write this post…

I was trying to free up some space on my google drive and I ACCIDENTALLY PERMANENTLY DELETED THE SPREADSHEET CONTAINING ALL MY RECIPES.

Not just “ in the trash bin” deleted. But I selected the “yes, sure, I want to forever get rid of this” option.

Not only did I lose over twenty tabs of recipes I’ve been working on for years, but also all the pricing calculations I use for my products. I am dependent on that spreadsheet. I use it LITERALLY EVERY DAY.

And did this to myself.

To say I was despondent is an understatement. This event triggered a complete and utter emotional meltdown. I didn’t know I could cry so much over an inanimate object. But I did, in a heap on the floor. My kids witnessed the entire thing and were thoroughly freaked out.

Truly, the only reason I can bring myself to write about this now, is that it worked out ok. While I was completely incapable of going into fix-it mode, my husband (who is good at computers and whose self worth was not, at least somewhat, tied up with the existence of this particular spreadsheet) set about the convoluted task of recovering the unrecoverable. Remember folks, for better or worse, nothing on the internet is ever truly permanently deleted.

And, lo and behold, he did it! All in all, I was probably without the spreadsheet for an hour. And yet, my whole world came crashing down around me.

So, the moral of this story is that sometimes a spreadsheet snaffoo can be the Jenga block that causes one’s tower to topple. Let’s just say, I’m still processing. And also: BACK UP YOUR FILES.

Ok, I have one more hiccup to share with you, my faithful readers.

My oven broke.

Yep, you heard that right. As a baker, I live and die by my oven (and also by that previously-mentioned spreadsheet). So, I need it to be working.

Honestly, the oven has been on the fritz ever since the holiday baking frenzy ended. I really put that thing through its paces.

So, the problem was it stopped holding temperature. It would shoot up waaay over temp, absolutely incinerating whatever I had in there. And then at times it wouldn’t get up to temp at all.

My workarounds became holding the door open when it was overheating, and baking things way longer than they should have been, when it wasn’t reaching temp. All the while, monitoring it every two minutes with not one, not two, but THREE thermometers.

Needless to say, this was unsustainable. I have a lot of experience with ovens and figured the issue was the thermostat. We had a guy come out who tested the oven and theorized similar. Yet, he had difficulty finding the right replacement part, seeing as our oven was kind of an off-brand item. I’ll just say it came with the house, and this particular model and brand would not have been my choice.

So, after quite a bit of soul-searching and research we decided it was time to replace the oven. We’d also been wanting to go induction with our range and this moment presented an opportunity.

Now, I have to recognize my privilege here, that a surprise oven replacement is something we can handle financially. I am incredibly grateful for that.

So, we took the plunge and got a brand new oven and range!

Truly, it’s all working out. And at the same time, I have spent many sleepless nights, worrying about every aspect of the business. Oh, and also about the ongoing senselessness tragedies in Gaza, Ukraine, and right here at home, due to gun violence. Far too many precious lives taken much too soon. It’s a lot for us all to carry, day in and day out.

All this to say, even someone like me, a purveyor of joy (cookies!), is just trying to get through each day (and night). And sometimes it’s hard ❤️