02/09/2026
Right, this is a bit of a rant, but I think I need to be honest 🖤
Because running a small business is hardddddd!!!!!
MoonBeam Bakes is nearly 2 years old, but I've actually been running my cake business for nearly 7 years. Seven years of working constantly, with no proper holiday and barely any time where I've actually switched off.
I moved into this massive unit in November because I genuinely thought it was going to be the next big step for my business. I put everything I had into it, spent a fortune getting it ready and basically left myself with nothing.
Then came the reality of a massive shop… massive bills.
So I've spent months trying to make everything work. Café, takeaway, opening the shop, classes, events, upstairs, anything I could think of to bring money in.
Meanwhile I've been sitting awake at 5am stressing about money, crying over reviews, worrying about unhappy customers and people wanting their money back, and convincing myself that one bad review could ruin 7 years of work.
I've paid staff, delivery drivers, suppliers, rent, electric, stock… everything that needs paid.
And I haven't paid myself a wage in 8 months.
I don't have another income or a partner to fall back on. It's just me.
And on top of all of that, my mental health has been awful. It's affected my health, my family and my home life. I'm absolutely exhausted.
I've been doing this my whole life really. I was homeless at 16, had my daughter at 19 and brought her up myself. I've always just got on with things and carried on, even when things have been bloody hard.
But I've finally realised something.
Trying to make this massive shop work is starting to affect the one thing I refuse to let it affect — my cakes.
I've spent nearly 7 years building a business I'm proud of. I KNOW I'm good at what I do. I've made wedding cakes, celebration cakes and cakes for some really important moments in people's lives.
That's what I love.
So RIGHT. ENOUGH.
I'm not closing. I'm not giving up my shop. I'm not giving up MoonBeam Bakes.
I'm just going back to being a bakery.
Cakes, cupcakes, treats, wedding cakes, celebration cakes and some really cool baking and decorating classes.
The shop will be BY APPOINTMENT ONLY.
I don't want to spend another year trying to be everything to everyone and running myself into the ground.
I want to bake cakes. I want to enjoy my business again. And I want my customers getting the best cakes I can possibly make.
I've spent months thinking I couldn't do this anymore.
Turns out, I just needed to stop trying to do everything.
So I'm taking my business back.
Seven years later, I'm still here. ❤️🌙🎂
P.s. That means I have a cracking coffee machine for sale ... 😂🖤. No point me keeping it for myself 🤔😂
