05/11/2026
The hardest thing about closing my cake shop wasn’t the debt. It was moving back home.
Everyone around me had called it “my hobby” for years — but opening the shop was me finally proving them wrong.
I worked 12-hour days, sometimes 16. I had a business degree. I wrote a legit business plan. I worked with the Small Business Development Center. I had SBA funding. But I still felt like I needed a storefront to be taken seriously.
If you’ve ever felt that way about your home bakery — like it doesn’t “count” unless it’s bigger — I want you to know that feeling almost cost me everything.
Your cakes count. Your business counts. Your kitchen counts.
Just me? Or has anyone else felt this way?
