When you were a kid dreaming of what you wanted to be when you grew up… what was it?
I was often called a dreamer throughout my life, especially when I talked about one day owning a business. To me this was an insult, and it hurt a little each time. Today if you call me a dreamer, I take it as a compliment, because if I hadn’t kept on dreaming, I wouldn’t be where I am now.
Throughout my teenage years I had many ideas about what my future could be. I used to dream of dancing or being musical, both of which, turns out, I have zero talent for. I thought of writing poetry or lyrics for songs. For a time I considered studying law. Then, somewhere along the way, the idea of owning a restaurant sounded really fun!
All of these ideas and obvious interests slowly shaped where I am today. In my graduating year from high school, I went on a trip to Europe where I decided I wanted to study tourism and be a tour guide. Upon returning, I enrolled in Tourism Management with Nova Scotia Community College. We studied all aspects of tourism and cultures, and I discovered my love of the Food & Beverage side of the industry. After these two years of college, I knew it wasn’t just a dream anymore: I was going to own my own business one day.
I worked in multiple local restaurants in our charming tourist town, learning and meeting people from all over the world. In my spare time, I started cooking and baking more at home and realized how much I enjoyed it, playing with recipes and seeing what paired well together. I needed to know more and returned to school once again studying Baking & Pastry Arts.
With each job I learned more about business and what I really wanted to do. I came up with the idea of Rum Cakes and Chocolate as take-home souvenirs. It was the perfect idea to combine my two passions of baking and providing memories for visitors to our beautiful province.
As I (finally) launch my own business, I can’t help but reminisce some more, but now of the past. Reflecting on how I got here and how happy I am to be here. Don’t get me wrong, being an entrepreneur is a rollercoaster of a ride! It can be lonely some days. You can get exciting news and want to celebrate with a drink and break down crying all in the same day, (sometimes even five minutes). It’s exhilarating and terrifying, and you certainly sleep less. But I wouldn’t change a thing, or do anything differently. For the first time in my life, I’m sure that I’m in the right place and am doing exactly what I’m supposed to.
I’m so excited to be able to share this experience with YOU, my customers and supporters. If any of you are entrepreneurs or aspire to be, tell me about it! I would love to hear your stories too. If you fall in that aspire-to-be category, remember, keep on dreaming, because dreams do come true and when they do, they’re so worth it and you deserve every second of the glory! You’re also never in this alone, there is always support, find it!
My name is Sarah, Chief Baker and Founder of Lunenburg Rum Cakes. I don’t know what the future holds for my company or me but, I’m happy to be here and enjoying every minute of this crazy ride, thanks for coming along!