Today felt like I did a very brave thing, and it was something which my self confidence and I have put off for several weeks! I put Wendy Bakes out there!
Firstly, I went on Trip Advisor and made a list of all the cafe's in a 5 mile radius of my business (technically home!). The plan was to plot an economical route between them all. Secondly, I baked and iced a dozen cupcakes and got myself ready with a bunch of little bags and my leaflets in hand and I hopped in the car full of good intentions.
The reality of the next stage was that I took some deep breathes, gave myself a little talking to, pulled up my big girl pants - and then I drove in a scatter-gun pattern, totally disregarding all my prior knowledge of the geography of my local area, and randomly cold called on the cafes I liked the sound of to introduce them to my business, handing out a cake sample and my details to each.
And my overall findings..? Well generally I observed that people that sell cakes are super nice people! And that good gluten free bakes are something which cafes are still finding hard to come by. So my reception was overall positive. Some said they baked themselves, so those aren't my target. One said "our rocky road are mostly gluten free and we have 2 ovens"...so they are someone I wouldn't want to supply to and who I wouldn't recommend any coeliac to dine with! But mostly people said they would check out my website, and that I should call them next week. So a day well spent.
But it did feel 'brave' - to show up and peddle my wares and put my cakes out for judgement. I guess this is the same for all small businesses at the start up, where they have to push their product and convince others of its worth. Hopefully those cupcakes will speak for themselves.
And did I hand out all 12? No! I managed to visit 9 cafes. I gave 2 cakes away to a friend and her son who I bumped in to by chance, and I ate the other myself in Sainsburys car park in a state of emotional exhaustion! Door to door sales are tiring you know!
Watch this space for news on the outcome of my trip next week - and keep your fingers crossed for Wendy Bakes and her potential brand new stockists!