Gingerbread business. Business in your own kitchen
Children are one of the most precious pleasures in life. Prices for children's goods and services are becoming more expensive every day, and the demand for them is only growing. Every mother wants to give her child the very best. However, sometimes financial condition does not allow the mother to even provide the child with the most necessary. It is especially difficult for single mothers. Then the issue of earnings on maternity leave becomes especially acute.
If mom creative person, she has a good imagination, and she knows how to cook - then selling gingerbread and glazed cookies will be a great way for her to earn money handmade. What is needed for this.
To get started, of course, you will need at least a couple of hours of free time. It is better to divide the preparation and painting of settlements into two days. One day you bake gingerbread cookies, the next day you paint them.
There are a lot of gingerbread recipes on the Internet. Of course, before you start selling gingerbread, you should try a few recipes and choose the best one for yourself. Usually, the following ingredients are needed to make gingerbread cookies: flour, butter, eggs, sugar, honey and various spices.
Some recipes also call for cocoa powder. What you definitely should not save on is high-quality honey and good butter. These two ingredients will determine whether your gingerbread will get the bill or not. As for spices, each master makes his own personal list. It can be cinnamon, and ground ginger, and cloves, and even in some recipes they use different kinds peppers.
To prepare the glaze (icing) for painting gingerbread, you will need powdered sugar (you cannot replace sugar with sugar), lemon juice (it is better to buy it ready-made in the package), egg white (you can also use dry protein) and various food colors.
Separately, it is worth talking about dyes. They come in several types: helium, water-based, dry and separate view, food coloring in gold, silver and copper shades. For coloring icing, it is best to use helium dyes. Dry dyes paint the glaze the worst.
As for gold and silver paints, they are usually worked with a brush and applied already on ready product. Most often they just draw the details.
And of course, the most important thing that is needed for making handmade cookies: various cutouts, Teflon or regular baking paper, a pastry bag or icing cornet, various icing nozzles, stencils (optional), brushes and a positive attitude.
How to calculate the cost of the finished gingerbread. To get started, count all the major acquisitions: molds, dyes, nozzles and bags. Separately, consider the cost of products and add baking paper here. How to calculate the cost of spent products.
- Flour 1 kg - 60 rubles
- Eggs 1 dozen - 65 rubles
- Butter 200 grams - 100 rubles
Sugar 1 kg - 50 rubles - Honey 100 grams 200 rubles
- Cinnamon 1 pack 10 rubles
- Ginger 1 pack 15 rubles.
- Powdered sugar 250 grams 60 rubles
- Egg white 1 piece
According to the recipe, for example, you need: 500 grams of flour, 2 eggs, 200 grams butter, 250 grams of sugar, 100 grams of honey and half a package of powdered sugar. For icing 2 proteins plus 140 grams of powdered sugar.
(60:2)+(65:10*2)+100+(50:4)+200+(10:2)+(15:2)+(60:250*140)+(65:10)=408,1.
It turns out that the cost of gingerbread covered with white icing is 408 rubles (rounded). Next, add the cost of paper here (a roll costs 100 rubles). There are 10 meters in a roll, we will spend 1). You get 408+10=418.
And so we spent 418 rubles on ingredients. Suppose, from all this, 10 gingerbread cookies came out. Then the cost of one will be equal to 418:10=41.8. Round up and get the cost of one gingerbread 42 rubles. We make an allowance for work (let it be 25%). Then 1 gingerbread covered with white icing will cost the buyer 52.5 rubles.
Passion for foreign cuisine has long led to the fact that our festive table is decorated with intricate cakes, gourmet cakes and cookies, fruit jellies and soufflés. Gingerbreads are not often seen, and they often lose in taste and “style” to sophisticated foreign pastries. But in New Year holidays in my family, the finest hour of gingerbread traditionally comes.
Like my mother once, now I bake gingerbread and gingerbread houses for my children, relatives and guests. Everyone will receive their own personal New Year's gingerbread sweetly enticing health, prosperity and good luck for the coming year.
Production of holiday gingerbread at home
Initial investment: 15 tr.
Monthly profit: 30 tr.
Payback period: 1 month.
Gingerbread in Russian holiday tradition
Gingerbread is a dough product richly flavored with all kinds of spices (ginger, lemon zest, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, mint, nutmeg, etc.), honey bread was considered the predecessor of gingerbread until the 12th century in Russia. With the opening of the spice trade, this delicacy most likely appeared. By the 16th century, gingerbread spread everywhere, and their own dynasties of gingerbread bakers appeared. And by the beginning of the 18th century, the gingerbread business was flourishing, masters opened their shops in Berlin, London and Paris. Fairs, weddings, name days, church holidays were inconceivable without an abundance of all kinds of gingerbread.If the baking of printed gingerbread with various fillings, with ritual motifs flourished in Russia, then Europe is “responsible” for the appearance of gingerbread in the form of houses. Someone believes that the Germans were the first to bake them, and someone that the Poles. But the real boom in gingerbread houses began after the publication of the fabulous story of the Brothers Grimm about Hansel and Gretel, since then the fashion for houses has not dried up and has reached our doorstep. Very good and kind fashion.
Gingerbread house dough recipe
I will share with you a proven recipe for gingerbread dough and the base for gingerbread houses, which has never let me down. Of all the “budget” recipes I have tried, this dough is the most successful for me and working with it I get great aesthetic pleasure. They say that it is very similar to the recipe for Tula gingerbread. I don't know the real recipe, but appearance and the taste is quite close.So:
- 600 g of wheat flour;
- 125 g of softened margarine;
- 200 g of granulated sugar; - 2 chicken eggs;
- 3 tablespoons of honey;
- 1 tablespoon of soda (do not extinguish);
- 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon + you can add dry ginger, or nutmeg, or ground cloves.
In an enameled cup or stainless steel, mix sugar, eggs, honey, spices and soda, add margarine. Without stirring the mass too intensively with a whisk, put in a water bath for 12-15 minutes. We patiently observe the mass without forgetting to stir it. You will get a very beautiful airy substance, add 1/3 of the total amount of sifted flour to it, mix thoroughly with a whisk and now put the container with the dough to cool in cold water (we use a basin of a wider diameter) for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. In the cooled, but still warm dough, gradually add the remaining amount of flour, mixing with a whisk, then manually.
As a result, we get an elastic beautiful dough, from which, on a table abundantly sprinkled with flour, we roll out the layers of the thickness we need and “cut” according to the prepared patterns. For gingerbread houses, I roll out a layer 0.5 cm wide, you can do it at your discretion. Bake at 180 degrees for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on the oven, the dough on honey is baked instantly. If you are already engaged in baking gingerbread, you can’t be distracted by other things
We decorate gingerbread cookies and houses with all the methods available in your arsenal with the involvement of unbridled imagination. Hanging gingerbread figures on Christmas tree, we beautifully pack gingerbread houses and hide them under the same Christmas tree or delight everyone with amazing fabulous products for Christmas.
Gingerbread houses - baking business
New Year's Eve is a general pleasant fuss and anticipation, but also a busy and responsible period in production and service (summing up the year). Working women are torn in search of gifts, necessary products, jewelry. Everyone is ready to spend money at this time without looking back and regrets, so that the holidays in the coming year will be fun, joyful, remembered for something special.You can go several ways:
1. We choose a recipe for a good universal gingerbread dough, make houses of different sizes and decorate them so that it is impossible to take our eyes off them. We pack in transparent food-grade cellophane and look for points of sale.
2. We surf the Internet far and wide and find an exclusive recipe for gingerbread dough (there are such ones), gingerbread from which is stored for more than 3 months and has an incomparable taste and aroma. The cost of such products is higher, so products from them can be made easier, not in the form of houses, but, for example, as Christmas decorations for children, or gift souvenirs. Such gingerbread cookies can be painted beautifully with icing with various wishes.
3. If you are an expert in gingerbread craftsmanship, then why waste time on trifles? We take everything at once! From exclusive dough we build a castle almost life-size, decorate it with all the breadth of talent and we can present our masterpiece at one of the New Year's fairs or trade exhibitions and sales.
The costs for this type of business are very small, no more than 15,000 rubles. With the full sale of products, income will amount to 30,000 per month.
The profitability of gingerbread production is about 20%. Taking into account the fact that you are preparing an exclusive, calculate your costs, evaluate the result and take the opportunity that is provided once a year, feel free to throw at least 40% over the cost.
No kidding, if you suddenly get carried away with the gingerbread business, then good news: New Year's is followed by many other holidays, Christian and secular. Gift and ceremonial baking can become not just your hobby, but a stable home business. Learn the history of the gingerbread industry, improve your skills, create a personal page in social networks, declare yourself. May good luck accompany you in the coming 2016, and life will be as tasty as Gingerbread!
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Olga Kuzhnenkova, 31, founder, owner and director of an online shop for painted souvenir gingerbread "GlazeMania". Was born in Moscow. Graduated from MGUT "MAMI" (department "Automobiles and Tractors", specialty "Service and technical operation vehicle systems). Prior to starting his own business, he worked as a senior HR manager management company"GK Independence". Married, raising a son.
How "GlazurMania" started
Olga Kuzhnenkova considers her education “not characteristic of a girl” - probably, the choice of the university of mechanical engineering was influenced by frequent visits to her father’s car service: “ He can still sort out the engine of some racer until three in the morning, because it's a passion, how interesting. Actually, dad is a manager in a car service, but he can’t help but work with his hands - this is our family.”
In Olga’s case, “working with her hands” was preceded by a typical search for herself: studying at a university, independent study of labor law, advanced training, seven years in the human resources department, senior manager position, maternity leave.
“Suddenly I had free time, a lot of time. Olga recalls. - I remembered my creative interests, which somehow gave up - everything was too busy. Exhibitions, drawing, embroidery, sewing, a sea of recipes... At some point, I realized that I would probably never return to the office.”
Business at that time was not even in my head. There were gingerbread. The first who thought that money could be made from gingerbread were the friends of the young mother. “Listen,” they said over and over again, “how can you eat this? This should be sold as souvenirs!
Friends, of course, flirted - in the sense that they ate Olga's gingerbread with pleasure. However, they planted an interesting thought in the head of the hostess. Fortunately, at the same moment, Olga's nephew urgently needed gifts for teachers on March 8th. The deadlines were running out, there were no ideas, and then the schoolchild's mother grabbed the idea to give the teachers sets of beautiful gingerbread cookies. The name of the future Kuzhnenkova's shop - "GlazurManiya" - she also came up with. She also made beautiful labels.
So, thanks to friends, daughter-in-law, nephew, Clara Zetkin and Rosa Luxembourg, Olga felt herself in an unusual role - the role of an entrepreneur: “I did not plan to earn a conditional million. And I still don't plan to. It's just that I love doing two things more than anything - cooking delicious food and painting. Painted gingerbread successfully combined both. The movement from hobby to business began with the fact that, figuratively speaking, I felt cramped in my kitchen - I wanted to go beyond it.
“As for cooking, I can honestly admit that I am obsessed. For example, once I decided to make gingerbread cookies, I was faced with a choice problem: dozens of recipes were offered. I chose for a long time, painfully, and finally left four. As a result: four different tests, five hours at the stove - and a mountain of cookies to the delight of friends and relatives "
Roe deer: own, relatives
Olga decided to specialize in painted Arkhangelsk roes. Due to the composition, this Pomeranian delicacy can be stored for a whole year without loss of quality. B Thanks to a bouquet of spices, roe deer have a pronounced taste, and in general - “their own, relatives”. Their cost is low, but painting takes time, diligence and skill.
According to Olga, the market for painted gingerbread in Moscow is quite saturated so that the buyer is not left without goods, but there is also a place for new masters. The main thing, as in any manual work, is to find your own style.
"I know other crafters - I find the gingerbread fairy community very friendly, although anything can happen." Olga learned the art of painting from one of these fairies - even before the memorable first sale. Of all the tried and tested gingerbread recipes, Olga liked the recipe of craftswoman Victoria Bredis the most - she also posted a description of the painting technology on the Internet. Olga caught fire: “I want to learn the same way!”. To the general joy, it turned out that Victoria was conducting face-to-face master classes, so the desire of the young mother soon came true.
Where do gingerbread come from
The cost of gingerbread starts from 30 rubles. It depends on the size of the product (the gingerbread can be both 8 and 30 cm long, limited only by the size of the oven), on the amount of glaze. A few days before baking, the master makes the dough - it takes one hour. From 50 gingerbread cookies are baked at a time - another two hours. The painting depends on the complexity of the drawing, it is usually done in two stages and takes from 10 to 40 minutes per gingerbread. The cost of one gingerbread is from 100 to 1500 rubles, depending on the size and complexity of the pattern.
“I use natural ingredients,” says Olga. - For the gingerbread itself, this is flour, sugar, butter, honey and spices. No amplifiers, substitutes and stabilizers. Glaze - professional confectionery. Dyes - professional, synthesized, very high quality, brought from the USA. This is fundamental for me - I myself devote a lot of time to finding quality products for my family.”
If Olga worked 8 hours a day, she could make 50 gingerbread “per shift”. But such a load does not exist in reality. The little son is nearby 24 hours a day, so work time the craftswoman is not standardized.
“I didn’t count the percentage of marriage during baking, but I think it’s no more than five. I have a big family: husband, son, parents, brother and family, grandparents, aunts, uncles - a total of 15 people. We all often meet and talk at family lunches and dinners, so there is no problem of “marriage disposal”
Olga's working toolkit is quite extensive. So, the confectioner Kuzhnenkova needs: an oven, a stove, pots, spatulas, a rolling pin, a non-stick mat, a million and one molds (recess) for cookies, drying trays. The artist Kuzhnenkova needs pastry bags, nozzles for them, cornets (she makes herself from special film), toothpicks. Entrepreneur (aka packer) Kuzhnenkova uses boxes, bags, ribbons, a computer, a printer, a camera and a telephone.Holidays and weekdays: how to build a promotion
“I can make a gingerbread for any event, be it New Year, February 23, wedding, christening, professional holidays, but in the end - it's still the same carrot. the businesswoman explains. - Difficulty determines the pattern. The simpler it is, and the more identical gingerbreads are required, the more profitable the party. A group order is, as a rule, corporate gifts for state and professional holidays. I also see - they order gingerbread with company logos. I really haven't had any yet."
Olga draws ideas for painting from everywhere. There are classics, which are made by many masters, there are author's sketches based on various motives. It can be a picture (in favor of art deco and art nouveau), knitting on a sweater, monograms on a fence, fresh flowers. So, one of the Easter series was inspired by Slavic Easter eggs, there are Indian stories in the plans. Ethno is a fashionable theme, with such products you can go to specialized exhibitions and fairs.
Olga does not have her own website, because it is not the most effective sales tool in the field of souvenir cooking. "GlazurMania" uses a platform promoted among needleworkers - "Masters Fair » . Another active advertising channel is profile groups in social networks. In the new season, Olga plans to test advertising in Avito and Facebook. The entrepreneur herself is engaged in filling the pages, promotion, production and sales. In fact, she is the only employee in the entire store team.
“I buy ingredients for gingerbread in hypermarkets and specialized stores for confectioners. The packaging is right there. I bake gingerbread cookies, do painting and pack myself. Of course, I keep an eye on the prices of raw materials, on finished products from other masters. I carry out calculations so as not to be at a loss, but professional analytics I do not have".
Bursts of orders for painted gingerbread are clearly associated with the holidays: demand is growing on the eve of the New Year, Christmas, Easter. In summer, the store is fed weddings. The painting has its own fashion, trends (for example, when the cartoon Frozen came out, there were countless gingerbread with its characters; or the color of tiffany is also a trend), but in general this sphere is quite stable.
Who cares about vegetarians?
Uniqueness, individuality, piece work - this is the specificity of the "gingerbread" business. Especially when not a finished product, made according to the author's idea, is being sold, but an order is being executed according to the sketches and wishes of the client. It is difficult to put things on stream: other hands will do everything differently.
“My client is a person who loves delicious and beautiful food. Appreciates not only quality, but also an individual approach"
The last three orders were: gingerbread for the christening from the godmother, and two sweet tables for the children's birthday.One of Olga's market advantages is that she offers not only traditional gingerbread, but also vegetarian ones - without the use of eggs in the dough and glaze. Officially, these are all souvenirs: food products must be certified, and for this, a full-fledged enterprise with its own production line must be opened.
“My blue dream is to open a confectionery where people without dietary restrictions, vegetarians, and allergy sufferers could have a delicious meal,” the entrepreneur admits. - I'm having trouble finding tasty food for such people are familiar firsthand. My husband and son have food allergies. There is no meat or poultry in my diet.”
Olga considers the idea to expand the business, to cooperate, to reach a larger volume premature. It's not even about the client base - we are solving this issue. The craftswoman is not sure that the "conveyor" will bring her the same pleasure as working alone.
“I am very inspired by the examples family businesses with many years of history. I remember one Italian whose family has been making olive oil for over a hundred years. He told how his great-grandfather squeezed oil with just this apparatus, which the descendants kept, they did not specifically change it for a new one. He spoke with such love, with such trepidation. This is what is called spirit, continuity.
Rules for yourself - advice for others
During the year of GlazurMania's existence, Olga Kuzhnenkova made several business conclusions, which she formulated for herself as rules. Perhaps they will be useful to all novice entrepreneurs:
Don't be afraid to start something new - everyone has done it before.
Do not give up what you love when faced with an unpleasant experience - this will pass.
Be sure that your work is needed and useful to someone.
Set aside time for rest, and do not sacrifice it in favor of work.
Do not do business on what personally does not bring you joy.
Plan your time correctly.
Business Woman Success Stories
Victoria Bredis: how to sell through Instagram
18 min
18 min
Text: Maria Ovseets
Victoria Bredis
Production and sale of gingerbread
City: Moscow
Age: 34 years
Family status: married, three children
In business: since 2011
Business details:
Turnover per month: from 200,000 to 500,000 rubles
(depending on the season)
Net profit: from 100,000 to 300,000 rubles
About business
We sell goats. To put it simply, it's gingerbread. Kozulya - primordially Arkhangelsk
a delicacy, the northerners gave it for Christmas and the second, almost forgotten holiday, the black grouse. most
a popular figurine for gingerbread was a deer, which in the north symbolized the Sun, life and warmth. How the name "Kozulya" appeared is not exactly known. Either the deer eventually transformed into a "goat", or the word was formed from the verb "goat", which meant: to joke, to laugh.
Path to business
The idea to deal with gingerbread was born by accident. There was no such thing that I worked for hire all my life, and then suddenly decided that I wanted to open own business. I decided to give the children gingerbread for the New Year, but the master, from whom I wanted to buy them, no longer accepted orders for the holidays. Even though it was only November. I was pregnant: for me this is a period of inspiration and euphoria. Being in such an elevated state, I decided to create and bake gingerbread cookies myself. Now I look at the photographs of the first works and understand that the products were crooked and not very beautiful. But then I was very proud of myself. First time ever I made a cake. With my own hands.
At that time, my husband and I just went to Europe, and there I saw a shop with molds. I bought a whole suitcase. My husband didn't understand why I was doing this. He did not see me in my work and was sure that I would not do it seriously.
But gradually orders became more. I was on maternity leave and could well afford to set aside time for baking. And on Easter I earned 17,000 rubles in 2 weeks. Then it dawned on me: this is more than I get for a month of work in government agencies. It came to the realization that if you continue to do this, you can make very good money. Yes, and the craving for creativity was much greater than for paper work. After the decree, I did not return to my previous job. I was very pleased to go into creativity. This is what I have been missing in my life.
Entrepreneur Victoria Bredis and Womenbz journalist Maria Ovseec
Somehow, I didn’t promote my account on purpose. Worked "word of mouth" radio, probably
»Opening a confectionery
I tried opening a candy store, but nothing good came of it. 2 people came to me and said: “Why are you baking such beauty at home alone? Let's open a bakery together. You'll CEO". Well, who would refuse such a position?
But everything was not as rosy as it seemed at first glance. The partners did not understand anything about gingerbread. They focused on the location of the confectionery, on the convenience of work. And the emphasis had to be on the people who worked there. Because gingerbread is made by hands, not the walls of a candy store. As a result, the work was built inefficiently. Now, together with an assistant, we make more gingerbread cookies in a day than a team of 7 people did then. I decided to drink one tea, the second to smoke - the work got up. Everyone needs to be controlled, forced to work. People want money, but they don't want to work.
Interview
We still bake gingerbread cookies in a conventional oven, which is in every family.
»The other side is paper. At some point, I went into creativity so as not to do the tedious work with papers, but in the end I returned to the same. I spent 80% of the time on bureaucratic processes: I decided something, signed it.
In the end, I left. And the man who took over as CEO fired the best gingerbread maker because of a personal conflict. And I rejoiced. Because it was on Nastya that I pinned big plans. And now for 2 years we have been working together at my home. She has a piecework payment: 30% of the proceeds.
Work at home
At the initial stage, working at home is quite realistic. You don’t need to buy any specific equipment: home appliances are quite manageable. We still bake gingerbread cookies in a conventional oven, which is in every family. From professional equipment We only use dough mixers. The volumes have grown very much, and it has become difficult to knead the dough by hand. There are two refrigerators. We keep stocks of dough in them so that we don’t have to do it every day.
Forms were originally standard. Now 90% of the forms are customer orders. We bend them ourselves from perforated tape. For example, they ordered a gingerbread in the form of an astronaut with a flag. Of course, you will not find such a form anywhere. You can cut out the dough by hand. But if you need 200 gingerbread, you are tormented to do it. My whole house is littered with forms. 400 pieces definitely accumulated, if not more.
We work very hard. Our working day lasts 15-18 hours. We are very tired. And I would be glad to find additional "hands". But, unfortunately, the space in the kitchen does not allow hiring employees. Everything is filled with racks on which gingerbread is dried. And our apartment has long ceased to be a home. Real manufacturing facility. Fortunately, in May 2017 we will receive the keys to the premises that we bought in order to organize a bakery there. And then I can hire people.
We do not have our own courier. Quite satisfied with the service "Dostavista". There are couriers on foot who handle products very carefully and deliver orders to customers safe and sound.
Recipe
AT basic recipe we do not use honey, nuts and chocolate. These are foods that are strong allergens, especially for children. Therefore, it is better to avoid them in the database. Our dough is spicy caramel. But if you wish, you can add honey, and chocolate, and vanilla, and much more. Lots of flavor variations. Everything depends on the wishes of the client.
Purchase glaze. The formula we buy contains dried processed protein. We do not work on raw protein. This is also the moment that moms are very worried about. We buy the mixture ready: it saves a lot of time. Buying ingredients separately, weighing, mixing, waiting for several hours until the protein swells is a waste of time if the volumes are large.
Gingerbread is a very easy product to prepare. All ingredients can be bought at the nearest supermarket. Due to the large volumes, of course, we buy everything in bulk. Sugar, flour, eggs - in METRO Cash and Carry. Farmer's oil - from the manufacturer.
Corporate clients
Now we work more with corporate clients, of course. Sberbank, Russian Railways and others. I didn't specifically look for them. They come after personal orders: they bought a gingerbread for a child for his birthday, and now they decided to make sets for the company for the holiday. For the New Year individual orders we do not accept at all.
What is a private order? 10 gingerbread cookies of different colors and shapes: write “the best grandmother” here, and “beloved mother” on this one. And in a corporate order, everything is simple: we have 200 pieces, please, red and white. Here is such a form. And, of course, it is less labor intensive.
Recently we had an order: 30 figurines per cake. And we made them all day, because everyone is different in color and shape. And the day before, a corporate order, 200 gingerbread, was prepared in 4 hours. That's the difference in time. The biggest order we have completed is 630 gingerbread cookies per day.
Difficulties will be in any business. Gotta accept it
»Competitors
It seems that many people are engaged in gingerbread. But in fact, demand greatly exceeds supply. Especially for New Years and Easter. This is the time when everything is bought up: crooked, oblique - it doesn't matter. Therefore, this period is a great time to start. Whatever you do, sell. Plus, you will understand how fast you can work and whether you are ready to devote a lot of time to this, if you get bored.
I am good with my competitors. For me, gingerbread men are not even competitors, but close people. Some community. I myself conduct master classes in Moscow and other cities. And it also brings in a good income. For example, in the summer, when demand for gingerbread is low, the profit from master classes can reach up to 60% of my earnings.
Interview
Difficulties in communicating with clients
People come across different. Once we ordered more than 300 gingerbread sets. They were packed in boxes. The client said that such boxes did not suit her, asked to repack into small ones. I tried to explain that they would look bad, but she insisted on her. When we began to collect new boxes, I realized that we cannot waste time on this. I called and said that I would return the prepayment and that we would not redo it. She did not agree, asked them to give them blanks of small boxes and decided to assemble them herself. After 2 days, he calls and says: “We don’t like the way the gingerbread looks in these boxes. Let's go back to the original version. The gingerbread really looked better there.”
I was ready to explode at that moment: I explained from the very beginning that it would be bad in small boxes. And because of her stubbornness, we spent a lot of time and have to spend more on repackaging. But she restrained herself. We have completed the work.
Whatever the client, you need to control your emotions and communicate respectfully. And treat these problems as a given. Difficulties will be in any business. We must accept it.
Fortunately, my husband took care of the children.
»Family and business
For some time, relatives did not accept my case. My parents did not understand how I could exchange my work in the state structure for some kind of gingerbread. They worried that I didn't earn anything. They asked how much money I get, but I didn’t know. Because I didn't count anything.
Dad said that you need to save money: “Come on, you will give it to me for safety, it will be more wholesome.” I had a lot of master classes at that time. And all the money earned on them, I gave to my parents. And at some point, my father called and said: “Vika, you gave me more than 400,000 thousand rubles in a month.” He was surprised. And, probably, only at that moment the parents realized that this was really a job, and not just a hobby.
I work a lot. And I can only give children Sunday. Fortunately, my husband took care of them. We have been moving towards this for a very long time. For a year and a half I asked him not to work. Of course, for him, as for a man, it was hard to accept that I would earn money, and he would take care of the children. But it was better for everyone: for me, for him, and for the children.
When dealing with children, I am very nervous, my upbringing is not mine. The child cannot solve the example, I begin to feel uncomfortable, I rush him: I don’t have much time. And my husband is very calm about it. He has a real gift - he is an amazing teacher by nature. And it was he who provided our children with the best childhood.
They go to a bunch of sections: dancing, swimming, ceramics, drawing, modeling. Younger son went to the first grade at the Bauman Lyceum with a mathematical bias, and everything is already easy for him there, because he has gone far ahead in his knowledge. And it's all thanks to my dad. Daughter Lera acted in films. In the movie "Christmas Trees", for example.
Victoria Bredis, entrepreneur
In gingerbread, as in any business, experience is important. We have to work hard. Don't take on the hard stuff right away. When something doesn't work out, rejection sets in, and there's a good chance you'll just quit. We must start simple. And when you realize that this simple is not enough, you will grow.
You can't do business without making mistakes. Any experience is always good. We must treat it appropriately.
Approach the matter responsibly. Only in this case you will succeed. My children, for example, ended up in the hospital. But at that moment I could not quit my job and tell my clients: I'm sorry, I didn't complete the order. I knew that no one would do my job for me. And my husband went to the hospital with the children. Support from loved ones is very important, of course.
