Artisan Baking: Five Ingredients for a Successful Baking Business

Reader Contribution by Lisa Kivirist
Published on February 1, 2018
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As the local food and farm-to-table movement expands, the time is ripe to create your own self-employed livelihood and business. Are you someone who loves to cook, baking up hand crafted items, like scones, muffins and artisanal breads? Learn from lawyer turned bakery entrepreneur, Joanne Sherif, as she shares her inspiring story of launching Cardamom Café and Bakery in San Diego and finding her life’s passion, one croissant at a time.

“There’s something about dough that so resonates with me,” shares Sherif with a smile as she plates up one of her renowned almond croissants. Hard core homemade, she even makes her own almond paste. “Dough is alive and full of connections. When I knead dough, I feel like I’m importing something of myself into what I create. This is my true calling and passion.”

Starting a food business at any stage in life involves risks and courage, but a career detour from attorney to baker at midlife ushers in its own set of challenges – and opportunities. “I may not have had restaurant experience, but I had raised five kids, earned a law degree and worked as a special education advocate, which add up in skills. The bakery idea was always in the back of my mind for years and I was baking at home for my family. Nine years ago proved to be the right time and space to launch the café.”

Following one’s heart while developing a successful business strategy is a connecting theme in the inspiring women stories of farm and food entrepreneurs I write about in my book, Soil Sisters: A Toolkit for Women Farmers. Sherif exemplifies how a local food venture can be both be financially sustainable while building community and bringing people together through food.

Does the idea of running your own business where you create hand-crafted items every day and work for yourself sound like your dream gig? Read on as Sherif shares her tips and insights for following your heart, finding your passion and creating a successful livelihood:

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