This past year something in me shifted.
I realized I wanted more — more growth, more stability, more creativity, and more space to actually run the bakery I know I’m capable of building. But the truth was… I didn’t have the space for it. Literally.
I’m in a kitchen that’s too small to hire help, too small to scale, and too small to get a return on investment if I brought on another baker. And this is something so many micro-bakers and home bakers will understand deeply: you can work your absolute hardest, you can fill every hour of your week, and still feel like a big fish stuck in a very small pond.
That was me.
A big fish who felt like she outgrew her pond.
And I knew I needed a new — modern — way to grow.
Why I Didn’t Immediately Go the Traditional Route
You know how the traditional business advice goes:
“Go get a loan. Find investors. Open a bigger space.”
But my gut wasn’t ready for that yet.
It wasn’t fear — it was clarity.
I knew I didn’t want to scale into a bigger problem. I wanted to scale into a bigger opportunity.
And we live in a time where there are now dozens of ways to grow a business that don’t require instantly walking into a bank. New paths are being created every day — and for me, I’m a trial-and-error girl. I like experiencing things. I like learning on my feet. I like figuring out what works for me, and then sharing it with whoever else it might help.
So last year, when I said out loud, “I want more,” I made myself a plan. A slow, seasonal, garden-style plan.
I asked myself:
What seeds do I want to plant?
What needs to be watered right now?
What can wait until next season?
And that’s when everything started to shift.
Why I Had to Walk Away From the Traditional Bakery Model
Before the farmers market, I was trying to be a mini version of a traditional bakery.
Cakes. Cupcakes. Cake pops. Macarons.
A dozen of this.
A dozen of that.
And for a one-woman bakery in a micro-sized kitchen… it was too much.
The time, the labor, the setup, the cleanup — none of it matched the profit I was making. I was spread too thin, and I knew I couldn’t grow like that.
So I made a bold decision:
I was going to streamline. Completely.
I raised my custom order minimum.
I removed almost everything from my menu (except cupcakes for a short transition).
And then the new year hit, and I tightened things even more:
Macarons only.
It wasn’t easy.
I felt guilty.
I said no to people who supported me since the beginning.
But my gut kept telling me this was the step.
The Farmers Market Became My Turning Point
Once I stopped overwhelming my schedule with custom orders, I suddenly had the capacity to start producing real product for the farmers market.
I created:
- preset boxes of 5 and 10 macarons
- fatcarons
- mookierons (macaron-stuffed cookies)
- macaron snack cups
All using the same base ingredients in new, creative combinations.
Production got easier.
Profit got better.
And customers were… excited.
Then I realized something huge:
Even though I technically had a storefront… the farmers market was where the people were. Foot traffic. Shoppers. Locals and tourists. People who were there with the intention to buy.
For my business model, it made more sense to be at the market than to rely on walk-ins.
That was the first seed I planted.
Hey Modern Baker: Planting My Next Seed
Around this same time, I felt pulled to start something new — something modern.
A blog.
A personal brand.
A place where I could show:
Here’s how I’m growing my bakery the modern way —
through content, through storytelling, through semi-passive income, through creativity.
I didn’t want to pressure people to buy my recipes.
I wanted to build trust.
To share behind the scenes.
To give away ideas.
To document what works (and what fails).
Because I’m not just building a bakery…
I’m building a path other micro-bakers can use too.
This blog could:
- bring in ad revenue
- use affiliate links (Amazon)
- host digital downloads (my first digital recipe cards)
- soft-sell without being pushy
- grow my bakery’s social media at the same time
Another seed planted.
How My Product Line Evolved in Real Time
Throughout the market season, I kept learning what worked:
✔️ Boxes of 5 and 10 (must-have every week)
Crowd-pleasing flavors only.
✔️ Seasonal boxes of 3
A way to introduce fun flavors without ruining the big boxes.
✔️ Fatcarons
A fun new way to sell macarons that were catching everyones eye from the size and the name.
✔️ Mookierons → Giant 6 oz Cookies
They started as a way to use imperfect macarons.
Then became too time-consuming.
So I shifted.
Made the cookies bigger.
Topped them beautifully.
And suddenly a whole new crowd noticed me.
✔️ Cinnamon Rolls
My “unexpected hit.”
I thought it would confuse people.
Instead, it expanded my customer base more than anything else.
And for the first time in my life, I started hearing:
“You make the best macarons.”
“You make the best cookies.”
“You make the best cinnamon rolls.”
And something clicked in me.
If I’m doing all this — the best macarons, the best cookies, the best cinnamon rolls — out of a tiny micro-bakery… what could I do in a real space?
The Realization That Changed Everything
At first, my “modern way” plan was:
- farmers market
- build blog
- build passive-ish income
- eventually ship desserts
But then something happened.
After expanding into macarons + cookies + cinnamon rolls…
after seeing customers go crazy for all three…
after hearing “you should open a bakery just for these”…
I realized my next step needed to be bigger than I thought.
I wanted a storefront again, but I was thinking bigger than just a storefront.
I wanted to set it up to be something that can grow, but not as The Modern Bakery.
It felt like that name was my training ground.
My school.
My beginning.
I needed a name that represented what I make now.
Fatté.
(My fat macarons, fat cookies, fat cinnamon rolls.
But with a European, chic, modern twist.)
So I made:
- a brand
- a full menu
- a pitch deck
- a storefront design
- a growth plan
- a shipping plan
- a drops calendar
- a multi-location dream
Not because it’s happening today…
but because I wanted to be ready when the opportunity shows up.
Right Now: The Season I’m In
I’m finishing the market season.
I’m perfecting my products.
I’m collecting feedback in real time.
I’m saving money.
I’m documenting everything.
And once the market ends?
I’ll shift focus:
- growing my blog
- growing my passive income
- finalizing Fatté’s plan and building awareness
- testing drops
- building the bridge to my next storefront
This is the modern way I’m growing.
This is my path.
My experiment.
My stepping stone.
My story in real time.
And if you’re reading this… you’re watching the seeds as they grow
