Typically, those in the pastry, cake, and sugar art business get a big break this time of year.  The big holidays are over and Valentine’s day isn’t until the middle of February.  This is a great time to take a deep breath to see where you and your business are and where you are headed.  It is also an ideal time to make decisions on how best to invest in yourself.

Investing in yourself is important business!  You need to put some time and energy into your priorities before the world dictates where your time and energy will go.

Feeling burnt out? You may need to preserve your sanity.  You may be motivated to meet your goals.  Are you ready for a new challenge? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Or are you ready to take last year’s momentum and catapult yourself to the next level?

Wherever you may be in your journey, this is a good time to figure out how and when you are going to invest in yourself.  Once you know where you want to put your energy and resources, you need to get it on the calendar.  Let’s face it, most of us “forget” (or neglect) to do something if it isn’t in our calendar.

If you are overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, here are a few ideas to kick off your brainstorming.

Personal

• Schedule a vacation
• Schedule a Do Nothing Day
• Make some time to tinker. Or invite your creative friends over for a play date.
• Start taking a lunch break every day
• Reorganize your workspace
• Give your workspace a makeover
• Take something off your calendar
• Make time to be with friends
• Make time to be with family
• Eat better
• Exercise more
• Get enough sleep
• Schedule more fun time on your calendar
• Start a self-care routine
• Set more boundaries
• Make time to indulge in hobbies
• Make a strategy to overcome a bad habit
• Read a self-help book
• Read for fun
• Listen to books on tape
• Subscribe to a podcast of interest to you
• Try something new, preferably something you’ve always wanted to try

Professional

• Purchase, replace, or fix equipment or tools
• Develop and allocate funds for a marketing program
• Develop a second stream of income
• Take a sugar art class
• Take a business related class
• Take an art class outside of the sugar world
• Put new systems in place
• Put new policies in place
• Hire a virtual assistant to lighten some of the work load
• Hire an employee
• Upgrade your website
• Take a mentor or colleague out to lunch
• Go to a conference
• Update your brand
• Subscribe to an industry related magazine
• Subscribe to a business magazine
• Subscribe to a relevant Youtube channel
• Hire a professional to help in an area you lack (ex: accountant)
• Invest in something that saves you time or makes you more productive
• Upgrade your professional appearance (ex: uniforms, headshots, etc)
• Update your business plan
• Take the time to map out your goals
• Review the previous year carefully to discover what worked and what didn’t
• Increase compensation or perks for your employees
• Restyle displays or your portfolio
• Find ways to partner with other local businesses
• Listen to books on tape
• Listen to TED talks
• Review and implement new ways to increase customer service
• Try a new approach (even if it scares you)

Best of Luck!

However you decide to invest in yourself, do it with total commitment.  Here at CakePlay, we are routing for you!