Day Jobbing & Night Baking #3: Maximize Your Productivity

Building a business can be exhausting especially during the first year. If you’re working a full-time job and starting a small business, the risk of burn out is doubled. Time management is crucial to your success! Now is the perfect time to establish healthy work habits that promote maximum productivity. Here are a few tips…

• Schedule your work time – Just as you likely have a set schedule for your primary job, figure out a work schedule for your own small business. This will help you to stay on track while also allowing you to schedule yourself some breaks so you don’t feel like you’re always working.
• Prioritize – What are the most important things on your to-do list? If I have several orders of cupcakes or cookies that I need to bake, you better believe that that week I will not be updating my website or developing a new marketing plan.
• Change your scenery – Are you tired of working from home? Is the local coffee shop starting to feel like your living room? Change it up! Try working outside if it’s possible or even try spending some time at a co-working space.
• Network with other small biz professionals – In the mood to chatter about your business? Need some inspiration or someone to bounce ideas off of? Try joining an online community like PartnerUp or get in contact with your local Small Business Administration office and find out when if they have any networking events coming up.
• Keep your eye on the prize – I mean this literally. One of the reasons I’m sure you started this venture was to earn a little extra cash. Why not reward yourself for all your hard work? Set a goal for yourself/your business and then attach a prize at the completion of the goal. If I were going to do this (and I think I shall), my goal would be to earn $1,000 in profit. My prize would be a brand new Kitchen Aid Artisan Series Stand Mixer in Aqua Sky which is, in my opinion, the holy grail of stand mixers. Now that I think about, that’s enough to motivate me for a whole year. Find your Holy Grail and work towards it.
• Lastly, remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day…your business will not be either. Odds are it will take months, possibly even years, for you to successfully establish a small business and (if you’d like to) quit your day job. So stay positive, productive, and if you’re ever feeling discouraged have a little piece of cake. It’ll make you feel better.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

3 cups (390 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (340 grams) (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1-8 ounce (226 grams) package cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups (600 grams) superfine or castor sugar
6 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Zest of a lemon or orange

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter and flour a 10 inch (25 cm) bundt pan.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar, in three additions, beating well after each addition. Continue beating on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (about 3 – 5 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla and lemon zest and beat until incorporated.

Add the flour mixture and mix just until incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes

Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 20 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and cool completely. (The cake is cooled in the pan first for about 20 minutes so the cake has time to set. The cake may collapse if you try to remove it from the pan too soon.)

This cake will keep several days at room temperature and one week when refrigerated. Can also be frozen.

Serves 10 – 12 people.