Nobody really tells you how many jobs you take on when you start a business by yourself.

At The Bittersweet Palate, I started out thinking mostly about baking.

Now, I bake, take orders, answer messages, buy ingredients, plan content, click pictures, pack boxes, clean up the kitchen, keep track of payments and somehow try to remember everything happening in between.

And that's just the business.

There is still a house to run, people to spend time with, errands to finish and a life outside the bakery.

Some days, I genuinely enjoy doing it all. There is something nice about knowing that every part of the business has my little bit of work in it.

But some days are chaotic.

I'll be decorating a cake and suddenly remember that I haven't replied to three messages. Then I'll start replying and remember that something needs to go into the oven. Then I'm in the kitchen again and realise I forgot to order chocolate.

It's a constant back and forth.

Being a solopreneur has taught me that you can't wait for the perfect routine. You have to make things work with the day you've been given.

You also have to accept that you cannot be equally productive every single day.

Some days you get ten things done.

Some days you manage three.

And that's okay.

I think the biggest lesson has been learning to give myself some credit. When you work alone, there isn't always someone around to tell you that you're doing a good job.

So sometimes, you have to tell yourself.

Because behind every small business is usually one person doing far more than what customers see.

For me, being a solopreneur is exactly that.

A little messy, sometimes exhausting, occasionally overwhelming, but also incredibly rewarding.

And at the end of a long day, when I look at a finished cake that started as an idea in my head, I still think, Okay, maybe I can do this after all.