Tell us a bit about your current job.

I’m a specialist gingerbread baker, based in East London. I run Maid of Gingerbread which makes bespoke 3D gingerbread buildings, mainly edible replicas of real life buildings for commercial clients in London. I started the company back in 2010. Originally it was really part time and I very gradually built it up to where it is today – I now have a dedicated kitchen/studio space in Hackney and manage a small team of bakers in my busy time (the build up to Christmas).

What and where did you study after school?

I studied music at City University, then did a masters in Ethnomusicology at SOAS.

How did you get from answer 2 to answer 1?

I didn’t know what sort of career I wanted when I went to university so just studied what I was best at and most interested in. Although I was really passionate about my subject there aren’t many job opportunities in Ethnomusicology so when I left uni I just applied for lots of entry level graduate jobs and ended up taking a role as an administrator at a London university. Although I really liked working for the students and my colleagues were great, my heart was never fully in it and I filled all my spare time with making and lots of creative pursuits, including baking for friends and family. I eventually ended up in quite a full-on, stressful role which involved constant typing and long hours and unfortunately led to me getting RSI in my wrists and ultimately having to leave my job. 

I had been experimenting with gingerbread building in my spare time and my buildings always went down really well, so when I left my job and had to try to find a career that didn’t involve too much typing (quite tricky in this day and age!) I thought I’d see if I could make the gingerbread a proper thing. It took a REALLY long time to build up, but due to me having to pay the rent while avoiding any desk jobs I ended up doing lots of really interesting part time roles alongside the business, which I loved. Some of my favourites included a Treasure Hunt Writer, a Greengrocer, and an Arcade Manager. These jobs definitely helped me build up the business as I gained so much varied experience, especially when it came to customer service and problem-solving.

How does your formal education feed into your present career (if at all)?

I actually don’t think my formal education directly affects my career today in any way apart from learning how to be really focused on something and dedicate myself to it. 

What things have you learnt outside of formal education that have been helpful to your career?

The things that have been most helpful in my career have all come post-university mainly through doing lots of networking and meeting other people who run their own businesses. When I was still deciding what I wanted to do I volunteered at a few different places just to try out some creative industry jobs, including a local brewery and a florists. This was so useful as it meant I finally worked out what I needed for job satisfaction. For me, those things are: lots of creativity, a high level of autonomy, and a tangible product. This has been the foundation of my business and really helped me whenever I had to make a ‘big picture’ decision about what direction to take things in.

What are the really useful skills for someone in your job to possess?

A generally creative mind, the ability to chat to lots of different people (clients), and motivation to work long hours because (like many freelance jobs) things tend to come in waves so it’s important to keep motivated during quiet periods as well as have the stamina to fulfil projects when there’s what feels like too much work coming in! I don’t think I would do anything differently in terms of getting any formal qualifications; really everything I’ve learned has come through doing it hands on.

What does an average day at work look like for you?

There really isn’t an average day in my job, but most of the year I’m just a one-man-band so I’ll be covering all aspects of running a small business which for me includes: speaking to clients, designing/prepping for installations, baking, decorating, washing up (!), chasing unpaid invoices/doing accounts. Then towards Christmas I tend to work quite long hours and my job becomes slightly more about time management, recruiting/training assistants, problem solving, keeping on top of bookings and suppliers etc. 

What’s the best thing about your job?

Even when I’m really busy I absolutely love the variety of this job. Running your own business and making things to order means there’s always something new and exciting to work on and that’s what I thrive on. I really like creatively solving problems and making things that my clients truly love.

What’s your least favourite aspect of your job?

My least favourite aspects are those that come least naturally for me, which are the finance and marketing side of running a business, so I find it hard to stay motivated when it comes to that side of things. But I’ve recently started hiring people to help with those aspects and I think that’s the key – find someone to do the things that you struggle with and it really positively impacts everything.

What advice would you give to someone seeking a job like yours? 

My path was a bit strange in that I basically made up a job that didn’t exist and then stubbornly tried to make it work for years and years! But I would do the same again because I’m really proud of what it’s grown into. So I’d say go for it, but try to work out your business weaknesses early on and plug those gaps through outside help in order to make things grow. I also definitely benefitted from doing a wide range of different part time jobs alongside it, and would highly recommend that – if you have a few one-day-a-week jobs then every day feels like a Friday (you can enjoy most things if you know you don’t have to go back for another week) and you also meet so many great people that could end up leading to some great work in the future. Some of my biggest advocates have been my previous colleagues or employers so it’s really helped support my business.