Sara Hutchins

Business 1010
Professor Basil Chelemes
April 19, 2016
Assessing a Career in Business
In todays world people often fantasize about owning their own businesses, it is an
alluring thought to be ones own boss and being able to make a living by putting into action ideas
that you find valuable and fulfilling. A small business is defined as being an independently
owned and operated business that is not dominant in its field of operation (Martin, Poatsy, and
Soloman, 2016, pg. 127). I for one would like to join the rank of independent business owners
one day; specifically in opening an artisan bakery that would sell unique pastries and be a place
to boast my passion for baking and introducing clientele to different styles of baked delights.
Job Description
Day-to-day decisions and responsibilities that factor into being an owner and operator of
an artisan bakery would start with making sure that things are being prepped the night before so
that production can begin the next morning. This is especially important in the case of Harmons
Grocery artisan bakers, because they rely on the evening team to mix the hundreds of pounds of
dough so that they can bake off the risen dough product when they arrive at work around three in
the morning each day to manufacture their unique line of breads (T. Squires, personal
communication, 2016). According to Peter Nyburg of Bakery Resource Consulting, details such
as production timelines, production sheets, opening and closing procedures, team scheduling,

waste control, cleaning procedures, and daily sales are all very important issues that must be kept
track of each day to properly run a bakery (Nyberg, P. (BRC), 2016). Another important part of
running the bakery would be overseeing ingredient deliveries made by other companies
throughout the week, this is vital to a bakery as without the ingredients to manufacture product
would render the business moot.
General Career Path
According to the textbook, Better Business, small businesses make up nearly 64 percent
of all new jobs in the United States (Martin, Poatsy, and Soloman, 2016, pg. 128). While you do
not necessarily have to have a degree in a specific field to be able to open your own business, it
is not a bad idea to have valuable knowledge to fall back on as well as to have acquired the
numerous skills it takes to achieve in a business setting. In the case of being an owner and
operator of an artisan bakery, an entry-level position would most likely be being someone who
preps for the actual trained artisans as well as taking care of the customers, packaging,
cashiering, inventory, cleaning, etc; this is also known fondly (or not-so-fondly) as the night-shift
duties. As one becomes more familiar with the inner workings of the bakery you would move on
to being trained on making the more simple products such as cookies, cakes, muffins, donuts,
and decorating certain items. This all eventually leads to becoming an artisan baker and learning
how to make the dough mixes for bread and learning how and which ways they are cooked, as
well as which kind of dough starters and methods create which kinds of bread. From then on you
would be qualified to lead as an assistant bakery manager or perhaps even the actual bakery
manager who takes care of overseeing the crew and the bakery as a whole. Those duties include
scheduling staff, paying bills, product inventory, ordering supplies, and assisting wherever they
are needed, etc.

General Education Experience

It depends upon what kind of business or service you are providing your clientele as to
what kind of education and or certificates you need in order to legally and intelligently run a
business. On the legal side, to run a bakery you would definitely need the initial business license
and would also need a food handlers permit. It is also not always a necessity to have a formal
education in the field of business one is starting a business in, however, a government census
done in 2002 reported that nearly sixty-four percent of business owners had some kind of college
education before starting their business (2002 Survey of Business Owners Summaries of
Findings, 2002). These statistics lead me to believe that one can never go wrong with having
some kind of degree, and as for myself in particular, I plan on not only attaining a business
degree, but I also plan on attending a culinary program in the near future to obtain that
certification as well.
Average Salary
Unfortunately, the average salary of a small business owner varies based on the business
itself and other factors such as how well a business does in its first few years of existence. It is
expected that in the first year a business owner can anticipate not turning much of a profit, or
have much of a competitive salary, but could potentially expect to have a better income as soon
as the next year (Davidson, 2016). The Culinary School Guide reports that a bakers salary
depends upon several different factors such as level of experience, skill, education, industry
(private business vs. grocery business) and can range anywhere from $15,000-$35,000 dollars
(Culinary School Guide, 2016). These statistics also lend to the fact that having a formal

education can be the difference between a $15,000 dollar yearly salary and a $35,000 dollar one;
people are more valuable based upon their knowledge and skill-set.
Career Outlook
The baking industry is a multi-billion dollar one; Utah alone boasts $2,336,690.79 dollars
in total revenue from this kind of commerce (Baking Industry Economic Impact Study, 2016). I
believe that there is a market to take advantage of here, and as someone who is passionate about
not only baking, but small business, I think that I have what it takes to be successful as a
business owner. I am in the process of acquiring the skills I need in order to implement my
vision, and this is definitely something I see myself achieving in the next ten years.
Bio of Someone in the Profession
Tyler Squires is currently the bakery manager at the Brickyard location of Harmons, a
Utah based grocery store that has been around since 1932 and now boasts a healthy sixteen
locations across the state. Tyler is twenty-three years old and has been a bakery manager with the
company since 2014, and currently manages around ten employees at any one time. His job is
pretty labor intensive because the bakery produces so many different kinds of items for
customers, such as the unique artisan bread which is baked daily and can be sliced on-site for
customers by a trained artisan, and they also give out free bread samples. Not only does his
bakery sell items from the product display units upon customer request, such as donuts,
croissants, fruit tarts, cannoli, French macarons (made by another bakery owned by a former
employee), cupcakes, and cheesecakes (made fresh, in-house and weighs 3lbs), to name a few,
but they also sell items in packages out on the sales floor. These kinds of baked goods are
products such as packaged cookies, pound cakes, bagels, granola (made fresh, in-store), pure-

bliss brownies, and rolls. He also has a highly trained staff that is specifically in charge of taking
cake orders and decorating them.

Hutchins, S.J. (Photographer). (2016), Harmons,

Brickyard Plaza Shopping Center, 3270 1300 E, Salt
Lake City, UT.

Tyler started working for Harmons at the age of sixteen, and gradually worked up from
other departments until he eventually became the bakery manager at one of the busiest locations
in the company. He admitted that he works long hours around the holidays, but is always really
excited to see the payoff of such hard work and having a loyal customer base who comes back
again and again. His job is fast-paced, and forces him to think quickly on his feet, but he trusts
his staff to take care of the department, and the bakery has even won several awards for being so
exceptional. Everyone on his team works really hard to give customers a unique experience and
offers products you wouldnt be able to find in a regular grocery store (T. Squires, personal
communication, April 1, 2016).
Pros and Cons

Advantages of owning an artisan bakery and a small business in general are the flexibility
it would provide by not forcing you to have a strict and rigid schedule. I think that the feeling of
accomplishment and self-worth that would undoubtedly come along in owning an artisan bakery
would be a huge benefit to anyone. I also believe that doing work that you are personally
invested in as well as it being work that you are passionate about goes a long way in fostering a
fantastic and worthwhile way of life for yourself.
Disadvantages of owning an artisan bakery are really recognizing the ways in which it
could all go wrong. As a small business there is always that chance that someone sues you for a
myriad of reasons and based upon how much liability you take on, you really could lose
everything. Another disadvantage is that the business could ultimately fail by not making enough
profits to sustain itself, so now you have just wasted both time and money on a failed project. I
have also heard of many small business owners taking a severe pay-cut to keep the business
afloat while also working 70 plus hours a week at the business.
Your Fit with this Career
At this moment in time, I am in the beginning steps of this career. While I have had a love
for baking since I was a young girl, it wasnt until the past couple of years that my love for flour,
yeast, salt, and water helped me realize I wanted to share it with other people. I am currently in
Business 1010 and plan on continuing onwards to really grasp what business means and attaining
the skills needed to be an intelligent business owner. I am also going to enter a culinary program
to hone the skills that I have as well as gain new skills. My fit at this moment may not be what I
need to start a business, but I am going to build upon the foundation I have built in order to
become the perfect fit.

Sources
2002 Survey of Business Owners Summaries of Findings. (2002). Retrieved April 14,
2016, from http://www.census.gov/econ/sbo/02/cbosof.html.
Baking Industry Economic Impact Study - American Bakers Association. (n.d.).
Retrieved April 14, 2016, from http://www.americanbakers.org/industry-data/.
Culinary School Guide: Your complete guide to culinary schools & programs. (n.d.).
Retrieved April 14, 2016, from http://www.culinaryschoolguide.org/baking-pastry-arts/averagesalary-of-a-baker-or-pastry-chef/.
Davidson, E. (n.d.). The Average Time to Reach Profitability in a Start Up Company.
Retrieved April 14, 2016, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/average-time-reach-profitabilitystart-up-company-2318.html.
Hutchins, S.J. (Photographer). (2016), Harmons, Brickyard Plaza Shopping Center, 3270
1300 E, Salt Lake City, UT.
Nyberg, P. (n.d.). Bakery Consulting Artisan Bread Consultant Bakery training R&D.
Retrieved April 14, 2016, from http://bakeryresourceconsulting.com/Systems-Operations.html.
Solomon, M. R., Poatsy, M. A., & Martin, K. (2016). Better Business (Fourth ed.).
Pearson, pages 127-128. Accessed on April 14, 2016.
Squires, T. (2016, April 1). Professional Bio [Interview by S. J. Hutchins].