We recently connected with Ali Syndergaard and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ali, thank you for joining us today and sharing your experiences and acquired wisdom with us. Burnout is a huge topic these days and so we’d love to kick things off by discussing your thoughts on overcoming or avoiding burnout
Burnout is my middle name! I have always found ways to make my life more complicated than it should be. With that being said, a couple years ago, I was in a part of my life where I was go-go-go! I never seemed to have a moment to breathe, the only time I did was when I ended up sick from pushing myself too hard. So I took a step back from that lifestyle for a while and decided to open up a bakery from my home! It has its good days and bad days, but it has been a much better change of pace. Since I am my own boss, I can take the necessary breaks when I need them, go on vacation last minute without having to give 6 months advanced notice etc. I have learned what my burnout triggers are and know when it’s time to step away. If I am feeling that sense of burnout and I’m not tackling an upcoming order, I take a day or two off to not think about work. It has helped when I do have those long baking days, I am focused and energized rather than exhausted and questioning my life choices. Life is all about balance, once you’ve balanced what is most important to you first. The rest fall into place or even out of your life all together. Allowing the ultimate peace of mind! Breaks are okay, healthy, and necessary!
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
In 2023 I decided to make a huge career shift to the baking and food industry. I had never stepped foot in it before then, even with my love for baking as a child. I decided to attend pastry school on a whim and it was a blast! I learned and developed new skills that I decided I wanted to apply them with my own business. Since opening my business, it has been so fun to learn, test, and create new recipes to add to my menu. I personally love to make desserts that people crave but don’t necessarily want to make themselves all the time. From cookies, cheesecakes, pies etc. With this being a Home Bakery I make everything to order. I want my customers to feel like they are at home and receiving a sweet little treat from a friend to help brighten their day. My goal is to make the desserts as yummy and allergy friendly as possible. I have some gluten free options available, I have even made dairy free desserts for people as well. I also love providing a chance for those who have wanted to try macarons but have not been able to because they are allergic to almonds. Fun fact, I’m that person allergic to almonds. With this new year I wanted to add something new to my menu more often, we started celebrating a National Day Holiday for the entire month! Customers choose one dessert from four different “National Days” from the upcoming month. The winning dessert gets to be our month’s feature. It has been fun to celebrate for the whole month instead of just one day. I have loved being able to expand my skills and add something different to my menu each month!
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Since I am barely starting out myself (only been open for 5 months) my experience is definitely still in the growing phase. Everything has been a learning curve. However, if there is a big change you’re wanting to make and you’re wanting to try something different, my best advice is to 1. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. If no one else has your back, have your own! You are capable of more than you think! Know that mistakes are inevitable and you just learn from them and keep going, don’t let those knock you down. 2. DON’T BE AFRAID! Try the new thing, step out of your comfort zone, take that class, quit that crappy job, move abroad. Whatever it is, I can promise you, you won’t look back at that choice and regret it. You will look at yourself in awe and be proud of how far you have come. 3. TAKE BREAKS! Don’t push yourself to your limit. You have goals you want to achieve, but make them attainable! Find ways to actually reach those goals one small step at a time! Don’t skip steps because you want to be farther along than you feel like you should. (Should is just a stupid word to make you feel bad about yourself) Progress doesn’t work when you’re trying to skip ahead. If you’re running yourself dry, take a step back and reevaluate to allow your next steps to feel bearable. What you want to do IS possible!
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
Unironically my self esteem and confidence in baking. There have been so many times I would compare my work to everyone else’s. Not a healthy mindset to have when you still love watching cake or cookie decorating videos. Comparing just made me feel miserable about myself! Especially thinking these people are at the same stage as me…ha no, they have dedicated years upon years of effort. No matter how long they have been baking for, I had to remind myself that we all have our own talents and can build upon those. It has been a little over a year since I graduated pastry school and I have made things I never thought possible. Maybe this is just me, but have you ever been to an expensive restaurant, everything is made from scratch and never even piece it together it’s possible to make those things at home? A thing as simple as butter was one of those things for me. What? You can make butter at home? Seriously?! I don’t know why that was just a concept I couldn’t grasp. But yes something you typically just buy at the store you can make yourself. I have made crème brûlée too many times to count now because I love knowing it’s actually possible to not have to go to a restaurant for that or even soufflés! My confidence in myself in the kitchen has definitely grown. All the recipes I use at my bakery are my own, or have been altered to add my own twist and flare from someone else’s as I learn and expand it to be more my own. It’s very time consuming with trial and error of recipes. However, I have loved watching something bake beautifully from just my two hands and a recipe I have created myself. If you told my younger self I would be making my own recipes I would think you’d be lying.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bakesy.shop/b/south-farm-bakery
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/southfarmbakery/
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