Today starts my new job. My first full-time, official, out in public, really gonna do this thing, job. I wouldn’t have seen myself here a few years ago but here I am and I am excited.
The Operations Manager / Head Baker at a cafe here in Lusaka.
This job was literally just handed to me. I wasn’t looking for it, but it just came my way.
And I can see how over the last 4 years the Lord has been slowly preparing me for this.
We moved here and then a few kids started going to school. Then I started volunteering some of my time to start up and run the orphan work. Then more kids were in school. Then I started a baking business. Then I started helping a friend part time a few days a week, with her baking business. Now all the kids are in school and I can be working full-time outside the home. I am extremely thankful and grateful for all the years (16) that I did stay at home with my kids. I wouldn’t trade it for anything!
Six months ago when we decided to start our own baking business, James was having coffee with a friend at Blue Moon Cafe. It is an American owned cafe less than a mile from our house. He told his friend, if you know of anyone wanting to buy cakes you should recommend Megan. At the very moment he said that, the owner of the cafe walked by and said, “we need cakes”.
They became my first routine customer. Every other day I would sell them a cake that they resold at the cafe. This has worked out great over the months. I have had many other ideas for products I could sell them if they were interested. (Cookies, pies, breads, etc). As my baking business has been growing we have “dreamed” of one day having a shop in the same shopping center, similar to this one.
About a month ago, the owner called me to discuss a bit of a problem we had with the cakes. I had not talked to him since we started supplying the cakes. After the issue was cleared up and it was just a misunderstanding on the workers part, we finished our conversation. He ended by saying, well we really would like to be making our own cakes we just haven’t been able to do that yet.
So essentially, “soon we won’t need you.” To which I replied, well hopefully by that time I will have my own shop.
( A Homemade Pie and Ice Cream Kitchen of Lusaka...rather than Louisville).
I admit I was a bit quick to reply as if, ‘well fine...I wont need you guys either then...’
I laugh now to think over it. We finished the conversation and I left and 5 minutes later he called me to ask if I was serious, that I wanted my own place someday. I was very serious.
That was followed by a few weeks of meetings and conversations where I was offered to partner in the company and run the day to day operations of the cafe. I will be managing the staff, updating the menu, bringing in a whole group of desserts and more choices. Basically I could take it and run with it how I think best.
I couldn’t imagine how this all would come about so suddenly and unexpectedly...But God.
So I have worked out a schedule that should work for me and my family and is flexible to be available for them and school and picking kids up etc. I will be mostly hands on and the accounting, marketing, administrative side of things will still be with Bob, the owner.
The one thing, which was seen to be a bit of a “catch” , was that one of my days in the week I had to work/volunteer at a project that the cafe partners with out in N’gombe compound, called Chikumbuso.
It is a widows and orphans project.
In the compound.
smile : )
This was no catch at all, but rather the icing on the cake!
