Why I Shut Down My Million-Dollar Bakery Business: The Health Journey That Changed Everything
Building a million-dollar bakery was a dream I worked tirelessly to achieve. But as the years went on, I began to feel an increasing disconnect between the success of my business and my personal health journey. I started my bakery from nothing—dropping out of high school at 16, moving out on my own, and pouring everything I had into building a business that would support me. At the time, success to me was about sales, growth, and building something meaningful. But little did I know, the very thing that was supposed to bring me success was slowly driving me away from the life I truly wanted to live.
While running the bakery, I embarked on a personal health journey that began with small changes—cutting out sugar and processed foods. As I started to feel the physical benefits of nourishing my body with whole foods, my mindset shifted. I began to see the true impact of what we put into our bodies, and how much it affects not just our physical health, but our mental and emotional well-being. My energy levels improved, my mood stabilized, and for the first time in years, I felt truly alive.
But as I moved deeper into this journey toward health and wellness, something unexpected started to happen. The more I aligned myself with a lifestyle that prioritized nourishment and self-care, the more I began to experience cognitive dissonance. How could I, someone who had just begun to experience the transformative power of health, continue to sell products that I knew weren’t contributing to that vision? I was selling sweets and indulgent foods, things that were part of an unhealthy cycle perpetuated by the very industry I had built.
The disconnect became impossible to ignore. I felt conflicted every time I sold a sugary treat to a customer, knowing that it wasn’t in line with the healthier life I was now living. I had always believed in providing comfort to others through my food, but as I moved toward a more intentional, health-focused lifestyle, I realized I couldn’t continue contributing to an industry that encouraged the opposite of what I was striving for.
It became clear to me that I could no longer reconcile the business I had built with the person I was becoming. My values had shifted. I had started my bakery with one vision in mind, but the reality was that I couldn’t continue down the path of selling unhealthy foods when I knew firsthand how deeply it affected our bodies and minds. The more I leaned into my health and wellness journey, the stronger my sense of purpose grew—to not just focus on nourishing myself, but to help others do the same.
Closing the bakery wasn’t just a business decision—it was a life-altering choice. I had to walk away from something I had built from the ground up because it no longer aligned with my true values. The decision wasn’t easy, but it was necessary for my health and well-being. It was a commitment to living authentically and being in alignment with the life I wanted to lead. I realized that my true purpose was no longer in selling cakes—it was in helping others find their own path to health, wellness, and authenticity.
If you’re feeling disconnected from the life you’re living, or you’re struggling to align your actions with your values, know that you’re not alone. My journey of walking away from my bakery wasn’t just about giving up a business—it was about reclaiming my health, my values, and my sense of purpose. In my new book, Wake Up and Smell the Coffee: A Wake-Up Call to Stop Following the Crowd and Start Following Your Heart, I share more about this transformative journey, and how you can start making intentional decisions that align with your health and well-being. The path to true fulfillment starts with knowing what matters most, and I’m here to help you navigate that journey.
