Knocking down walls

People are limited by the picture of how things are “supposed” to be. It’s tradition, stable, reliable…safe. There are so many unknown factors when accepted boundaries are pushed beyond what is considered Normal.

I am not normal or traditional and I realized early on in my women’s business entrepreneurial class [Banking on Women] that my baklava didn’t need to fit a mold either.

It is really emancipating to realize what makes you different is actually what could be your selling platform. The walls are knocked down and suddenly everything is possible. I gave myself permission to really take baklava beyond the simple walnuts and filo dough. Once that happened, the tingle of excitement sizzled as flavor ideas and marketing ideas sparked in my friend’s and family’s heads! One friend suggested coupling baklava with liqueur cordials and market to bars. Taking that idea a step further, why not infuse some alcohol in the baklava itself and call it “Boozy Baklava?”

More talking and brainstorming lead to new product development and collaborations: What about baklava ice cream and give some baklava to a local gelato maker to make Baklava Ice Cream? What about specialty Baklava cheesecake or RAW baklava bites out of nuts and dried fruit to market at the Raw restaurants or smoothy cafes? All of a sudden, so much is possible just because I made a decision to be myself and let my product reflect my personality, not what tradition dictates.

Even my dad, who is a Traditionalist when it comes to baklava, is getting into flavor combinations by suggesting a dried fig baklava or somehow use Goldschlagers cinnamon liqueur to accentuate the cinnamon-ness of the baklava.

At the end of the day, you need to have fun with your business in order to stay in business. The love of the process as well as the product need to work hand in hand. Building a business is never easy, but relaxing into it and accepting input from all sorts of people is what builds a strong business.