Hali Mo starts baking pastries before the sun rises.
She’s already completed much of the prep work, so a few hours after sunrise, her selection of goodies is “baked, garnished, packaged, and labeled,” she said.
It’s time for Mo to stack boxes in a wagon and take the subway to that day’s pop-up location.
“I set up my stand, and I’ll usually be selling for three to four hours, talking with customers,” she said.
Mo, 30, made a career pivot from product manager to running her own business. It was a big life change and involved leaving California, a stint in Paris, and moving to New York. Mo said it wasn’t all one grand plan and involved multiple steps, risks, and costs.
While Mo loved the energy of the startup, she was chasing a spark that wasn’t there. Baking became an “obsession” outside work, so she decided to quit her job in California to attend a pastry program at Ferrandi Paris, a culinary and hospitality school. Mo also tried an internship at a hotel in Paris before moving to New York, where she’s been making croissants and other treats from the micro-bakery in her apartment to sell at pop-ups in cafés or other businesses, along with catering, event orders, and pickups.
Mo is happy with her career change and feels more energized. Now, she’s figuring out how to make baking a sustainable job. She doesn’t have a physical store where she sells her items and doesn’t know if she will in the future, given the high rents in New York.
Mo finds running her business, Hali Home Bakes, and working for herself rewarding.
She said her past work meant living for the weekend, and she felt exhausted. It’s a different story now. Even though she’s not a morning person, she’s excited to wake up and make pastries before the crack of dawn.
“I think that was the kind of energy I spent my whole career looking for, and I didn’t find it until I started baking full-time,” Mo said.
Chasing her passion and changing her definition of success
Mo decided to study in Paris because she wanted to live abroad and because “no one does food and pastry quite like the French do.” She loved being surrounded by passionate bakers, enjoying baguettes, and being in the country during the Olympics.
“When I look back on that time, it feels like just this beautiful dream,” Mo said.
Participating in the pastry program and starting a business changed her definition of what it means to be successful. She said she used to aim for “society’s box” of success — having a stable job, getting promotions, and earning good pay. Mo said while financial stability is still important, she doesn’t care as much about what people think about her work.
“Before, if I walked into a party in Silicon Valley and said that I run a micro-bakery out of my apartment, maybe I would worry about being judged or perceived a certain way,” Mo said.
Starting a business and managing costs as a self-employed baker
Mo had to navigate several logistical and operational challenges of becoming self-employed and running a small business, such as how to make a lot of pastries in a small apartment and how to get them to customers.
“I love working for myself and taking responsibility for all of the business, both the successes and the failures,” Mo said. “I feel like I learn a lot faster, and it’s awesome to see the business grow as a result of my work.”
Self-employment also meant taking on what would typically be multiple positions at a company. Mo said she enjoys taking on these different responsibilities but has to ensure she doesn’t burn out.
“I’m the baker, but I’m also the photographer of my products,” she said. “I have to do social media. I have to do business development to find new opportunities and talk to café owners.”
Then there’s also the costs of creating a baking business. Mo said that while she tried to keep spending low, she made a few major purchases, which added up to over $2,000. She bought a stainless steel countertop to work on, a rack to hold trays, a countertop convection oven, and a laminator or dough sheeter. The cost of ingredients also adds up. She said she spends a lot on butter and chocolate.
Mo said she tries to sell items at a pop-up once every few weeks, where she enjoys meeting people and seeing customers enjoy her food.
“Sometimes it’s really just the small joys, like a delicious pastry, that can be the bright spot in someone’s day,” she said.
Getting started with pop-ups was tough. Her first pop-up weekend was at Artists & Fleas in Williamsburg the same weekend as the New York City Marathon. She took the subway to Williamsburg but had to get an Uber ride to get around the marathon.
She said she would have broken even if it weren’t for the cost of commuting. She said she sold around 150 pastries in total. Her Uber was about $30, and a spot at Artists & Fleas was $370.
“You have to sell a lot of pastries to make that money back,” she said.
With some adjustments, she has since had more success at pop-ups. She’s partnered with cafés since she said coffee and pastries make sense together. Mo also invested her time in posting about her business and baking skills on social media. She said at her last pop-up, she sold out of about 250 pastries over two days.
Mo is happy she took this career change in steps, but she thinks if people are ready to make a change in one big move, they should go ahead.
“If you feel scared, maybe just instead of a big leap, find a small step you can take in that direction that feels manageable,” Mo said.
Do you have a story to share about career pivots? Reach out to this reporter at [email protected].
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