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Please help settle a husband-wife argument !!
(Mike Faraday) wrote in message . com>...
> My wife age 48 has a passion for baking and pastry making. She
> would like to enroll in a 18 month culinary school.
>
> 1. What is the standard wage including benefits working
> in a hotel or restaurant in your city?
>
> 2. Is your passion for baking lost once in out of school
> and in the real world?
>
> 3. Is the baking industry going mass production based more
> on quanity instead of quality? Such as bakery products
> being sold at Costco, supermarkets etc.
>
> 4. If wages are low being an employee will owning your own
> bakery very profitable? Is owning your own bakery a 80
> hour job?
>
> Please spend a few minutes to answer these important
> questions. As you could guess my wife wants to eventually
> own here own bakery. I, her huband has owned my own business
> since 1978 and it is very difficult to explain to my wife
> that with retail leases, workmens comp, employee problems
> equipment purchase,80 work week etc. she should keep her
> baking as a hobby instead of a profession. Unless she could
> make a good salary as an employee I feel culinary school would
> be a waste of time?
I can't answer specific questions about wages, likelihood of
employment, etc. but I think your wife owes it to herself to try.
Let's say she has 15-20 years of working ahead of her...might as well
be something she enjoys and feels passionate about. Everyone wants
that, few actually do it. I hope she doesn't feel dissuaded by her age
either. I know a woman who went to law school at the age of 50.
Even if you win this battle, think about whether you'll win the war
too - my dad talked my mother out of going to graduate school because
he was retiring and he wanted to travel and have fun. My mother had a
mind of her own, of course, but agreed to put grad school aside. Years
later, she regretted it - and don't think that she didn't resent my
dad on some level too. So that's something to think about, whether
your wife is going to feel as though you've put the kibosh on her
dream or not.
I don't know much about the catering business, but is it possible for
her to try her hand at this before committing to opening her own
bakery? Get an idea of demand, build contacts, etc.
It sounds like you're really concerned about the financial
implications of this; is there a way you can sit down with your wife
and sketch a business plan for a future bakery? If you're "too close"
to the issue, is there an impartial third person who can talk with her
about the logistics of financing, etc.?
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