Meet Cera Bowen | mother & bakery owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cera Bowen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cera, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
I think there’s a natural balance progression when you start a business, I doubt I have the formula for it just yet, but a few years of experience does help a ton. In the beginning, I chose to say “yes” to almost every opportunity that came my way. The value of exposure and being visible in new spaces with a fresh business outweighs the stress or fatigue. Or so I thought. The excitement and adrenaline will help you to do those things for a while but your body does ultimately keep score. I chose to weigh now how much time and energy a project will require for the profit in the end. Being a small business owner sometimes gives you an “imposter syndrome” where you feel the need to discount your value. So now after doing this for a few years, I chose to give my work the value it deserves. And in turn, that helps me to see value in my life as a whole and get excited about things outside of work. Such as not answering non-pressing emails and calls on the weekend or even scheduling family time instead of filling every weekend with events.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
There are only so many ways to make a really good chocolate chip cookie. Really, there’s only so many types of flour, butter sugar, and chocolate. The secrets in the consistency. People want to know they can come back to you and get a consistent product, whether that’s a chewy or a crunchy cookie. With consistency, people also love a surprise or something new to try to keep their interest peaked. So I love to create fun seasonal items to give customers choices. I have a tote that says, “Which one should I get? Both duh.” Because life is short, why not get both? We have fun with flavors and decor (we love sprinkles & glitter) while providing a consistently good product.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
This is SUCH a tough question, with so many spots constantly opening around town! I love a good cup of coffee so i’d suggest stopping into Steadfast or Crema. Heading over to a farmer’s market is also a good idea, meeting some fun locals and shopping small. You might even be able to grab a quick lunch from a food truck. Readheaded Stranger for a quick dinner and then a walk around germantown is nice! There’s always someone playing live music around town if it’s a concert or just a dive bar.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There’s been a multitude of people throughout my life who’ve consistently encouraged me to chase my passions. More recently, I have to give lots of credit to my older sister, Kit. She has consistently encouraged me to do my best in my career. She’s the best person to bounce ideas off of, always giving the voice of reason to my large dreams. She’s a fantastic example of a hard worker and has such a great work-life balance. Before officially starting this business, she encouraged me to create systems and processes that helped organize all my admin. She’s also a fantastic aunt to my son, which helps me so much when I’m attending events and markets. I doubt I’d have the confidence to keep moving forward and keeping this business thriving if it wasn’t for her constant support.

Website: https://www.thechambrayapron.com/

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Image Credits
Isaac MacDonald