As part of our International Womens Day series we spoke with Sharon Goldman founder of the Rough Hand Made Bakery Liverpool, family business steeped in the experiences of all its members. Sharon and Carlos work together with their three children in the bright and airy bakery to offer delicious, freshly baked pastries and goods. Everything is baked daily in house from scratch, with anything left over being donated to charity.
Speaking about the hard-working attitude of her family members which contributes to making the bakery such a success, Sharon comments, ‘It’s about dedication. You can’t have a headache, or a backache; we’re up for 3.30am starts. It’s lots of hard work, but it’s fantastic. Believe in what you’re doing, and just do it’.
Did you always want to open a bakery?
To be completely honest no! We decided to take the leap and just do it, starting out with our Penny Lane Bakery. Our business is built on the foundations of family; my husband Carlos heads up the baking,our children started out with us and now are always behind the scenes.
How have you found moving Rough Hand Made to the Royal Albert Dock?
We’ve found the move to be a very positive one. There was always going to be some challenges to overcome, to be expected from moving from a neighbourhood bakery to the iconic tourist site that is the Dock, but we’ve never looked back.
What are some of your best sellers?
It depends on the time of day, in the morning the Dulce de Leche and Belgian with white chocolate chunk croissants are popular choices, whilst at lunch-time our vegetarian and vegan sandwiches fly out the door
What are some family favourites?
All of them! The handmade Pitta breads are a favourite, along with the sweeter options, such as the cream cheese and blueberry filled pastry, which goes perfectly with our coffee
What makes Rough Hand Made different to other bakeries in Liverpool?
We’re not saying we’re the only bakery that does this, but we pride ourselves on baking everything on the premises for the same day. We want customers’ senses to be awoken as they walk through the door with the smells of the baking, which happens right before their eyes in the open theatre-style kitchen. Our products aren’t uniformed which is the beauty of them, each one is different, they’re perfectly imperfect.
What are some of the biggest challenges you face as a business owner?
One challenge experienced from moving from a neighbourhood bakery to the Royal Albert Dock is becoming more diverse to suit the demands of all the visitors. We had to learn what the Dock visitors wanted and liked most, and adapt to this.
One of the things that makes having a business exciting is there is no regular routine, you must innovate and reinvent yourself all the time”
What advice would you give to new start-ups in Liverpool?
You are constantly in a learning process as you never know it all. Keep an open mind to changes and learn to adapt because things you planned, sometimes take different directions. I would say just be yourself, don’t try to be like others because it’s the personal touches that make things different and unique. If you’re good at what you do and believe in yourself it will work.
Just a group of real women dealing with life’s daily struggles! Want to write for us? Email: hello@thedailystruggle.co.uk
