First we crawled, Now we walk

The feeling is... Beyond words.

If I must describe it, it would be this: Elation & Pride laced with Nervousness.

When I first started Anything.But.Salads, I imagined it to be a small, quaint lil' cafe. Never, in my wildest dreams, did I ever imagine myself, an owner of a mini food factory. But today, as I heaved the last of my cleaning supplies over the threshold for a major sterilization session, I knew it to be true.

As of this morning, I am the self-glorified, highly driven albeit cautiously confident, dirt-smudged-crappy hair-geek glasses-yellow rubber gloves owner of a mini food factory.

See what met me this morning:

View from the main door.

 View from the back of the room.

 View from the side.

View from the other side.

Post-9hrs cleaning:

Oh, P.S. have I mentioned that I am also a bit of a perfectionist? So yes, I manually washed, scrubbed, cleaned and sterilized the place with painstaking care. Although I, unfortunately, had to admit defeat to a stubborn boot print which, despite maniac scrubbing and loads of bleaching, refused to relent.

Said boot print (or what's left of it).

Obstinate boot print notwithstanding, I do believe the Food and Environmental Health Department of Hong Kong would be immensely appreciative of my efforts and give me an A+ for cleanliness (and *ahem* effort).

As I type this, I stick my provisional food factory license on my wall with as much aplomb as the act would allow and with all the pride of a mother watching her new born take his first step.

Not only have I shifted out of the small confines of my tiny kitchen at home, from where Anything.But.Salads was born, but I have also invested a large portion of my start-up capital in my factory equipment and set-up. This increase in size and production capacity has imbued me with more confidence to market more widely and to solicit more clients. Most importantly, it will give me the ability to approach supermarkets and health food stores to discuss consignment without worrying about meeting demand. Hopefully, the economies of scale will kick in soon, leading to an overall decreases in production costs per unit and a breakeven sooner rather than later.

But as mentioned above, I am nervous. No, not nervous or worried about possible failure, but nervously excited about the future. The business is currently in a state of flux....  And the future has yet to be written. Who knows what the future brings?

Nevertheless, at least one thing is certain. As of today, Anything.But.Salads ceases to crawl. I am walking towards bigger and better things.   

Exciting times ahead. Watch this space.