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http://www.sweetrevelations.co.nz/, https://open.substack.com/pub/rachelfaitalamalae/p/the-power-of-staying-small-why-i?

Sweet Revelations NZ, Dunedin (2026)

28/09/2026

Blog time!
School Holidays are here and while the kids are having brekky, having quiet time or you are waiting for the motivation to kick-in to prep your dinner, read my next blog entry to pass the time.
(These blogs are taken straight from my Substack, which is like a place for people to express their inner feelings... Jokes! Or a place for anyone who just like to have a yarn other than from their own mouth. These 'exclusive' blogs are the closest thing you will get in knowing who I am... if you were ever interested/invested.🥰)

Blog #9
Being My Own Architect: Building a Pasifika business on my terms.
Starting out scared, but learning to be smart about it.

I have to admit, the business gurus on Tik-Tok know exactly how to catch you - hook, line, and sinker. Designed to reel you in and entice you to buy, learn or just watch the message they want to relay. They definitely know how to market and really play to that vulnerable side of you... the one that says, I really should put my phone away and engage in something other than doom scrolling for a couple of hours... It got me thinking about how much has changed in the last 10 years compared to just the last 5 years. Technology and evolution and the way businesses use this to their advantage plays on my mind. I think I’m still playing catch up and that may be the millennial in me; not liking change or resisting it and letting things happen naturally. When I look at my own journey, ‘natural’ is a word I could use to describe how my business has grown.

Celebrating another business milestone.

I have been running this business for exactly 4 years now. In fact, I am officially celebrating my 4th business anniversary this month! And let me tell you, I did it practically broke and scared! Well, scared of the unknown, but not afraid of the work - because if there is one thing I know how to do, it’s rise to a challenge. I was never meant to last this long. I was only meant to sell triple chocolate brownies and paifala to friends and family. Yet, here I am, 4 years later, a bonafide Pacific Island baker and caterer!

It was a big step for me and it was scary. Who is going to buy this from me!? I didn’t even know anyone? For the first year, they tell you it would be slow. So I took that literally and sub-consciously made sure I grew slowly so that I didn’t become that stereotype, because I am kind of that stereotype… in a roundabout way.

So yes, I did it scared but I also had a plan. Or at least I thought I had a plan. If you asked me a decade ago that this is what I was going to be doing, then I’d be very surprised. That decade ago I was looking after four kids under 10 years of age and managing family life. Even if I didn’t consciously realise it back then, I believe it was part of a bigger plan.

Dream big, start small, or something like that.

I read somewhere (possibly a 3-minute Tik-Tok video), that manifestation is real and if you send ‘it’ out to the universe it will come true or something will happen. I believe it! Subconsciously, I moved towards building my own business because I remember a long time ago, I said out loud that I was going to be my own boss. Was anyone listening? Maybe it was my future self! I also said that I would have babies and get married before I turned 30. All of which have come true! I also remember saying to myself at this time, that I would have my own house by the time I was 30. Now, I look at my friends who own their homes with a little bit of envy, and a massive amount of respect as I know how bloody hard they worked to get a house. But looking back at my own timeline, clearly my path was different. I truly believe it’s because I wanted to buy a house with no strings, possibly built from scratch and had all the things I dreamed of having but never had the means for. Therefore, if I’m going by my own belief, I think it will happen one day! Ultimately, I knew I would build a life on my own terms. Doing it scared got me started, but doing it smart and growing slowly is what actually is keeping me going. That, and the support from my husband and family.

That’s the dream isn’t it?! Unless you already have your dream home and love it, good on you! I also know that with a house, comes more responsibility. I guess by the time I turned 30, my maturity level or rather should I say my priorities, just weren’t set on buying a house. I had just given birth to our twins, who arrived 11 weeks early and we didn’t know what the future looked like except surviving those long and late nights sitting in NICU tending to our boys.

What I do know, is that life has a funny way of telling you that this is how it’s meant to be. I was meant to walk the path unknown and learn from it. I created that path. Traveling along it has given me so much to be thankful for including the many, many lessons in failure, success, achievements, self-doubt and mostly how to survive in this everchanging life I was given.

Reading is one of my favourite hobbies!

I do a lot of reading... Ok, that’s a lie. I 'used' to read a lot. Some books I don’t even remember and some I think were memorable? And I can read anything that has a purpose. Obviously, a book should have a purpose but I enjoy books that contain a message that I haven’t heard of, like a hidden meaning, so that I can mull over it for days on end… Do you do that too? My favourite topics lean away from the self-help type and more toward the informative. I loathe anything that says the word ‘Dummy’ or ‘Dummies guide to’ or ‘10 top tips for blah, blah, blah’ because let’s be honest, most of these books could easily be narrowed down to a 10-page booklet! Instead, they use a gimmick. They play on the vulnerability of people who just want to get ahead in life by essentially calling them ‘dumb’ right on the cover. It’s a bold marketing play, and while I know it’s just a play on words, it’s not exactly nice, is it? I would never do that.

Though, I will probably kick myself or have to eat my words one day because I most probably will publish a self-help PDF or something like instructions on how to achieve an almost perfect buttermilk scone...

I guess you just have to be in a mood to pick up a book and read. Oh, and have time, which I have very little of these days. I would read management books and articles about small business ownership, but I’ve noticed that there isn’t much out there that covers Pacific Island business or being a Pasifika entrepreneur and even less about women working in this industry. It is really hard to follow a traditional business blueprint when none of the architects look like you, or understand the cultural weight you carry (If you have found any, please let me know!).

Moral of the story is…

What I am trying to say here is: operating a business in this world today is hard and scary. Hate to break it to you. It’s difficult, especially when you ooze passion for something but can’t quite grasp the idea of longevity and perseverance - things that are crucial to survive and grow a business ‘from the ground up’. And like the Tik-Tokers and life coaches recommend, sometimes you just have to do it anyway. It leads to my all-time favourite motto, the one thing that I think is my secret (but not-so-secret) 'hack' to life and business: If at first you don’t succeed, try again. Cue the late R&B artist Aaliyah’s famous track.

Now, a quick Google search found that a British author and educator actually coined the phrase back in the 1800s, but let’s be real. Again. Aaliyah is the one who made it a survival anthem for our generation, may she rest in peace.

So, it’s not a new thing. Tik-Tok and these new fads and trending themes have been here for centuries and will continue to evolve, much like many businesses and people. We evolve and adapt to change. We take on life as we experience it. I take life and all the things that I have experienced as something I am lucky to have. Whether I designed the way I that live and go about my life purposefully or not, I think destiny also has a part to play. But ultimately, my fate is in my hands. I am my own architect and I own my story. How many people can say that or have that same belief?

30/08/2026

Blog # 8. The Art of the Business Simmer (and Other Multi-tasking Myths).

>>Motherhood is a masterclass in forecasting future chaos; maybe it's time to just let things simmer instead.

23/08/2026

Blog # 7: (it's a long one!)

Finding Home In Ōpunakē: The Quiet Years.
>Reflecting on small-town coastal life, standing out and learning to find my voice on my own terms.

There is a distinct kind of beauty in a small, coastal Taranaki town. You have the wild coast on one side and the massive backdrop of Mt Taranaki on the other.

It’s the kind of place where you are just meant to “be a kid.”

But when you move from a tight-knit Pacific Island setting to a town where yours are essentially the only brown faces besides the local Māori kids, you notice it. You navigate different rules. You stand out, whether you want to or not.

For me, that environment didn’t make me loud. It made me retreat.

The opinions of other people used to bother me to the point where I would go a whole day without saying a word to anyone, including my own family. Which is why those close to me would refer to me as 'the quiet one' or at one point in my early teens, 'the mute'.

And this was me growing up. It was the norm and I just played into it. I grabbed hold of it because it was my way of coping with whatever was going on in our busy family life. It also created a deeply rooted anxiety, one that was masked by my ability to hide it from my family, but also use it to get out of doing things. Family outings, making conversation or small talk. But it never helped me get out of doing those stacks of dishes!! Large families - I see you.

I guess that anxiety stemmed from a deeply rooted fear of just being visible. When you are already the odd one out in a small town, every word you say feels like it’s under a microscope. So, staying quiet became my armor.

I also think some of that anxiety has carried over into my adulthood, shaping the way I present myself and how things that I perceive are profoundly quite different to others. Some call it perseverance and resilience. And others would call it surviving and developing skills that might come in handy one day.

But that’s not exactly the thought process of a teenager. Well, not me anyway. I used to watch episodes of Dawson’s Creek or One Tree Hill and think, wow the way they talk is super confusing!

And I’m sure it has created something else too… Wit? Sarcasm? You be the judge. The truth is, as an introvert (and a Capricorn), I don’t stay quiet out of shyness. I do it to save my energy. If a situation doesn’t match my logic, I don’t waste my breath. Plus, sometimes staying quiet is just a mercy tactic- because if I actually speak up, my absolute honesty might just hurt some feelings. And it has.

Do you hear my voice when you read this? Does it sound like me? Have you ever witnessed me saying more than two or three words? Congratulations! You are one of the few that I have opened up to and let in, to the world that I keep safe and small.

And I think I still sound like a 16-year-old and I guess there may be some sort of psychology behind that. Have I gone and researched more about that part specifically? You bet I did. But I’ll leave it for another blog.

The point is, there is a reason why some people, like me, are not as talkative or receptive of gossip or small talk. It’s because I loathe it. I am more likely to talk your ear off about some far-fetched topic about why the supermarket is trying to con you into thinking their deal is better than the others (Spoiler alert! They are all in on it. Franchise supermarkets have a quota or a list of priorities to tick off and guess what, customers and their welfare are not at the top of the list). I don’t mind public speaking either but get me in a small space with 5 other people, ooh girl, I will cramp up like a bad case of gastro. The anxiety rears it's ugly head and says, "Heya! Remember me?!"

It comes from several years of practicing to be polite and courteous to others, respecting my peers and elders of the church, and making conversation with parishioners when all you really want to do is chug the communion juice and eat the bread. All because I skipped breakfast trying to make sure you ironed your black skirt only to find your younger sister is wearing it, so you end up wearing the outfit you wore last week… Would I go back and change that experience? Not for all the money in the world!

Humble Beginnings

People keep telling me my business is inspiring, which is both a powerful thing to say to anyone let alone to little ol’ me… and hilarious. Because my formative years were fueled entirely by church-hall logic and survival instincts.

Before I became the master of high-volume baking, I was part of the newly crowned ‘PK’ royalty in a town with very few brown faces, learning how to teach Sunday School while simultaneously trying not to look as confused as the kids. Heck, I was still a kid myself! This town is where I used to call, home: Ōpunakē. Surf Highway 45.

If you didn’t know, PK stands for Pastors Kid.

Back in the late 90s, my late father was called to ministry (called to serve God) and all of a sudden our 9 member family were thrust into a town that knew you before you even arrived. We went from one place starting with the letter O, Ōpoho, to another - Ōpunakē. I lived there for most of my teenage years, from age 12 to 16.

It was bizarre. Yet, it was nice to know that even though it was a huge thing shifting to a place where you know no one at all, they all seemed to think we smelt good, I mean really smell good. Which was also quite weird.

For a 12 year old, I was worldly-wise, so I figured that either these people, the church, were desperate for a Minister OR the other thing. You know, when you are overly kind and nice because you don’t want to offend anyone.

Looking back now, I knew that these people were the ones that were the real deal. They gave us a home away from home and welcomed us to their neighbourhood as if we went away on holiday and they welcomed us back.

Losing my Dad a few years ago changed how I look back on those days too, but it also made me realise just how much that community anchored us. They looked after his family when he was called to serve, and they showed us what true village support looks like.

This was where I think I developed the notion that hard-work really does pay off. I joke about PK’s but it wasn’t all that bad. I actually enjoyed it. My siblings may have had different experiences too and that’s ok. We have fond memories of that place and we would always crack up at the jokes that also stem from the ‘incidents’ that only hold true if you were there. Our cousins also loved that place too when they would visit at Christmas. Midnight ‘Goonie’ rides and a massive water-fight are some of the memorable highlights for me.

Humble roots? Perhaps. I didn’t have the hard teenage rebellious years personally. I was a good girl. I did my duty as a daughter and member of our family and I was happy. When I was tasked with leading Sunday School when my older sister left for university, I dreaded it!

Could it be the bratty church kids and their twenty million questions about why this and why that? Or was it the creative dances we would make up on our own, to help fill the gap during family time of the church service?

Although, I did enjoy this part for some reason. It may also be because it helped me figure out why people always marvel at how well behaved and mannered all 7 of us siblings are. We didn’t even get a pep talk before church. Well, maybe just our youngest brother, but he was still learning how to behave in a church setting. We just knew our place and that was to support our Dad - and survive the first church of the day. Yes, you read that right.

On some Sundays, we would travel either 70km north or 80km south to attend and take service to the parishioners who lived in the remote coastal and inland towns. They were very quaint church buildings, very old and one of the benefits of all that travel was catching up on sleep. Oh and the delicious home baking the farmers wives would bring for the cuppa tea. I thoroughly enjoyed learning all the hymns and re-enacting the Nativity Scene three or four times at Christmas time. I also liked it because it was role play and you get to act like someone else. That was my headspace at that time.

Looking back now, I realise that it wasn’t just church culture. It was an intense decades-long course in logistics and crowd control. And that was 20+ years ago. Yes, I’m showing my age here.

People may look at my small business today and ask how on earth I manage to pump out massive volumes of baking, co-ordinate community stalls and handle high pressure catering orders from a single home kitchen without losing my mind!

The secret? If you can successfully keep eight to ten distracted church kids distracted with a homemade creative activity on a hectic Sunday morning, managing a hundred pieces of catering is a walk in the park.

Those early days taught me how to work with what I got, solve problems on the fly and show up for people with a smile, even when things are chaotic behind the scenes. I didn’t have a corporate business degree then, I had something better: church-hall survival instincts. And my siblings probably see that and sympathise with me when I say that we lived in that church. We would hang out there all the time. That’s where I learnt how to use a photocopier and stack chairs and tables in record time!

And honestly? Pumping out hundreds of fresh coconut buns and trays of brownies is a lot quieter than a room full of kids asking one million questions like why the tooth fairy isn't in the Bible, or if the sky is blue then why is the grass green?... which has everything to do with Science and not so much with Creation. In my opinion...

Sometimes, the skills you learn when you’re just ‘living in the moment’ as a kid are the exact ones that anchor you when you’re running the show as an adult. It’s also something that adults are still living in or surviving from.

So, we all have our own stories and experiences. I am simply sharing my story in the hopes that it gives you a tiny bit of what goes on in my head and why I do the things I do, in case you were curious. I did say in previous social media posts, that this is what I was going to do, showcase the life of an entrepreneur and I guess this is the way I am doing it. Away from Instagram and Facebook so you (and I) aren’t distracted by the other scrollable trends or fads that sap all our energy.

09/08/2026

Blog # 6 Feeding the Village: The True Measure of a Milestone.
Reflecting on the joy of community, traditional flavours, and the quiet growth of a home-based kitchen.

There is a distinct and quiet type of chaos that comes with preparing food for a massive community gathering. And that's just what goes on in my head!

You look out at a room full of people. They are laughing, talking, and enjoying traditional flavours made entirely from scratch. Suddenly, the long hours melt away. The heavy trays, the early morning prep, the endless counting. It doesn’t matter anymore.

In our culture, food isn’t just a commodity to be sold. It’s a language of care, connection, and celebration (The three C’s!). It’s how we show up for each other.

Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of looking out at those rooms. And it’s made me reflect on how far this home-based kitchen has actually come.

When I first started this journey four years ago, my goals were simple. I wanted a way to keep my hands busy. I wanted the flexibility to still be 100% present for my kids’ sports and family dinners.

But I took it seriously from day one. No cutting corners. I made sure I was fully registered before pursuing anything, mostly because I had a healthy fear of the tax man!

If you had told me back then that my little home setup would scale to managing the logistics for milestone local festivals and large-scale celebrations, I probably would have laughed and thought, ahh, what!?

But growth happens quietly when you focus on doing good work.

In fact, my business recently crossed a massive official milestone. The kind that requires a lot of extra paperwork. A few more columns in my spreadsheets. A formal acknowledgment that this kitchen is a major player in the local catering scene.

I won’t bore you with the technical tax terms or the specific financial brackets. Let’s just say the government and I are on a much closer first-name basis now!

Reaching that benchmark made me stop and realise something important. You can build a highly successful, legally solid, high-volume business without ever sacrificing your peace, your family, or your cultural values.

Hitting big operational milestones is great for the books, but the real reward is still found right here in the kitchen.

For me, success is being able to set my own schedule. Watch my favourite shows, roll fresh buns or prep savoury platters entirely on my own terms.

When you scale up too fast into commercial storefronts or food trucks, you can lose that intimacy. You stop focusing on the food and start focusing entirely on the overheads.

But hey, you do you! Whatever works for your business journey! Your money, your dream.

For me, choosing to stay home-based has managed to protect the magic of what I do. I get to keep my business collective, grounded, and deeply tied to the community events that give it life.

They say in business that you should ‘dream big and plan small’.

Right now, my head is entirely focused on the future. Soon, I’ll be stepping away from the high-pressure, intricate custom work, but I am definitely not stepping away from the baking. Instead, I’m shifting my focus to opportunities that truly align with my love of community support.

I want to focus on the things that are not only my favourites but my customers favourites too! The big morning teas, trays of brownies, and the fresh coconut buns that bring people together for a good cause. For me, success isn’t about how many corporate contracts I can sign; it’s about how many times I can use my kitchen to show up for the people who need it. My very tiny kitchen that still amazes my friends and family when they see it with their own eyes how we manage to pump out the things we do. I just say, I work with what I got, and if it doesn’t work, I figure it out, solve the problem and it works- for me.

We don’t need to shout from the rooftops or copy the flashy online trends to prove we’ve “made it.”

Sometimes, the quietest growth speaks the loudest.

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Thanks for reading! To get ahead in my blog posts, or to read more entries, head to Substack.com and search for my name or click on the link in my bio!

07/08/2026

✨Pink, colourful, and pretty: absolute perfection for Astarialee’s 6th birthday! 💕🦄✨

🎂I have had the privilege of making Astarialee’s birthday cakes every year since she turned three, and watching her grow up is such a joy. For this milestone, the brief was all out on the fun, and I definitely think I nailed it!

🎉A massive Happy belated 6th Birthday to Astarialee, and a huge thank you to her amazing Mum for your continued love, trust and support. We appreciate you always! 🥰

💯Throwing it back to this beauty completed back in May. What a massive month for May babies and celebrations! 🎉That means there's still more to come!

02/08/2026

Blog entry #5: Distinguishing Growth from Noise

Why a focused business mind has to learn to downsize the clutter to protect the one asset that drives consistent revenue.
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“What’s that for?” asks my son one day as he sees me ponder over a weird-looking object that I’m holding at Spotlight.

“It’s for my business”, I reply. But I’m really thinking, ‘Mind your own business and let your Mum indulge!’

And that’s the thing. I had a hard time filtering my brain to make sure that I make the right decision when it comes to buying for the business. Or buying because I have to make sure I get the latest tool all the home-bakers are using.

In my defence, one fondant cutter letter, the letter A for example, is always the one that gets the most use and is always worn down… and they don’t sell letters separately. So the need to purchase a new set is validated. Have I thrown away the other set? No. Not yet. It’s on the ‘to-do list’. But here’s a question for you: don’t you have something that you keep for those just in-case moments, or is it just me?

I might have a problem. Someone call 0800 Hoarders!

The irony of all this pantry hoarding is that my absolute number one seller, the item that consistently sells out at markets and keeps customers coming back repeatedly, requires exactly zero trendy gadgets. It’s my triple chocolate brownies!

Years ago, I actually posted my cherished, adapted version of that recipe (shoutout to Chelsea Winter and my older sister’s Edmonds Cookbook legacy) right on my personal Instagram page. It’s still floating around out there in the archives if you scroll back far enough. Yet, despite giving away the blueprint, people still line up for them. Why? Because the success didn’t come from a specialised silicone mold or a viral TikTok stencil; it came from consistency, time, and mastering a staple. I haven’t changed that recipe in years, and I never will. It turns out, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel, or buy the entire baking aisle to build a signature product.

Which sounds incredibly profound and wise, doesn’t it? If only my actual spending habits listened to my own good advice!

Just kidding. The four sets I do have are all different typefaces and I only use one. So, I guess I could throw the other three away but I know I will regret it. I mean, it really is a business investment and one day I may need the letter K or J - letters that are not as popular… Anyone want to order a cake or brownie that has these letters? Holla at me!

This reminds me of what I mentioned about in an earlier blog about ‘copycat syndrome’. I see how ‘they’ have decorated their cake, therefore I must get that cool tool too! I’ve realised pretty early on in my small business era, I don’t really need ‘it’. Therefore, I have learnt that I have to use what I have and be happy about it.

Because if I stress over what others are doing, how will I ever find out if I really enjoy this or am I just doing this to be popular and/or to make sure I don’t get left behind?
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Sweet Revelations NZ

28/09/2026

30/08/2026

23/08/2026

09/08/2026

07/08/2026

02/08/2026

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