NB: Content originally posted on megajobs.co.nz.

At MegaJobs.co.nz, we love sharing about business owners like Lynda McGregor, owner of Little Bread Loaf, a  hole-in-the-wall bakery in Lower Hutt. We recently spoke to Lynda about her business and her vision to weave aroha and mātauranga Māori into all that she does.

Small business owners, like Lynda, need courage and fortitude to persevere with a vision to realise their dream. We first asked Lynda why she started the bakery. What inspired her?

“I’ve always been interested in cooking and baking and first learnt my way around the kitchen with my Mum and Aunties on their maraes in Wellington, Lower Hutt and Foxton. It all started with jams, chutneys, and rēwena bread”.

“It was a hobby really, but I always knew I wanted it to be more than that.”

A few years after her mother’s passing, Lynda had a moment of inspiration one day when she heard her Mum’s voice in the kitchen, encouraging her to take this hobby further. “When Mum told me I needed to take my cooking more seriously, I thought why not? I wanted to create something beautiful.”

Lynda also had a drive to provide for her family, in particular her son Max (aged 18) and daughter Arabella (aged 15). A goal she has since achieved as both now run pop-up bakeries at the local farmers markets and have quite a healthy bank balance as a result.

Lynda credits a lot of her success to working with a business mentor who previously operated a chain of successful bakeries in the UK. Lynda believes getting good objective advice from somebody who really knows your industry is essential for growth.

“The key to success is being able to take constructive criticism and adapt where necessary, all while remaining true to your passion and desire to grow your business”.

“It has not been easy”, she says. “We really put in the mahi. We can work 16-hour days, but it’s been worth it. So much so that this year we can afford renovations to the bakery. It is really exciting to see the business growing each day.”

And what of her passion for tunu Māori (baking)? A core product for Little Bread Loaf is their rēwena bread made from a traditional starter similar to sourdough, consisting of flour, water, potatoes, and a whole lot of love. Lynda shares this recipe openly online and believes it’s a way to enable people to “always have a meal on their plate”. Double Vision Brewery also thought this bread was pretty special and used it as part of their Wellington on a Plate Burger Welly entry for 2022. And, in the recent holiday season, Lynda put her own cultural twist on a classic Christmas favourite and created chocolate dipped gingerbread tāne which were a hit with their ever-growing community of loyal ‘Loaves’.

It’s stories like these that demonstrate the potential we all have to achieve success when you have limitless passion and determination. As Lynda says, “you just have to be brave and go for it – at least you can say you gave it a go!”

Lynda is a proud Māori businesswoman whose iwis include Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Kuia, Te Āti Awa, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui and Te Ati Haunui-a-Pāpārangi.

MegaJobs.co.nz are passionate to hear about New Zealanders succeeding in business. We’re also very keen to learn about Kiwi’s who are innovating. If you have any stories you would like to share to help other Kiwi’s get inspired, please drop us a message at comms@megajobs.co.nz.