Episode Details

What if the perfect time never comes?

Katie Svoboda-Rini spent years waiting for things to settle before she could finally chase her dream. But life had other plans, including the loss of both parents, a lifetime of body shame, and a wildfire that didn’t burn her house down but still took almost everything. In the rubble of grief, burnout, and survival mode, Katie found something deeper than resilience. She found softness. And she gave herself permission to start anyway.

In this episode, Katie shares:

1. Why grief sometimes takes decades to process, and why that’s okay
2. How caregiving at sixteen shaped her sense of responsibility and shame
3. What it meant to finally start her baking business after losing almost everything

If you’ve ever felt stuck waiting for the “right time,” this one might meet you where you are.

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Katie Svoboda-Rini is a classically trained pastry chef, lifelong home baker, and the creative force behind Confessions of a Wayward Baker and Sweet Skills Workshop. With more than 25 years of experience spanning home kitchens, pastry school, professional bakeries, and her own custom cookie business, Katie’s become known as the butter-covered cheerleader helping bakers ditch perfection and embrace the mess. Her work is rooted in lived experience — shaped by personal loss, grief, and the healing power of creativity — and she believes baking is more than a skill. It’s a way to connect, honor tradition, and make room for joy in the middle of life’s chaos.

Katie now shares recipes, reflections, and real-life kitchen moments on her blog and YouTube channel as The Wayward Baker.

🔗 Website: waywardbaker.com - in development

📺 YouTube: @waywardbaker

📸 Instagram: @sweet.skills.workshops

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Mentioned in this episode:

Available Now: "still HERE: True Stories of the Moments That Changed Everything"

This episode is brought to you by *still HERE: True Stories of the Moments That Changed Everything* by Matt Gilhooly. Matt is the creator and host of The Life Shift Podcast. Over four years and more than 240 episodes, he has sat with strangers and asked them about the moments that changed everything. *still HERE* is what he found. Over 100 true stories. Eight sections. One listener making sense of what it all means for the rest of us. Available now in Kindle and paperback on Amazon. Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Still-Here-Stories-Moments-Everything/dp/1639011854/ If you read it and it moves you, an honest review on Amazon helps more people find it.