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It can be a challenge to start a cake business from home, but all it needs is a little time and your commitment.
Sweet Artist Academy makes your dream cake business at home quick and easy. We have the courses and all the resources you need to get your business at home going. So check our class calendar, book a class with Sweet Artist Academy, and get your cakes in front of the nation!
Basic Formula To Price A Cake
I like to use the formula below to calculate the price of a custom cake. I use this for smaller custom cakes, rather than wedding cakes .
Cake Price = Labor + Cost of Ingredients +Overhead
It comes down to basic cost accounting, factoring in your direct and indirect costs. And of course, valuing your time!
I want to highlight that this concept also applies to homemade cookies and cupcakes. It really works for any baked good that a home baker can make.
Estimating The Time Acake Will Take
Now Im sure youre thinking, but what if a cake takes longerthan I think it will??
And that is where it gets hard. Sometimes a client might ask for something that youve never done before. You might have no idea how long it will take, or if youll have to try making something multiple times.
In those types of situations, you just have to make the bestestimate you can, and hope that youre close. Some cakes will take longer thanexpected, and some cakes will take less. I try to tell myself it all averagesout in the end.
I also want to note that I only consider active time forthis part of the equation. Inactive time like allowing your cake layers tocool, or a fondant feature to harden are not included in this.
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How To Start A Home
If you’re ready to start baking up profits, here are the steps to launching your home based baking business.
Strategies Forfriends And Family
Now you know how to price a cake for clients, but what do you do when friends and family ask for cakes??
There is no right answer to this, and its a personal decision. Ive heard of bakers doing a variety of different things, including:
- Setting a specific discount
- Just charging for ingredients
- Making cakes for free, but only for immediate family members
- Charging full price
Whatever strategy you choose, make it very clear in the beginning. When you explain how much money and time go into making a cake, most people are very understanding.
I enjoyed making my friends birthday cakes for free, and always looked at it as my gift to them! They never asked or expected me to bake for them, so I never felt any pressure around it.
But I also didnt have my extended family asking for baptism and anniversary cakes.
However, a lot of people are in a different situation. If you have demanding relatives or friends who expect you to drop everything and make elaborate cakes for them, I recommend setting ground rules upfront.
This will help temper expectations, and prevent future conflict.
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Keep Improving Your Production Process
Keep a critical eye on your process. You may notice that a time saver actually costs you in other ways.
I was using a food processor but then at the end of a block of cheese it gets slimy and balled up and I was losing about two ounces of cheese I couldnt use because it lost the texture, Thompson said. So I hand grate everything now. I cant afford to lose that cheese.
How And Where Can You Sell
Individuals, under most states rules may usually sell directly to other individuals,not businesses, such as restaurants or grocery stores. A number ofstates limit the sales of home processed foods to farmers markets, bakesales and charity events. And usually, while you may have a website topromote your products, you may not sell online or across state lines.Indirect Sales are allowed inCalifornia, Maine and Ohio. New Hampshire and Pennsylvania allow itindirectly only at farmers markets, and producers’ premises. If youare considering cookies, cakes, or candy sales, see these overviews
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Think About Standing Out
Theres a large number of baking businesses out there, so you need to think about how youre going to differentiate yourself. You could specialise in vegan or gluten-free bakes, for instance, or concentrate on childrens party cupcakes or wedding cakes.
Since cakes are difficult to transport, you need to have a good sense of your local market, as most of your customers need to be close enough for in-person delivery or collection.
Follow Selling Cakes From Home Legal Requirements In The Uk
Complying with the rules can seem scary initially but theyre quite simple to get to grips with.
First, you should think about getting a food hygiene certificate, namely a Level 2 hygiene certificate if you’re new to working with food. This is a good way to understand the rules you need to follow.
Home businesses are also subject to a food hygiene inspection, where you’ll be awarded a from one to five. Your local authority will arrange to visit your home after you’ve registered your business.
As an overview, your kitchen and premises need to be clean and kept in good condition. You need to be following good food hygiene practices in your kitchen, including cleaning and protection against contamination and pest control. However, your home baking business wont be measured by the same standards as a big commercial premises like a restaurant.
Rules for food preparation areas
The Food Standards Agency lists what regulations food preparation areas should follow:
Ideally you need a separate fridge for your personal food, but if this isnt possible you should be clear about which foods are for your business and make sure theres no cross-contamination.
Pets should be kept out of the kitchen and food preparation areas. Children shouldnt be allowed in the kitchen while food is being prepared.
Allergens and food labelling
Finally, make sure youre up to speed on food labelling regulations and Natashas Law when it comes to giving allergen information.
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Understand That Other Bakers Arent Competition Theyre Fellow Artists
In the beginning of my cake journey, I naively saw other bakers as competition.
In reality, each cake maker has their own unique style and offerings. It might take a bit of time to develop your style, but you will naturally the more cakes you make.
I found that I loved working with American buttercream, and enjoyed colorful, playful cake designs!
Tell Your Local Authority
Your business should be registered with the local authority for your area. This is to protect the public and you.
If you sell cakes to the public and someone reports you for doing so, you could get into trouble by failing to register this with your local authority. Its actually the premises youll be using that theyre most interested in.
Registration should be completed 28 days or more before you start trading. If youve already commenced, do make sure you register as soon as possible.
The good news is that its free to register with your local authority. They are also unable to refuse your registration but will send someone out to inspect the premises.
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How To Quit Your Day Job And Launch A Bakery
If youre an avid baker who impresses friends and family with your ridiculously delicious, gooey cookie bars, you might want to think about a career in baked goods. Perhaps it seems impossible when youre whipping up dozens of crazy colorful sweet treats in your tiny apartment kitchen, but as Melissa Ben-Ishay, founder of Baked by Melissa, can tell you, sweet dreams do come true. This week, in our How to Quit Your Day Job series, we chat with Melissa about how she turned her love of cupcakes into a successful bakery.
How To Start A Cake Business From Home
A sweet aroma of freshly cooked cake wafts from the oven. You take the cake out, decorate it, and marvel at it. Youre ecstatic with your fantastic cake and personally hope you could launch a cake shop from home. You start selling the cakes to friends and relatives after being persuaded by them. But, since youre so enthusiastic about baking cakes, you also want to expand your cake business to attract a wider audience.
Is this so you? Then this is the sign that youve been waiting for.
Balloons Sydney, an event organizing company, believes that a birthday celebration wont be complete without a cake. CEO Harry Nevin has always been a supporter of local bakers and entrepreneurs. According to him, The cake industry in Australia has seen massive growth in recent years because of the increasing consumer demands, the emerging cafe community, and, of course, social networking. Due to these factors, a huge proportion of women entrepreneurs have started home-based cake businesses and are achieving great success in the industry.
Starting a cake business from home is never an easy venture, but it is possible. Good thing Sweet Artists Academy does all of the heavy liftings for you! This helpful guide will walk you through everything you need to understand about starting and running a home-based baking business. Are you ready? Lets get started.
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Home Bakery Market Research
Your target market, or the population you are catering to, is one of the most important aspects of your business plan. With various types of bakeries to choose from, you have to find your niche while also complying with the product and venue restrictions that your state has in place.
Here are some example target markets and suggestions for best capturing their business. Before you try to sell to these markets, be sure to check that they are legal venues within your home bakerys jurisdiction.
Track Your Finances From The Beginning:
Start bookkeeping from the very beginning and dont forget about taxes. If youre not sure how taxes will affect you, do a google search for your country and state, or go to your local tax office and ask.
You dont have to get fancy. You can just keep a simple spreadsheet at first in excel or google sheets, which is free to use. Later on, you can then move up to something fancier like QuickBooksor Freshbooks or something similar.
Make sure to track your income and expenses from the beginning. If you get a separate bank account, its much easier to keep track that way.
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Get Out And About With Your Baking Business
Although youre setting up your baking business from home, its a good idea to get out and tell people about your business and develop a reputation locally.
Consider applying for a stall at local events, including food markets and fetes. You can offer people free samples, sell cakes, and give out flyers and leaflets to promote your cake business.
Selling Cakes From Home
Do you love baking and wondering how to start a cake business at home? If you want to start selling cakes from home, here are a few tips you can use to guide you on how to sell baked goods online besides selling cakes to friends and family. Did you know that selling cakes on Facebook can be very lucrative and profitable? Your products will reach a larger audience by selling them on social media platforms. To start a cake-selling business, you need to begin learning about food safety, cottage food laws, and the best practices for your business to succeed in the online market.
Starting a cake-selling business may sound like fun and easy to do. However, before selling any type of food from your home, you need to have a closer look at the cottage laws. While your friends might already be selling cakes on Facebook, this does not mean it is legal. You must do your own research and have a consultation with a professional.
Here is what you need to check:
- Does your state have cottage food laws?
- What are the label requirements?
- Can you sell perishable goods?
- Do you need to have a separate kitchen?
Complying with the rules may feel intimidating at first, but they are pretty easy to get grips with.
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What We Do For You
Weâve tailored Castiron to fit the needs of kitchen-based creators who are selling their products to family, friends, and followers through word-of-mouth and social media. After a super fast setup , youâll have a single place to sell, manage orders, market your business, and communicate with customers.
Build a Customized Store
No code required. Add products, upload your logo, share your story, and link to your social profiles from your flexible store.
Make Buying Painless
Never track down a payment or oversell products again. Real-time inventory tracking and secure payment processing make life easier for you and your customers.
Promote Without the Effort
With our magical marketing tools, your email marketing can go on autopilot. We make it easy to promote your latest products, custom order availability, and announcements.
Come Up With A Good Marketing Strategy
Without a sensible marketing campaign in place, no cake business could thrive. If youre considering cake marketing ideas or how to market a cake company, the first thing you can do is create a brand logo. The next step is to have a website and different company accounts on social networking platforms. These are platforms where your clients can find all of the details they need about your products business and see pictures of your cakes. If you have the resources, you can disperse pamphlets around the area for offline ads. Participating in cake fairs and exhibits is another excellent place to meet new people. Another essential component of a successful communications campaign is networking.
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Many States Allow The Sale Of Food Made In A Home Kitchen
It varies from state to state, but many have cottage food guidelines for selling food made in a home kitchen that does not have to comply with stricter food and safety regulations. Florida, for example, allows residents to sell food made in a home kitchen directly to consumers if sales dont exceed $250,000 annually.
California allows two types of cottage food operations. Class A operators can sell directly to the public if sales dont exceed $75,000. Class B operators can sell to the public and through third parties such as restaurants if sales dont exceed $150,000.
Search the term cottage food to learn your states guidelines or find information posted by your states department of public health or agriculture.
Bake It Til You Make It
The work thatâs required to get a home-based baking business off the ground is well worth it. You get to make your own sweets, offer them for sale, and make money in the process. You could combine these efforts with selling coffee online to create a dessert-centric business. Delivering value to buyers through unique and mouth-watering products will foster brand recall, whether you’re selling alcohol online or dry food products.
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Research Your State And Local Laws
Research selling cakes from home by first checking your state’s cottage food laws. Every state has such a law which allows the sale of some homemade foods, except for New Jersey. Some states have had such laws for many years Maine’s was passed in 1980 while holdouts like Hawaii and Wisconsin passed their cottage food bills in 2017.
Your state’s cottage food laws will tell you what licenses or permits are required , what products can or cannot be made at home for sale and the maximum dollar amount you can make annually from your baked goods.
Pay Attention To Cashflow
Starting up a new business can be hard, so any help financially can really make the difference. Dont assume that people will pay on time every time.
Instead:
- Cut down your waiting time by getting them to agree payment terms at the start.
- Dont spend money now assuming that youll receive payment from your clients.
- Plan your business expenditure so that you are not creating debt. And therefore not dependent upon customers paying on time.
- Have more than one income stream. Even if that means doing a part-time job while you get established.
- If youre having consistent problems with unpaid bills then consider joining the Federation of Small Businesses so that you can use their legal assistance to chase your debtors.
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