Summary + My Recommended Hand Mixers
How To Start A Small Cake Shop Business In 10 Steps
Do you want to start a cake shop business? If YES, find here a detailed cake retailing business plan sample checklist for your ready reference. Additionally, this article will help you in starting, managing, and growing the business.
Basically, starting a cake shop is a lucrative food retail business. The business is easy to start and manage. Additionally, the cake retailing business is perfect for women entrepreneurs. Any individual can start this business by taking minimum financial risk.
Get The Right Insurance For Your Growing Cake Business
There are a few things that you need to consider when your cake business is starting to grow and expand. You will now be exposed to higher risks that accidents can happen, things can go wrong or business can suddenly go bad due to factors outside of your control.
It helps to get professional opinions to help you find the right insurance at the best price.
All businesses have to face a lot of risks that may be detrimental to their financial well-being. One of the risks is a liability, which could take the form of a slip and fall, defective product, or improper service.
With good liability coverage, small business owners can protect themselves from unforeseen events and can grow at ease. With an understanding of these risks and how to cover them with insurance plans, cake business managers can make more informed decisions about their business growth.
One of the most important is liability insurance. When your cake business is seeing more potential customers, visiting more customer locations and selling more products and services, then the possibility of some small error or mistake is increasing enormously.
Don’t Miss: Gluten Free Dairy Free Cake Mix
Ordering Equipment For Your Bakery
The equipment that your bakery will need depends on what type of baked goods you will be preparing. For example, you may need specific pastry supplies to create different types of baked goods in your kitchen. But, if you’re focusing on baking fresh bread, you may not need one. While the specific equipment may change depending on the size and type of your bakery, there are several purposes you need to fill:
Bakery Smallwares
In addition to your large equipment, your bakery will also need to be stocked with smallwares, such as mixing bowls, storage boxes, whisks, bread knives, aprons, and more. We compiled a list of essential bakery equipment to ensure you don’t forget anything.
You can download the PDF checklist below:
Step : Set Up Your Business Phone System
Getting a phone set up for your business is one of the best ways to help keep your personal life and business life separate and private. Thats not the only benefit it also helps you make your business more automated, gives your business legitimacy, and makes it easier for potential customers to find and contact you.
There are many services available to entrepreneurs who want to set up a business phone system. Weve reviewed the top companies and rated them based on price, features, and ease of use. Check out our review of the Best Business Phone Systems 2022 to find the best phone service for your small business.
Recommended Business Phone Service: Phone.com
Phone.com is our top choice for small business phone numbers because of all the features it offers for small businesses and it’s fair pricing.
Read Also: Online Cake Order And Delivery Melbourne Australia
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 taking a level 2 course if youre new to working with food. This is a good way to understand the rules you need to follow.
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 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.
The Food Standards Agency lists what regulations food preparation areas should follow:
- floors and walls should be in good condition, well-maintained, disinfected, and in a good state of repair
- ceilings should be in good condition, easy to clean, and free from mould, condensation and flaking paint and plaster
- windows and doors should be easy to clean and disinfect, and built so dirt cant build up. There should be insect-proof screens that can be easily removed for cleaning
- facilities for cleaning equipment you should have good facilities for cleaning, disinfecting and storing utensils, including equipment, with a supply of hot and cold water
- facilities for washing food you need a sink for washing food and cleaning equipment, and a separate sink for washing hands
How To Turn Your Cake Decorating Hobby Into A Business
At this point you probably arent making much of a profit on your cakes. This is because youre doing this as a favor for friends and family and friends of friends of friends but where does it end?
Youre run ragged, stressed out and maybe making only a few pounds pocket money along the way. If youre going to be this busy and stressed , you may as well start making at least a half-decent income from this hobby of yours.
Read Also: Does Whole Foods Sell Ice Cream Cake
Learn How To Bake Professionally
This means going past the fundamentals of baking. Sure, you know that much about cakes to open a business, but even after youve developed your brand, you can continue to improve your baking skills. Keeping your expertise up to date can be a crucial component of your cake marketing strategy. Thats what will set you apart from the competition and help you to better your craft.
Advertise On The Internet Even With A Limited Budget
Online marketing is a critical component of any cake businesss growth strategy. A well-planned strategy will lead to an increased customer base, better business growth and improved customer satisfaction. Just like other businesses, you need to invest in online marketing in order to reap the fruit of your labor. .
When youre on a small budget, the best part about social media marketing is that a lot of it is free. There are many social media platforms that you can use for free like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok etc.
The downside of using these platforms is that you have limited power to market your cake business in your own format. Paid advertising on the internet is a relatively new feature for a growing cake business and you may need some help to be spending your money properly.
Internet advertising can be a powerful tool that drives traffic, and boosts your sales and engagement. You should use keywords that are important to your business and what people are searching for.
Create ads that include a call-to-action and the option to track conversions online. Use keywords that are specific to your cake business to drive traffic to your website, which would help boost sales and engagement.
Suppose youre a cake business planning to widen your area of operations. In that case, its crucial that you optimize your website to make it accessible to more and more customers from mobile devices.
Also Check: Nothing Bundt Cakes Franchise Owner Salary
Assess The Market And Competition
You’re now starting to see how your business plan can potentially come together.
You read earlier that the market is booming – and it is.
But its important to look at the standard out there and whos setting that standard.
Your friends might be in love with your cakes, but how do your products stack up to the business across town thats been doing it for a few years?
Will you compete against them? If so, how? .
When researching the competition, also look at their business as a whole, not just the cakes they make.
How do they talk to their customers, what makes them different? How will I establish local authority?
The answers to these questions can help get the marketing specialist inside you thinking.
Register With Environmental Health
This sounds WAY scarier than it actually is. Simply contact your local authoritys Environmental Health department and let them know youre setting up a home-based baking business. Its free and theyll let you know the next steps. As a low-risk business, youll be able to start trading as soon as they say yes and theyll arrange for an officer to visit your premises as soon possible.
Done!
Also Check: Where Can I Buy Entenmann’s Banana Crunch Cake
Focus On The Customer Experience
Customers are the essential part of a business. You have to make sure that your customers feel satisfied with your product or service and are willing to buy it again. The customers focus on the customer experience is how a cake business distinguishes itself from its competition.
It helps establish brand credibility and loyalty. A recent study showed that 76% of consumers rank good customer service as one of their top 10 considerations when buying products or services, closely followed by value for money .
How To Start A Cake Business At Home
Related
Legally, baking professionally at home is nothing like baking for your family. When you bake cakes for fun, the law doesn’t care when you bake cakes for profit, local governments care a lot. Learning the rules and following them is safer than trying to fly under the radar.
Read Also: Same Day Cake Delivery In Hyderabad
Myth # : You Need To Study Formal Pastry/chef Courses For Your Home Baked Products To Be Good Enough To Sell
Theres this old mind-set still hanging around in society that makes life and growth quite difficult. Its the belief you need to formally study and have some kind of qualification before you can work in a certain field.
Over time, some new shortcuts have been created which aim to condense your learning experience into a shorter span of time.
Although I love the idea that you dont need to put aside YEARS for these courses, they still have major flaws.
Ive wanted to do a thorough course in Pastry for 5 years now. Unfortunately, all the options would require of me to set aside a minimum of 6 months to complete the course. 6 Months of FULL TIME study.
This means no work and no income plus a mild expense of $ 5000. How is this sustainable or even possible?
My friend, this is a different time. The online world has opened up doors for all of us to learn almost any skill and excel at it.
You dont need to study a formal, expensive course for your Home Baking Business to succeed. AT ALL.
If a cake tastes amazing and rocks your world, then no one cares if the baker has a qualification or not!
You can learn and grow into the BEST baker you can possibly be without any formal training. Ive developed 5 FUN weekly habits over time that keep me sharp and constantly evolving as a Home Baker.
How To Start A Bakery
After you’ve decided what type of bakery you want to open and what sort of products you want to make, you can start getting into the details of starting a bakery. We broke down the process of opening a bakery into 9 simple steps that you can reference along the way as you design and open your new business.
Also Check: How To Make A Death Star Cake
Speed Settings Of The Hand Mixer
A turbo speed option is not essential. My current hand mixer doesnt have one and I honestly havent missed it for a second.
In fact its actually more important that the slow speeds on your mixer are in fact SLOW. Ive had 2 hand mixers where the so called slowest speed was actually really fast! Try to test this in store if they allow you to.
Step : Define Your Brand
Your brand is what your company stands for, as well as how your business is perceived by the public. A strong brand will help your business stand out from competitors.
If you aren’t feeling confident about designing your small business logo, then check out our Design Guides for Beginners, we’ll give you helpful tips and advice for creating the best unique logo for your business.
Recommended: Get a logo using Truic’s free logo Generator no email or sign up required, or use a Premium Logo Maker.
If you already have a logo, you can also add it to a QR code with our Free QR Code Generator. Choose from 13 QR code types to create a code for your business cards and publications, or to help spread awareness for your new website.
How to promote & market a cake business
Word of mouth will, ultimately, be your strongest marketing tool. While building your reputation, consider free online resources, such as social media and local business registries. If you become a member of any organizations, inquire about their online listings, which is often offered free of charge to members. Distribute mailers within the community and become a sponsor for local charity events. Many communities have charity events that feature local chefs take part in these to gain exposure.
Approach wedding and party planners in the area. These professionals are often asked for recommendations. If you partner with the right ones, your business could soar with very little marketing effort.
Read Also: Gluten Free Dairy Free Wedding Cake
Step : Open A Business Bank Account & Credit Card
Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.
When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil.
Additionally, learning how to build business credit can help you get and other financing in your business’s name , better interest rates, higher lines of credit, and more.
Open a business bank account
Besides being a requirement when applying for business loans, opening a business bank account:
- Makes accounting and tax filing easier.
Recommended: Read our Best Banks for Small Business review to find the best national bank or credit union.
Open net 30 accounts
Net 30 accounts are used to establish and build business credit as well as increase business cash flow. With a net 30 account, businesses buy goods and repay the full balance within a 30-day term.
NetMany net 30 credit vendors report to the major business credit bureaus . This is how businesses build business credit so they can qualify for credit cards and other lines of credit.
Recommended: Read our best net 30 vendors, guide and start building business credit.
Get a business credit card
Getting a business credit card helps you:
- Build your company’s credit history, which can be useful to raise money later on.
Recommended: Apply for an easy approval business credit card from Divvy and build your business credit quickly.
Update Your Skills Constantly
For any home baker, trends are very important to follow and learning never stops. You can do so by watching videos on YouTube or by attending workshops and classes. But make sure that you constantly keep your skills up to date. Clients keep up with trends and the business is all about trends. If you dont know how to make an item that they want, it will hinder your business progression.
You May Like: Mr And Mrs Wedding Cake Topper
Look Around Your Kitchen
Keeping your kitchen clean and sanitary is only the beginning. Look around your kitchen. Is your equipment like your mixer, refrigerator, oven and baking utensils good enough for a professional baker? Do you have space for bulk purchases of sugar, flour and other supplies? Do you have somewhere to store the finished cakes until they’re delivered or picked up?
If your kitchen is good enough for now, give some thought to what happens if your cakes are a hit. At some point, you might have more orders than your kitchen can handle. Possible solutions include remodeling the kitchen, converting the basement into a second kitchen or eventually moving your business out of the house.
Be The Best The First Or The Only One
Be original. These two words might seem like generic advice, but to survive, you cant be a carbon copy of your competitors. Be the best, the first, or the only one baking the kind of treats you make, Green says. If you can be all three of those things, thats even better.
Know what kind of competition you have in your area and work to set yourself apart. Greens bakery, for example, is the only one in the area that sells nut-free cupcakes.
Roes focus is on gluten-free and vegan baked goods made with organic and local ingredients. I really find happiness in seeing any child be able to have a decadent cupcake or piece of cake on their birthday that otherwise would not be able to because of food allergies. I have experimented relentlessly to create recipes that taste amazing, even know they are free of animal by products, gluten, pesky preservatives and all that other nasty stuff. Its an approach that resonates in her community where so many people value natural and locally sourced food.
One of Batistes original twists is a food truck. You know the food trucks that sell sandwiches and pizza to folks during the lunch hour? Well, Batiste has her own dessert trucks that travel the streets of Los Angeles selling all kinds of tasty treats. The trucks even have their own Twitter handle, so customers can locate them at any time.
Batistes mobile dessert trucks.
Recommended Reading: Does Walmart Have Gluten Free Cakes