I'm wondering if anyone has information regarding the need to be licensed in Iowa to sell cakes out of your home. As far as I can tell as long as you make less than $20,000 per year and do not make "potentially hazardous" foods (things that have to be refrig.) you do not need a license. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks!
I haven't found much useful information except this link:
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM1294.pdf
The best I can tell is that if you sell just a plain cake that doesn't need to be refrigerated for any reason, you don't need a license. If you do fillings, cream cheese frostings, etc. I suppose you would. Right now I'm just avoiding the fillings so that I don't have to worry about it!
Hi Im from east central Iowa also. Im by Cedar Rapids. Reading the post just had to say Hello
DOS=Day of Sharing
We all get together at someones house, a church, community center, anywhere there is a large enough kitchen and we all share decorating techniques/how-to's help eachother with things we're haivng problems with, and have a great day of decorating =)
Leily
Hey Leily you said I'd find you here. Of course I am from Iowa as well.
Glad to see you made your way here too! You'll have to help me get a DOS together if everyone else is wanting to do one also! I am in Illinios, the Quad cities. I just started getting into cakes. I would be interested in a day of sharing, I would love to meet others who share this addiction. - Jennifer
Hi! I am in Iowa-just north of Ankeny in Huxley. Nice to hear from some other Iowans 
Elayne
Hello fellow Iowans!!
I'm in Boone, not to far from Huxley or Ankeny, in fact Ankeny is where I do alot of my shopping!! Kelly, my daughter is attending UNI and loves it there!
Again, great to hear there are more Iowans out there!!
~luraleigh~
I too from Iowa, between Cedar Rapids and Dubuque.
I'm from Iowa too!
We really should plan a DOS! You guys are all a few hours away from me though.
Ankeny decorators-what makes up the most of your business-weddings or party cakes?? Would you mind sharing some general pricing-sheet cake/wedding-I have not been able to compare with someone in my area before. How many orders do you average in a week/month also? It is nice to have some fellow decorators close by! 
Well, I am 2 years into the business and I have a large portion of my business in celebration cakes (birthday, annivesary, and a few just cuz they like my cake). I have done one wedding this summer and have three more booked for the fall.
As far a pricing goes... Everyone tells me I need to charge more however when I raised my rates my customers squeaked! I think that I have priced myself in a way that makes up for my costs and time - more than HyVee but less then LoveJoys... I average about 1.00 (just cuz cakes with no decoration) to 1.50 per slice for cakes depending on decoration. As for wedding cakes - I charge 25 for setup within the metro area. Hope that helps. How do you compare? I have never been able to price others either...
Hi Everyone!
Alicia I am about 1.5 hours from Sioux City...so not too far from you! A DOS sounds great! It is nice to see all of my fellow Iowans here. Right now my prices are $1.00 a serving. I live in a small town though. I do cakes by request and referral. Do most of you have other jobs or is this you income?
Sue
oh boy....do you mean $1-1.50 per serving for party cakes? Does that include a plain sheet cake? Hmmm...I AM too low! 
My sheet cakes are about .85 per serving. I do not get many requests for shaped cakes-usually a single layer sheet cake. I have done a wedding this summer. Wedding prices are 1.50-1.75 serving depending on amount of flowers, detail. Delivery is $25. I work a job that is borderline full time and have a 16 mo. old, so I have not "pushed" the cakes, but do enjoy them.
I started out at about .85 cents a serving but have graduated up. I soon realized that it was not enough when I broke down how much time I was spending on doing cakes. A friend told me to make sure you pay yourself first and I have not really had anyone that has not wanted my cakes as a result of the price hike. And if they truely want - they will be willing to pay for it. At the that price - I make sure that they are getting more than what they would if they went to HyVee.
Mlehrich-It is good to have someone in the area to compare to. I had thought of raising prices, but havn't since they are a bit above the 3x ingredients mark. I didn't feel like it was quite covering the time tho-so I think I will redo the price list. Do you work in addition to your cakes?
Sugarspice - I do work in additions. Fresh fruit fillings, fondant, sugar images (I get done at HyVee or Walmart) and any misc that would not come with a standard cake. One thing that I have found is that I usually deliver most of my cakes. Since most of my business in in the DSM area or Ames area - people don't like to transport thier cakes for fear that they will do something.... so I make sure as well that I take into account gas price for delivery. And the last time that someone did not want to pay the deliver - she fell - dropped the cake for her new granddaughter's birthday and called me wondering what I could do to fix it. The cake was totalled!!! Not much I could do.
If I am doing a color flow or a frozen transfer- I don't charge extra for that - I figure that as standard decoration. If you want to email me at mlehrich@gmail. com - I would be more that happy to compare and chat about local business. Also it is nice to know someone in the area as you stated! Hope that helps.
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