I just wanted to share this with everyone. A lady who goes to my church made cakes from her home and advertised her phone number in the yellow pages. She had done it for 3 years, and someone reported her to the health department, and she was shut down. I am terrified to make cakes now. She said they give you a warning first, but if you continue, it is a fine or a class C misdemeanor.

You know something like this happened to Earlene too. You can read about it here...

http://www.earlenescakes.com/business03.htm

without a lisence, i wouldnt put my number in the phone book, but i do occasionally hand out business cards...which is a no-no. i actually am waiting on the 80 day process to get a special zone permit so i can get my liscense. i talked to a local authority and asked about selling at craft fairs and craft shows, and they said that was fine.... that was in a grey area.
i would be careful with out a liscense!
not to scared to do more cakes though.
maybe you and she can go into business together and get a legal kitchen? or maybe she can talk to her church if they have a kitchen most likely it has been inspected and she could bake there. if i were her i would explore some options before i just stopped decorating cakes!!!!!!
let us know what she decides!
melody

so, what happened to your friend? what did she decide to do?????????? let us know

I had the special in home zoning permit thing when i made my cakes from home and now am liscensed etc at my shop. But the thing i was hoping would be helpful to anyone wanting to get the new about their cakes out there to generate more income.I had a woman the other day from a BBQ rest. near me to come in and ask if i would give her a good deal on cakes and she would let folks know who did them etc. They are a well known and established place and I am going to do it. I wont make as much as i normally do on each cake, but they will buy LOTS of them. And it will be great advertising as they have a nice little display they kept boxed prefab desserts in b4 that is now going to have my cakes in it. Some might want to check into it, local family owned restaurants pushing your cakes!

that's not so bad just to get a warning, at least they give you that, they don't just straight lock you up or anything for life i'd love to add on to the back of our garage but the money is definetely not there right now, probably won't be for a long time so till then it will just be for family and friends... and maybe the occassional bake sale

That is what scares me... I sell my cakes to co-workers and their friends and everyone tells me to get business cards made but I want to get a licence 1st. I'm defiantly not ready for a licence and don't know where to begin.
--Kay Day, What is home zoning permit?

~~Connie

I don't think they do it everywhere, but they do in the city where I live. It is a special permit which in my case granted me the right to have my catering business in my house, well actually to run the OFFICE from my home. And if anyone asked I told them I worked out of the halls where my events were which are already health department certified ...which I did. But I also baked cakes from home. To be honest it might not have been right, but food related sickness from baked goods is RARE. So I didnt worry alot. Also the rules for having baked good made from your home are different than restaurant rules. Which is why people have bake sales and cake walks at events..it is easier to get a permit to sell them. And in some cases you dont have to have one at all.

Mine was called a "Home Occupational Variance". So check on that and if they don't have it where you are, ask about a bakery type liscense. I dont think it will be too hard unless maybe you are in a huge city or something. Hope this helps!

let me tell you about the special use zoning permit......its a piece of cake, haha its just alot of rediculas paper work, then here i have to wait because its an 80 day process to get the thing finished. i have to have a meeting with my neigbors and inform them that i would like to make cakes in my basement and ask their permision, and if i dont get a lot of neg. feedback then we proceed to next portian of paperwork. its not that big of a deal, but 80 days is a bit nuts! THEN i still have to work with the health dept. to get a liscense. here you have to have a seperate kitchen with a three bay sink and a seperate sink for washing hands.....i got all that. (got it at garage sale and ebay!) so now i just have to wait for my 80 days of paperwork to be finished. grrrr
but in the long run, it will be wonderful to have a liscense...theres not much bakery business around here, except for the grocery stores, so i am going to go CRAZY with advertisment. i guess the 80 day wait isnt so bad, it'll give me a chance to finish all my wilton courses and some gumpaste flower courses.
i love this site!!!!!!!!!!!!

DARN! it sux that it is going to take so long! Here the committee meets every month and you get your name on the roster and then you meet when they vote on it and there are a lot of others asking for the same type things. You stand and tell them what you want to do . They vote and tell you yea or nay then you go to the liscensing area of the same building (city hall) pay and get your temp one and get the other in the mail in a week. Either way you have got it started!

I have made a few business cards with just my cell #, no address, just my 1st name. I have been asked for some too, but am scared to make more. I would never put it in the phone book, unless I was all legal. I still have lots to learn to become legal & all that.

Hey Ya'll,
I too have been told that you have to becareful with the advertising part of the business. I was told that you can't even run an ad in the local paper b/c of the health dept. I have also heard that you need a commerical type dish washer that heats up to at least 190 degrees. a friend of mine has one. its Awesome,, washes an entire load in 1 minute flat.
Good Luck to you All!
~Sweet~