about going forward with my home cake business!! We have started working on the business plan and I guess we are getting nervous!!

We are spending ALOT of money on construction and equipment for the attachment to our house..where the kicthen would be. But once we actually sit down and look at the numbers.....it is sooooo scary!!

And then ontop of that I'm going to have to continue to work at my current full-time job for at least 2yrs (plus deal w/the cake biz)...in order to be able to pay off the loan we are getting. We just can't seem to get the numbers to work to show that I would make enough on just cakes to pay back the loan in a reasonable amount of time!! So that just adds to our uneasiness.

The plan is to do 2-3 cakes per week while I'm working at my other job....to kinda build up a base and get my name out there. But the thought of working full time at my current job AND trying to do the cake biz...scares me to death AND makes me tired. Right now I'm currently doing 2 cakes a week and I never sleep!!!


just needed to vent a bit! i have no idea what we are going to do!
thanks,
christine

I haven't followed this topic, but I did just read a few previous posts about it. Have you considered holding off on building everything and actually starting the business, and instead just work the full time job for those two years you were talking about, and save enough to start your business with less debt? Are you in a hurry to do it?

If it really is costing this much, that you would not be able to make enough off of the business to pay back the loans, then maybe it would be better to wait.

I hope I'm not offending you--just trying to help.

nope not offending at all!!! b/c right now the only way we can figure to do the business is for me to keep working in addition to doing cakes!!!

there really isn't any rush at all. and we've thought about waiting. but we've been working on this now for about 7-8 months and we have the money (sorta....it's a LOC). so we can use it whenever/if we want!

but there aren't too many home bakeries around my area that I can get alot of info from to compare what is actually possible!! I know there are alot out there...so I'm sure it is possible to run a successful home bakery out of your home. I just can't figure how to make it work...on paper anyway!!

Can you rent a commercial kitchen while building up your business? Then work part-time, easing into full-time baking? Is a partnership feasible?

I agree with icing, if you are having doubts you might want to hold off on the construction. I know it can be scary going into a new business, but something tells me that waiting a little while longer might be the best option

I've looked into it a bit. Didn't have much luck finding kitchen/space to rent.

but my current job pays fairly well ....so we would have the LOC paid off in 2 yrs. So it's hard to walk away from it at this point! Our main concern right now.....is there ANYWAY at all possible to make enough money JUST doing cakes to be able to pay the LOC and other business realted costs! We don't need the cake money to pay our reg. household bills....but...all the costs associated w/running a business add up quickly!!

And if there isn't any way to just do cake right now.....can I handle both a full time job & part time cakes for 2 yrs!

Two years seems like a really long time to do both. Yikes!

I guess right now you have to ask yourself what your priorities are and then decide how it all fits together.

When all else fails, write a pros and cons list!

Good luck!

The fact that there are not many other home based bakeries in your area sounds like an advantage for you since that means less competition in that area of home made decorated cakes. I think you will be fine if you don't get into too much debt and gradually build your business.

well the fact that there aren't many home bakeries in the area is b/c it is so damn expensive!! complete seperate kitchen w/ALL commerical equipment and the building has to be built to meet commerical codes!!

i guess this is part of the process though trying to weed through the all the good & bad!!

just sucks though!

I think I kind of know how you feel. After working on my buisness plan and talking to my SCORE mentor and also to my son who just graduated with a degree in economics, I've found that there just is no way to financially make my dream work. I even have the money to start it, but it would just be pouring it down a hole-- WOW, there are better things to do with money!!!! Though I've been told, as you must have been also "If you want it enough, you should go for it!" I don't think this is necessarily true. I think the numbers have to make sense if you are going to put out money for construction or rent. I don't think this means that either of us have to give up on our dreams. Maybe we just need to find alternate ways to make them work.. Someone mentioned that maybe you could work for the two years and save up for your construction so that when you build and then start your business you would not have to be working two jobs. I'm sure that is a hard thing to contemplate, as you are no doubt anxious to move forward, but thinking of being tired cosntantly for two years is scaring you for a reason!!!!!! That is a terrible life-style change!!!!!!!!!! Two years, while a long time when you are faced with sleep deprivation, money issues, stress, and no free time, is really not such a long time to wait for a dream. If I were you, I'd wait and have my money secure ahead of time so that starting the buisness would be exciting intead of stressful. Why put yourself through that!? Your worry is there for a reason. It is a warning your nervous system is giving you.

I've always thought that anticipation can be almost as good as participation. If you think of the two years as you save up for your dream as a time for planning and learning and LOOKING FORWARD TO your business , then that becomes a time of plesant anticipation. Then, you can start in two years years secure in having the funds and without all those time and financial worries. Life will be so much more pleasant. You will have time to enjoy the process of building and purchasing and puttig together the package that will be your buisness. you will even have time to make some cakes without all the sleep deprivation!

By the way, if you have a SCORE chapter where you are, it might be a good idea to see if you can talk to one of their mentors. These are retired business people who help others itnerested in starting or improving their businesses. Their classes cost money, but the mentioring is free! Maybe they would have other ideas to make your dream come true more quicly. Check them out at http://www.score.org.

Hope this helps some..... JUst my $0.02

Shalom,
itsacake

Obviously, laws are different in each state, but here you can run your business out of your home without meeting all of the major requirements if it is not your primary occupation. If the same applies there, you could work for the two years and grow your clientele without immediately incurring the construction costs...just a thought...

thanks everyone!! it is sooo hard to be pulled between doing something you want to do and something that is actually more practical!!

i don't know yet how this all going to play out....but we've got some serious thinking to do!

and FunCakesVT....you are sooooooo LUCKY!! here florida....that would never fly!

I am in a similar situation.

How about splitting the difference? Work one year at the FT job and save every penny. Put that into the new remodel and then finance the second half. Then you have only one year to do both jobs. Most things can be tollerated for a year. If all goes well you may be able to cut back on the FT job during the transition. You could also spend that first year in business classes, cake classes if needed and really planning out the details of cost and profits.

Good luck whatever your position.
Korkyo

I have my own business/shop, and luckily we purchased my shop, supplies etc without taking out any credit, and we don't count on my income or lack thereof to make it. It is just a side job I enjoy and my family supports; we don't need the income from it and can afford to spend on it when we need to. Things would be highly stressful for me if I HAD to do this and make money to survive. It is difficult to clear a profit after paying the additional electric bill, water bill, commercial/liability insurance, advertising, web hosting and other expenses that always seem to come up. I also had to pay for several permits (food handling and retail sales from the state). Those I renew each year and every two years. Some weeks I am swamped and others are relatively slow. The busy times I'd like to hire help but I wouldn't be comfortable doing that.

I hope all goes well for you; this is definitely not an easy way to make money but I love doing it.