A Thread For All Uk Bakers!!

Decorating By hailinguk Updated 25 Aug 2017 , 10:29am by Magic Mouthfuls

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stevieleannescupcakes Posted 9 May 2011 , 5:11pm
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I was baking for a charity bake sale for work and a lady on here recommended weighing out all the dry ingredients beforehand. I weighted everything that I would put into the bowl first and put them in a resealable bag (I wouldnt have had enough bowls/space for that many bowls) and weighted out the butter and wrapped it in greaseproof paper labelling everything as I went along. Anything I would have added after eg flour to add after creaming butter and sugar together I put in a separate (labelled) bag. It made such a difference and made all the baking in one night (7 different recipes) completely doable.

I would assume that doubling most recipes for two batches at a time would be perfect.

My advice would be really prepared, including having all work spaces clear, spare mixing bowls if possible and enough boxes ready to be packed. If you can have decorations made do them as soon as possible. If you could get someone to do dish washing duties for you (people will do plenty for the promise of free cakeicon_smile.gif) it would be a big help so your kitchen doesnt look like a bomb site when you get finished and you don't have to spend time washing as you go.




I hateee a messy kitchen at the end, cleaning as you go is definately the answer ( or a helper like above is a great idea ) it doesnt take much to wipe worktops and clear bowls icon_smile.gif

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sweet-ginger Posted 9 May 2011 , 5:57pm
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Hi Ladies

I'm in the middle of setting up my own business and have been reading this over the passed weekend, it has been very helpfull!!.

Just wondered if you knew a good website for equitment?

Thank you

Kellie

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stevieleannescupcakes Posted 9 May 2011 , 9:18pm
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Hello icon_smile.gif Does anybody know any cupcake classes in Lancashire area?

This is a great thread btw, still have not managed to read it all icon_smile.gif

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bashini Posted 10 May 2011 , 12:37pm
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Hi Kellie, what sort of equipments are you looking for?

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sweet-ginger Posted 10 May 2011 , 1:02pm
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everything really icing nozzles, sugarcraft cutters etc...

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bashini Posted 10 May 2011 , 1:39pm
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I buy everything from Design a cake. Here is the link. If you buy more than £60, you get free delivery.

http://design-a-cake.co.uk/default.asp?path=http://www.design-a-cake.co.uk/content/news.asp

Here is another online shop. But haven't bought anything from them yet.

http://www.cake-stuff.com/

Sugarshack is also good. They do free delivery if you buy more than £40.

http://www.sugarshack.co.uk/

HTH. icon_smile.gif

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sweet-ginger Posted 10 May 2011 , 1:49pm
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Oooo thank you, i'll be on them for hours lol

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sweet-ginger Posted 10 May 2011 , 1:58pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stevieleannescupcakes

Hello icon_smile.gif Does anybody know any cupcake classes in Lancashire area?

This is a great thread btw, still have not managed to read it all icon_smile.gif




I've onlu managed to find one which is £135 - http://www.purplecupcakes.co.uk/cupcakeclasses.html

In hull there only £50 so i'm thinking thats abit much.....

I been using youtube etc.... and they come out great so maybe give that ago?

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stevieleannescupcakes Posted 10 May 2011 , 4:10pm
post #1899 of 25877
Quote:
Originally Posted by sweet-ginger

Quote:
Originally Posted by stevieleannescupcakes

Hello icon_smile.gif Does anybody know any cupcake classes in Lancashire area?

This is a great thread btw, still have not managed to read it all icon_smile.gif



I've onlu managed to find one which is £135 - http://www.purplecupcakes.co.uk/cupcakeclasses.html

In hull there only £50 so i'm thinking thats abit much.....

I been using youtube etc.... and they come out great so maybe give that ago?




Thanks for having a look for me icon_smile.gif I have heard of them and thought it to be pretty pricey myself. Although I might look in to it.
What tutorials are you watching on youtube? I have only found a few and most of them are not so great, just a few different swirls icon_smile.gif

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sweet-ginger Posted 10 May 2011 , 4:23pm
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I just noramlly youtube, tho i know there a thread on here of tutorials, if its not in cupcake forum i think its in the cake decorating one, can't remember, I just google alot icon_smile.gif I wanted to go to some, but there right at the over side of town and as i'm a learner driver kinda hard to get there

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heaven_khan Posted 11 May 2011 , 12:28am
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hi

I've made 100 cc a few days ago, I also made one batch each time, but I put two trays in my combi microwave oven which made me 24 cc per batch in one go. I made a few with betty crocker devils food, some own chocolate cc recipe and some plain sponge recipe and some betty crocker lemon cc. For the frosting I used dark choc. ganache, white choc. ganache, lemon cream cheese etc.
So it absolutely was a lot of work, cleaning up after etc etc, but the customers were happy so that's what it's all about.
I've also used sainsbury own brand 400gr chocolate for this ganache, was quit good actually. Even the white one as well.

The only problem I had was the tops of the cc came out hard, but if I reduced the baking time a little, they were not done, so did not know what to do, so had to use a knife to trim a layer of so that it wasn't hard anymore, could use some tips on that.
I have noticed tho' that if you put them in the freezer, take them out, thaw them, then put them in an airtight container, the next day they're soft again. But this problem I had with the tops was only with my own scratch recipes.

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LisaPeps Posted 11 May 2011 , 8:37am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stevieleannescupcakes

Quote:
Originally Posted by sweet-ginger

Quote:
Originally Posted by stevieleannescupcakes

Hello icon_smile.gif Does anybody know any cupcake classes in Lancashire area?

This is a great thread btw, still have not managed to read it all icon_smile.gif



I've onlu managed to find one which is £135 - http://www.purplecupcakes.co.uk/cupcakeclasses.html

In hull there only £50 so i'm thinking thats abit much.....

I been using youtube etc.... and they come out great so maybe give that ago?



Thanks for having a look for me icon_smile.gif I have heard of them and thought it to be pretty pricey myself. Although I might look in to it.
What tutorials are you watching on youtube? I have only found a few and most of them are not so great, just a few different swirls icon_smile.gif




Just roll out a piece of greaseproof paper, draw some circles on it. Make up a batch of buttercream and pipe on the circles as if they were cupcakes. When all the circles are full, scrape into your bowl and refill your bag. Go again! It's easier if you put the paper on a tray so you can pick it up when you have finished piping. when your finished with the buttercream you can use it for cakes or freeze it.

Practice makes perfect icon_smile.gif

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Davwattie Posted 11 May 2011 , 9:10am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by heaven_khan


The only problem I had was the tops of the cc came out hard, but if I reduced the baking time a little, they were not done, so did not know what to do, so had to use a knife to trim a layer of so that it wasn't hard anymore, could use some tips on that.
I have noticed tho' that if you put them in the freezer, take them out, thaw them, then put them in an airtight container, the next day they're soft again. But this problem I had with the tops was only with my own scratch recipes.




Have you tried brushing the tops with sugar syrup while they are still warm that sometimes soaks in a stops the tops being hard.

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angelogoo Posted 11 May 2011 , 9:57am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bashini

angelogoo, I use to make my ganache with bourneville chocolate. I know its a bit expencive, but I use their cocoa powder in my cake. But now I use callebaut chococalet from Design a cake. I don't do many chocolate cakes, so this is ok for me.

napa, I always take a 50% deposit, but some customers pay in full. If they are paying by cheque (full payment), then I would collect it 2 weeks ahead. If they pay the deposit in cash, I collect the balance a week ahead. But if its a wedding cake, I always collect the balance two weeks ahead.

HTH. icon_smile.gif




Thanks Bashini,
for the ganache i used the belgian chocolate chips from Costco. They cost £4.69 for a 750g tub and i thought that was steep! but looking at the link you sent for the Callebaut..10kg for £71.99...thats even more expensive. 10kg of this one in Costco will cost me £62. I quite like the taste as well..not too sweet and not too bitter. I still feel that ganache adds quite a bit to the cost of the cake but i am looking at it for the peace of mind, sharpness of the edges etc

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stevieleannescupcakes Posted 11 May 2011 , 4:03pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LisaPeps

Quote:
Originally Posted by stevieleannescupcakes

Quote:
Originally Posted by sweet-ginger

Quote:
Originally Posted by stevieleannescupcakes

Hello icon_smile.gif Does anybody know any cupcake classes in Lancashire area?

This is a great thread btw, still have not managed to read it all icon_smile.gif



I've onlu managed to find one which is £135 - http://www.purplecupcakes.co.uk/cupcakeclasses.html

In hull there only £50 so i'm thinking thats abit much.....

I been using youtube etc.... and they come out great so maybe give that ago?



Thanks for having a look for me icon_smile.gif I have heard of them and thought it to be pretty pricey myself. Although I might look in to it.
What tutorials are you watching on youtube? I have only found a few and most of them are not so great, just a few different swirls icon_smile.gif



Just roll out a piece of greaseproof paper, draw some circles on it. Make up a batch of buttercream and pipe on the circles as if they were cupcakes. When all the circles are full, scrape into your bowl and refill your bag. Go again! It's easier if you put the paper on a tray so you can pick it up when you have finished piping. when your finished with the buttercream you can use it for cakes or freeze it.

Practice makes perfect icon_smile.gif




Thank you for the advice icon_smile.gif I have been decorating cakes for a while now and Im just after some techniques I have never come across. You can never know too much about cupcakes and baking! icon_smile.gif

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SamHarrison Posted 15 May 2011 , 5:48pm
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Hi again!
I still haven't had a chance to look through this whole thread as it's huge and I've been super busy.
I've met with a business advisor and have had some tips of what I should do before I set up etc. I have a couple of concerns I was hoping someone who is already fully legal would be able to answer or point me in the right direction.
I understand that once I'm fully registered with the council and approved to trade etc, they will assess how much of the property is used for business purposes and charge business rates. I was wondering if someone could give me an idea of how much they pay for this or an idea of a ball park figure of what I'm likely to have to pay.
I am feeling the pressure of having competition already even though I'm not really started up yet. There is no-one in my town who does cakes but there is someone in a village near me who does cupcakes. She doesn't charge a huge amount for her cakes and I know that lots of people would go to her as someone charging less. She's charging £1 a cupcake, minimum order of 4 and she delivers too. I just don't understand how she can do it that cheap when there's ingredients, packaging, delivery, business rates and tax etc to take into the equation. Does that sound a bit odd to anyone else?
If anyone could give me any ponters, that'd be fab!
Sam x

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LisaPeps Posted 15 May 2011 , 9:07pm
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Don't try to compete with her, she'll eventually burn out. There's no way she can be making any money for what she is charging.
Can you market yourself as making gourmet cupcakes? For example, I make Italian Meringue Buttercream which is luxurious and so if I sold them I'd put emphasis on that. I've never come across any bakeries who use IMBC. Or do you make homemade curds for fillings? I make raspberry, lemon and passionfruit curds and could offer others if requested. Or do you use whipped ganache? Or do you only use organic ingredients?
You need to market yourself as high end and people will pay for the gourmet aspect. You don't want the customers who are just out for a cheap cupcake, you'll be trying to compete with supermarkets or coffee chains which buy in bulk and mass produce. It's impossible!

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sweet-ginger Posted 16 May 2011 , 6:29am
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Theres a cupcake stand in my shopping centre and there £1.50 without packaging, so for a £1 i don't no how she's doing it, unless she's buying really basic stuff like 19p flour and caged eggs. so as well as promoting what Lisapeps said, you could also mention how you have free range eggs etc.... ?

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SamHarrison Posted 16 May 2011 , 7:12am
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Thanks for your replies. There are some good ideas in there! I don't buy super-duper expensive flour, I use real butter and use free range local eggs. I wouldn't say mine are cheap or expensive to produce, but even if I was using just basic flour, basic butter and caged eggs, I still don't think I could do them for £1 each! My neighbour buys from the lady in Worstead and thinks that's how much they should be. She asked for a birthday cake and was shocked when I quoted her so I guess she just likes cheap cake, but I worry that she'll be spiteful and try and advertise the other woman over me as she's cheaper etc.
When making my cakes, the only non natural things I use is vanilla essence really and a lemon flavouring for buttercream. I could market that. I was wondering whether to do my regular cupcakes and add a small selection of purely organic cakes and maybe some gluten free etc? Maybe some with fresh fruits in and vanilla flavour from actual vanilla pods. I'm not in this to make a fortune, it just needs to be a little earner while my kids are small until I have time to seriously concentrate on it but I certainly don't want to be working hard to make a tiny or no profit.
I've searched around for other companies in the area who offer cakes and cupcakes, I am the only one in my town, there are several in the city about 20 miles away and another a little further who offers a postal service etc. And apart from this woman, the least any of them is charging is £1.80 but that's for bigger quantities. £2 - £3 seems to be the usual around here so that makes the woman doing it £1 seem even cheaper. I have noticed that she only advertises on facebook. Well that's all I can find anyway, so I wonder if she's maybe not fully registered or something? I could afford to do them that cheap if I didn't have to worry about paying business rates etc so maybe that's why she's so cheap. Oh well, at least if I do everything by the book, if people want my cakes, they'll pay for them and I won't be caught doing something illegal!
Does anybody know how much business rates cost roughly?
Also, did anybody qualify for any grants when starting up etc?
Thanks again.

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sweet-ginger Posted 16 May 2011 , 7:30am
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Have you tried her cupcakes? you maybe right on the is she doing by the book stuff, my friend has currently had it done to her, she makes ragdoll back, copyrighted everything, and people are still making knock off's. but they'll be something she's not doing right.

I like the idea of different cakes, you can offer them just incase people want them, then your one above the rest.

There a a bit on here about it in cake decoration business forum, it might have about cupcakes too, i know with cakes, people are doubling what it cost to make them, then adding like £10/£20.....

I've hit a problem with mine, we don't have a double sink and can't put one in, so mines on hold for now icon_sad.gif

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SamHarrison Posted 16 May 2011 , 7:57am
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I know this lady has a lot of customers and I expect mainly it's becuase she charges so little AND delivers to your door, but, some of her cakes look nice, others look quite shoddy. So maybe once I have more of a gallery to put up, people will see that ok you can get them cheap but you can get them a little more expensive and they look good. She does lots of different flavours, like flavours of chocolate bars etc and where i'd just incorporate the flavour into the cake and forsting, she may do this but also plonks a piece of the chocolate on top which seems a little odd to me, especially when it's a piece of a bar of chocolate broken off and stuck in the middle. Maybe I'll have to ask one of my friends to order from her so we can test her cakes and compare them to mine. My business advisor suggested I have a taster evening with lots of different friends, bake all my recipes and different variations etc and have feedback slips where they can try the cakes and either give me verbal feedback or (if they don't want to say it to my face!) they can fill in a slip. That way they can give feedback about how much they'd spend, what they like, what they didn't like etc.
What do you mean about your double sink? Do you mean that you just have one downstairs sink? I have a downstairs loo with a basin and my main kitchen sink.

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sweet-ginger Posted 16 May 2011 , 8:18am
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Yeah only one downstairs, but whilst where saving etc... i can make up my profile i guess.

You could have a party!!! where they can get hands on with cupcakes, i'd of said cakes but thats seem to be throwing them in the deep end i think. but its a great idea and it will get your name out there.

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allaboutcakeuk Posted 16 May 2011 , 9:17am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SamHarrison

I know this lady has a lot of customers and I expect mainly it's becuase she charges so little AND delivers to your door, but, some of her cakes look nice, others look quite shoddy. So maybe once I have more of a gallery to put up, people will see that ok you can get them cheap but you can get them a little more expensive and they look good. She does lots of different flavours, like flavours of chocolate bars etc and where i'd just incorporate the flavour into the cake and forsting, she may do this but also plonks a piece of the chocolate on top which seems a little odd to me, especially when it's a piece of a bar of chocolate broken off and stuck in the middle. Maybe I'll have to ask one of my friends to order from her so we can test her cakes and compare them to mine. My business advisor suggested I have a taster evening with lots of different friends, bake all my recipes and different variations etc and have feedback slips where they can try the cakes and either give me verbal feedback or (if they don't want to say it to my face!) they can fill in a slip. That way they can give feedback about how much they'd spend, what they like, what they didn't like etc.
What do you mean about your double sink? Do you mean that you just have one downstairs sink? I have a downstairs loo with a basin and my main kitchen sink.




Hi Sam

I run my own cake business from home, have done for a year now. I am fully registered and food safety trained etc. I have full liability insurance too through the BSG which is good value. Don't worry about the competition. I have a woman just round the corner from me and she trained where I did too. But it's not made a difference to me. I always have the saying "my only competition is myself". there is so much competition out there on the net that someone round the corner shouldn't bother you too much. You just need to keep up your game. I wouldn't even bother trying her cakes. Main thing is how good yours are. She can't be making too much if she can do them so cheap unless she is basing it on volume. basically she sells more so makes her money up that way. I'd rather do one £150 cake a week than 10 silly £15 lots that are more hassle. Why don't you do like I did and contact some local bakers that don't offer celebration cakes. Ask if they would be willing to advertise that they do celebration cakes and you give them 10% of any orders you gain through their bakery. Get a little portfolio together with prices and sizes they can keep in the bakery. You'd be surprised the amount of bakers that don't do celebration cakes/cupcakes. Keep them reasonable but obviously offer more bespoke cakes/cupcakes if people require. Make them better/different designs to Tescos etc but competitive on price. Passing trade in bakeries is really good to get hold of. I know someone who has about 10 bakeries she advertises with and is constantly busy. Facebook is good but can't say i get much trade from that. Everywhere you go - coffee shops, local shops etc offer over a business card and 10% discount if they mention where they got the card. may sound silly but word of mouth is biggest advertising. Drop some cupcakes off when you go to your hairdressers next. people love a free cupcake and it doesn't cost much for you to put say 6 together but can get you a lot of business.

I don't pay any rates for running a business from home but i'm not sure if it is different area to area. I have a double sink in my kitchen and a bathroom downstairs with sink and I had no problems being certified. Just make sure everything is easy to clean, no pets can get in the kitchen and your fridge is operating at correct temperature (they will check this!). Always have a first aid kit (they will also check this) with blue plasters and standard stuff.

HTH - feel free contact me if you want to know anything else happy to help know its tough starting up and maintaining a business these days icon_smile.gif

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napa Posted 16 May 2011 , 11:34am
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I have recently been inspected and approved by my local environment health team. I only have a single sink in the kitchen and they were fine with that (though I do have a dishwasher, and another sink in my utility room). I do not have to pay business rates either, so check with your local council as it may not be necessary.

About the blue plasters - the lady that came to see me said that you just need plasters that are bright coloured so you could see them if they got into your mixer, she said the bright cartoon plasters I have for my kids are fine, so easy to get at the local supermarket!

Make sure you've got all the information from food standards agency as its very informative and free!

For advertising, I use facebook, get all my friends on there to link to my website (all their facebook friends will see it, and I have had orders this way). Send business cards with all orders you send out. Get friendly with your local shops - our local sweet shop has cake of the week photo spot and lets cakers advertise for free.

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Amy_Cakes Posted 16 May 2011 , 12:40pm
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Well I found this thread yesterday and I have eventually got through the whole 128 pages! Wow, so many tips and advice!

I'm not looking into starting a business, I just bake for family and close friends, but I am looking into getting a wider range of cake tins and noticed a couple of you have bought the sugarshack 7pc tins. How have you gotten on with them, would you still reccommend them?

I start Uni in September ( mature student lol ) so I'm taking advantage of the few months I have left to myself.

I'll be addicted to this thread, no doubt now icon_biggrin.gif

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sweet-ginger Posted 16 May 2011 , 3:43pm
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Oooo theres hope for me yet!!! plus i wouldn't mind having a dishwasher lol.

I wanted to apply for grants but wasn't sure they'd accept my business.....

I only have a few tins for now as people in my family arn't picky lol

If your getting business cards and stuff use vista prints its the 2nd great internet shop next to ebay lol. I got all my stuff free....banners etc.... and half price deliver, and i was very impressed!

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SamHarrison Posted 16 May 2011 , 5:59pm
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Thanks for all your advice allaboutcakeuk. I hadn't really thought about taking my cakes to places like that. I have ordered some business cards which I hope will be arriving this week. I'm doing a stall at a Fete my friend is running for charity so I'm going to take a lot of my cakes along and hopefully make a little bit of money but more importantly, hopefully I'll give out a few cards and get people hooked on my cakes! I think the advice about forgetting the competition is good. I can't compete with her with price, I enjoy making cakes but it's more than just my hobby so I can't afford to do it for no return. I am developing my facebook page so all my friends can see this and I'm slowly getting more visitors as more of my friends 'like' my page so it's getting my name out a bit and I'm building a website too. Just a free one on Weebly but I think it'll be good to get myself on the internet a bot more so hopefully if someone searches for businesses in the area, my company will come up. I'm obviously not going to publish that until I'm all registered though. I think this way too I should have plenty of time to do lots more practice cakes to take photos and put in my portfolio. That's weird about the business rates as the business advisor said there would be rates to pay. Hopefully he was mistaken and was thinking about commercial premises. I really hope my local council doesn't charge rates as I think I would struggle to manage the business if I have to pay out high costs just when I'm starting up. How did you get started with your business? As it's still quite new, how are you finding demand? Is it getting steadily better? Are you advertising in local papers or leaflets or anything? We don't really have anything much in this area in the way of bakeries that I could give cards out too unfortunately. I could always ask the local shop to put one in their window and see if they'd be happy to do it in return for some free cupcakes! Did you apply for any grants at all? I've been told to go on a free afternoon presentation on starting your business and you receive a £200 voucher to use on an approved consultant but I don't know if that's something that will be useful to me or not.

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Valkstar Posted 16 May 2011 , 11:03pm
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I keep reading about bubble tea straws on here. Do they have a different name on this side of the Atlantic or does anyone know where to order them? Thanks icon_smile.gif

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Amy_Cakes Posted 17 May 2011 , 1:30pm
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I've seen them on Ebay, not expensive either. x

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allaboutcakeuk Posted 17 May 2011 , 1:42pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SamHarrison

Thanks for all your advice allaboutcakeuk. I hadn't really thought about taking my cakes to places like that. I have ordered some business cards which I hope will be arriving this week. I'm doing a stall at a Fete my friend is running for charity so I'm going to take a lot of my cakes along and hopefully make a little bit of money but more importantly, hopefully I'll give out a few cards and get people hooked on my cakes! I think the advice about forgetting the competition is good. I can't compete with her with price, I enjoy making cakes but it's more than just my hobby so I can't afford to do it for no return. I am developing my facebook page so all my friends can see this and I'm slowly getting more visitors as more of my friends 'like' my page so it's getting my name out a bit and I'm building a website too. Just a free one on Weebly but I think it'll be good to get myself on the internet a bot more so hopefully if someone searches for businesses in the area, my company will come up. I'm obviously not going to publish that until I'm all registered though. I think this way too I should have plenty of time to do lots more practice cakes to take photos and put in my portfolio. That's weird about the business rates as the business advisor said there would be rates to pay. Hopefully he was mistaken and was thinking about commercial premises. I really hope my local council doesn't charge rates as I think I would struggle to manage the business if I have to pay out high costs just when I'm starting up. How did you get started with your business? As it's still quite new, how are you finding demand? Is it getting steadily better? Are you advertising in local papers or leaflets or anything? We don't really have anything much in this area in the way of bakeries that I could give cards out too unfortunately. I could always ask the local shop to put one in their window and see if they'd be happy to do it in return for some free cupcakes! Did you apply for any grants at all? I've been told to go on a free afternoon presentation on starting your business and you receive a �200 voucher to use on an approved consultant but I don't know if that's something that will be useful to me or not.




it sounds like you are doing all the right things. get registered and get yourself out there. I've not paid rates as its not commercial premises and have not been told by local council I need to. Shop windows are great. I didn't appy for a grant I went straight into it from college and set up a website. It's been really tough I won't lie to you and times I think about going back to a day job but I keep plugging at it. its very much up and down. sometimes i'm so manic i don't know what to do and other times quiet. In the quiet times make some dummies, decorations for cakes so when you busy you got lots spare. Make some star bursts etc all things that take time when busy. Have you thought about local florists? put cards in there or ask if they would put a wedding dummy in window. same as wedding dress shops. To be honest I didn't go to anything like that there is so much info on websites. If a consultant isn't too expensive the voucher would be good if you are not sure where to start. Business link is really good though and they are free! they do lots of work shops so worth getting on some of those icon_smile.gif good luck hun happy to help

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