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What does it REALLY involve? (long) - Page 3

post #31 of 135
5/20/09 at 1:03pm
Does the $3700 month rent include utilities (water, electric, gas etc)? Don't forget insurance, taxes etc.

I have to agree with K8 and indy and Pinkz (hopefully I haven't forgotten anyone)...........Owning a storefront *bakery* and owning a *cake decorating business* are two very different things.

I think you really need to sit back and ask yourself if you are ready for a FULL commitment. Remember you will NOT be an employee that can work 8 to 5 each day and then go home and forget about the bakery. You will be consumed by this business, you will have to be to make it a success.

I own a Salon, I have 9 other stylists working for me. I've been in the business for over 25 yrs owning my own for the past 14. Guess who the last one to leave the salon is each day? Me.

I cannot hold anyone else accountable for the success or failure of my business except myself. Owning ANY business takes a LOT of hard work and a LOT of hours. It's never 8 to 5.........ever.

How many hours per week is the current owner working?
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post #32 of 135
5/20/09 at 2:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dkelly


How many hours per week is the current owner working?



All of them no doubt.
 
 

 

 

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post #33 of 135
5/20/09 at 2:51pm
Thread Starter 
I stopped in and saw her again this afternoon. I get the financials tomorrow. She made it clear to me that she has turned down business regards to fondant. She doesn't deal with it. People want fondant cakes...she turns them down. They want classes teaching ho to use fondant...she turns them down. She has had requests for kid parties...she turns them down for lack of energy. We did not talk numbers but more about where the income is coming from and sustaining this kind of biz. and just trying to figure her out.

I hear all of you! I REALLY do. I am not afraid of challenges or hard work or anything else. Just because I don't like having to deal with finances doesn't mean that I won't get over that and learn. There are MANY things that I do that I really don't like doing, but I do them. We all do. And I can get over my fear of it.

Obviously I would pay my sister....we would have to figure out what she wants and being of sound-business mind, she will most certainly tell me.

I guess I will find out more of the nitty-gritty number stuff tomorrow. Anything that is a red flag? Besides the obvious $ loss?

Now, tell me more about a business plan, please. Is that were I put down cost vs expense & what I see happening in a certain time period? There are defintely areas that I can bring in more business.

By the way, she has no problem with me shadowing her AND introducing me to her customers during a transition period. We did talk about the store hours and that since it is a retail location she believes that the shop has to be open at some point, but I can set any hours I want. The two days that she really gets walk in is on the weekend, otherwise even though she is open, she doesn't have much walk-in biz. Hence her survival on custom cakes. She does not advertise...has had no need since her customer base is by word of mouth and she turns away biz.

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post #34 of 135
5/20/09 at 2:54pm
Thread Starter 
By the way, was there anything you wished you had known BEFORE starting your business?

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post #35 of 135
5/20/09 at 3:58pm
are you fast at decorating?

speed is HUGE.

i was slow as christmas for a couple years.....

in order to turn a profit you must be pretty speedy...the time really gets away from you....i'm pretty fast now....i can decorate a triple tier buttercream wedding cake in about 90 minutes....i believe i read indy said her time is about the same as mine.

sheet cake take me around 10- 15 minutes....you can get it down to a science after awhile.

but my point is...you gotta make a lot of cakes to pay the overhead and end up with a little bit of money for yourself.

i do this for a living, it can be very rewarding....and it can also drive you to madness.....

it's all about thursday friday and saturday...esp. saturday.

that rent is scary to me too....let us know what you decide.
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post #36 of 135
5/20/09 at 4:10pm
Thread Starter 
"decorate a triple tier buttercream wedding cake in about 90 minutes"

Wow! What exactly does that include? flowers & design? I think I am pretty fast, but I have never timed it. That would be fun to do....beat my clock! Ooh I am going to start doing that!

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post #37 of 135
5/20/09 at 5:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by littlecake

i can decorate a triple tier buttercream wedding cake in about 90 minutes....i believe i read indy said her time is about the same as mine.

sheet cake take me around 10- 15 minutes....you can get it down to a science after awhile.



Just straight decorating or setting it up and icing it too?
 
 

 

 

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post #38 of 135
5/20/09 at 5:50pm
ok so i didnt read all the posts cause theres so meny but heres my 2cents, think about the average price of the cakes you will sell and depending on how meny people you will have workingwhat you will be able to produce in a week minimum then think if thats going to cover your expences ie. rent, food costs, staff. i mean its alot of work and as nice as your cakes might be will you be able to make what there worth people are cheap alot of the times!
cupcakes make the world smile
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cupcakes make the world smile
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post #39 of 135
5/20/09 at 7:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by k8memphis

Quote:
Originally Posted by littlecake

i can decorate a triple tier buttercream wedding cake in about 90 minutes....i believe i read indy said her time is about the same as mine.

sheet cake take me around 10- 15 minutes....you can get it down to a science after awhile.



Just straight decorating or setting it up and icing it too?



icing it too.....of course some designs take longer.

i feel like the lions share of my time is taken up talkin to people tho....
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post #40 of 135
5/20/09 at 7:34pm
Yeah, you gotta chat people up--takes time.

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I figured out that on a $6 a serving cake if you keep a third for ingredients which is a giant margin but anyway--you'd need to do about 1,000 servings a month to pay the rent. So if you had additional overhead of $3700 monthly, utilities, insurance, phone, computer, equipment, loan, taxes etc. you'd need to cover 2,000 servings every month to break even--before payroll.

I mean sure you can do sculptures & stuff & make more money but they often take more time too. Time you might not have because of the 2,000 servings you gotta relentlessly hussle out the revolving door.

The quality of your work goes down with the added responsibility and the crack whore overhead eating your life out. By the quality I mean how you gonna get the brain power to create? You can do the standard cakes and do them well but there would be little trailblazing. I don't have that much brain left to spread it around that thin.

To me $3700 rent is the second or third bakery you get not the first one unless you get you a dynamite business plan and several employees.
 
 

 

 

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post #41 of 135
5/20/09 at 10:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by saberger

Also, I figure that since I would be adding decorated cookies, cupcakes, and a line of Passover goods (if I can get rabbinical supervision), that would help (esp. since there is a temple near by). In addition, I would offer classes and b-day parties.



You do realize that running a kosher facility entails being closed on Saturday? It's one thing when 90-95% of your custom comes from the Jewish community, but a whole 'nother story when you're making wedding cakes and birthday cakes for non-Jews.

When I was in the process of renovating my premises and opening my bakery EVERYONE at shul nagged me to 'get kosher'. I talked to the Reb for about five seconds and decided not to. Saturday is my biggest day of the week.... most get married on a Saturday, most kids' parties happen then... and on Saturday I have my gretest percentage of walk-ins. I would be bankrupt by now if I had opened a kosher facility.
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post #42 of 135
5/21/09 at 5:29am
you can't have a bakery that's closed saturdays....you'll go broke, i make 90% of my money on saturday.
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post #43 of 135
5/21/09 at 7:52am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by en-passant

Quote:
Originally Posted by saberger

Also, I figure that since I would be adding decorated cookies, cupcakes, and a line of Passover goods (if I can get rabbinical supervision), that would help (esp. since there is a temple near by). In addition, I would offer classes and b-day parties.



You do realize that running a kosher facility entails being closed on Saturday? It's one thing when 90-95% of your custom comes from the Jewish community, but a whole 'nother story when you're making wedding cakes and birthday cakes for non-Jews.

When I was in the process of renovating my premises and opening my bakery EVERYONE at shul nagged me to 'get kosher'. I talked to the Reb for about five seconds and decided not to. Saturday is my biggest day of the week.... most get married on a Saturday, most kids' parties happen then... and on Saturday I have my gretest percentage of walk-ins. I would be bankrupt by now if I had opened a kosher facility.



I didn't know that you have to be closed on Saturday. That SUCKS!!!! There is no way that I would do that. I was just about to research that today. icon_cry.gif

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post #44 of 135
5/21/09 at 7:55am
Thread Starter 
Here is an update:

Square Footage:
The main store is 1,500 square feet. I also have an easily accessible 500 s.f. basement for extra storage.

Lease Length:
10 years (7 years remain > 2 years+/- years plus a 5 year option)

Rent:
$3,400 per month (includes basement)
This includes ALL triple net charges such as garbage, sewer, taxes, basement space, etc.

Gross Sales:
$250,000 per year and growing

Net Profit:
$75,000+ per year

The person said that if I wanted more information after this, then he would send me the financials. I said I was seriously interested in it and I wanted them, so I should get that in a couple of days.

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post #45 of 135
5/21/09 at 8:11am
Two people bring in $5000 every week?

It's her and one employee right?

She is making a little more than joe blow pastry chef for the amount of time she's got to be putting in to pull in five thousand dollars a week. It ain't exactly a cash cow. I've made more than that (on an hourly basis)working for other people and this in Tennessee.

You don't need 1500sf+ to do cakes.

You need to negotiate a rental agreement from her, share the space. She wants to teach, she doesn't want to decorate. She needs help with the load. If you guys can marry your strengths and leave enough room for each other's egos and entrepreneurship you could do it.

By yourself this might be a good deal after you've been in business for three to five years.

No, I vote no.
 
 

 

 

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