I'm in the process of opening a cake studio. I've been renting a commercial kitchen up to this point. The new location isn't going to be a retail store open to the public. I'm still just taking custom orders and everything will be by appointment only. I'd like to have a sign on the front door letting people know that, since the new location is in a small strip mall and I can envision people just dropping by. I am going to have my logo on the front door then text below it. I'm just having a hard time coming up with something that sounds right. An suggestions would be appreciated. I was thinking something along the lines of "Custom Order Cake Studio - By Appointment Only" with my phone number below that. Does that make sense or sound weird?

Angie

It makes perfect sense... it says your name, what you do, what they need to do to contact you, and your phone number. They don't need anything else unless you also wanted to provide your web address.

I like the "by appointment only" wording. Congratulations!

When you'll be in there working, can people see you? If there's visibility, there isn't any sign or wording that will stop some folks from knocking (or banging) on your door. (Just remembering about all those times it happened to me, and I still get irritated.)

I have a commercial kitchen also. Have a sign next to the door that has my business name, by appt only, and my phone number.

If you could set up blinds behind display cakes, you could show some of your work while still maintaining some privacy...

And I dunno... Bear with me while I think out loud here, so to speak... But you know what I think would be really cool for an appointment-only cake studio? An interactive computer kiosk sort of thing where passersby could browse through some of your work, maybe even set up an appointment or send you an inquiry right on the spot.

I have no idea how such a thing could be set up... It's just one thing that tickled at the edges of my mind as I've contemplated different business setups. If I ever open an appointment-only cake studio in a high-traffic area, I will certainly be putting some serious thought into it.

I agree with above... it would be great to show some dummy cakes in the windows, if you have storefront windows. And "By Appointment Only" is about as cut and dry as you can get. If people don't get that, well then....

Good luck!

I sell legally but don't have a showcase either. I have my sign 'out front' and it says similar. Works well!

I had a storefront but it was not the kind that kept an inventory. I was a "By-Appt" also. but I had folks coming in to ask questions, get info, and set appts ... which was fine with me!

I still have the wording saved on my laptop, so its cut-n-pasted below. My sign said:

Our Cakes, Cookies, and other foods are custom-made-to-order only. Appointments are required so we can set aside time to sit and talk with you about your event and your catering needs.

Appointments can be made by calling 317-xxx-xxxx, or by email at [email protected]

We try to be here between 10 and 3, Tuesday thru Friday, unless we have to leave to deliver a catering. If we happen to be in the shop, you are invited to come in and make an appointment, browse our displays and our catalogs, pick up some information, or just visit!

Visit our website at www.xxxx.com

There is one window right next to the door and about the same size as the door. I will have blinds on this window and plan on closing them when I am not there. One nice thing we did, was divide the space up into 2 sections. The front area (VERY small) right when you walk in will be for consultations and pickups. This area is only about 8' x 10'. We put up a wall to seperate this area from the back kitchen area. There is a glass pocket (sliding) door between the 2 areas and a 3' x 3' window directly in from the front door, so I can see out of the kitchen when I am working if someone is at the front door. I figured with the wall there, that would afford me a little privacy as I work and so people couldn't see me quite as easily if they are walking by, but would still give me good visability to see who's coming and going.