Help for a new member

I have been decorating for years. I started doing small jobs from home about 5 years ago illegally. Then Texas passed the cottage law in September 2011 and I started my business. My name came from a friend who suggested to name my business Beggin for Cake (my last name is Begg). My husband designed my logo, business cards and website (I use GODADDY as a host and wordpress as content management.) Hosting costs about $5/mo. I also have a blog, but haven't been using it. I got a Google voice account for my business line so that I didn't have to get another line. I also have a FB page. I did my first run of business cards through Vista Print and spent like $20ish for about 500 cards. I also got Cake Boss right away and use that to track all my expenses and orders and print invoices from it as well.

Right now I only advertise by word of mouth and passing out business cards as much as possible. I do not have a business plan as I work from home, so there is little overhead. My pricing is derived from researching other bakeries in the area and pricing accordingly. I have my own method that I have created to work with customers to try to help them meet their budgets. I do not lower my prices, but have most of the fees broken down so that they can go simple or go big. As I have gained more experience and knowledge, my prices have gone up.

My cake contract is from someone on CC ( I don't remember who) I tweeked it to fit my business and also made a general cake contract from it. I am planning on getting Serve Safe from the community college soon.

We converted our spare bedroom into a decorating room to stop any contaminates from my pets/kids/daily living. We ripped out the carpet and put in tile. I got a fridge and second mixer off craigslist and set up work tables and shelving.

I LOVE it! I have slowly been picking up orders and did my first wedding a couple of weekends ago. I love being legal and able to buy tax exempt and wholesale (stuff is SO much cheaper that way!) I am building a name for myself and hope to get busy enough to quit my part time job and do this full time! I make every cake custom to order, specializing in 3D sculpted cakes.


That's my story!

Stephanie

Where do you live?

I was raised in Traverse City! Do you know that Michigan has a cottage law? Not sure the requirements, but if you are not legal, I would get it as soon as possible.Even if you are only doing little jobs right now.

I know that your pricing there would definitely going to be less than mine here in Dallas area due to the economy.


Stephanie

Welcome to Cake Central. I don't think most online businesses do that well, the ones online that make money have been around for a while or are made popular by television. I have a small local business and deliver to stores that sell my cookies, muffins, and brownies. Pricing depends upon a lot of different things such as the cost of your ingredients, overhead, and competition. If you are starting you have to be careful about advertising if you do not have a license. Is there a cottage food law in Michigan? In addition to posting your question here you should search the forums. There are many past discussions about starting a business and you can learn from those. Good luck to you.

Here is a link to MI requirements.
http://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125-50772_45851-240577--,00.html#GettingStarted
there is no need to get a license. There is no need to collect taxes. You should register your name (DBA)-here in TX it cost $9. Then get a tax exempt number (no cost to you-get this even though you will not be collecting tax. This allows you to buy wholesale.

Just know that the MI cottage law limits sales to $15,000/year.

Stephanie

That will depend on who your target market is, what type of products and competitive advantages you offer, how you are priced, and how you implement your marketing strategy.

If you need help putting together a business plan I recommend contacting the SCORE chapter in your area:
http://www.score.org/chapters-map