To Start Selling Cakes or Not?

I would suggest that if you don't want to bother or make the effort to comply with the law and have a legal kitchen, you should not consider a "business". And it is sad that you would blatantly ask the question.

That.. is not what she asked. She was weighing the cost of bringing her kitchen up to legal standards, along with all her other drawbacks, against her decision of whether or not to sell cakes.

bri0205, it sounds like there are many challenges standing in the way of you beginning a successful home cake business. The fact that you are a 2 hour drive away from your closest city is probably the dealbreaker, however. Assuming that is around 100 miles, and you charge a fair price for delivery ($1 per mile, including round trip), then every cake has a $200 surcharge on it before you even turn on your oven. Also, every cake would require 4 hours out of your time to deliver, or of a customer's time if they elect to pick it up.

If you could develop some local clientele, that would be the only way I see your possible business beginning. You didn't say where you are located, but find out the local laws governing home food businesses, and then do a market analysis and figure out your pricing structure. Once you have done those things, the numbers should tell you whether or not it is feasible. Good luck.

I agree that it sounds like it may not be the best choice for you at this point. If you do cakes for family and friends at cost then you get to pick and choose your projects. I would just keep doing them for fun at this point until the timing was right. Then you will have lots of experience and a nice portfolio to show people.

Also the comment about people will pay whatever, makes me laugh because when you give them a real price which factors in real costs, time, delivery etc... they quickly change their mind.

Sounds like you have a lot to think about. It isn't always an easy decision. Good luck with it. Personally I enjoy it, but my 2 sons are 20 & 23 and only the 20 year old is still living with me. My situation is different. At this point I have the time and space, and decide my own schedule.

Take Care. Lots to Think About.

Yes, people who are "willing to pay whatever I ask" are usually people think you're going to ask for $40.

once a hobby (or a passion or a talent) becomes a business, it is always a business first. I constantly have to keep self in check as to what orders I will take and the time it will take from my family. Right now, I am not interested in growing a huge business--but just do enough for a part time outlet. I rented a commercial kitchen space, but I found that it was too much of a pressure to make that rent--not to mention the time involved. We now have a CFL here and I am considering doing that plus having a back up commercial space if needed (but at a lower rent). When the kids are older and I have more time, then I will reconsider how much I want to put into this.

It sounds like you too have commitments (homeschooling! rock on!) and obstacles (distance, legalities) that would make a cake business more of a burden than a joy. My advice would be to make your cakes for friends and family as a fabulous creative outlet, and re-evaluate when your priorities shift.

Is there a cottage food law in your state that allows you to legally sell homemade food? If not, your decision is very easy.

If there is a CFL in your state, a good rule of thumb is to look at the amount of time you spent making cakes, and double it to include the overhead of running a business.

Bri0205,

I was in your same boat for many years. I did cake decorating as a hobby for free for my family and friends for over twenty years. A few years ago we relocated and I no longer had to work a full time job so I had more time on my hands and therefore devoted more time to my cake hobby. I began getting a lot of requests that I had to turn down because I knew I could not sell unless I had made myself a legal business. Finally, a year and a half ago I took the plunge and did everything I needed to do to have a legal home based bakery including: business license, adhering to all local and state ordinance, inspection, and insurance.

So, now looking back the way I decorate and what I choose to decorate are dictated as a business instead of as a hobby. I don't always get to do things I enjoy and often I feel cupcakes are the bane of my existence because I get a lot of orders for them (can you tell I don't care for making those?) I have to short change my family when orders are due and often miss some of my sons' baseball and football games. Sometimes I even miss out on family outings and dinners because I have orders due and cake waits for no one. It makes a difference in how tired I am on Sunday mornings for church and even makes it hard for me to be a bible class teacher. You have to bake and decorate even when you get tired of the smell of cake. But of course, you worked as a cake decorator as a job in the past so I know you understand what I mean.

Bottom line, it takes a lot of commitment and sacrifice to yourself and your family. For now, the desire to continue to do this and the amount of sacrifice is acceptable for me to continue to do this. You will have to weigh what the cost would be for you and then decide.

This is somewhat off-topic, but if you don't like making a certain product, increase the price of that product to lower demand. If you increased the starting price of your cupcakes from $1.75 each to $2.50 each (with gourmet flavors $2.25 -> $3 and custom decorated $2.50 -> $3.50), not only would you get fewer cupcakes orders, but the cupcake orders you did get would be far more profitable.

Jason, I already increased my prices and the orders keep coming. I currently sell my cupcakes from between $2.75 - $4.00 each....sigh....thus the reason why I keep making them.

That's exactly what I was thinking. Friends and family are THE WORST when it comes to paying you enough to make more than $3 an hour.

I'd also look into what requirements there are in your area to bring your kitchen up to code. where I am the requirements are very minimal. Some locations are more strict than others, so you might be surprised by how easy it is.

bri0205--I just wanted to say how much I looooove your octopus cake! It looks incredible!