A.Hi everyone I have been decorating cakes for four years now for free as a hobby, I am trying to turn it into a business, I cannot afford a store front right this second, I found a church that will rent to me for 50.00 for the whole day.. Good price? Sounds great to me.. What are my next steps? I know I need a business licence and liability insurance.. I have no idea how to go about getting them nore how much they cost or if there are qualifications that need to be met? I live in Minneapolis Mn. I am also wondering if I can rent a small place just for fondant work maybe have a commercial fridge and a display case this will also be a spot where I hold all of my consultations, if that didn't make sense basically just a little work place for strictly fondant work and storing all of my work tools ect... What exactly would I need legally to be able to do that?? If that's even a possibility. I am 23 and seriously clueless lol!! I only have a part time job right now and a huge passion for all things cake!! ANY advice would be much appreciated.. hope I did not confuse you lol I'm confused myself!

Firtsthingsfirst,Iwouldtrytospaceoutyourpostssothattheyareeasytoread.

That said, a good place to start would be your local health department or dept. of agriculture. 

As always, Google is your friend. Try searching for "Business license in *insert your local area*."

Also Google SCORE (an organization of volunteers who help small businesses and potential small business owners) to see if there is a local chapter nearby. They offer free advice and can help guide you on what you need. 

A$50/day is a great price for a rental kitchen, assuming it can pass a health inspection. You'll want to talk with your county health dept to make sure the church kitchen can be used commercially.

In the meantime, work on your business plan. If you don't have a business background, either take some classes at the local community college or find a consultant or business manager who can help you. SCORE is a great resource to start with.

Here is a good resource from the state of MN about starting a food business: http://www.mda.state.mn.us/~/media/Files/food/business/startingfoodbiz.ashx

AWelcome to cake central ...its a very addictive site. I had no problem reading your post. Anyways there is a post on here where a lady is asking our opions on if she.should down size her business and close her store and build a very small shop on her property, and take in a lot less orders she basically sounds burned out on working long hours . So take something like that into consideration. Make sure you are gonna make money . Be sure to check and get all the legal stuff required I hope it all turns out for you again welcome to cc

AHow many days a week do you plan to use that kitchen? Are they charging utilities? You will need to figure cost of insurance, ingredients, licensing costs, additional baking equipment and storage/food safe containers, advertising costs. Call your local health department and they will direct you to the right person. Good luck! I own my own bakery but I am planning on downsizing to a home based bakery this February simply because overhead costs are so high! I'm tired of all my hard earned cake and pastry money going towards rent and utilities! Ugh!

A real important and easy calculation to make in anything like this is your 'break even point'. In one month how much money do you need to bring in to pay the rent, utilities, insurance, wages, etc.

Take that figure and determine how much product you need to produce minus the expense to produce it such as the ingredients, dish soap, paper towels, wages etc. in oder to 'break even' for the month. Divide that figure by 4.3 to determine what you have to produce in a week. Divide that by how many days a week you're going to work to get the daily figure. Shows you what you have to do every day of every month to tread water and how much you have to push to make profit and be successful.

ASorry Idid not reply back right away Ihave been very busy with everything! Thank you for all of the advice and tips! I am going to probly have to move state, its just tooo spendy for everything plus not much business for me right now maybe 3 cakes a month . O.0