Renting A Church Kitchen, Advice Needed - Page 2

there's a lady who comes on here sometimes and mentions a web site where you can get business plan help

yeah i found it http://cakecentral.com/t/752346/business-plan

now some of them cost yah but some of them might be free--i don't know--but there is that

and then s.c.o.r.e.?

and i paid $75 for a score seminar thing whatever--yes i got the $75 joke

the session with the lawyer--he about swallowed his tongue when i said you could incorporate yourself--he wanted to get us all signed up to let him do the incorporation paperwork--phffft -- and this way before legalzoom etc.

good for you you found out and kept your $75 too!

i think it's just a good ole boys club--maybe not everywhere but useless/clueless garage sale fodder crabby old men--and maybe there's some women in there but none here at that time

s.c.o.r.e. sounds great--looks good on paper but it is pretty anemic/lethargic imo

i'm still pissed at that pushy lawyer!

but anyway--sounds like you need to trim your spending and offer a product that will be more in line with the prices you can garner

there is no hope for a clientele with a more discerning palate/pocketbook?

With regard to the church, it might work to ask for two rental rates: one for baking, and one for just putting together cakes.

But you OP have been getting some strikingly similar feedback from business people, a church, and customers--they are just not taking you seriously. It's across the board.

So there is something that you are doing that people pick up on.  No I have no clue what, but it's coming across to ALL the people you deal with. Maybe you need to get a GED.  Maybe it's something more personal.  But you are not going to get any business off the ground until you can sort out your presentation.  Maybe you should ask the more friendly people at the church for advice--as they have been in face to face contact with you.

opposition (perceived or real) is a built in part of building a new business

that part of your venture is a given--you gotta be tough and you gotta deflect it and push on

moses coouldn't talk too good either--so what-- put it on a list to improve it if you want --done move on

toastmasters is a great idea but it's not bottom line essential to your business

if you were going to be a bakery consultant--yes you need oratorical skills

your product will speak for you if you can figure out what it is and market that and get it out there

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what i meant up-thread about a clientele with a better palate/pocketbook is what Jason said about targeting/marketing a client base that wants your product and can afford you

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a huge thing here is you gotta zero in and focus focus focus

• doing high end cakes

• doing retail cupcakes

that's two different businesses

the $720 kitchen rent

if it was @$15/hr that's 48 hours of kitchen time

so you can produce all that in 48 hours?

Quote:

Originally Posted by LovelyCakes4Us 


10 dozen of cupcakes a month at 2.00 per cupcake-960.00
 

Did you mean 10 dozen a month, or 10 dozen a week?.

maybe i need more coffee - but my calculation 10 * 12 * 2 is $240 - not 960.

if it was 10 dozen a week, 40 for the month, then the $960 makes sense.

Well I guess this thread is going to crawl along. The OP's typing speaks for itself.

Dress pants and dress shoes are the traditional "uniform" of office workers.

High end catering and restaurant servers wear flat black shoes.  Their black trousers may be cut in different styles but more along the lines of Dockers. I'm talking about the folks who do the actual work going in and out of the kitchen.

Go into any bakery--the staff will uniformly be wearing flat shoes to work safely in a place where stuff spills on the floor.  The bakers wear either the white/grey chefs checked pants, or they wear white or khaki Dockers. The workers who handle the heavy jobs will be wearing steel toed shoes.

You have to dress like your chosen industry to be considered a part of that industry.  If your footwear and fingernails don't match your choice of trade, then you just won't get a toe in the foor.  Plain and simple.  And you OP can feel as insulted as you like but I am telling you God's own truth about the working world.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LovelyCakes4Us 

...as for marketing ill go the cheapy routes,flyers,business cards word to mouth,website,Google,Facebook,heck even door to door handing out flyers on the door knob. Etc etc

i suggest you target your market

go to like minded vendors, florists, caterers who do not do cakes, bridal dress shops, venues, churches etc.

shoot your arrows at the ones who are already like minded

but you have two focuses here--the retail small potatoes and the high end tier cakes--where is your focus?

how can you retail out of a borrowed space?