How Many Of You Are Making Enough Cash Flow For This To Be Your Main Source Of Income?
Business By SweetBakeCakes Updated 19 Mar 2013 , 4:05pm by SystemMod1
Jeeze sorry about that!! I think you can never really tell were people are coming from unless your face to face as typing any message can seem off at times :D
Idk i just sat there and said what the heck am i throwing myself a pitty party for? get my (bleep) up and just do it! I'm figuring out ways to make caking less stressful, which idk if there going to work we shall see.. Such as freezing cakes, b-c, buying fondant instead of making it.. There are different topics on this i think it will help in many ways! I cant STAND making fondant... growl.... having my nephew who is 10 and lives with me clean and he will get allowance though, that is not a long term situation it will do for now, he loves the idea :D... family and friends support helps alot right now they really do not want to see me give up on my dream after all of the stuff ive been through.. Caking actually helps me when its not stressful... If anyone knows what PMDD is well its your monthly x1000 which makes things SO hard and during that time of the month i tend to want to give up more then anything.... Then i'm back to "norm" lol so i'm going to try some new things to help with that... for me that's the ONLY thing that makes caking hard... seriously i have pulled 8 cakes in a week (by myself) and enjoyed every bit of it... but when its that two weeks of the month caking is pure fricken hell!! ... That got personal quickly lol well hay know you'll know why i'm being a royal snob half of the month PMDD is seriously un-control able but i can maintain when dealing with clients... I just have extra things i need to do... like take a shot lol
How did you get into the coffee shops? I have been wanting to do that for the longest but i cant see myself calling a coffee shop saying "hay wanna buy my cupcakes" LOL of course that is not what i would say but i feel as if it would sound off either way i go about asking.. Thanks for taking your time to comment its MUCH appreciated! :D
That was pretty much it, lol. I e-mailed the owner, asked if they were interested in selling unique high quality treats, (their bakery section was supplied by the same bakery that did every other place in town). Said I'd like to set up a tasting, and offer them a trial period to see if they wanted to sell them. I sold to them at cost for a period, built up a following, then we wrote up a new contract where I make a profit.
They opened more locations, and I supply them as well, as well as 2 other business that contacted me.
However, you can't do this under the cottage foods act, you need to have a commercial kitchen. Unless other state's rules are very different from mine.
Thanks for the info!!! I can get into a commercial kitchen if need be that o issue :) So if they said yes i would sell them to them for free until they see demand for them then they suggest a new contract or i do? I would REALLY love to do this thanks in advance for any tip/information provided i love this site! Like i once told Jaso some people on here should get paid for the tips its amazing what you can find out from one simple question!
AIf you sell wholesale you should make sure your wholesale price plus their markup results in a realistic retail price. Personally I would want to start out with my true wholesale price and not give product away, even in the beginning. Maybe a week or two of discounts that could be split between the baker and the retailer to help spur interest.
If you sell wholesale you should make sure your wholesale price plus their markup results in a realistic retail price. Personally I would want to start out with my true wholesale price and not give product away, even in the beginning. Maybe a week or two of discounts that could be split between the baker and the retailer to help spur interest.
I should have said that I wish I had done this when I started, and would never give product away without a profit again.
I thought they would need a really good deal to consider someone without a reputation in the area, now that I have more experience I realize that this isn't true.
My husband made enough to support us, so it didn't seem like a big deal at the time, but in hindsight, I wish I had just done a discount for maybe a month max, instead of working for nothing.
I apologize if my post made you defensive. I really wasn't trying to be negative, but I have given some thought to what it would take to go full-time and I can't find a way to make it feasible (not that others can't, I just can't make the numbers work).
If you already have a business plan in place, you should be able to figure out fairly easily what you need to do to get the $2k you need and if it's reasonable. How much is your average serving? What is your net expected profit? How long does it take to make each serving? Based on this info you can figure out how many orders you need to meet your goal. Is that a realistic number (in terms of getting the orders and being able to fulfill them)?
For example, I do mostly cupcakes. My net profit after costs is $18/dozen. It takes me 45 minutes to make a dozen, so I can make $24/hour. This obviously doesn't include taxes or healthcare. I quickly realized even @ 40 hours a week $24/hour was no where near enough (and that's assuming I could get enough orders to keep me busy full-time, which I knew I couldn't).
When you do this analysis, what do you come up with?
If you sell wholesale you should make sure your wholesale price plus their markup results in a realistic retail price. Personally I would want to start out with my true wholesale price and not give product away, even in the beginning. Maybe a week or two of discounts that could be split between the baker and the retailer to help spur interest.
Thanks Jason! The week or two of discounts sounds very fair :)...
im trying to post and everything is getting reviewed and my post are WAY behind... growl..........
My fiance actually brought it up to me that he would have to quit his job if we got busy enough... Not un heard of in this industry i see this happening all of the time :) that is if your successful...
AI'm not going to fight with you. In your post before you said that you had help that he would quit his job to help. And you say successful that means making enough money to cover what he was making at his job and what you are making at yours and there was your brother who needs to be paid and all the cost to run the whole business and health care. We would all love to quit our real jobs to make easy money to bad this isn't such the case
AYeah I'm not so sure that you have a real business plan if you are talking about using your family for free labor and having your fiancé quit his job in order to make this happen. I have been doing this for fifteen years and it always has been and always will be a hobby for me. I could never make what I make now at my regular job doing cakes full time. My real job provides all kind of benefits and it makes the cake thing a very enjoyable hobby.
I would get a real, serious business plan together that doesn't involve free family labor and one which leaves your fiancé out of the picture so you still have someone who can pay the bills if it doesn't work out.
AOP has said earlier in the thread that she's putting her business on hold while she works on her business plan.
A
Original message sent by tracyaem
Actually, in post #20 she states she already has a business plan.
A business plan is a living document, it is never "done".
AI guess I missed that. I read where she said she already had one, and then she said she was gathering info. I thought she meant gathering info from this thread to determine whether or not to pursue baking full time.
AI know that the Op said in another thread that she was putting her business on hold but in this post she posted that if needed her fiance would quit his job and she would also use her brother for help...that's all fine and dandy until the bills need to be paid
Oh wow.. no i am NOT ready to start now.. I'm online and in classes half of my day getting my stuff together... I'm not basing my business off of this thread alone i guess i should make things more clear... Thanks so much Jason!
My brother offered to help for free.. He has a HIGH paying job which he also has some free time in which he offered to help a few hours out of the day... I do have people in my family more then willing to help me for FREE... A ton of businesses started from nothing and became something... My family believes in me and See's how truly dedicated to this i am... My fiance said if we made enough income he would have to quit his job and partner up with me... nothing wrong with that what so ever.. Just shows i have a very very supportive fiance and that makes things a whole lot easier to be honest.. :)
I would have a artist, cleaner, business partner and myself a team of four i think its very possible after my 3-6 month "brake" getting my stuff together this could work and then again it could be hell... But i'm willing and so is my team to try it out and see how it goes! :) My fiances boss is his uncle so he can always get his job back if all else fails... I guess we shall see how it goes...
I just wanted to add my two cents in, as I am all for helping cakers become a success.
As I understand it, you are currently taking classes and formulating a business plan. Are these business classes or decorating classes?
I also understand that you are taking a break to figure it all out.
I would google custom cakes in your area and see what your competition is. How your cakes compare to theirs, what they charge, etc.
You may also want to post some more of your pictures of cakes that you have done for some honest critiques. Right now all you have for us to see is the self-described disaster of a WWE belt. I'm assuming you've done lots of other cakes?
If you plan to go full-time with this I would make sure that you are the best in the area. And yes, you can make delicious cakes that look OK,or OK tasting cakes that are perfection. But I believe having BOTH gorgeous cakes AND delicious cakes is what will set you apart and make it possible for you to charge more than others in order to make it a success. Otherwise, you may end up doing LOTS of cakes for lower prices, as your skill level will dictate, and become VERY frustrated with the amount of work compared to the amount of money you will take in.
What ever you decide...good luck!
Thanks for your tips... They are not cake decorating classes... i'm self taught... ill post a pic or two... Ive done all re search and tasted all competitions creations... I believe my cakes look great and taste great... i will let you all be the judge...
posted pics they have to be reviewed ......................
There in the newest cake thing... Pink bird cake and a pink bling cake
Your fondant is very nice and smooth!
While these are only two examples, make sure you are using your SKILL to decorate the cake (more like the bird one) rather than pre-made decorations. I do understand that some customers will want certain things on their cakes that will have to be purchased.
But the last thing you want people saying is "why did I pay so much for this cake if she just slapped on some decorations". Yes, it will be easier and much faster, but you can charge more for a hand-crafted cake.
Look forward to seeing more of your work in the future!
Again, great fondant!
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