Frustrated With The Unlicensed!
Business By SwtCanuck Updated 3 Oct 2013 , 7:54pm by morganchampagne
AInteresting about this group. I'm currently in one and do get a tad bit annoyed with the rationalizations of "why I charge so low" One lady said "Lower your prices! Making some money is better than making none at all" o_O........huh?
AMy 'favourite' rationale I hear from 'hobby bakers' on these Facebook groups is that professionals keep going on about getting registered (UK) and charging more because they are jealous of the talent and that they are afraid of competition . I've stopped commenting on 'starting a business' questions on these groups, it's pointless. Like talking to a brick wall.
AMorgan I was in the same group as you for about a week, I couldn't take it anymore.
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Original message sent by kikiandkyle
Morgan I was in the same group as you for about a week, I couldn't take it anymore.
Lol!!! I knew it
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Original message sent by morganchampagne
Lol!!! I knew it
Either that or someone stole your name! :detective:
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at the state health committee hearing this year and stated that she'd had many complaint calls of people bringing their dogs, and specifically cats, along on deliveries and the law didn't give her the right to do anything about it.
Just to get the basics out of the way, I'm against unlicensed bakers. Undercutters, whether licensed or not, drive market prices down and hurt legtitimate and non-legitimate businesses whether they want to admit it or not. And the cottage food laws don't help much either.
Now to my real question...Who the heck takes their cat ANYWHERE in the car other than the vet? I would like to see this delivery where the cat is hanging out in the car.
Speaking of the cat thing... I was looking through the cake disasters gallery and was pretty shocked at how many "dog got into the cake" disasters there were (I know I know, sometimes those aren't cakes for customers, just for family events)! Even worse- a comment on one of them was someone saying that when she makes cakes for her family, sometimes her dog gets into the icing on the cake and (since it's just for family) she "shhh" scrapes it off and re-ices and serves it. EWWW!
I get really annoyed with the unlicensed for the same reasons as everyone else.
I have a friend that makes cookies from her home and she is unlicensed. She charges properly in my opinion and she does great work. What irks me is that she is using her "cookie money" to take her family to Disney in a couple of weeks. She doesn't pay any taxes, licensing fees, or anything except ingredients cost while I spent literally thousands of dollars to do things legally. I do not even make the same product as her, so she is not my competition. It just annoys the crap out of me.
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Original message sent by JaeRodriguez
Speaking of the cat thing... I was looking through the cake disasters gallery and was pretty shocked at how many "dog got into the cake" disasters there were (I know I know, sometimes those aren't cakes for customers, just for family events)! Even worse- a comment on one of them was someone saying that when she makes cakes for her family, sometimes her dog gets into the icing on the cake and (since it's just for family) she "shhh" scrapes it off and re-ices and serves it. EWWW!
Ewwww!!!! I read on here that a lady made a cake, iced it and left in on the floor to settle the cat got into it and started eating it!!!! The worst part is she iced it again and sold it to a customer!!!!!!
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Original message sent by JaeRodriguez
Even worse- a comment on one of them was someone saying that when she makes cakes for her family, sometimes her dog gets into the icing on the cake and (since it's just for family) she "shhh" scrapes it off and re-ices and serves it. EWWW!
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Original message sent by lkern777
I get really annoyed with the unlicensed for the same reasons as everyone else.
I have a friend that makes cookies from her home and she is unlicensed. She charges properly in my opinion and she does great work. What irks me is that she is using her "cookie money" to take her family to Disney in a couple of weeks. She doesn't pay any taxes, licensing fees, or anything except ingredients cost while I spent literally thousands of dollars to do things legally. I do not even make the same product as her, so she is not my competition. It just annoys the crap out of me.
If she doesn't pay any taxes and doesn't track income/expenses, this will come back to her in a big way if she is audited by the IRS. The accounting fees alone could be thousands of dollars, not to mention back taxes and penalties.
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Now to my real question...Who the heck takes their cat ANYWHERE in the car other than the vet? I would like to see this delivery where the cat is hanging out in the car.
I know, right?! No one believed her and she looked like a fool and was the butt of jokes for months after. After reading the other posts on this thread, I'm starting to wonder... I think she was from the county Tyler, Texas is in.
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I get really annoyed with the unlicensed for the same reasons as everyone else.
I have a friend that makes cookies from her home and she is unlicensed. She charges properly in my opinion and she does great work. What irks me is that she is using her "cookie money" to take her family to Disney in a couple of weeks. She doesn't pay any taxes, licensing fees, or anything except ingredients cost while I spent literally thousands of dollars to do things legally. I do not even make the same product as her, so she is not my competition. It just annoys the crap out of me.
People who don't pay their taxes are stupid. All it takes is for one annoyed person to turn them in. Maybe she doesn't pay because she thinks she can't if she's illegal, if so perhaps someone should let her know that the IRS doesn't care where she gets her money as long as she reports it.
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Speaking of the cat thing... I was looking through the cake disasters gallery and was pretty shocked at how many "dog got into the cake" disasters there were (I know I know, sometimes those aren't cakes for customers, just for family events)! Even worse- a comment on one of them was someone saying that when she makes cakes for her family, sometimes her dog gets into the icing on the cake and (since it's just for family) she "shhh" scrapes it off and re-ices and serves it. EWWW!
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Mind boggling.
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Original message sent by howsweet
People who don't pay their taxes are stupid. All it takes is for one annoyed person to turn them in. Maybe she doesn't pay because she thinks she can't if she's illegal, if so perhaps someone should let her know that the IRS doesn't care where she gets her money as long as she reports it.
A surprising number of people believe that all branches of federal, state, county, and municipal government are connected and share information on a regular basis, so if one govt agency finds out about something they will all magically know.
The reality is that most govt agencies are just as dysfunctional as any other large company, and in most cases you're lucky if information is shared within a single department.
If she doesn't pay any taxes and doesn't track income/expenses, this will come back to her in a big way if she is audited by the IRS. The accounting fees alone could be thousands of dollars, not to mention back taxes and penalties.
She does track everything, but doesn't report it or pay any income taxes. She doesn't charge for or pay sales taxes either. She knows how much trouble she can get in, but chooses to take her chances. She keeps saying, "when I get legal", but she never really makes any moves to make that happen. I know that she had over $3000 in sales last month. That's gross sales, not profit, but still, it adds up.
AIf you have that much information it might be time for Form 3949-A if you get to the point where you no longer want to subsidize her vacations.
http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/How-Do-You-Report-Suspected-Tax-Fraud-Activity%3F
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Original message sent by lkern777
She does track everything, but doesn't report it or pay any income taxes. She doesn't charge for or pay sales taxes either. She knows how much trouble she can get in, but chooses to take her chances. She keeps saying, "when I get legal", but she never really makes any moves to make that happen. I know that she had over $3000 in sales last month. That's gross sales, not profit, but still, it adds up.
That trip to Disney might be fun now but she'll wish she'd never gone when she's got no money and the Feds are after her. Most unlicensed bakers are turned in by someone they know, and usually for a reason that's got nothing to do with the product they're selling. If she's making that much money she's going to catch somebody's attention sooner or later.
AIt's ok to charge a small amount, but if you then work out profits, or would turn out your self worth is £1 an hour. I don't know about you, but I, and my cakes, are worth more than that x x
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That trip to Disney might be fun now but she'll wish she'd never gone when she's got no money and the Feds are after her. Most unlicensed bakers are turned in by someone they know, and usually for a reason that's got nothing to do with the product they're selling. If she's making that much money she's going to catch somebody's attention sooner or later.
I agree. Her cookies showed up on the local evening news because the preschool near us gave the weatherman a cookie bouquet as a gift. The governor of TN also received some as a gift. I told her that she better get legal soon because she is getting a lot of attention.
I can't bring myself to turn her in because we are close friends, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. And she knows that. We have been friends for over 7 years, long before she started making cookies.
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I hear you!
My situation is difficult -- I'm that baker just starting out. I gave away a LOT of freebies, and I'm still in that spot.
I'm 100% ready to start the application process to be a "real" business, but I'm running into red tape. I contacted my county health department -- I'm in NE Ohio -- and they referred me to a person with a .utah address. I asked THAT individual whether he was the person I needed to contact to obtain a license for Ohio. He replied that he was (go fig) and that he needed more information. I gave him all my info regarding my business, and he hasn't replied. So now I'm back to square one. I, like you, work full time, so doing things during "business hours" usually involves email communications. I'm getting REALLY frustrated!
Not sure whom you originally contacted, but OH is the easiest state in the Union to work in. You can operate under the Cottage Laws without any licensing [as long as you're not doing perishables] or you can get licensed for $10/yr. It's handled through the OH Dept. of Agriculture.
http://cottagefoods.org/laws/usa/ohio/
Type of License:
Home Bakery
Who Needs This License?
Home baking of potentially hazardous baked goods
Licensing Period:
Valid through September 30
Annual Fee:
$10
Requirements:
No pets in the home and no carpet in the kitchen
Forms Needed:
License application is supplied at time of inspection.
Renewals are sent via the Division of Food Safety
Submit to:
Ohio Dept. of Agriculture
Food Safety
8995 East Main Street
Reynoldsburg, OH 43068
Phone: (614) 728-6250
Email: [email protected]
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Speaking of the cat thing... I was looking through the cake disasters gallery and was pretty shocked at how many "dog got into the cake" disasters there were (I know I know, sometimes those aren't cakes for customers, just for family events)! Even worse- a comment on one of them was someone saying that when she makes cakes for her family, sometimes her dog gets into the icing on the cake and (since it's just for family) she "shhh" scrapes it off and re-ices and serves it. EWWW!
There was a thread on here once where someone said her chickens got into the house, managed to get up on a table somehow, and were pecking away at a cake. she said they ate it anyway. The most horrifying part was how the majority of the responses were "chickens are so cute!" and how funny the story was. When someone finally said that wasn't the most sanitary thing to happen she got all offended and said that her family ate it, not anyone else, so it was no big deal.
It was a dog that licked half the buttercream icing off a customers cake, and the customer cake back and asked to re-ice it.!
Most religions define Karma as a natural cause and effect, or a "you reap what you sow" type of thing. It's not a punishment...So I would say that based on the actual meaning of karma, the cause would be engaging in illegal activities, and the effect would be getting turned in for engaging in illegal activities. So yeah, karma.
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Original message sent by costumeczar
Most religions define Karma as a natural cause and effect, or a "you reap what you sow" type of thing. It's not a punishment...So I would say that based on the actual meaning of karma, the cause would be engaging in illegal activities, and the effect would be getting turned in for engaging in illegal activities. So yeah, karma.
Another perspective involves the effort you put in to protecting your community by letting the relevant authorities know when you see someone doing something wrong, even if it doesn't directly affect you. If you believe in karma, being a diligent citizen will result in others in your community helping you out in a similar fashion. On the flip side, subscribing to the "not my problem" attitude and turning a blind eye to illegal activity would lead to a community sense of apathy where laws are violated with impunity.
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I hear you!
My situation is difficult -- I'm that baker just starting out. I gave away a LOT of freebies, and I'm still in that spot.
I'm 100% ready to start the application process to be a "real" business, but I'm running into red tape. I contacted my county health department -- I'm in NE Ohio -- and they referred me to a person with a .utah address. I asked THAT individual whether he was the person I needed to contact to obtain a license for Ohio. He replied that he was (go fig) and that he needed more information. I gave him all my info regarding my business, and he hasn't replied. So now I'm back to square one. I, like you, work full time, so doing things during "business hours" usually involves email communications. I'm getting REALLY frustrated!
I'm in Medina. Unless Ohio cottage laws have changed, you don't need a license unless you are doing food products that require refrigeration. That's $10 and a walkthrough from a Dept of Agriculture rep...no pets and and no carpet in the kitchen. And you have to use your family kitchen. When I got my license a few years ago, I heard from everyone really quickly...
Good luck!
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