Hey there, 

     Ive been decorating my cakes for years, but turned legal when the Texas Bakers bill was passed in 2011.  Since then, business has been booming and my skills have improved a lot, I think.  I had a very steady income with at least 1 wedding per weekend (sometimes 3 in the month of June!) on top of birthday cakes and cupcakes.  I had a large customer base and word of mouth did wonders for my business.  I would have never considered opening up a bakery where I lived, though, because where I lived, there was a cupcake shop and cake bakery on every block, it seemed.  It was financially sounder (?) for me to not have the overhead and to keep my profit and work from home.  However, in October my husbands job relocated us 5 hours away to a new, smaller town where nobody knew who I was.  I took a few months off to unpack my house, get the kids settled in school and to mourn the death of a family member, but in January I attended the bridal show here with BOOMING success.  Literally, my phone has done nothing but go off since then.  I've booked at least 7 weddings since then and have done quite a few birthday cakes, etc.  What a lot of the customers, and most importantly, owners of other businesses and wedding vendors are telling me is that the other bakeries in town (maybe 4?) are really going downhill.  The cakes are dry, wrong, look horrible, fall, crumble, are late being delivered and set up, etc.  Literally, one of the business owners said "You couldn't have moved to this town at a better time".  So my question is whether anyone else has successfully transitioned from a successful home baker to a bakery owner.  I would love any advice out there!  There isn't a whole lot of retail space, so there isn't really one location that I would be too dumb to pass up.  I'd really have to spend a lot of time, energy and money into finding something suitable for my needs.  Thanks in advance!!!

I'm just going to copy a response I did to this question a couple of months ago, because it applies here too:

 

We just closed our storefront that we had for about two years, and one of the reasons was exactly what Mimi said here- it consumes your life. You don't have time or energy for anything else. As Mimi said, consider the daily reality of running a retail bakery- it's a lot of work, repetition, and drudgery. Not that we didn't enjoy it at all, but it got to where we felt like we were beating our head against a wall and getting nowhere because, although the store did pretty well, the overhead was oppressive and EVERY dime went to that. We went into it knowing that was going to be hard work, we counted the cost and all that, but it still kicked our butt. I have never felt so much relief and happiness as the day we closed our doors.
 

 

Bottom line- a storefront is worlds away from a home bakery, so realize how much more work it will be, and that all that money you are making off of cakes now will go right back into the shop for a while. Don't expect to take home a paycheck for a while, you need to have start up capital not only for build out, but to live off of until you can take a paycheck from your business. Realize that if you are working on a cake during the hours your shop is open, you will get interrupted at least eleventy million times to help customers, so it can be hard to really focus on your work like you want to.

 

If you do find a space that you like, try to get an estimate from a contractor of the build out costs BEFORE you sign the lease, so you know if the build out is feasible for you.

Truly not trying to be a dream crusher here! I just want to make sure anyone who is contemplating a bakery knows what they are getting themselves into.

ABrilliant, it's true, dreamcrushing or not, it's the truth.

Oh no, this is exactly the stuff I want to know!  From home (before we moved), I was making between $3,000-$4,000 a month, before expenses.  My prices weren't sky high, but my profit was somewhere in the 80% mark.  One of the spaces I'm looking at is a shopping center that is still under construction.  From the way it reads, the leasing agent would be able to accommodate for my needs (layout, sinks, vent hood, etc) during construction for whatever their terms are, I haven't spoken with him yet.  But I for SURE would never ever sign a lease until I was 1000000% sure of every little detail going into this.  This specific building would be $1,900 a month for 1200 sq ft.  

 

And I apologize that you had to copy and paste :/  I tried searching the forums for something similar to my question, but couldn't find any thread from a home baker transitioned to a store front owner

I guess the hardest part is determining the value of "worth".  Is it WORTH it?  And this is where I'll get mixed reviews, haha.  I've talked to a few of my own friends who own bakeries that you can tell wish they could have done it differently and then others who wouldn't trade it for anything.  Not sure if its a personality thing or a secret to success! haha! 

grossing $4k a month is not a recipe for supporting a $2k rent--not even close--then add on the utilities and the payment on the costs of the initial build out--plus plus plus

 

you would need to ramp this up considerably to make it work--

 

there's a good reason four other businesses didn't make it--i'd research that too--i'd contact each one--

 

if you're having a good time at what you're doing--there's nothing wrong with keepin' on doing that--

 

good luck

AI wouldn't trade it for anything, but I certainly will discourage anyone and everyone from doing it!

If you are noot prepared to work 24/7 for years and have no lifa at all then go for it.

I was never a home baker - it's illegal where I live (thank goodness!)

AI own a retail bakery and I sell custom cakes. I work alone. My place is has no passing traffic (foot nor transport). I rely a lot on word of mouth for my business and I only advertise on 1 wedding website. I decided to go from hobby to storefront business when I left my stock market job (selling from home is illegal in Spain). Luckily, my pay off was enough for me to build out an empty location and support myself for 2 years approx.

That was 3.5 years ago and things are going well for me - meaning that I have not had to close although I have seen other like businesses fail. I know that their product was not up to scratch though. I work 12 hours a day at the shop (I don't close at lunchtime - takes me 5 mins to eat a sandwich if I'm not interrupted, get on CC if I have another spare few minutes). I have a 30 min commute. After I close, a couple of times a week I have to go to the wholesalers and get supplies. I get home and answer emails and order supplies online. Have dinner with hubs, watch some TV if I can stay awake, go to bed.

It is frustating that people come in usually just as I've rolled out my fondant to put on a cake, but I went in knowing that that was something I would have to deal with. Again, I don't sell much retail since I am not in a prime location (although my address is), so it doesn't happen too often.

On Sundays and Mondays I do not open for the public but teach classes, which is a great way of increasing your income. Basically I am at my place 7 days a week.

So yes, no life except the caking one at the moment! I want to grow a bit more before hiring anyone else to help out. Being a control freak doesn't help but someone to make buttercream and cupcakes and brownies and wash the dishes would be fabulous in the near future!

There is a blog called The Business of Baking, and she has some very interesting blogs about whether or not you should "take the plunge", I really recommend it.

I don't know if I've helped, but good luck with whatever you decide to do!

oh oh oh -- gotcha -- sorry i misunderstood --

 

still i do have one other question that you just answer for yourself--the $200 you invest to make the $800 (per $1,000) --the 80% you make --is that 20% your out of pocket expense -- the amount of money you spend at  the grocery store and cake store only?

 

because you still need to add in your overhead like utilites and household things like paper towels, dish soap, gas and time, etc? or is the 20% just out of pocket expense--

 

oh and oops thought of one other question ;)

 

in your small town, there's enough market for five brick and mortar bakeries? all the households in san angelo are also your competition because of cottage law of course so lots to weigh and man i wish you the very best--

 

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different subject---

 

i was selling some doughnut filling equipment and i actually had a potential buyer in san angelo tx--so i was all over google maps looking up the addresses of bakeries to be sure my buyer was legit--just an interesting aside that i've been lightly researching bakeries in your town --lol

 

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best of the best to you!

AI talk myself out of needing a retail space all the time, but it never fails, if I see a "for lease" sign, I'm looking it up, pricing it, day dreaming. So it's where my heart is, but my heart is also in other places, like my family, too. Ugh :/.

How do you guys handle the "where is your shop at?" Question and the "ohhhhhhhh" reply you get if you say you are a home Baker. I used to get by with it in Amarillo by giving them my home address but saying I was a custom order bakery, only, I didn't keep items on stock for anyone to just walk in and purchase, but our house now is out in the country, so that won't work too well for me here! Haha! And as much as I'd love to have the attitude that I'm a home baker and "damn proud of it, take your business elsewhere if you don't like it", I also don't like having to follow those questions with a list of credentials proving that I'm just as good, if not better, than anyone with a store front. It just comes off as arrogant.

it was purely a donut place not a cake place and it was about 6 months ago----but i was drawn to look at all your bakeries  --so i don't actually remember which donut place it was--just sold the equipment last month though--yes!

 

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but very good news there about your accounting--i vote for what it's worth that you keep your money and stay as is--because that overhead will eat your shorts and the rest of your wardrobe too--regularly --lol

 

it's just not typically a big money making business, right--it can be lucrative but few cakers are in the list for being the highest paid business owners around--if you're clearing 80% before your wages--that ain't bad at all--

 

♥

AThat's what my husband says. He said he likes not having to give me any money! Haha!

I could not agree with you more..We are 10 months in the game and man ole' man..i said BEFORE opening the doors that I would not let it consume my life..HAHAHAHAHAHA..it kicked my butt AND consumed my life (and my hubbys) within six months..its really hard too cause you don't have the money to hire the help unless you just absolutely HAVE to. You are wearing all the hats in the bakery from mixing and baking to customer service to washing dishes to ringing them up to phone calls..get my drift and oh did i mention the burn marks on your hands and arms because the phone is ringing and a customer is waiting..Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love doing ALL cakes and have for years, out of the home is one thing, but a storefront..better think twice if it is only one person for most of the day. Just saying!

As a person who owned a bakery for a short while when I had kids at home (never underestimate the advice of others to never go into business with a friend!!!) and now as a person who owns a bakery as all 3 kids are now in college, I can tell you this: if you have children at home, then continue to cake from home.  There will be an enormous amount of time to dedicate to running a retail bakery once the kids are on their own.  I missed one of my kid's whole football season (games and cakes are always on Friday nights!) and nearly missed helping my daughter get ready for prom.  It was NOT worth missing any moments of my kids' lives!  The bakery WILL consume your life.

Is there any way you can remodel your kitchen at home to add more space, another oven, etc?

A

This right here is great advice! It definitely is a great thing setting your own schedule when you don't have rent to pay!

A

I'll have to look that up! My husbands job wasn't a transfer, he was offered a job in his late 20's that most men in his field have to wait years and years for. And it also came with a nice salary so that if I didn't have cake income one month, we wouldn't have to stress about bills or food or anything. It was one of those "jobs you'd be crazy to say no to". We will be here for a good while! So it may be worth it to add onto our home. My grandmother (who practically raised me) passed in November and I do all of my cakes on her dining room table that we have. It makes me so nervous :/. I'd love to work on a stainless steel table, again!

AI can remember when I worked in a storefront it was crazy but it was very very fun. I'm the kind of person though that doesn't mind working all the time. I remember the owner though being very stressed. Idk I still think id like a store front one day like you...we will have to see I guess