Am I Ready To Go Into Business??

Business By Korinascakes Updated 30 Mar 2014 , 2:51pm by denetteb

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Korinascakes Posted 28 Mar 2014 , 1:09am
post #1 of 16

I have been wanting to start a home based cake business, and have found tons of helpful information on here! I'm just wondering, am I good enough or do I need more practice? I can't really afford to just be making practice cakes all the time, and every time a make a cake for a family event people tell me I should be doing it professionally. I am my own worst critic, so maybe I should go ahead with it if everyone thinks my cakes look professional. The main problem is I don't have much of a portfolio because I only recently started keeping pictures of my cakes! Can anyone take a look at the few I have and give me an opinion on if I'm good enough? Thanks!

15 replies
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Natka81 Posted 28 Mar 2014 , 1:54am
post #2 of 16

To me your cakes look professional. 

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Norasmom Posted 28 Mar 2014 , 1:55am
post #3 of 16

Yes, those are good enough (in my opinion, anyway) and your talent will only increase with time.  Your fondant work is really good, very clean.  

Make sure you have all the legalities taken care of and good luck!  Remember, you don't have to start with wedding cakes until you feel comfortable doing them (that would be never for me!! :D)

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Natka81 Posted 28 Mar 2014 , 1:58am
post #4 of 16

Do you cover all your cakes with fondant? Or you use buttercreme, or nondairy whip icing to decorate?

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Korinascakes Posted 28 Mar 2014 , 1:37pm
post #5 of 16

AI love working with fondant and gum paste, but yes I do buttercream as well. I would love to specialize in wedding cakes, but want to get some more experience under my belt first! Thanks so much for the replies, so far I have only got opinions from family, friends and church family, so they could be a bit biased. My husband is behind me, so that's the most important thing. I just didn't want to start doing cakes for free or really cheap (thanks to the advise on here). There aren't very many places in my area to get a custom cake and I think people would appreciate it, so I'm going ahead with it! Thanks a bunch!

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costumeczar Posted 28 Mar 2014 , 11:29pm
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AI didn't even look at your pictures...what I would say about whether you're ready to start a business is to ask whether you know how to run a business. Decorating the cakes is the least of your worries if you want to be successful. You'll need to know the marketing, bookkeeping,customer service, blah blah blah side of it, and that's what generally trips people up.

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Korinascakes Posted 29 Mar 2014 , 1:20am
post #7 of 16

Good point, and yes I have a bit of experience marketing as I used to be a freelance makeup artist, and good customer service skills from years of waitressing before that. The only thing holding my back is the initial investment in equipment, and the fact that I'm not a master baker yet! I look at these towering works of art that other decorators can do after years of being in business, and think well I need to be able to do that, but I'm sure that's unrealistic considering I'm just starting out!

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Natka81 Posted 29 Mar 2014 , 1:24am
post #8 of 16

I agree with you costumeczar.   

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denetteb Posted 29 Mar 2014 , 3:38am
post #9 of 16

Costume, can you add just a bit more to your answer...certainly the business skills are needed as much as the decorating/baking skills.  I was just going to add then when I read down to your answer.   My question is could you say approximately how much time you spend on baking and decorating and cleaning compared to the business side?  My point being that not only do you need those skills but you have to be prepared to spend a lot of time on the business end, not only the baking/decorating aspect.

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morganchampagne Posted 29 Mar 2014 , 5:19am
post #11 of 16

A^^^ both books that I have and I can say they 100% have helped me in business.

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costumeczar Posted 29 Mar 2014 , 10:31am
post #12 of 16

AWhy, thank you, Mbalaska and Morganchampagne...I think my book is a dope slap of reality. I had one person email me to say that she read it and realized that she wasn't ready to start a business, so I think that's good??? .;-)

Overall I probably spend about 60-70% of my time on non-hands on cake stuff. Probably closer to 70%. Paperwork, networking, online marketing, shopping, blogging, etc. Actually doing gumpaste and cakes are the smallest amount of time involved...that's why I hate it when people ask how long it takes to make a cake. If you say "three hours" they think "geez, I'm paying her $750 for this and it only took three hours?" I tell people it's a full-time job when they ask me that question, and that I don't keep track of the time per cake.

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MimiFix Posted 29 Mar 2014 , 1:39pm
post #13 of 16

Yes, thank you Mbalaska and Morganchampagne! The most successful people are those who understand that the business aspect is far more important than being a great baker/decorator.

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Korinascakes Posted 29 Mar 2014 , 5:31pm
post #14 of 16

Great advice, thanks so much!

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howsweet Posted 30 Mar 2014 , 12:48am
post #15 of 16

Quote:

Originally Posted by costumeczar 

I didn't even look at your pictures...what I would say about whether you're ready to start a business is to ask whether you know how to run a business. Decorating the cakes is the least of your worries if you want to be successful. You'll need to know the marketing, bookkeeping,customer service, blah blah blah side of it, and that's what generally trips people up.

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by costumeczar 

Why, thank you, Mbalaska and Morganchampagne...I think my book is a dope slap of reality. I had one person email me to say that she read it and realized that she wasn't ready to start a business, so I think that's good??? .icon_wink.gif

Overall I probably spend about 60-70% of my time on non-hands on cake stuff. Probably closer to 70%. Paperwork, networking, online marketing, shopping, blogging, etc. Actually doing gumpaste and cakes are the smallest amount of time involved...that's why I hate it when people ask how long it takes to make a cake. If you say "three hours" they think "geez, I'm paying her $750 for this and it only took three hours?" I tell people it's a full-time job when they ask me that question, and that I don't keep track of the time per cake.

 

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by MimiFix 
 

Yes, thank you Mbalaska and Morganchampagne! The most successful people are those who understand that the business aspect is far more important than being a great baker/decorator.


Both posts are so true. To have a cake business you must have the business part down, but you could always hire a decorator. The decorator can't do it the otherway around unless she wants to work for someone else. And I know for a fact a LOT of people will read Costimeczar's post and think that that amount of time is excessive and won't apply to their special circumstances. I just want to confirm that what she said is exactly my experience.

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denetteb Posted 30 Mar 2014 , 2:51pm
post #16 of 16

Thanks for sharing your business vs cake time Costume and howsweet.

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