getting into the cake biz

[JIL]

what are pros and cons I took a cake decor class yearssss ago and now I am thinking of taking it again, me baby is getting married and I will be making her cake I am finding that there is no one within an hour drive that makes cake probably a 2 hour drive. so I am researching and getting opinions what do I need to consider? thanks JIL

[Oldcountryboy]

My ex-wife done it for most of the time we was married. (20yrs) I never thought she charged enough for the amount of time it would take to shop for the ingredients, bake the cake, and then decorate it. But she had to keep her price low in order to compete with Wally World. Seems most people around here go for cheap prices over a good tasting cake. So if you can figure out how to get people to choose quality over cheapness you might do purty good.

Start by printing out a lot of business cards and passing them out everywhere you meet people at work, church, neighborhoods, and place several on poster boards at conveniant stores.

Be careful in your advertisements, don't mention any Disney characters as you could get sued by Disney.

Incidentally, my wife did start up her own bakery but tried to get to big with it by trying to sell soft serve icecream, soda fountain, ice coffee's, soups and sandwiches. She found herself to busy to bake so she hired help which ate up all the profits and soon went under. If she'd kept it small and just done cakes and pastries, she might still be in business today.

I hope this all helps you out.

[Murramarang]

My wife is in her third year of a cake business...having fun, but not making a dime. I too think she does not charge enough....but she is realizing that if people want a wally world cake they can go there....if they want uality they will pay.

Word of mouth is the best advertsing.....so never make a cake without giving the person a pile of business cards to hand around for you Good luck!

[MJDC]

My sister made decent money baking cakes for friends and family and her business did grow but she tried to go pro-out of the home kitchen-that was the total downfall. Once she got into renting kitchens tobe official, it removed all profits. She did charge enough and she also made fairly simple cakes for friends but her cakes are todie for-she used the best ingredients and had friends who understood the value of having good tasting food. I have never had a carrot cake to compare to hers.

[Taylor R.]

On the upside, your monetary investment isn't huge, so the risk isn't too great. Without a mass investment of time or money until you have a gig, it wouldn't be awful if it didn't work out.