Starting a Bake Shop Business

Author: Susan Hutson



If baking is your forte, then starting a bake shop business can prove to be a good business proposition.

Making a living doing what you want requires both passion and commitment in equal amounts. Anyone who bakes will know the kind of effort and attention that goes into coming up with all those delectable cakes and pastries, pies and scones and all those other bake “what not’s” that can get your mouth watering. However if you are passionate about baking, are creative and experimental and like the idea of being your own boss then opening a bake shop business is where you should think of channelizing your efforts and energy.

Home or Retail Outlet?

The best part about this business is that it can prove to be just as profitable even if you decide to run it from home! Your kitchen probably has all the necessary equipment already. Things such as an oven and baking pans are commonly used in almost all homes. This means you don’t have to worry about a huge investment. But before you do anything first make up your mind, from where you plan to run your bake shop business. Are you going to make it a “home business” venture or plan on taking up a retail outlet?

Running a business from your home is a simpler and cheaper option obviously. And with the internet, you don’t really need to have a physical location to do any kind of business. A lot of small and medium business owners create a website for their business and use it to successfully invite clients and customers and to advertise their products. A retail unit is an option if you have the monetary funds and resources required. Again as mentioned earlier, where you plan to do business from is for you to decide.

How do the others do it?

Although there is a good market for all kinds of cakes and bakes, it is advisable to check out competition as well as what sells, what is in demand and most importantly how people advertise and sell their products. In order to do this, make a list of all the bake shop businesses in and around your area. Check these places and gather information from the owners if possible

Planning for you business

Once you have all the information you want your next step is to put all that information into perspective. The most important step is to come up with a well chalked out plan for your bake shop business. Once you are done with that your next step will be to create a business plan that outlines just how you are going to go ahead with setting up your business.

Include things like, investment required (on a very small and basic level), hiring of labor or help (optional) equipment and items needed, advertising costs, operational costs of running your business on a daily basis (electricity, phone, water, storage facilities etc. Obviously your startup costs and other figures will be higher if you plan to rent a retail unit as opposed to operating from your home.

Marketing

No business can succeed without some form of marketing. Unlike big businesses you may not have the option of a big advertising budget. But the good news is that you can market your business even without it. Here are some easy and cheap ways of doing so –

• Place advertisements in the yellow pages
• Print flyers
• Word of mouth advertising
• Setup a website for you business
• Give away free samples
• Offer a gift basket or hamper at a local function/retail store
• Place advertisements on notice boards of schools and your church
• Print business cards and hand them out generously.

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