Home baker business

[azizanicole]

Having recently qualified as a dessert chef i am wanting to open a business in a years time. Probably being a bit naive an all i have decided that i am going to bake from home until i have enough clients, money and confidence open a formal business with a business plan.

I am stuck on how i could promote myself, i have just got back some business cards which i am handing out. I have a few people lined up for celebration cakes but i woud like more. I cover things like handmade chocolates, cakes, desserts, that sort of thing.

I am not internet savvy to make a website but most of all am limited to how much money i can use to buy professional kitchen equipment such as multiple muffin pans etc. so i can move forward with this plan.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to begin. Would love someone in my local area who is up for the same thing and become partners but at the moment it seems everyone, wants to be in it for themselves.

thanks in advance

[janetdc]

Well done on qualifying. Why not make some stuff & take it to local businesses such as pubs, delis, coffee shops etc &ask them to sample your produce with a view to stocking/selling it for you. Or perhaps make some cupcakes/muffins whatever & call in on local offices to see if you can establish a regular visit there. To begin with word of mouth counts for a lot so give free samples to friends and family and get them to pass on your details/business card/flyer. Good luck:mf:

[AnnieAnna]

Two stories.
Matin started out drying meat to make jerky. He does alsorts now - fruit leathers etc. all organic and no added nothing. It's been tough. He chatted on a forum, did fairs and festival, then markets, Then got others selling for him and he's still growing. He's always giving away free samples. He's making a living from it.
The other one is a Turkish family who have a stall on a small (up market)market selling Turkish sweets and cakes. They have stuck it out through dire Saturdays but keep coming back and now have a loyal following.

If you were in the South I'd say try Borough Market....but best of luck with whatever you decide to do.

AnnieAnna

[silvermaid]

Is there a farmers market (or even a few) near you? Cakes always seem to do well at them.
I have also seen the turkish or french pastries sold at the xmas or farmers market. They do lots of little fancy cakes and fruit tarts with a glaze over them and they look lovely. Their prices are ridiculous though, they sell them at £1.95 per 100g and we saw a couple of people who walked away after their selection of 5 or 6 tiny (2-3inch) cakes was weighed and came to about £7.

Melanie

[AnnieAnna]

Just a thought.
You say you don't know how to make a website....but....
I know this doesn't apply to the whole population but I find that if I can't find someone on the web and slam off an email to them, their phone number languishes on my desk getting buried under a mountain of paper.

You don't need an all singing all dancing website that sells stuff like Mr Site ones. All you need is a pretty 'page' with your email address on it.
Hang around a bit and you'll spot people on this forum offering to make sites for you but before jumping in talk to friends. There's bound to be a friend who knows somebody who could knock one up for you.
If you pay a professional fee you'll get a professional site.
I'm suggesting you might not want to go down that road yet. What might suit you is something an art student/unemployed youth/stay at home mother/old age pensioner etc would be happy to make for you for less money or even swapsies.

AnnieAnna
who in the old days did just that for friends and the friends have prospered and now want the all singing buy now type websites.

[0103media]

Well done on qualifying. Why not make some stuff & take it to local businesses such as pubs, delis, coffee shops etc &ask them to sample your produce with a view to stocking/selling it for you.

Yeh... spot on..

Local is the key with food as everyone want fresh fresh fresh :)

Selling food online is hard and I'd suggest just a site with photo and info, contact etc and not a online shop.

If you could get your contact details on your items is would help promote e.g. web address on the paper cup's of cup cakes?

Also what's not being sold that sells, many delis are likely to already have cakes, muffins etc so what don't these shops offer that sells? or are you better cheaper nicers ;) to deal with ?

When selling always think if you are a buyer, would you buy these items and why/why not ?

[AnnieAnna]

"what's not being sold that sells"

Have you thought of healthy but nice?
I always feel guilty buying a muffin. It's just fattening......but a tart with friut........? Now that's healthy, isn't it? ;)

AnnieAnna

[wendy]

Some great suggestions.

Don't think you can't have at least a small business plan yet. At least jot down all your marketing ideas and try to make some sort of action plan from that. If nothing else, it will help sort out your ideas and give you something to focus on when you're bogged down in the day-to-day stuff.

I agree you need a web presence. You don't need to be internet savvy to create a simple one. Or a blog, which would be totally free to set up and really is as simple as posting on here. You could have pages on your blog with photos of your stuff, links to suppliers, etc. Some sort of web presence just gives your buyers somewhere to look for more info about you and an easy point of contact.

Good luck - I think there's lots of potential for you, and I also think you're doing right by starting small at home.

[0103media]

If you take all the great advice from this thread so far you have a biz plan just without numbers,costs etc..

A biz plan only needs to be formal for banks etc if you intend to get a loan etc... otherwise its who, what, where and why.. (with some costings/margins mixed in)

[Jayne1873]

I have just started making cakes from home. I work p/t and then do the cakes. I havent advertised at all yet but all the business I have had so far has been from the internet. I set up my own website and it was surprisingly easy (I am by no means a computer wizz). I then put details on any local business sites offering free listings.

Moonfruit.com is the website I used and it is free if you just have the basics like I did although I did pay for my domain name.

Good luck x