Home Bakery Startup Tips

Written by Pamella Neely Thursday, 04 August 2011 05:57

Just about anyone who can even make a decent chocolate chip cookie has considered starting their own home bakery. Or maybe it was other people who prompted you to consider turning your treats into a business. Anyone would get a swelled head hearing all the compliments and pleas.

Just about anyone who can even make a decent chocolate chip cookie has considered starting their own home bakery. Or maybe it was other people who prompted you to consider turning your treats into a business. Anyone would get a swelled head hearing all the compliments and pleas.

Though it may look like an incredible way to add some extra income, having a home bakery is definitely not for everyone. Narrow profit margins, difficulties with the Health Department and complaining customers may make it harder than you'd think to turn a profit. And those are just the start up issues. You have to be sure people will pay for your products.

Let's start at the beginning. Maybe you want to earn money while staying at home. Most home bakeries get started to produce some extra cash. So take a hard look around town and find at least three different places or ways you can sell your baked goods.

Bookstores and coffee shops are your most likely venues but always try local bakeries, as you never know what people are going to say. Many people try farmer's markets and even craft fairs, but booths are expensive and you have to give up a day standing at the booth. Small restaurants can be hidden gems. See if you can set up a weekly contract with the restaurant.

Once you are 100% sure you have places to sell your products, the next problem to solve is how much to charge. Carefully tally up how much it costs to make each one of your baked goods. The value of your tally is known as your cost of goods.

You are not finished yet. Don't forget adding transportation and packaging costs. Set aside some money to pay your taxes. At long last, put in a bit of extra charges so you can have a profit. Be sure to pay yourself for your time, too, even if it is only minimum wage.

With all those considerations and expenses taken into account, you now have a sales price. You may not like the number. A lot of home bakeries discover they can not profitably sell their baked goods. Try going back and trimming costs, even recipe ingredients, to make your total tally and a realistic sales price come together.

If you can bring those numbers together, give yourself a pat on the back. You may be able to start this business after all. Just don't think the hard part of this is over. You will probably need to get a food preparation permit. You may discover that you can not even find a place to sell your product without getting a Food Permit or Health Certificate from the local Health Department. Don't try to evade this requirement. Thousands of people ahead of you have gotten their permits, so it can't be that hard.

Most home bakers discover their real problem is keeping their family out of the kitchen. Many home bakeries actually have to leave the family kitchen after awhile. Many bakers move into a commercial kitchen of a business that is closed once a week or more. Being able to use a space like this one day a week can be the ideal solution. If you can't find a setup like this, ask local restaurants if you could even use a counter in their kitchen once a week. If you can't find anywhere else to go, try bribing your family by letting them eat out one day a week.