Starting a cupcake shop
- Thread starter startingacupcakeshop
- Start date
- Original Poster
- #4
how do I find out the total cost to buy the shop premises,they keep telling me about leases but how long do they last and how much does it cost and there's a shop I was looking at it says bridal business for sale is it to take over that business or ones I buy it can I do what what I want with the shop space
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The business and the premises are different things. You need advice that you should probably pay for or you're going to get your fingers burnt.
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No, you will not own the premises freehold, you will have a lease for a certain number of years.
That is just the premises, the business is separate.
This might help: https://www.gov.uk/set-up-business but I think you really need someone to sit down with you and explain what running a business like this involves.
Do you already sell cupcakes? Are you looking for premises for an existing business or is it new business
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As others have said, leasing and buying are fundamentally different propositions, much like the difference between renting a car and buying a car.
What you need to be looking for are freehold business premises - with or without an existing business.
However, as others have also said, this can be something of a minefield - as you have limited knowledge you really must take paid-for professional advice.
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- Original Poster
- #13
Hi, thanks for your reply. That's the question I was asking. I do make cupcakes. I know what type of cakes I'm going to make and cupcakes its kind of a bespoke way like you pick the colors and flavors but I have custom-made designs I have made myself.
The name will be Maria's Classy Cupcakes, I have a logo designed and currently a family member sells my cakes for me to friends and family making £30 for just one basic chocolate cake red velvet or vanilla sponge.
I have seen many posts on here about cupcake businesses not doing well and people saying there is a lot of competition.
Where I live, there actually isn't that much competition. In fact, I don't even think there is a cupcake shop and the area I live in is huge, mainly takeaways and maybe the odd milkshake shop with three slices of cake.
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Look at this from a different perspective. Maybe see the fact that there's no competition not as an opportunity, but as a sign that its not a good idea.
If it was a good idea, someone would have done it by now.
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Seriously, without any idea of how your business will fare, why are you contemplating the cost and commitment of freehold premises?
I'd start form the minimum possible cost/commitment base and work from there
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- Original Poster
- #16
I think there are unlimited opportunity from cupcake delivery Services there is a high demand for cakes as people have over the years started celebrating more occasions with cake like baby showers christenings partys birthdays weddings Christmas Halloween Easter for ever occasion there is always people wanting custom made cakes festive cakes and something special that no one has seen before
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How many cupcakes are you currently selling? Per week or month?
How much 'profit' are you making from the total you're selling?
If you're making cakes to sell in a shop, how many do you anticipate will be waste when they don't sell and go stale?
Don't forget in addition to the rent, you're going to have electric, water, gas, insurance, kitting the shop out, then of course you're going to want to earn a wage from it as you (or someone else) will need to there when it's open.
Once you know how much you're making 'per cake' look at the rent alone on a shop locally, and see how many cakes you need to sell per month to cover the rent, it may just open your eyes.
How much 'profit' are you making from the total you're selling?
If you're making cakes to sell in a shop, how many do you anticipate will be waste when they don't sell and go stale?
Don't forget in addition to the rent, you're going to have electric, water, gas, insurance, kitting the shop out, then of course you're going to want to earn a wage from it as you (or someone else) will need to there when it's open.
Once you know how much you're making 'per cake' look at the rent alone on a shop locally, and see how many cakes you need to sell per month to cover the rent, it may just open your eyes.
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- Original Poster
- #26
if you have no helpfull advice then leave all I'm I'm wanting to know is when I find a property online for sale how much it would actually end up costing me I'm not paying someone to just do that how am I meant to "plan out " when I don't know the costs no need to be rude
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Great that you can see a niche to take over with the cupcakes.
A leased shop last time I looked at one in my area was about £350 a month in a poor footfall area and about £600 a month in what I would consider better footfall area. Both not far short of 800 square foot. Though not all that is shop space - there is storage, kitchen and toilets too.
Minimum lease I saw was on the £600 a month one and was 2 years.
Alongside shop ownership you'd have business rates, utilities, cleaning, presumably area of the building where you make the cakes etc.
Now the fun bit. Marketing your business.
Getting noticed, getting sales, getting work done while getting sales and you are into employing staff who are on at least minimum wage, who have holiday, who have sick leave, who have a pension you can be required to pay into.
A leased shop last time I looked at one in my area was about £350 a month in a poor footfall area and about £600 a month in what I would consider better footfall area. Both not far short of 800 square foot. Though not all that is shop space - there is storage, kitchen and toilets too.
Minimum lease I saw was on the £600 a month one and was 2 years.
Alongside shop ownership you'd have business rates, utilities, cleaning, presumably area of the building where you make the cakes etc.
Now the fun bit. Marketing your business.
Getting noticed, getting sales, getting work done while getting sales and you are into employing staff who are on at least minimum wage, who have holiday, who have sick leave, who have a pension you can be required to pay into.
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Its like asking how much to buy a house.
Based on the places I've seen the answer would be similar price to a house too. Have seen a few under a hundred grand, have seen lots more over a hundred grand.
Buying land then having a shop built would be time consuming at the very least.
Leave that as a last resort.
Nothing to say with the right shop you couldn't get the landlord to sell. You would need professional legal help.
Have a look on various commercial property sites in your area, something may come up. You are after leasehold (to then see if landlord wants to sell) or freehold (usually less of these available).
You need footfall and you need marketing. Being easy to park nearby helps too.
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Perhaps @Mark T Jones was a little blunt, but I do agree... alarm bells are ringing loudly.
Making 5 cakes takes how long? An hour each?
£150/5= £30/hr at the moment... open a shop, and you need to be there two days to sell the 5 cakes for the same profit... 16hrs
£150/16 = £9.37/hr (excludes the 5hrs making the cake)
£150/21 = £7.19 including the 5hrs making the cakes... excludes any rent, electric, water, insurance.
Take the £600 a month rent figure above, working 6 days a week, over 4 weeks, it will cost your £25 a day in rent.
They're friends and family, they very rarely tell you the truth but what you want to hear. They might buy your cakes, sing you praises, theres only so much cake they can eat, and it's going to take more than friends and family to make it viable.
Not being negative... but you really need to sit down, crunch some numbers, and deal with facts and figures. Plan for the worst case scenario.
Making 5 cakes takes how long? An hour each?
£150/5= £30/hr at the moment... open a shop, and you need to be there two days to sell the 5 cakes for the same profit... 16hrs
£150/16 = £9.37/hr (excludes the 5hrs making the cake)
£150/21 = £7.19 including the 5hrs making the cakes... excludes any rent, electric, water, insurance.
Take the £600 a month rent figure above, working 6 days a week, over 4 weeks, it will cost your £25 a day in rent.
They're friends and family, they very rarely tell you the truth but what you want to hear. They might buy your cakes, sing you praises, theres only so much cake they can eat, and it's going to take more than friends and family to make it viable.
Not being negative... but you really need to sit down, crunch some numbers, and deal with facts and figures. Plan for the worst case scenario.
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- Original Poster
- #33
the people he sells my cakes to are his friends there fore they are not thinking oh we will just say there nice to save her feelings I do not know them and I think that's good because when you own a shop your not going to know the customer all my cakes are baked to the best quality there fore I don't need family members to sugar coat
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I have to side with Mark on this one. The whole thing smacks of someone who isn’t sure what you’re doing, and would struggle. Simply because you have the money to buy a place isn’t a good reason to buy one. In fact, it’s more likely to be reason not to...
Keep your money, and take out a rental premises. Take advice before signing anything, try and get the shortest term you can get so you can test the idea.
Just because you have a shop doesn’t mean there will be more demand, regardless of how you feel about it.
Probably not what you were hoping to hear, so I expect you will write off these comments as “negative”, but you came here for an answer on one thing, and you haven’t got it because your question made it clear you have much bigger problems.
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Yip me too. Skipped over the facts & figures and taken it personally then gets defensive there have been some very honest, helpful replies to your post... they are just not the answers you want to hear.
Go for it, prove us all wrong.
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Well in Great Yarmouth in the town centre with lots of empty shops the yearly lease will be about £12000 on a small shop or about £6000 if you take a very small unit in a arcade with no room for a kitchen
Normally a lease will be for 3 or 5 years in which you personally guarantee the monthly costs, so if the business fails after say 6 months you still have to pay for the remaining months
If you buy a shop, then you need to get a mortgage or pay the full price up front most likely £100,000 or more
Whatever you do you need to fit out the shop to make it attractive to customers. more money
Whilst you state there are no cupcake shops in your town, maybe a look at Greggs or your supermarket will show you they are also competitors with a known reputation and low prices
Davidwh above makes a good point you should consider
PS you don't cut up cup cakes into slices they are only about 2 inches round
Normally a lease will be for 3 or 5 years in which you personally guarantee the monthly costs, so if the business fails after say 6 months you still have to pay for the remaining months
If you buy a shop, then you need to get a mortgage or pay the full price up front most likely £100,000 or more
Whatever you do you need to fit out the shop to make it attractive to customers. more money
Whilst you state there are no cupcake shops in your town, maybe a look at Greggs or your supermarket will show you they are also competitors with a known reputation and low prices
Davidwh above makes a good point you should consider
PS you don't cut up cup cakes into slices they are only about 2 inches round
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