wanting to start own cake buisness from home

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cakes@home

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Mar 29, 2013
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  • #1
    Thinking about starting cake buisness up from home.
    Need to buy the house as council dont let you work from home so any advice on what to include when asking for mortgage please.
    Going to build an extension on the back to have a separate work kitchen.
    Any help and advice about starting up would be grateful received
    Thanks Charlotte
     
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    ZipserSir

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    Feb 5, 2012
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  • #2
    Hello Charlotte.

    Can you provide more detail?

    In your first sentence you say you are thinking about starting a cake business and in your third you are building an extension, a work kitchen and taking out a mortgage!

    It sounds as if you have gone beyond the thinking bit!

    Do you already have some sort of cake business?

    If so what are you turning over and have you thought about what you might turnover in the future?

    Hopefully the advice we can provide will be more helpful if we have a better understanding of where you are.

    Good luck!
     
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    cakes@home

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    Mar 29, 2013
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  • #3
    Done cakes for friends and family now think its time to take it to the next level. I know I can't have a shop because I have 4 children and the cost of running a shop means allot of cakes to be baking I know I can do it from home but dont know where to start
     
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    visagephoto

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  • #4
    cakes@home said:
    Thinking about starting cake buisness up from home.

    Need to buy the house.

    Going to build an extension on the back to have a separate work kitchen.
    Click to expand...

    Wouldn't it would make more sense to take out a short lease or rental agreement on small commercial premises, at least then if things don't work out you could walk away with minimal losses.

    If on the other hand everything went to plan you may then be in a better position to finance your house purchase/extension etc.
     
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    ZipserSir

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    Feb 5, 2012
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  • #5
    My wife has followed this path and at work I regularly talk to people who have the same ideas as you. There is a world of difference between baking cakes for friends and family and starting a business and investing in property. In my wife's case the next level was to bake from home for the Women's Institute Country Markets. She used to do her preparation early in the week and then bake non-stop from about Thursday onwards and then sell her goods on Saturday morning. She enjoyed and she made some money out of it, but it was hard work and she could not generate enough income to have invested in say an extension or new kitchen say. My advice would be to work out what you would like to earn from your venture and then it will be possible to work out how much effort is involved and how many items you need to sell. I know people who have made a great success out of baking, but it does not happen for everyone and you need to have a clear idea about your own expectations.
     
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    businessfunding

  • #6
    As has been said you appear to be taking on big commitments prior to starting a business -mortgage, extension in addition to other start up costs. Do you have capital to support this?

    I would suggest that you look around for some shared facilities eg a pub with under-utilised kitchen

    You could start by downloading a business-plan template which will give you useful pointers for areas you need to consider
     
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    Scalloway

    Scalloway

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  • #11
    cakes@home said:
    Thinking about starting cake buisness up from home.
    Need to buy the house as council dont let you work from home so any advice on what to include when asking for mortgage please.
    Going to build an extension on the back to have a separate work kitchen.
    Any help and advice about starting up would be grateful received
    Thanks Charlotte
    Click to expand...

    I would build the extention then start the business. You may well have difficulty getting planning permission and finance if the extention is clearly for business purposes. Also you will be liable for business rates on it.
     
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    cakes@home

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    Mar 29, 2013
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  • #13
    Can you attach pictures on here if so I will show you what types I have done.
    I'll rephrase what I wrote earlier, I know I can make it work but am more nervous more than anything if I lease somehwhere I have to commit to set hours where at home I can work around the family life.
     
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    cakes@home

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    Mar 29, 2013
    11
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  • #14
    Scalloway said:
    I would build the extention then start the business. You may well have difficulty getting planning permission and finance if the extention is clearly for business purposes. Also you will be liable for business rates on it.
    Click to expand...

    So if I just extended the kitchen for family purposes then ended up working in it that wouldnt be liable for rates?
     
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    Fred_the_frog

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    Jan 30, 2011
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  • #16
    cakes@home said:
    Can you attach pictures on here if so I will show you what types I have done.
    Click to expand...

    Upload them here then put the link on this page, between
    tags. (Although I don't know how many posts you need to be able to post links)
     
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    businessfunding

  • #17
    cakes@home said:
    Can you attach pictures on here if so I will show you what types I have done.
    I'll rephrase what I wrote earlier, I know I can make it work but am more nervous more than anything if I lease somehwhere I have to commit to set hours where at home I can work around the family life.
    Click to expand...

    Whilst I'm sure your product is good, that really isn't the main point now - it is currently about the who, how and where.

    I might be entirely wrong but your early posts suggest that you haven't created a coherent plan which will bring to light the crucial details which differentiate a business from a hobby
     
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    E

    Esk247

  • #19
    Have you worked out how you are going to actually sell the products yet?

    You need a business plan (it doesn't have to be scary, just plotting out how you're going to do this and the dates/schedules for each part of the business)

    You'll also need some sort of Marketing Plan that describes how you're going to promote your business e.g. facebook, twitter, trade fares, catering services for other businesses and events, ecommerce website.

    Also not sure about food hygiene. I'm sure there's a great multitude of basic requirements e.g. labelling for nut allergies, no pet access to the work area, recording your ingredients and food storage. When I worked for a cafe all the fridges had to be checked in the morning and at 5pm for temperature changes etc.
     
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    businessfunding

  • #22
    Most banks will provide a business plan template

    My personal view is that you should start with cashflow (don't worry - just start, there will be lots of changes as you go along.


    The main reason for this is that the cashflow headings will help you to question what you really need to run a business
     
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    vvaannmmaann

    vvaannmmaann

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    Nov 6, 2007
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  • #28
    DanielSalesConsultant said:
    Don't tell them until you're on your feet.

    The government just spent 5k on a boob job for some slapper. I'm sure a cake business isn't going to upset them.

    It sounds as though you're already thinking beyond just starting it.

    Good luck :)
    Click to expand...

    You've not had many dealings with Government departments have you?
     
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    DanielSalesConsultant

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    Jan 25, 2013
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  • #33
    I don't live off the grid!

    There is some kind of swindle that if you register your company in another country with very little tax you don't pay tax in this country. I'm not an expert at this but it goes along these lines.

    You register a trademark for instance in the UK. You then "sell" the trademark back to yourself in Ireland. You rent the trademark off your ireland company at a nice premium to claim back expenses in the UK.

    I'm not an expert but it goes along those lines. the BBC explained it in much more detail. Watch bbc panorama.
     
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    scousefowler

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    Mar 23, 2012
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  • #36
    The first place i would start would be to estimate inital start-upcosts. This would include a good estimate of the cost of everything you need to get this business up and running. After this you need to look at the practicalities.

    So first the start up costs. How much will the oven cost? (presuming some sort of double oven at the very least?) Prep table? Utensils? (specialist??) Ingredients? Stock? Fridges? Freezers? and then the non production side such as Stationary costs, flyers, advertising, letterheads........

    Then the practicalities. Space. Your going to need space for preparation, storage of ingredients and stock, as well as the oven. Your going to needs lots of time, because this is going to take over your life!! Do you have the time with 4 kids? Will they suffer as a result of your business venture? (i.e. less time for them) Do you drive? How will you get your cakes to the customer? Do you have contacts in this industry? (Suppliers, potential customers, competitors ect) How are you going to drum up business?

    So when you have considered this and maybe wrote a few things down you have the begining of a business plan. If you think you can do it, then you need to get your capital together and start to source your equipment........
     
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    D

    Deleted member 61074

  • #37
    Do some basic costing first - weigh all ingredients and work out how much it costs to make a cake, add in fuel, cost of certs, insurance, tins, packaging etc and your "wage".

    Then you can see how much you should charge, can you charge enough?

    Now take your profit and work out how many cakes you need to bake to pay for your startup costs ie extension etc, is it viable?

    Do you have the equipment to bake 5 cakes at the same time? If you can do this then your wage @£10 per hour means £2 per cake, do one after another increases your time and reduces your reward.

    Having done this go back to square one and have a think about how to make this work for yourself.

    Where are you going to sell? How many do you need to sell per week, can you sell enough, what will you do with unsold cakes?

    Just a few ideas to get you thinking in the right way, not wanting to put you off!
     
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    rayvellest

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    Mar 22, 2013
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    London, UK
  • #38
    andygambles said:
    Before you spend any money try how you have things. See if you can make sales and get any regular orders from local cafes etc. Generate money before you spend it rather than the other way round.
    Click to expand...

    I agree with Andy above, you should try to get some sales first, test the waters, see how the market reacts to what you have to offer, and only then, as long as you are being successful with it, move to a bigger place.
     
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    rayvellest

    Free Member
    Mar 22, 2013
    17
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    London, UK
  • #39
    DanielSalesConsultant said:
    I don't live off the grid!

    There is some kind of swindle that if you register your company in another country with very little tax you don't pay tax in this country. I'm not an expert at this but it goes along these lines.

    You register a trademark for instance in the UK. You then "sell" the trademark back to yourself in Ireland. You rent the trademark off your ireland company at a nice premium to claim back expenses in the UK.

    I'm not an expert but it goes along those lines. the BBC explained it in much more detail. Watch bbc panorama.
    Click to expand...

    Wow! People actually do that in real life? Can you point me to the exact episode they talk about this? I'm shocked.
     
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