Cake Decorating for Fun and Profit

Cake decorating is a wonderful hobby and is a great way to express your creativity
If you feel you like cake decorating well enough, turn cake decorating into a fun and rewarding career. Anyone can master cake making with guidance and tutoring, along with fresh, new ideas and cake decorating tips. Cake decorating as an art form, will help you expand your imagination and your skills.
When you begin your cake decorating business, start off with simple cake designs and cake decorations. You can even start with unique cupcakes and quick selling cookies. You can also use cake stencils and edible marker kits. A stencil will allow you to dust your cupcakes with cocoa powder or powdered sugar over the top and make a wonderful, yet simple design. You will soon discover that cake making and decorating can be a wonderful creative outlet, as well as a profitable business!!

There is nothing like working from home. You don't need to commute or buy a special wardrobe to go out into the public. You can also use a home office as a tax write off. Here are some ideas to help you start and succeed in a home based cake decorating business.

F ind a Unique Way to Sell Your Cakes - Think about why people should come to you for their cakes instead of going to a bakery. Do your cakes taste better, are they more beautiful, do you offer a unique style, or do you provide better service (drop off cakes on the special day)?

Use Press Releases: Send a press release to local and nearby news papers every time you participate in nonprofit or community events in your town. You should also send a press release if you have anything happen with your business. This will be a bit of advertisement along with the announcement.

Advertise in newspapers and shoppers: Make sure to advertise your business. You should take out a larger ad the month of May for graduation, in May and June for weddings, or when a big event is going to take place. Place ads in the high school paper, or if you have a college nearby, you can advertise in any paper they may have and on the bulletin board. What discounts or specials can you offer for these events. This could prompt buyers to take action and order from you.

A Business Website: You should create a website for your cake decorating business. Make the site informative and easy to navigate. Show samples of your cake decorating skills, and mention how unique your business is, if you are flexible, and what type of cake decorating you do.

Look for Distributors: One way to expand your business is to find other businesses who are willing to advertise your cake decorating business. Coffee shops and restaurants will probably be your best bet. This will give your business more exposure and save you from having to open a store of your own. In exchange for this service they would receive a commission on each order you receive from their establishment.

Barter with local party and event planners: You can strike up a bargain with local planners to show your portfolio to their customers. In exchange you can recommend them to your customers. Get included in their list of vendors.

Offer Free Products for fund raisers, church activities, local events and festivals. Get involved in fundraising for local charities, school, church, and business events. By offering a free cake for these events, you will be gaining a great deal of advertising exposure. Make up brochures and hand them out when you are in attendance.

Real Estate Offering: Contact local realtors and offer a special on housewarming cakes for their clients. Realtors often give a gift to clients when they sell a home. When you make cakes for these occasions, make sure to place the cake in a beautiful cake box imprinted with your business name, address, phone, and web address. You can also include a discount coupon if they order a cake within a certain time frame.

Referrals: Tell everyone you come into contact with about your business. Carry business cards with all of your information on it. Give them 2 or 3 cards and ask them to pass them along to others who might be interested in using your talents. You should also ask customers for referrals. Offer them a discount on their next cake if they can drum up new business for you.

Most people don't think of cake decorating as a home based business. Usually it is a hobby or because they have a talent for making great cakes for family events. Most people start a home cake decorating business because when they made these great cakes for family occasions, those who saw the cake loved it and wanted them to make cakes for their special occasions.

There is also the appeal of working at home, you have the freedom to work on your own schedule to get the cake to the customer on time. Many of these artistic cake decorators have children at home and want to stay at home with them, and be able to make a living too.
Think about why you would like to start a cake decorating business. If you have a good business plan and are good at time management, this can be a lucrative business. Maybe you want to start a home business so you can be at home with the kids, or to save cash on the daily commute. Your main reason for wanting to start a cake decorating business at home should be that you are getting so many cake orders that it is taking a lot of your time and you feel you can go into business and make it work.

The cake decorating business can be fun, but it is also a lot of work, and you will need to have enough money to get your business off the ground. There are certain items you will need to start. You will need a few icing tips (the ones you use most often), a heavy duty mixer, mixing bowls, food coloring, spatulas, the right cake pans, enough room to work without being cramped, and an oven. The cake decorating business is time consuming, but can be very rewarding and enjoyable if it is something you like doing.

You will need to remember that family and friends are customers, and you will need to charge them for the cakes they want you to make. You have expenses and it will cost you to make a cake and you are in the business to make money. You may want to give them a discount, but you should charge them for the money you put into making the cake. Check nearby bakeries and stores to find out what they charge for cake decorating.

Don't set your prices lower than the bakeries. Make your prices comparable and let the quality of your cakes shine through. Charge by the cake and the more cakes you make, the faster you will become, and the more money you will make.

While bakeries make good cakes, you can make cakes that taste as good or better. You can also offer different options such as, a variety of cake flavors, a willingness to offer unique decorating options, and discounts or specials from time to time. At first, it is a good idea to charge around the same as the bakeries, when you become more experienced you can evaluate your prices. Once you become more popular and have made a name for yourself, you can charge more.

The advantages of operating a legal cake decorating business from your home are:

1. You can work when you want and take a break when you need one.

2. You won't have the overhead expenses that you would if you opened a shop.

3. You can be home to care for your family.

4. You will be able to make appointments to see customers. They would not be able to drop in unannounced.

5. You can set your own hours and even work in the middle of the night if you choose.

6. You will have tax advantages. Keep good records!

While Home Cake Decorating Business would be great if the business was all fun, it does require a commitment. The question is, will your family go along with the long hours you will need to put in? You will need the support of your family if you are going to make the cake decorating business succeed. Here are some things to consider:

1. Most events are scheduled for weekends. Will your family support you working every weekend? Preparation and keeping good records are very important too. In order for your buisness to succeed you will have to have your families support.

2. You are going to need extra storage for all of the equipment you need for your business.

3. Take into consideration the expense of your equipment. Some special items will be required.

4. You may need a separate kitchen to use for your business because of health requirements for the state.

Cake Decorator on Pretty Tiered Cake by jmalder
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