Vista Print Having A Huge Sale! I Ordered Business Cards!
Decorating By CakeDiva73 Updated 16 Jul 2006 , 5:34pm by wendysue
I was designing business cards to advertise my cake decorating business and just got an email from Vista Print and they are having a huge free sale - 25 magnetic business cards delivered for $4.25 - 100 glossy post card delivered for under $6.00 and a bunch of other goodies too.... I have been looking for good quality but inexpensive printing options for weeks and just wanted to share it with anyone else who may be looking too.... sale ends tonight at midniight so I will be stuck to my computer designing all night instead of up to my eyes in buttercream like I usually am 
you can IM or email me and I can forward the email to you if you are interested.... they have so many neat styles and cake background to choose from - I was in heaven!
Crud! I posted this in the wrong forum - I am sorry 
I am so glad to hear from someone who has heard of them. I use 'Wetinkprinting' and they offer 500 glossy quality stock business cards shipped and everything for $9.99 but they take a month to arrive and their designs are a bit basic... I am going to go back to Vista after I take the kids to swim and order brochures - 25 for FREE and the shipping was about $5 - then I can figure my prices and options and they will let you upload pics so I was going to pic a handful of cakes to put in the brochure....
I sure didn't want anyone to think I was spamming - I have absolutely no association with them but I just got so excited about these deals... hee hee, I even ordered a inked stamp and return labels and such...what fun!
I'd love a copy of the email. Could you please send it to me? Thanks!
[email protected]
I've also been thinking about getting business cards from Vista. It's good to hear that they do quality work. I get their e-mails all the time. I do have a question though, and it may be a silly one. Do you have to have a legal business (go through the whole process) in order to have a business name on the card? I've made a running list of names that I'd like to use for my cake business, but haven't picked on yet. Ordering business cards would force me to narrow it down and select a business name. I so don't want to use "Cakes by Andrea" if a don't have to, it just doesn't seem to work, though I know many other folks do it successfully. Any advise is much appreciated.
It's my understanding that 'technically' we need a license, etc... but I haven't gotten one. I live in CA and I simply have no way of converting my exisitng kitchen into something that would pass a health inspection. If I get so much business that this becomes an issue, I will go into town and see about renting off-hour time at the local church or cafe.
As for my business name, there is some way to check and make sure it doesn't already exist in your state but I couldn't get the search to work. Mine is really weird so I am not worried.... I was up until almost midnight loading pictures of my cakes to customize the front of the post card and then forcing myself to come up with a price list. I am so wishy washy and I am glad that this came along to force me to make some decisions.
Vista Print is great. They do a wonderful job and are very reasonable. You can get 250 business cards anytime for free if you use one of their free designs. Then all you pay is shipping, which I recommend using the slowest rate. They usually get to you fairly quickly. Once you've ordered you'll get emails a few times a month advertising their specials.
If you go to there site look for the free cards.
Be careful not to get yourself into trouble if you're not licensed. My cards don't advertise a business, but just have my contact information and links to my blogs. 
I don't want to get 'caught' either but I have to say, I designed them to look like real business cards - no price quotes or address - just ny name, number and a little line about custome cakes, etc.... I think I can go downtown and get a business licence for my business name for a modest price but as for the whole health dept thing, I think it is far more difficult...
I don't want to get 'caught' either but I have to say, I designed them to look like real business cards - no price quotes or address - just ny name, number and a little line about custome cakes, etc.... I think I can go downtown and get a business licence for my business name for a modest price but as for the whole health dept thing, I think it is far more difficult...
may not be so hard depending upon where you live. Here in NC it's very easy (well once you clean your home kitchen top to bottom). so take heart and explore your options. the business license won't be all that hard -- paperwork and a fee. You might want (have?) to register that your going to business under an assumed name. Don't forget insurance, and check if you have to collect sales tax.
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just ordered a whole bunch of stuff from VistaPrint. shame they don't offer web templates/art and big mailing lables like you put on packages but overall...wow...lots of nice stuff.
Thanks everyone for your input, real helpful. I've been dragging my heels on this for too long. Guess the first thing to do would be check into getting legit/licensed and pick a name and do the search thing to check out whether it's been used in NJ yet. I've got about 25 names on my list (some better than others, some I can live with), so I'll need to narrow it down a bit to favorites.
The kitchen / health dept issue is something to be concerned about. The good thing is my house is only a couple of years old and I'm normally good about keeping the kitchen clean (even the top of the cabinets!) so I think I would pass inspection. My problem then would be refridgerator space!
Is it just a matter of having a clean kitchen? That is not an issue - I would never bake/cook food for others if my kitchen wasn't clean....( now my kids are another story I assumed there were other factors like a seperate area or a triple sink or something. I watch Recipe for Success alot on the food network and so many have to find commercial space to rent to comply with local codes. I am in Central California - Stanislaus County and I am having a heck of time finding actual rules/regulations spelled out so I can understand them.
I also need fridge space - used to have an extra old one out on the back patio - couldn't figure out why my monthly bill was so bloody high and when I called the power company they told me that old fridge was costing me approx. $70 per month to run - can you believe that? It was out on the curb the next day. I am considering getting an second fridge, this time an energy star, but it would have to be somewhere in the house since in the summertime it is well over 100 outside so any fridge would cost a fortune to operate. Ug! So much to consider and think about...
Is it just a matter of having a clean kitchen? T
I can only speak for North Carolina, where we can bake out of a very(!) clean home kitchen IF all we do are cakes, cookies, brownies, chocolates. Beyond that, must be a true commercial kitchen set-up.
as for finding the rules: pay visits to BOTH:
>> zoning dept. of your town (mine was SO helpful and so full of good advice).
>> the health dept. of the county (or town). they will definately know all the rules and regs.
(yep...looking at new frig and a new stove too! -- gonna have to sell a lot of cakes!)
Oh, this is probably much more involved than just having a clean kitchen, and insurance is definately a good idea. The first step, I guess, would be to check with my local zoning and health depts. (like Doug suggests) to see if it's feasible. But what if it isn't? How do you do business, pass out business cards, advertise (even by word of mouth, which is what it is for me right now) and do a legitimate business?
How do you do business, pass out business cards, advertise (even by word of mouth, which is what it is for me right now) and do a legitimate business?
I don't! I've decided the risk isn't worth it all. I do have a generic looking card, blue background with large yellow flower and my name and contact info along with my blog addresses, so anyone I give it to will know what my "hobbies" are. I've been tempted so many times to just do cakes for anyone that asks about them, but I'm just too much of a chicken. My friends, family, and new friends I find will know what I do in my spare time, but I'll only do cakes for people that are very close to me. I'm not willing to risk getting into trouble. Lately it's been worth so much to me just to have people email me and say hey, love your cakes! Makes my day!
I'm looking for other ways to supplement my income. Have decided just very recently that cakes won't be the way... at least not while living in this house. In a few years we'll be building a new home and at that time I may or may not decide to add on a separate kitchen for business. Feels good to have some time to think about it! In the meantime I'm just going to play and have fun with the decorating thing. 
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