I became licensed in August, and am still trying to find fairly low cost ways of advertising. I posted info on yellowpages.com, as well as a local party planning website, and even put an ad in a local parents magazine. I know word of mouth is best advertising and takes time, but I still would like to get things rolling a little faster. Does anyone find car magnets effective for advertising? If so, has anyone ordered online? Thanks much!
I have used window cleaners and carpet cleaners, because I saw their ad on the truck as they were parked at my neighbor's house. I can't say how effective it is for cake decorating, but I do think it will have some positive impact.
I prefer the look of the window vinyl. They are not very expensive, but I think they look more professional. When you change vehicles you have to get new ones, but I don't do that very often 
ALso, check with your insurance company. Sometimes it makes it a "business vehicle" and changes your rate. 
Justducky has some great advice to check on your car insurance and see what it will do to it.
If you go with a magnet I suggest getting the background of the magnet in the same color as your car's paint (they should be able to match it pretty close) It gives the illusion that there is not a magnet on the car, but vinyl printing instead. I saw this done recently with a silver car and it looked sharp.
Also, make sure your car is magnetic! I accidently bought a yellow ribbon magnet one time to put on the car to show support, and low and behold the body of the car was plastic!
My SIL has a home-based business ( not cakes ) and she has both window lettering and magnetic business cards. She has the business cards all over the back of her car. Certainly makes people curious. She just got them, so don't know the effect on her business yet
The answer is YES!!!! I Have neighbors calling me all the time asking where my bakery is and if they can order from me. (I give them a discount, and they spread the word) I have people who have called after seeing my car parked at a wedding to tell me they loved my cake and wanted to order one. The strangest call I ever got was from a guy who wanted to know why I didn't drive an american made car. hahahaha!
My magnets I bought localling from a printer and they ran 50 bucks. Best 50 bucks I ever spent.
They sure do! I have people stop me in parking lots all the time. Just be sure to always have a business card handy to give them because it's hard to remember your phone number until they get home! I got mine from a sign company and they ran about $30 each, but I might have gotten a deal since they also do all my sign work! Good luck! -Lori
It will probably make it a business vehicle, as mentioned above, and will probably change your insurance rate. The temptation will be to just not tell your insurance company, but if you're in an accident while you're delivering something they could cause trouble for you if you file a claim and they find out you were using the car for business.
You might also want to find out if there are regulations in your neighborhood about having business-marked vehicles parked in a residential zone. If you have a permanent ad attached to your car someone could make the case that you have a 'billboard" up, and you could be subject to fines. A magnet that you could remove when you're not parked at home would be fine, I guess...I know this sounds paranoid, but there's a case going on near me where a realtor has one of those vans with her name on the side, and people are complaining that it constitutes advertising where it isn't allowed.
Oh, and even if you don't have advertising on your car, it's a business vehicle if you're using it to deliver cakes, so check with your insurance anyway! I don't have anything on my car, and they pretty much freaked out when they were changing my insurance around and found out I'd been using my car to deliver cakes. You also have to itemize the mileage of personal vs. business use out on your federal taxes, so if you claim that deduction for mileage you should also have the car insured as a business vehicle.
I have a slender magnetic sign with my logo and phone number on it. Under that I had them put: CAUTION- SLOW TURNS CAKE ON BOARD. It has helped me allot with folks pulling up behind me. Lets them know why I may be slowing down really slow in taking turns. I just place my sign on the back when I am delivering a wedding cake. And you do need to check with your car insurance.
Absolutely check on your auto insurance...former insurance adjuster here...!
That said, I have been known to circle around a parking lot b/c a cute car magnet caught my eye. I copied down the info and ended up ordering from them!
I have the lettering on the back window of my SUV and it matches the font on my business cards... I get a lot of inquiries from it! Esp. in parking lots when I'm leaving the mall or grocery store. it's definitely a GREAT way to advertise for free.... when I get stuck at a red light or in traffic now, I just tell myself "it's okay, I'm advertising to a lot of people right now" LOL
I ordered mine for a VERY reasonable, low price online at this site:
http://www.loudgraphics.net/
He even went to the trouble of matching my biz card font (it wasn't one of his font types on his site) AND he sent me an extra decal for no extra cost! He was really great.
My car sings payed for themselves in the 2nd week I had them. I got them from Buildasign.com Full color with the same picture as my avatar.
As for insurance in MA you need to change to a class 30 its about 50 bucks more a year. I also had to change my plates on my car to commercial plate. Now so far having commercial plates have cost me money because in MA we have so many toll roads and bridges. Commercial vehicles cost more for these things.
I think the signs are worth it! just be careful you dont give someone (the bird) or pick your nose you never who is looking and now they can see who you are.
Good Luck
My car sings payed for themselves in the 2nd week I had them. I got them from Buildasign.com Full color with the same picture as my avatar.
As for insurance in MA you need to change to a class 30 its about 50 bucks more a year. I also had to change my plates on my car to commercial plate. Now so far having commercial plates have cost me money because in MA we have so many toll roads and bridges. Commercial vehicles cost more for these things.
I think the signs are worth it! just be careful you dont give someone (the bird) or pick your nose you never who is looking and now they can see who you are.
Good Luck
Yeah road rage probably isn't a good idea when your phone # is on the back of your car LOL
Oh, and even if you don't have advertising on your car, it's a business vehicle if you're using it to deliver cakes, so check with your insurance anyway! I don't have anything on my car, and they pretty much freaked out when they were changing my insurance around and found out I'd been using my car to deliver cakes. You also have to itemize the mileage of personal vs. business use out on your federal taxes, so if you claim that deduction for mileage you should also have the car insured as a business vehicle.
ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY!!!!!!!!!!
15 years at one of the largest insurance companies in the world .... auto division talking here.
I have no advertising on both of my cars and my agent was adament about "no commercial insurance ..... no payment on any claims". Even tho' I use one of them for part-time personal use, it's considered a company car and is covered under the commercial policy.
Also check to see how the policy treats drivers. On your personal policy, if you give permission for your neighbor to drive your car and there's an accident, you are covered because they were driving with permission. On my commercial auto policy, I have to specifically list the people who will be driving the vehicles. If they are not listed as a driver, they are not covered.
It doesnt' have to have advertising .... it doesn't "have" to be registered in a company name. If you are using the vehicle to make deliveries for a product for which you are receiving compensation, you are a business and it's being used for business purposes.
I saw a recent thread in which a CC'ers agent told her "oh it 's no problem for as little as you do." Let me remind everyone that insurance is contract law. Your policy is a contract between you and the company. If you agent tells you something like this, then you better make him show you where, IN THE CONTRACT, it says "oh a few deliveries is ok!" or you make him put it in writing, while verifying his premium on his professional errors and omission policy is paid up.
When someone is suing you for $100,000 is NOT the time to get into a conversation that includes the phrase "....but you SAID......!"
My question is, how does the insurance company know you were out deliverying a cake when you got into an accident? especailly when you use your car for other things, like going to work (my husband uses the cake car to drive to work, as it gets better gas mileage then his truck and I don't need it during the week usually) What about if I am bringing a cake in my car instead of my business car and I get in a accident? Do I need to make ALL our cars for company use?
I can understand if you are hawling a big trailer or something like for a construction company and your equipment gets damaged. Can a cake cause an accident?
It's not that the cake can cause the accident. Cars are rated based on their use. For example, you get a lower rate if you drive less than a certain number of miles one-way to work (like 15, for example). Someone who drives 3 miles to work has a lower risk of being in an accident than someone who drives 15 miles to work.
Cars used for a business purpose tend to be on the road more than the mom who runs to the grocery twice a week.
Cars are also rated on their highest exposure risk. (When you get teenage drivers in the house, you'll REALLY understand this!) If your teenager daughter only drives the car once a month, you will still be rated for having a teenage driver .... no pro-rating for 1/30 of a month. Because the risk is there.... the probability is there. All it takes is ONE accident for the insurance company to have to pay a $100,000 claim.
When I talked to my agent, my cargo van was a company car. Since I use my Jeep Cherokee for small deliveries and for picking up supplies, that constituted business use so I had to add it to my commercial policy. Even tho' we drive it for personal use, also, the business risk is there. Since a business risk is a higher risk than personal use, the business use overrides.
Another part of the risk is if you have an at-fault accident, the injured party is more likely to sue and more likely to sue for a higher dollar amount if they find out you are a business.
How does the insurance company know? Trust me, darlin', they pay lots of money for investigators on these things! Lying to your insurance company about the use of the car constitutes fraud and they can cancel the policy and deny ALL claims due to fraud.
Indydebi, I am confused. Am I right to understand that my auto should be under a total different auto policy for business? So do I have to buy/change my auto ins. to a bus. auto policy? or is it covered under my BPO? Sorry for the stupid question, but I am still green and confused. Thanks.
Thanks so much for all the great info! I did call my insurance co today, and she said that even if I delivered 1 cake a month I would need to change my policy. Its about $100 more a year, but at least I'll be covered and won't have to worry about the car magnet either! 
Indydebi, I am confused. Am I right to understand that my auto should be under a total different auto policy for business? So do I have to buy/change my auto ins. to a bus. auto policy? or is it covered under my BPO? Sorry for the stupid question, but I am still green and confused. Thanks.
Yes, it's a different policy. And of course, it's much more expensive. 
My best advice is check with your agent.
The good news is that it's a legit biz expense and can be claimed as a deduction on your taxes!
Thanks Indydebi... now I hang my head low, and tell DH I need to redo the auto insurance. 
is going to be his reaction. then some very bright fireworks. wish me luck. 
Thanks for the reply...although I *WISH* our insurance company would charge less for driving closer to work. We used to live 2 miles from my DH"s office and they didn't give us any break. Insurance companies in our area just find more and more ways to charge you more. I have never (knock on wood) been in a accident and I don't get a discount for being a safe driver, I don't get a multiple car discount (as matter of fact, I think they charge us more becuase our cars aren't american) and we have a huge deduction. (unless our car was totaled, I doubt we would even put in a claim for a repair since our deduction is so high) So yes, I agree, you shouldn't "rip off" your insurance company, but I know I would feel less guilty if they felt the same way about me! i *WISH* our insurance would just be 100 more a year. It would be closer to 100 more a month. 
loriemomse, you need to shop for different insurance! No multi car discount???? THat's nuts!!!!! I have one car on my personal auto policy and two cars on my commercial policy. I get a multi-car on my personal policy because they cross reference my commercial policy PLUS i have my liability insurance with them PLUS i have my homeowners policy with them.
Go shopping. Immediately!!! That is bull! You are getting ripped off.
If you go with a magnet I suggest getting the magnet from schoolmagnets.us .They offers magnets in different shapes, sizes, color and purpose to suit various promotional and brand building requirements.I got mine from them and it is not so very expensive and in affordable rate starting from $0.08
If you go with a magnet I suggest getting the magnet from schoolmagnets.us .They offers magnets in different shapes, sizes, color and purpose to suit various promotional and brand building requirements.I got mine from them and it is not so very expensive and in affordable rate starting from $0.08
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