This Is Why I'll Never Have A Shop..
Business By FromScratch Updated 12 Jun 2008 , 3:09am by FromScratch
Don't get me wrong.. I'd love to have a shop.. it's a dream for sure. But where I live.. rents are crazy.. even in this crazy market. I found the PERFECT place last night.. right on the main drag in dowtown Portsmouth.. BEAUTIFUL brick building big wooden door.. GORGEOUS. 2712 sq feet of prime retail space with 2 huge bowed windows in the front and 4 or 5 smaller windows going up the side of the building down a side street.. the rent you ask??? Why ony $30/sq ft/year.. that's 7K per month.. and then there's taxes and utilities which would be another 3K per month.. oh and ingredients and payroll. When you think about it.. YIKES!!!
But you know what? If I coudl get my foot in the door.. I'd do it in a heartbeat. Anyone have a lonely rich uncle about to keel over???
That's a little bit like driving out to the hills to see all the mansions and imagining living in them You could have a shop that was a lot smaller than 2700 square feet and have your dream that much sooner
No rich uncle, sorry. Doesn't it stink when you find something perfect then realize the price per square foot
wow that's a lot!...i bet it's really pretty tho...
that's really big too.......my electric bill to cool a place 1/3 that size is pretty high....i dunno if i'd wanna make the extra cakes to cool it.
man if i had a rich uncle....hmmmmmmmmm....maybe he could give me the money to get the roof fixed on the place i bought to put the bakery in....
i looked in my piggy bank last week, i figure i just need to sell (and save) the money for 10 more wedding cakes...only 10...how bad could that be?....not bad...the being able to keep it and not spend it on overhead is the interesting part.
I have the opposite problem. Retail spaces here are very cheap. A place I found was a little over 1000 sq ft, on the "Main St" of my town, and only $400 total.
I live in a very low cost of living area. And that is my problem. People here expect cake to be priced next to nothing. To give you an idea the bakery in my town sells their wedding cake at $1.35 a serving. In the big city next to us the prices raise to a whopping $2.50! So I went for a $2 a serving medium. I have had people inquire about wedding cake, but that is as far as it goes. I can't even get my foot in the door with a tasting, because it never gets that far.
I finally had a chance to make a cake for my mother's circle when she had a house warming party this weekend. I made a two tiered cake with a lemon cake with raspberry filling and my new dulce de leche rum cake (YUM!). I had so many compliments I am hoping that I can get some word of mouth with these higher income people.
I am so sick of being expected to be the "cheap" cake decorator its so offensive and depressing.
Ooooh seester.. I'll take a few rich uncles. They don't even have to be lookers.
There isn't much around right now that is smaller than that that isn't office space. The space is GORGEOUS.. very open and bright and in a prime location with a TON of foot traffic. The utils run about $6/sf it said and taxes are $3/sf. Unfortunately.. a bakery wouldn't fair well anywhere where the rents are cheaper because you NEED that foot traffic. I could get a place that would be cheaper.. but it'd be MUCH harder to muster up business.
Just dreaming for now. I am not ready to jump into a shop just yet. But if I could.. I would.
I told my DH that I could be a baker by day and a high priced escort by night and pay for it.
theres hardly any foot traffic where i am...if they are coming...it's to see me.
i got a tanning salon, and a prostetic (sp?) guy in my lil strip....and a laundramat on the other side.
the tanners wanna stay fabulous and skinny...the peeps getting a leg, aint thinking of cake, and the laundramat goers only want cupcakes...that i don't keep (no profit margin).
i don't think i'd really want a bunch of walk ins...i only do custom orders, i don't have anything to walk in and take home.
I'm pretty sure Donald Trump is one of my long lost relatives, but that dang geneologist just can't find where my branch and his branch on our family trees connect!
But I know just what you mean. You see THE place that is calling out to you; it's got your name on it!
Now if you just get over that pesky money barrier thing!!!
All my uncles are rich!
They have any wives. Hehehehehehe
Oh yes.. I understand. I really would love to have a little bakery where you can come in and grab a cupcake or a cookie.. possibly a piece of pie and a coffee and also do custom orders.
My hubby wants to open a restaurant.. this would also be a primo spot for that. I am in no way going to be able to do it right now, but eventually.. it would be beyond glorious.
All my uncles are rich!
They have any wives. Hehehehehehe
Or do they fool around?
jkalman
aren't you very close to the ocean? Wouldn't that make everything much more expensive? My son is 10 mins. from Portsmouth
In my town they have commercial houses for rent or some you can even buy. A lot of them go for around $100k to $150k for the house. You would get them the same as you would a house, 15 or 30 year loan. Which would make your payment per month around $1000- $1200 a month. I am sure you would have to outfit it with new ovens, refridgeration, and possibly a chest freezer.
My dream place is a house just like that in a rural area about 20 minutes from downtown St.L. It used to be a private insurance company. I have been inside, and its really nice. Its for sale right now, but I cant afford it right now. Money is just too tight right now. Its something to think about though.
You are lucky then.. I was looking at what it would cost to buy around where I want to open a shop.. nothing for less than $750K.
I live about 15 minutes from the ocean and 25 minutes from Portsmouth. Everything is more expensive here. You can't buy a home (that's not a double wide) for less than $250K.. and that's not a big place. Even condos and townhomes are going for close to $200K some WAY more. A 2 bedroom apartment in Portsmouth can cost you over $1M if it's downtown and you can see even a tiny bit of water.
It will happen someday.. I just wish I could snag it now.. since it will probably be a looooooong while before it ever goes on the market again.
That building sounds like heaven. I dream about a shop here, across the street from a park that is always packed with kids. If I could have a window full of giant pink cupcakes, I could making a killing.
Ahhhh. One day, maybe.
Wooow....
it's nice to hear that I'm not the only one out here in cake world dreaming There is this place for rent/sale...I don't even know, I just know I can't afford it! It used to be a bakery a long time ago. The business recently moved and now just does breads.
I would love to take up that spot! On one of the main streets AND right next to the high school! Those kids ALWAYS leave for lunch since there's a Wendy's, Dunkin Donuts and Burger King in the other three directions - then there'd be my cake/cupcake/cookie shop in the fourth direction!
It's right by a major intersection too!
Someday......maybe......but probably not.
I wouldn't even know how much I'd have to sell to make enough money anyway, know what I mean? Like how much money would you want to make (minimum) in a month based on $10k/month of expenses?
ITS THE SAME WAY HERE THEY WANT YOU TO GIVE YOUR CAKES TO THEM AT WALMART PRICES, NO WAY NOT ME AS MY HUBBY SAY YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR...HAVEING YOUR OWN BUSINESS THE WAY EVERYTHING IS GOING UP IS LIKE REALLY OUT OF MY REACH...JUST ORDERING BOXES UPS WENT UP AND THE EXTRA CHARGES WOW, GOING TO GET WHERE I WILL HAVE TO STOP TILL SOMETHING HAPPENS....I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST HOPE YOU WILL OWN YOUR OWN SHOP ONE DAY..
jkalman,
I know *exactly* what you mean about that area. My fil works there at the shipyard. We lived up in Yarmouth for a year and I couldn't believe the difference in the cost of living. We're back in the midwest, where we can afford to eat!
It's sad really, we love it up there. And my husband has a lot of family there, we just couldn't afford to stay. I couldn't imagine trying to start a business up there on the coast. I wish you the best if you try to do it!!
You have to take "Baby Steps" I think and start with something that is simply "workable, unless - like others have said - you have a RICH UNCLE!
I looked and looked for a shopo location, while leasing space in another business's location. It wasn't ideal, but it got me doing business.
After hours, I scoured the area I wanted to be located in and finally found the perfect little, historic location in a very family oriented community not far from my home. It is only 600 square feet - but it is workable and certainly beats trying to do it from my own home. I have great street exposure and so far the location has proved to work in my favor. The lease is only $700 a month and utilities only run around $135 a month. (You can check out my interior on my website at www.cakesbyvictoriamoore.com to see how I have it all laid out.) Yes, it is small, yet cozy and we do turn out quite a few cakes! Do I desire to expand and have more room some day - absolutely! But I will be BUSTING AT THE SEAMS in my present location before I consider it!
I will have to say that I do envy others who have the financing to be able to do take it to the limit at the onset! Unfortunately - I have to take "baby steps" as I mentioned in the beginning!
OOOPS! Sorry for the "typos" in my last post - I must say I was enjoying a glass or two of wine! Time to go to bed and face another day!
Oh I am taking baby steps.. no worries. Right now I am just a happy little licensed residential baker with very little overhead. I was just doing my usual dreaming and drooling when I saw my dream location dangling right there. Someday I will have that little prime spot.. for now I'll just dream and drool.. and be happy I don't have to come up with 10K per month just for the building and utilities to run it.
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