Okay, I live in Tx, and in Tx you can't bake out of your home.. boooo! I have been 'practicing' for almost a year now, doing cakes here and there, and I LOVE DOING IT! Guess what! My church said I can rent their kitchen for free to bake cakes!!! AHH! YAY! So I can sell them! eek!! I'm so excited to start a business! I love baking, always have, and am so happy to have found something I love to do, along with staying home with my two boys! I can't wait to get inspected and start off on the right track! yay!!!!

Excellent! What a wonderful opportunity for you.

Just make sure you do all the other checks (license, etc.) before you jump in with both feet. I know there are others on CC from Texas, so maybe they can be of some help to you.

Good luck!

Congrats!! That is so exciting! Good luck with your venture!

Oh I know! I want to do everything the right way to start out, don't want to get in trouble or anything before I even get off my feet! Thanks so much! I'll take any advice from Texans out there too!

Congratulations!!!!!!
God is good isn't he?

You will need to check with your local HD, if your area isn't governed by a local HD then the state of Texas HD is the governing body. Where in TX are you? For the most part you will apply for your Food MANUFACTURERS license (not food establishment). Choose the lowest income shown to start with (under $9999 annually). Last time I checked the fee was $104. Depending on where you are will depend on how quickly the HD comes to inspect your rented facility. If the State of Texas HD is your gov. body then they will mail you your permit long before they ever arrive to inspect the kitchen, but you will be able to conduct business the minute you are issued the permit. Local HD's have slightly different time lines and requirements so make sure you know who your governing HD is.

Don't forget to get your DBA for your county, and if you service more than one county, you might want to get one in each county you do business. And if you want to really protect yourself get a Texas LLC established as well. A bit pricy to do, but worth it if you can afford to do so.

Good Luck and congratulations!

We live in collin County, so each city has it's own HD. I've contacted the HD in the city where the rented kitchen is in, and just waiting to hear back from them. We live in a difference city than the kitchen is in, and that HD said I only need to contact the HD for the city in which the rented kitchen is in. So now i'm just waiting.. What is an LLC? And how much does it cost? hehe

Limited Liability Corporation. It is an intermediate step to becoming incorporated. You are still either a sole proprietorship or general partnership but your personal property and lifestyle are not in jeopardy of being dissolved if someone sues you for more than your insurance will cover. It protects your personal life from any misgivings that might arise from your business. So they can sue your business but not you personally, nor can they take any of your personal property if they win, only can take the business down. When I did it it was $500 that was 5 years ago.