thanks kellym!...

this question is asked so often...i'm thinkin this could make a great sticky!....this post was from like 4 years ago, i looked for over an hour thru his posts last nite, no wonder i couldn't find it....i woulda never dreamed it was that long ago!

Wow, it seems as if there has been some confusion on the questions being asked, since the title of the post and the question in the post were two completely different questions. Personally (in no way trying to go against the pros here), I think asking if you have the skills to begin thinking about going into business is the perfect question to start with. For example, if I wanted to open a law firm, I would make sure I had the necessary education and skills to open a law firm. I wouldn't start with the business side of it. It's a step process. Step 1: Do you have the skills, education, etc. of your desired industry? YES or NO? If yes, Step 2: Do you have the business skills to run a business? YES or NO? And so on..If any of these questions are answered no, of course (as a previous poster noted) you could always hire someone who does have the skills. BUT, do you have the knowledge to make a good decision on who you should hire.

Now, I don't own a bakery or anything. But if there's one thing I've learned in business school is that probably the most valuable asset you can invest in is HUMAN CAPITAL. This is where your skills or lack thereof come in. You are human capital. Do you possess the skills needed for the business, be it the decorating side or the business side? If not, then who are you going to hire to make up for the skills that you lack? Can you even afford to hire someone? If not, then what do you need to do to obtain those skills yourself?

In asking if you should open a bakery, I think you are getting way ahead of yourself. If your goal is to open a bakery, then that will be your last step in the process. Unfortunately, someone can't just wake up one day and decide to own a business and expect to succeed unless they possess the financial capital to hire other people to do all the work. And, without any business knowledge, they are probably going to get ripped off. I would suggest if running a business is in your future, you invest in some kind of degree or at least business classes. Community colleges offer them, and I think you can even take free ones with places like SCORE and the SBA. Business wise, that would definitely get you started in the right direction.

As for if your cakes have "bakery potential," only you can answer that. Some on here may say no, but they don't live where you live. You should really look around your area at what other people are doing. Does anyone even make cakes? If they do compare yours to theirs. I know people on here always say not to compare, but I always compare my work to other bakers in my area. Plus, that is a really good start in scoping out the competition for your business plan you will definitely need. If other bakers are making cakes better than yours, then you know you need to practice a lot more. If no one bakes, or everyone else does some terrible work, you know you are already ahead of the game. Either way, never stop trying to better yourself. Always seek to improve. In today's fast paced business world, you always have to be on your toes. Once you get complacent and slack off, it will cost you. And there is always going to be a competitor out there more than willing to take advantage of your business misfortunes.

Anyway, once again, I have managed to write a book. lol. Either way OP, you do have a long way to go, but you are farther than others. The minute you baked your first cake, you were already on your way to reaching this goal you have. Always strive to be better, and gather all the knowledge and skills you can, and you will get there. And CC is definitely a good place to start to get those skills!

I would take a business class at a CC. It wouldnt hurt.

I think your cakes right now are a lot like mine. Ive been decorating for 8 years though and Ive had my full Wilton certification for 6 years. So youre doing pretty darn good to be this new at it! I sell about a handful of stranger cakes every year but the vast majority of my stuff is all for family and friends. My skills are far from being good enough to open a bakery. Not only that but I dont understand the business side of it at all and as its been pointed out to you several times, that would be your main job in the bakery, not decorating.

My husband and I have successful real-estate business and a thriving IT business that has been going strong for well over 10 years now. I know how to manage those kinds of businesses (and its HARD) but a bakery is something totally different. I wouldnt even know where to start with that. But before I even considered it Id make sure my cakes were awesome. Not family/friend awesome (honestly I could probably ice a turd and serve it to my loved ones and theyd tell me its the prettiest thing theyd ever seen) but awesome enough that people who dont know me personally want to order from me. Since youve gotten to where you are with the limited skills youve picked up on your own Id recommend you take some real cake decorating classes. Keep practicing, youve got natural talent. Some people dont have that and all the classes, instructional DVDs and YouTube videos in the world arent going to make them any better. I think I may be one of them but thats okay. I hope you stick around; itll be fun watching you grow as a decorator.

Thanks for all the comments I would like to say that on my website I do not say anything about selling or reselling any character pans or cakes I have them on my website so my family and friend know what kind of pans I have if they want to use one. And I didn't appreciate someone sending me a message though my website saying (for the love of gawd, please stop advertising that you sell character pans.) I don't use the lord name like that and I don't think anyone else should. But again thanks for all the comments.

glad to see you posted again after all the whoop te do....best of luck to you...

amelia...I noticed you took your web site address off your siggie. About the Disney copied products...you may not have had prices on the copyright cakes, but there was a description of what flavors that were available for those pans. I totally remember 'cuz that is why I commented in the first place. Glad you are doing somthing to get full on legal. Good luck!

I don't think that the skills are quite ready to open a bakery now, BUT you did say this was a venture that you want a few years from now and I think if you keep going at this rate by then you will have some great work!
I would go through you cakes and make a list of some problem areas you see-little details that you can work on such as
-getting a more streamlined look out of you buttercream
-making your own figurines instead of relying on the plastic stuff in your portfolio
-creating more unification in your colors
etc.
But I think you are headed in a great direction!

I am definitely a newbie myself and you are MUCH more accomplished then me so take what I say with a grain of salt but no, I don't your skills are ready right now but it seems like you will get there quickly. That being said, I know someone who sells cakes every weekend and her cakes are no where near professional looking but she has a group of friends who constantly order from her so that could be a way for you to get started as well if you wanted to attempt selling cakes as opposed to practicing and giving away?