I was wondering how long it took other home bakers to start earning money. At what point did your business actually take off?

I'd say about 3 years, however I'm down a lot this year. I'm blaming the economy.

Funny you should mention this topic. I just sorted through my receipts yesterday to calculate my expenses since Jan. of this year - as well as my earnings from cake orders and as of right now I have only profited about $600 and that has still NOT taken into account my electricity, water, etc. I was amazed at just how much I spent on supplies!

Yes, supplies can be outrageous!!!!!!!! I was shocked when i started to actually keep track of my costs! Def made me up my prices.

My hat is off to all of you that make the sacrifices you do in order to have such wonderful businesses.. I hope one day with everything I have learned from everyone here that I can sell my creations too. It is great to read everyone's stories but also helpful to keep from jumping into things I certainly can not afford, such as no income for years.,.,

The sacrifice and investment is why it bothers me when people ask advice on how to get around the law. My shop is approved and construction will be finished in about three weeks. I will earn money right away because I am starting with everything paid and no debt. I will have the business repay me for my initial investment, but I can set the rate. It took awhile, but I haven't even gotten one new itune in a year. But by buying all of the equipment and supplies piece by piece and storing it, and saving for the construction costs, I have few bills except for those associated with an actual sale (ingredients, electricity, etc.). I know that waiting is hard, but in this economy, debt could cause your dream to fail.