I was wondering if you guys had any good tips for starting a little cake business from home? Like...how do you get customers?!

All I can think of at the moment is friends, etc and Facebook. As I only want to do this on the side and mainly for fun, I don't want to be very bothered with getting a 'food health standard' kitchen and any of the other malarky, so I wouldn't want to draw attention to myself?

Hey Faith, I'm not sure where in the world you are, but I'm in Australia and here's my 2c worth. If you want to start a 'cake business' from home you are going to have to be bothered with getting your kitchen registered. It's not malarky, you are dealing with food and food comes with hazards, potentially fatal ones. Plus there is the fact that if you are caught selling without a food business licence you face major fines.

If you just want to do it for fun for friends and family, then don't charge and you wont have to bother with any other malarky.

Hiya, friends and family are definitely the best place to build a business from as they are good for 'word of mouth' recommendations. Work (either your own or partners) is another good place to spread the word that you are opening a business.

Now ... brace yourself for the responses to your OP. Being legal is always a hot topic on this forum so be prepared for lots of 'comments' about your choice of words.

Good luck with your business I'm sure you will make it a real winner

Haha. Well thank you so far! I'm honestly not looking to do anything major, so perhaps friends would just be the idea for me.
I'm on 20, starting college soon and all sorts so I'm not looking for anything big at ALL.
Also, I live in England.

Hi Faith - I'm afraid you're setting yourself up to get flamed by disregarding completely the need to get registered. As Pixie said, as soon as you start charging for your cakes, and start looking for customers, then it's no longer just for fun. You are selling a product and as a seller you will have responsibilities. Depending on where you are in the world it can range from straight forward to very difficult, from what I've seen here. I've just registered my kitchen (I'm in the UK) and I've found the process very easy and straightforward, and I did so even though I only plan like you to do very few cakes and just for my own pleasure, but when I do charge for these I will also have peace of mind.

Hi I agree you need to be legal.
I would like to know what you have to do to become legal too.

So far I have only made for friends and family but people keep asking if they can buy cakes from me so am thinking of setting up after my kitchen renovation.

I am in the UK too so could you outline the prossess please idontknow?

I will only be doing 2 or 3 cakes a month as thats all I have time for but want to be legal and have insurance.

Hiya,

I am also in the UK and looking to start off very small (would like to do cakes for friends etc and maybe sell at fetes etc). I want that piece of mind that should anything go wrong despite all precautions, i won't be stung with any legal action!!

I have just been in contact with food standards and basically you will need to register as a business, and have your kitchen inspected (they will give you guidelines to be prepared beforehand). You will also need to be responsible for tax returns etc so it may pay to see if you can find a course (some are free) for starting a new business- this will often include tax information.

You will have to keep records of ALL the products/ingredients you buy, where from, use by dates etc so that if a customer DOES become ill, you can trace where it may have originated.

Lots to look at, but well worth it if you want to have a legitimate and SAFE cake business, no matter how small. Good luck!!!

Oh and with regards to customers- friends and family (as others have said) are a great starting base to get the word out. Lots of freebie tasters will help

Also, as I mentioned before I plan to sell cakes/cupcakes at fetes etc. Try craft fairs- once you're all legit, they may be the kind of places where you are likely to come across the type of people who are willing to pay that little bit extra for a quality cake, as opposed to dry, tasteless supermarket cakes.

And also, visit http://www.vistaprint.co.uk where they often have offers of free business cards (which you can hand out at your sales etc), and at the moment I believe you can also set up your own website free through them. You then just pay a small fee each month. Well worth a look!! HTH

There's some great comments on this thread already...I have no idea what the process is for running a legal food business in the UK, but in general you will probably want to take a look into that process if you will be using facebook and other methods to advertise. If you rely solely on word-of-mouth, do not advertise at all, and sell only to close friends and family the risk is lower. Since you're starting college soon the latter might be the better route to take, it is very time-consuming running a real business.

If you do decide to eventually go legit there are several other types of customers you can look at selling to -- for example, you could provide desserts to local restaurants or sell your products through coffee shops or supermarkets. A business plan is also important, so you know which products to sell, how much to charge for them (knowing your costs is critical), which groups of customers to market to, and what sets your product/business apart from your competitors.

Whichever way you decide to go, best of luck with your business!

In answering your question about getting new customers- focus on word of mouth amongst family and friends. Also, talk to local charities and churches...donate some time to help kids decorate cupcakes and mini cakes and you'll be surprised how quickly your name will spread. Even though your 20 years old and in college you should make your business legit and who knows... You may be able to start a business you'll keep forever.

I didn't know either, until I spoke to the Environmental Health office and asked what the process was, who told me I was able to start once I'd sent off my form. It may be different from council to council so always best to ask.

Very good point- I've been in contact with someone but will rememebr to ask that question specifically.

Its a headache to sort everything initially, but I know i'll feel so much better knowing everything is above board and I'm not going to have any nasty house calls if someone found out I wasn't legit!!

Vistaprint does a very good job with their print media and their websites- I'd reccomend them to anyone. I have previously used them and been very pleased.

With that being said, business cards are a BAD IDEA unless you are registered and licensed, as is a website. If you really want to do it under the table and off the books, do not leave any kind of paper trail that will lead back to you. Only accept CASH. Don't place ads on facebook or craigslist or anything like that. You'll have to rely solely on word of mouth. Don't give yourself a business name. There are ways to protect yourself and "hide" income, though I don't generally condone it. If it's only a few cakes once and a while, that's nothing significant enough to raise attention. If they agree to pay you for ingredients and then also tip you, well hey, no harm there. There's no law that says you can't willingly give someone else money. Think about someone selling furniture or other household items- they don't claim the money they made as household income- lol.

Seriously though, it is food and even when proper steps are taken, things can happen. Use your best judgement and make the decision that is right for you. Both choices present their own pros and cons.

thanks for the info and tips.

I am just planning the kitchen at the moment, I am having a new cooker and am very excited about it. Its a range with two ovens, dual fuel, can't wait till it comes. I am having a new fridge/freezer too, I think it will be full of cakes!

Another question. I have spent hundreds of pounds over the last few months on my 'hobby' and have not kept any reciepts so how can i work out start-up costs if I do go down the bussiness route?

And approx how much is the insurance? I am already registered self-employed so hopefully that bit will be covered. I dont think I will be making much money, I just dont want to get into trouble with environmental health, or be sued!

I'm 99.9% sure without receipts, you can't write anything off as a business expense. Save absolutely every receipt you can from this point forward. Also keep track of your gas mileage if it's work related!