I haven't ready this whole thread, but I'll throw in my experience. I opened my own bakery back in May. I had a moderate level of business experience, but still I didn't know everything. I am sure I still don't! Business is so expansive in what it calls for you to know. I was a home baker for about 3 years before venturing out into a retail bakery. We sell cupcakes, cake push pops, and custom cakes. The start up costs were not too hateful as we found a location that used to be a deli. We weren't required to make any changes to the actual structure of the kitchen which was nice. I think one of my biggest mistakes was thinking how much I was going to be able to accomplish without hiring more people. We started (my business partner and I) with only hiring two VERY part time girls. Since May, we've acquired a decent staff - one full timer, 4 part timers, and one non-paid culinary intern. We work lots of hours, make not a ton of money (right now), and we're still figuring things out. We're on pace to turn a decent profit by the end of this year, which is pretty ahead of the curve. We did not take out any institutional loans nor any loans of any other kind. We operate on a cash basis. Over all, it's A LOT more work than I thought, but I can see it getting less and less as we learn the ebb and flow of the shop. For us, a mall location was not optimal. The rent was triple what we are paying now and the hours were already set by the mall. We found an adorable little shop in a tiny little shopping center in a great part of town. Overall, it's worth looking in to if you're really ready.

Thanks Shannon: I would love to work for a bakery that would let me have some freedom to do some experimental baking and decorating. I do not have the means to open a shop of my own and not sure if I ever will(unless that is what God wants me to do).

I tried a couple of close locations today and one has been running awhile, but just had hired two new people and she told me about another that had just opened and it is right down the street from me. However, she also told me that this girl needs some real help in the baking dept. She told me that she had tried a couple of things and then bought some stuff and took it home to have her family try and see if they could come up with better stuff. I don't think that was too hard. When I talked to the new girl I told her who had told me about her shop and she said Yes, we have only been open just a little while and we are going to have to wait until we are a little further along before we can hire someone. Well evidently she is sort of a deli also and I am hoping that her food on that end of things is better than what the other lady told me her baked goods were or she will never get off the ground. What my question is, is this, is there anyway that I could really help her w/o hurting feelings so she could get off the ground and succeed? She told me that she was tired of the corporate world and wanted to do something different and fun. I don't blame her at all and I hope she succeeds, but without better product she isn't going to. This question is not just for shannon, it is for anybody that as a creative way that I could help her see she needs something better to draw people in and keep them coming back. I am sure that people will eventually drift inthere to try it, but if her product is not good they won't be back.

The lady that told me about her shop was not in any way being malicous at all. She is in no way going to lose customers to this lady even if the lady did get better product.

Maybe you could suggest that you can get some kind of market research for her done at no charge where you will have people taste her products and give her feedback? You can say this will be a good starting ground for her to get word out about her products and also tell her that she could improve her baked products??

To the OP:

There is a very successful cupcake shop near my house that has recently expanded the business to 3 shops in the surrounding area. All they offer at the shops is cupcakes. They will make small 6" cutting cakes that go on top of their cupcake tiered stand for weddings, but that is it. You can't buy a cake from them any other way.

One of the reasons they are so successful is because they have made a brand for themselves. You don't buy from them just because you want a cupcake - you want everyone to know you where you bought them from and leave them in the box when you take them to your work, party...

Last year they began to branch out with selling their buttercream and little bags of cupcake mix (just add water and eggs kind of thing). They ship their cupcakes, buttercream and mix all over the US. I know someone that is privy to the companies finances. I don't know the figures but the person told me that the buttercream and cupcake mixes have more than tripled the companies profit. The cupcakes were enough to make a living but now, they are making money (there is a difference).

As to the mall location:

A different bakery in my area (1 of the 2 large, high end bakeries here) opened a store front in a high end mall about 25 minutes from me. The store had cupcakes/coffee for sale. There were several display cakes out for people to see. The location at the mall didn't make any custom cakes, but they would take orders there for cakes for the other location to make.

I saw the bakery one day while shopping at the mall and thought "What a wierd place for a cupcake shop". The main reason I thought this is because people don't go to the mall to buy cupcakes - the shop seemed out of place. During a consultation with a bride she mentioned she had seen a cupcake store at this mall and she thought it was a strange location to open up a branch of the bakery. She too thought the shop seemed out of place.

After their 6 month lease was up the shop closed. Remember, this shop was not opened by buy someone that didn't know what they were getting into (NOT implying you don't know what you are getting into- - just pointing out that I am sure the opening was a well thought out, researched idea). The bakery that opened it has been an extremely successful bakery for over 60 years in town.

I was at the mall several times in the 6 months they shop was open and not only did I never buy a cupcake there (when buying clothes the last thing I want is to eat something fattening) I NEVER once saw anyone in the shop. NEVER. Who thinks "I want a cupcake - let's go to the mall"? Plus, you will be limited to the malls hours as to when you open and close. Or, looking at it a different way, you will be forced to extend your hours open to the public because of the mall's hours.

To be fair, a bake shop in a mall can be successful -- a mall near us has an Andersen's Bakery (breads, pastries, and sandwiches) and a Red Ribbon Bakery (cupcakes and cakes), both are quite successful. Cinnabon is also not that different from a cupcake shop, and they are a staple in most food courts.