Hello  I am only a hobbiest decorator with hopes of opening my own company. I was curious how much space so you think is needed to have a workable kitchen and enough decorating, display and photography space. Your help would be great for planning on reno or lease space, thank you  

there's so many variables -- will you have employees, what kind of baking, retail, wholesale, by appointment -- but more importantly than how much space is how much room is there in your area for another cake business -- having a professional marketing survey taken is vital these days since caking can be done by so many for so little -- constantly erodes the potential --

and next after that would be what is your side line -- for example a lot of cakers operate out of their home which is more economical than full out rent etc -- those with the separate addresses often have a lunch counter or something additional like lessons, selling supplies etc. -- i always though a gift shop would be a great idea because of all the birthdays -- you could have two pathways of clients -- peeps who like your gift line and those who buy the cakes -- 

so while space is the least of your worries i think 500 sq ft would be about the smallest and that's pretty small -- 750 to 1000 is a little more wiggle room still compact but again just depends on what you have in mind -- 

best to you -- hope all goes very well

I'm trying to decide between space in a home (we are looking to possibly move anyways) or rented space. I don't want walk in business for individual cupcakes or other baked goods really, just custom orders. i was curious about spacing so I could make an approximate of how much space I would need in a home or rent. It would only be me working. 

500 sq feet would be a nice comfy size -- could be done smaller -- then it depends on your local regulations you might could use some home space and flip it back and forth but dedicated space is really nice --

you could also flip your dedicated space for example you could use one table /counter for packaging/air brush chamber/photography because you don't need those 24/7 -- just share that one space and it could be your main work table even -- y'know just gotta get creative but if you can squeeze out 500 sq feet you'll have a place for everything --

best to you

 I wanted to just post a picture of our finished commercial kitchen in our home. But unfortunately the site is not allowing me to so I combed through some old threads and found my post  that I created when we decided to renovate. We didn't have very much space at all to convert   So it can be done with small areas. It just takes a lot of organization lol.  I have two six-foot stainless steel tables one is for like baking in mixing and the other table is for decorating and finishing.  They each have storage underneath which is wonderful and each table serves dual purposes.  Please keep us posted on what you decide to do would love to see the progress :)

http://www.cakecentral.com/forum/t/823931/taking-the-plunge-advice-welcome

Thanks for the help. I have completed some research on my local by laws and am currently pricing out the costs to a home based business in a nearby rural town on the outskirts of the city or a separate commercial spaced business. I figure if I do the analysis ahead of time when a space opens that meets my needs I will be prepared and ready to make a decision. I just wish it was easier. In Canada, we do not have any cottage food laws and starting a legit business is costly.