I am sure I am in the minority here, but for me, making cakes is an escape. It is how I cope with stress, a passion, a creative outlet, my time to relax. But lately, my friends, family, and coworkers have been bugging me about "when" I'm going to start my own business or open up a shop.

I just don't want to! I think that if I had to deal with customers, make cakes they way OTHER people want them to look, fuss with how much to charge, and collect payments, it would suck all the fun right out of it for me. It wouldn't be me doing it because I want to, but because I HAVE to. NO FUN.

Now I understand why, whenever I have pressured my computer genius of a husband to get a job in IT, he says I'm crazy.

Why did all of you decide to start your business?

I decided to do a small business because I had people asking me to make them items and I didn't want to get into trouble. I use to work sales so I'm use to that aspect, it's just not my favorite thing to do.

I haven't started mine yet, though I supposedly have folks lined up, ready to order from me when I do.

If I could, though, I would in a heartbeat. There's nothing quite like being able to make a decent living (or supplementing the current one) with something made from your own hands and heart. Even if it's not something you designed, any cake you do has a little piece of you in it. It's still yours, even if it's someone else's idea. They want you to do it because they like your work and want to pay you for it because they respect what you do. There's nothing wrong with that.

I do know what you're talking about, though. If this is your escape, and you don't need the income from it, then just do what you want to do, when you want to do it. Keep the love for the craft going. Making a business out of it isn't for everyone.

I got started because the supply shop I used to buy supplies from was closing and I didn't have a job at the time so I decided selling supplies couldn't be too hard so I bought there remaining supplies. Set up shop, my husband built a small building for me but people kept asking for cakes so we added a kitchen to the building and i'm getting very tired of baking.
There really isn't any fun left in it for me. I dread making cakes so much. I have cut down alot but I understand how you feel with not wanting to start a business. I feel like I can never get out from under this business.

sandeeb

I truly loved making cakes for people, until I opened up my own shop. Opening my own shop was the worst mistake I could have ever made. All I do now is cook, do dishes, and work my behind off. All the fun is now gone. Leaving very little time for my children and husband. Leaving for work at 6 a.m. and not getting home until around 9 p.m. or later, has really put a stress between the family and I. As I don't own just a cake decorating shop, I sell single serving desserts also on a daily basis. Not to mention that people are very demanding, and can be very rude. Honestly, the hardest thing about having your own business is prices. Because you don't want to be too high, and you can't afford to be too low. But you have to make sure you can cover your overhead. The whole owning your own business is a very stressful thing. Especially, when you are doing everything by yourself. My advice is too work from home, doing things on the side for people. That way you can have your cake and eat it too!

I am at a cross roads with this myself. Keep it a hobby or start a small business? Keep it fun or make a little money (which would come in handy). So I have been researching the business side here. I'm a chicken to take the step, despite the fact I have people asking me if I am a professional, when am I starting a business. I grew up with watching my grandma, never took a class, just really started a year ago and have about 20 cakes under my belt. So I don't have the confidence in myself but everyone around me is pushing me to do it, I just don't know if I am ready or am I good enough to give people what they want? I think it would be fun to start a business, my kids are all in school and timing it right. But where to start? What to do? I have never charged for a cake...Then I go back to maybe I am not good enough. I am just chicken!!

I totally now what you are talking about. I too just make cakes because I love to do it. And I only make them for family and friends. But lately since I have gotton better at it (since I joined CC ). I am always getting comments from family saying "you should sell these". Well I don't want to sell them. That just seems like way to much pressure for me. If I am just making a cake for a family gathering I usually get to do just about anyting I want with it. Also if I screw it up, it isn't a big deal. I couldn't imagine being paid to do a cake for someone and then just totally screwing it up.
I did sell one cake though (i was talked into it by family). I was putting a 2D baby on it with buttercream and it looked horrible (I am better with fondant). I just started balling my eyes out. Well it wasn't do till the next day so my husband said calm down, scrape it off and try again in the morning. So I wound up doing it in fondant and it turned out really cute and they loved it. But I didn't enjoy the whole experience.

Gosh, I've had the entrepreneur bug since I was a kid. When we were little and all of us would play "house", I was the one who ran the neighborhood grocery!

But when your friends start the "when are you going to open a business?" thing, just look them straight in the eye and say, "Whenever you're ready to write the check for $100,000 that it takes to get started in this business!"

That usually shuts 'em up!

I am fresh into the licensed business world. I decided to get started b/c I want to make money on the side not as a separate income. I enjoy making and decorating so I thought why not make a little money doing it and be legal too.

Well i had to make a living for myself, in the 80's and 90's i supported myself and my kids as an artist and a sign painter....sometimes i'd travel and do art shows...i did pretty well, but i always noticed the people who had the easiest time selling...were the food vendors...people buy food....in the late 90's, as they were importing mass produced junk, my business dried up....and my only marketable skill was painting...SCAREY!...the kids grew up and got married, and i got a loathsome job...i started thinking ...i need to find some way to combine my skill as an artist with food, so i could sell it.....so one day at my loathsome job i had an epiphany...CAKE!....i took a few classes...took a job at cookie bouquet.....then at a few bakeries( man was i ever SLOW in those days)...i'd see the seasoned decorators go at lightening speed....it looked like a miracle

met my best friend at one of the bakeries....we were both new at it....decided after a couple of years we were sick of makin money for "DA MAN"scraped our money together and opened our own shop....after the first couple years her hands started hurting real bad, so i bought her half out.

novella over...ha ha...MORE THAN YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT LITTLE CAKE.....ha ha..

geez...
I am/have been on the fence about "to open a shop or not" and have really appreciated the insight and thought this thread has provoked.
something to think about for sure!!!

one thing i have found myself saying lately is, of course doing cakes as a sole income, is that we rely on customers and the economy for our pay checks. that, to me, is the scary side of going into biz for myself...especially with the economy as it is currently.

so what about working part time at a bakery to "get the feel of it" and to do what we all love to do? not to mention, the experience, the challenges to ourselves and our skill, and to see the good and the ugly?

I started my first business when I was 16. I was an event planner and wedding co-ordinator (no one questioned how a girl who had never married could plan their wedding )
I know that running your own business is hard and takes up alot of your time and even more money, but I use it as an outlet to challenge myself and try new things.
Yes you work long hours (my sister works in the corp world and she works 12 hour days 6 days a week with kids) but you are building your own business. I have a hard time taking orders from people so being the boss suits me.

To make your business a success you need a support group around you that really supports you and understands all about what you do and the time it will take. Don't think you can't take vacations and have to be open all the time. You make your own hours and it is up to you to bring your clients in during those times.
I think a big reason why so many small businesses fail is because the owners don't realize they have to go and get clients to come in and make orders. Just because you open your door does not mean that the masses will come. If you just want to make cakes then work for someone else or give cakes away to family and friends.
But if you want to be your own boss and understand that owning a shop is more than just baking and decorating cakes start taking some business classes and find some silent investors (maybe the friends who are always trying to tell you that you should have your own business )

I have been self employed for 17 years and yes I take vacations and days off and yes I make a comfortable living and yes I do love what I do and yes it is not always great but it is mine. I enjoy what i do so I don't think of it as work, but it is not always rosy and there are days when I bang my head against the dishwasher and wish I worked behind a desk. We all have days we wished we hadn't got out of bed but I don't regret my choices because they were right for me. They may not be right for you , so find what is and GO FOR IT!

My dad always said I talked too much! Sorry it's so long.

funbun, what an excellent and well said post!

I agree totally with what funbun said...

I opened my business because I love what I do, and wanted to continue to do it legally and make a little extra $$.
I choose how many orders I do, whom I want to deal with, and when I work. I am fortunate that any income I make is considered extra in our family, so I am able to be so choosey. I don't want to take over the cookie world-just carve out a nice little niche for myself.

Indydebi, you crack me up!

You're right, though. In Georgia, I can't do it from home, so the thought of $100,000 to open a shop just to be stressed out all the time and maybe not even have customers is enough to make me want to hide in a cave!

Maybe it would be different if I lived in a state where you COULD do it from home, and sell a little here and there, choose which customers I wanted to take and which cakes to do, but I don't have that luxury.

WOW, I didn't expect so much support from you guys about this!! So many people post on here about wanting a business, just got a business, etc. And I am genuinely happy for them, if that's their dream, it's just not MY dream! And that's okay!

Thanks everyone! I feel so much better now! [/quote]

This is too funny, I just started making cupcakes to bring to family dinners and friends houses and even though I started with cake mixes I always was jazzing something up in my recipes.

and I was always decorating them in themes. what fun I USED to have. lol

I never thought about it as a business, I actually I just wanted a degree. The closest school was a culinary school. I could walk there if I so desired.

So I went there, got a degree. I worked here and there but was never happy working for someone else and not having that creative outlet.

I had been saving my paychecks to spend some time abroad. One day after working yet again 15 hours in the middle of July with white chocolate outside I took the little bit of money I had and got a place ( I'm a little sorry that I didn't give it more time, but hey.) I got used equipment and opened.

The only regret I have is that I didn't wait to get a little more well known before I opened and because I'm in a bad ( not terrible) area the rent is pretty reasonable, but the walk in traffic isn't there.

I can no longer afford to give away my time and talent so no more cutsey cupcakes for people, and they have turned mean. lol

All I can say is follow your heart, it will lead you to where you need to be.

After working in the corporate world, I decided I was tired of working hard for the other guy and making them money. I have been self-employed now for 15 years. You must be a very dedicated, self-motivated person to assume the responsibility of being in business. I can remember times when just making a pay check and walking away was easier, but in the long run I was much happier working for me. I could kick my own butt when I messed up and that was O.K. Working for the other guy always iritated me when some bimbo make poor decisions and I always wanted to kick someones elses tail for incompetence. I had no patience for inadaquate, lazy people with no job etiquette. It just made sense for me to be my own boss, I prefer to be in control. It does take alot of skills to stay on the top, and I have learned many things. It does take sacrificing, and the willingness to suffer the growing pains. After it is all said and done, I would not have it any other way.

But how do you know when to start a business? I think I would like one but then I hear people talking about how hard it is and I am really scared. I stay really busy at home and that really scares me because I am not legal and I know others do it too but I would like to be legal and am nervous to.

I will admit I do not like the paperwork and tax stuff concerning running my own business but I wolud not have it any other way.
LOVING IT.
The CREATIVITY, CRAZY PEOPLE THAT YOU MEET,
PLACES YOU GET TO GO, SETTING YOUR OWN HOURS AND PRICES. WHAT I REALLY LIKE I AM ABLE TO GET THE SUPPLIES I NEED WITH OUT JUMPING THRU HOOPS ( BY HAVING A TAX ID NUMBER EVERYTHING IN THE INDUSTRY IS AVAILABLE TO YOU).
I have a wonderful supprt system with my husband and family.
I also have a job I love and continue to work because of health insurance and 401K. It is Mon thru Fri and also allows me to run my own business.
HAPPY BAKING AND DECORATING,
CHEF ANGIE

HAVE FAITH-PUT GOD FIRST-PRAY ABOUT IT AND BE PATIENT-YOU WILL BE SHOWN THE WAY.
DO NOT LISTEN TO THE NEGATIVES
REMEMBER PLUSES AND MINUES GO TOGETHER
FOCUS ON THE PLUSES
STAYING ONTOP OF YOUR PAPERWORK WILL DECRAESE THE NEGATIVES.
WHEN PEOPLE TALK NEGATIVELY; PUT ON A SMILE AND TURN THE VOLUME OFF.
SAY TO YOURSELF- LORD WITH YOUR HELP I CAN DO THIS.
HAPPY BAKING AND DECORATING,
CHEF ANGIE

ChefAngie, that is beautifully put. Whenever I ran into a barrier, I just said, "God didnt' let me come this far just to have me fall on my face now." And we found the path around the barrier.

Here in VA, we can run a home bakery. If it hadn't been for that, I would never have created a legal business. The process wasn't as hard as I had thought and the overhead was minimal when compared to opening an actual storefront. The paperwork, taxes, inspection, etc. are a hassle, but it's worth it to not being "under the radar" anymore. I do it to supplement our income, mainly to pay for my school loans and one of our vehicles. Incidentally, the $30,000 in school debt... I don't even use that education for what I do today. If only I knew then what I know now!!!!!

I did a pretty good amount of cakes for friends, family, co-workers, school, etc. so that once I was considered an actual "home bakery", my customer base was already there. I did my first Bridal Show in January, and business is booming. It's actually gotten to the point that we are looking into adding a "shop" onto the house. I need to expand. And my son has Asperger's Syndrome, so we are trying to keep me at home. And it's nice not having to pay rent or any kind of overhead to someone else!!

Now, I also have gotten to a point where I really don't care to bake anymore. I love decorating the cakes and doing all the art work, but I'd be more than happy to have someone come in and just bake for me. Who knows, if I stay on the path I'm on now, that may be a possibility!

Don't ever feel like you "have" to start a business. It costs time and money. And then it becomes a "job" and less of something to take joy in. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do, but now there's the pressure of making sure I actually do it right, all the time! And anyway, there's nothing wrong with doing a cake here and there and under your terms, not theirs. It's amazing how much people "assume" and what they expect from you but aren't always willing to pay for that.

Let Me share some things with yawl-
We are the masters of our own fate along with GODS help.
A HAPPY MOTHER MAKES HAPPY KIDS-ASK FOR HELP WHEN YOU NEED IT-USUALLY WE WOMEN WILL HELP EACH OTHER OUT-SO GO TO OTHER MOTHERS WITH KIDS IN THE SAME AGE GROUP AND SHARE AND HELP EACH OTHER-GET THE MEN INVOLVED ,TOO!
NO ONE DETERMINES YOUR WORTH!!!!
J-O-B is an acronym for JUST OVER BROKE!!!! TOO MUCH TIME IS SPENT BEING MISERABLE JUST FOR THE MONEY. TAKE CLASSES TO LEARN SOMETHING NEW OR TALK TO PEOPLE WHO DO WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO. THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO WOULD GLADLY SHARE THEIR KNOWLEDGE TO TEACH SOMEONE TO CARRY ON WHAT THEY DO.
YES I DO HAVE A JOB- I TEACH CULINARY ARTS AT A HOME FOR GIRLS-LOVING IT-DOES'NT FEEL LIKE A JOB.I WORK M-F AND WHEN I HAVE CAKES TO DO-CRAFTS TO MAKE-OR ARTPIECES THAT HAVE BEEN COMMISSIONED IT ALL WORKS OUT AND I AM IN A HOUSEHOLD WITH FOUR OTHERS.
MY 85 YO MOTHER, HUSBAND, DAUGHTER AND GRAND CHILD-HE IS SEVEN AND A WONDERFUL HELPER AND IS LEARNING EVERYTHING I LEARNED FROM MY PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS.
MY FATHER USE TO ALWAYS SAY DON'T PUT ALL OF YOUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET-
WHAT IS THE WORD OF TODAY-DIVERSIFY.
MONIES SHOULD BE COMING IN FROM THE THINGS YOU ARE ABLE TO DO FOR YOURSELF. WE ARE ALL BLESSED WITH A GIFT THAT BENEFITS OTHERS.
STOCKS- INVEST IN UTILITIES (WE ARE GOING TO ALWAYS NEED LIGHTS, GAS, OIL AND WATER). DO SOME RESEARCH.
LOVE, LAUGH,LIVE LIFE-DON'T BE AFRAID
HAPPY BAKING AND DECORATING,
CHEF ANGIE