Hi everyone!

I am very new to cake decorating (started in Sept of this year). I took a cake to my daughter's gym for a holiday party. I uploaded it on my page here on CC. They just left me a message that someone called them regarding my cakes. I did get alot of compliments from parents but was not expecting any calls.

I have been making cakes for only friends and family and I know that I could get in trouble for doing it for anyone else. What do I do? I really want to get as much experience as I can but I don't want to make a cake and not get compensated for it if it is for a classmate. Should I find out what they need? I don't have any set pricing and would probably only charge for materials and maybe alittle more for my time.

Any help would greatly be appriecated! :0)

If you are not legal, then call and tell them that you appreciate their kindness, but at this time you are not legal to sell your cakes and you only do them as a hobby. That way you don't worry about getting in trouble.

Coming from one who is a hobbyist, I'd say pass on this one (If you don't want to go into the whole explanation just decline due to the hecticness of the season) and start looking into a way to do it legally (you never know, it might be that you have relatively few loopholes in your area.) Your cakes are adorable and they are going to get noticed wherever you take them so be prepared for more than one phone call in the future.

Your work is amazing for a beginner, so clean and perfect. I agree though, you probably shouldn't dive into selling until you are legal. I do think that you should pursue getting legal and start selling though, you obviously have some mad cake decorating skills.

WOW for a beginner you are very talented!!

ummm, I'm a little dumbfounded.. your cakes are amazing for a beginner! seriously, you NEED to look into cakes as a business because you definitely have a talent for it...

You're right, if you're doing cakes for friends and family.. it's pretty much ok.. but once you start advertising and putting your name out there so you can sell to strangers... it can be a no no.

Laws vary state by state... Here are the states where selling out of your home kitchen is perfectly legal... So if you're in one of these states you're good to go!


Iowa, Maine, Massachussets, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia

For more complete information, there's a thread going state by state... here it is

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-586218.html

You should tell us which state you're in.. that way the people who live in your state can tell you how to get started!

Good Luck!

ummm, I'm a little dumbfounded.. your cakes are amazing for a beginner! seriously, you NEED to look into cakes as a business because you definitely have a talent for it...

You're right, if you're doing cakes for friends and family.. it's pretty much ok.. but once you start advertising and putting your name out there so you can sell to strangers... it can be a no no.

Laws vary state by state... Here are the states where selling out of your home kitchen is perfectly legal... So if you're in one of these states you're good to go!


Iowa, Maine, Massachussets, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia

For more complete information, there's a thread going state by state... here it is

http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-586218.html

You should tell us which state you're in.. that way the people who live in your state can tell you how to get started!

Good Luck!

Wow! Thank you everyone for your wonderful comments! My cheeks are red right now.

I live in Oviedo, fl. If there is anyone who can help me get started, that would be great. Shouldn't I build clientel first before I start?

I have been researching and found out that you cannot bake from home in Fl. You can't even have a separate kitchen in your house just for baking. I was told that I can rent out a commercial kitchen or check with the Dept. of Health. Where and how do I find a commercial kitchen? I can't afford to open a bakery, nor do I want to, but I do want a place where I can bake, decorate then delivery my cakes. I am feeling so discouraged now but I don't want to give up. I love decorating cakes! I really wanted to do it from home b/c I am a stay-at-home mom of 3. The more kids you have, the more expensive babysitting becomes, lol.

..moving this from the Business forum.

How about baking it for free and telling them that a gift card or something would be nice as a thank you. But of course you couldn't set a price or anything and if it's too small a GC to cover your expenses it wouldn't be worth it. I'd explain that you are a hobby and not a legal baker so you can't charge/sell to them. Maybe they have something they and you'd like to barter? Or maybe you could have them buy the ingredients and you could just bake it for them and then if they want to give a donation as a thank you? Just some suggestions to think about maybe.

I'm a hobby baker, always will be (too old too tired) but I do feel for those that are sorta caught and btw I don't know ANYTHING about cake business.