I'm a FT college student and I'm wondering if it's possible to make about $1100 a month doing cakes/cupcakes? Suggestions...
Yes it is, you mentioned I am a full time college student- become friendly with all the clubs and organizations on campus,staff and falculty, especially the greeks!
How much baking and decorating equipment and supplies do you already have?
Consider:
Office Buildings
Elementary, Middle and High Schools
Hospitals
to generate sales.
Make sure your business paperwork is in order,business license, health department certificate, and taxes-local, state and federal.
I only decorate as a hobby so I can't tell you from my own experience, but---I think it would be difficult to be a full time student and make 1,100 clear per month. You would definitely have to be doing wedding cakes. Someone who decorates for a living will be able to give you a better answer. Good luck to you!
Yeah, I would try to let everybody on campus see some of your work. you could easily make that amount. I am a full time teacher and I probably make $1000-$1500 month. And that's just doing birthday cakes. Add anither $500 plus for every weekend that has wedding cake scheduled.
yes, thats the same for the culinary school I went to, I had wanted to set up a birthday delivery for the dorm students. I had wanted to come up with some sort of deal...
and was told that they could only offer cakes from the people that ran the cafeterias.
Just wondering...how many cakes is everyone making to clear $1000 a month?
you have to figure out how much your monthly bills are ..including all the costs of making the cakes...then you can see how many more you need to make to clear 1000 a month.
I have to make 3, 50 dollar cakes every day for 30 days to make 4,500..then deduct my rents of 3,500 to clear 1,000.00
but then there are my other bills..my car, my college loan, support my son and his college fees..
Getting the pictures?
so I guess I'd have to make...5...50.00 cakes every day ..
[quote="RisqueBusiness]..then deduct my rents of 3,500 to clear 1,000.00[/quote]
My mouth dropped open when I read that. I can't imagine paying 3,500 a month for rent. ~ Wow!
[quote="RisqueBusiness]..then deduct my rents of 3,500 to clear 1,000.00
My mouth dropped open when I read that. I can't imagine paying 3,500 a month for rent. ~ Wow! [/quote]
yep, People think it's easy...and I do all this by myself, so imagine how much it burns my toast when I lose jobs to people with no overhead that can undersell me 
not only that, but it cost me over 15,000 to set up my little, and I do say little shop, so no...I'm NOT going to celebrate when someone is making their cakes, selling them with no concept of what is involved and I don't really care HOW clean their kitchen is... 
imagine how much it burns my toast when I lose jobs to people with no overhead that can undersell me
I remember you replying to a post a couple of weeks ago concerning people that undersell cakes and how upsetting that was. You were encouraging folks to not undersell. I have been putting a lot of thought into what you said. It certainly makes sense. I hope to have a shop of my own one day. 
Where I live, rent wouldn't be quite that expensive. That's a LOT of cakes for one person to do. You deserve a full body massage 
I'm so happy that you understand my little rant, as I wasn't trying to come across as offensive, just trying to let people know that it costs money to make money and in this business unless you're making a lot of cakes or can charge big bucks there is a small margin for profit.
When I was researching spaces to put my store in, I realized that there was a LOT of construction to be put into a location to get it up to codes and that costs money, sometimes installing a grease trap can cost you upwards of 15 thousand, as you have to hook up your plumbing to the sewage lines, you have to have the permits necessary to chop up the side walks!!
I have had people that I've talked to put in over 150 thousand dollars into spaces and wait 9 months while paying rent to open.
And for some reason, some of the townships you open in have a right to estimate your projected income and DEMAND a percentage of that too.
So..not only do you pay sales tax on your rent...you have to give the township a percentage of your income!
It's a catch 22, because if you raise your prices to cover the additional costs, you raise your income and they charge you accordingly.
the only time you really can get away with it is the first year, since there is no proof of what you actually make.
I'm so tired, disgusted and overworked that I'm seriously considering closing.!! I would love to move to a larger space, but right now everything I have is invested in this smaller place and even taking on a partner may not be the solution, how do you divide the time and money I've already invested in my place?
People are looking for the inexpensive and will not offer me or agree to make an equitable offer to make it worth my while.
I do understand why people just give up or don't even try to go legal...I just wish that I could ignore the laws myself 
RisqueBusiness,
You do beautiful work. I hope you can somehow hang in there, it would be a great loss to the cake decorating community. Since discovering CC, I'm so surprised there are so many home bakers. I never knew.
Leslie (2nd generation Miamian)
risque business, can you relocate to a different location and get out of your lease? talk to the owner of the building, they may be willing to work with you. some money coming into them for there spot is better then none. your rent does sound awfully high, i hope its in a prime location.
can you sell other items in your shop? like wedding cake toppers, cake cutters, stuff to make more money?
I have no storefront or walk in and no space to do bigger cakes!
Been looking at warehouse space, but need to be in a nice area for my high end customers.
RisqueBusiness,
I think your high end customers would follow you even if you were in a warehouse facility. You may have to do a little more marketing and send them reminders that you moved, but I think people will go a little out of their way to get a good product. Good Luck! 
Risque, a local bakery expanded their baking facility but kept a smaller locatoin as a pick-up only location. They were in American Cake Magz last month. Maybe that's what you can get to eventually. You'd still have your current (or a "just as good" location) for your customers.[/i]
Risque:
I appreciate your honesty in regards to the expenses relating to a business!! You may not remember me, but I was looking at trying to become "legal" by buying the small trailer and putting it on my land, blah, blah, blah...... Way too expensive!!
It's obvious to me, and I'm sure to others, that your heart and soul are in your talent as a cake artist/decorator. Hang in there!!!!!
I have been thinking of that, using a warehouse to bake in, I've been looking at properties..but that's another expense and..I will also have to hire someone to be there..
6 of one and 6 of the other.
I did find a property in Ft. Lauderdale that is zoned mixed comercial, with an apartment upstairs and the offices downstairs, I'm going to see if I can get a commercial loan...
I"m hoping that I can get a loan to purchase this property. the empty views are the downstairs space, the kitchen is the upstairs space.
It's about 100,000.00 more than I have been approved for residential real Estate...so I guess we have to see.
Thanks, I just emailed the lister to see the property.
RisqueBusiness, I wish you all the luck in the world. You have obviously thought this through and I hope you can reach your goals. I was a single mother raising two kids and I made it by alot of hard work and determination. I didn't get rich but I raised my children. No one thought I could make it owning a cafe or a bar and I did both with lots of hard labor and determination. Now I sit here on disability unable to do anything. 
Actually, I do stay active but I am unable to hold down a job due to my oxygen dependency. I just have to work at my own pace. So I'll keep doing cakes as a hobby and leave the money making to professionals like you.
Good luck!
Diane
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