Ok... Im new to cake decorating and my cakes are already selling like crazy. I figured that I would need to become licensed to sell them legally and give myself a small business name, pay taxes all that jazz.. but then with some post I have seen lately im not sure if that is true...
I live in Michigan so I know to become legal I need a separate kitchen so that is slowing things down..
any tips, advice, etc. would be great
some people sell illegally, but that is a decision only you can make for yourself. you would be accepting the possibility of huge fines, getting sued and not having any insurance, or worse consequences for not being straight with your taxes. my only advice is, if you're serious and you have confidence in your cakes, then call your dept of health or agriculture and follow all the rules to be legit. you'd be asking for trouble later on if you don't. if its just a hobby, then only accept enough money to cover your costs so you don't lose money, and maybe a tip now and then. good luck!
Hi...I live in michigan as well so I fell your confusion. I would be perfectly happy to do everthing 100% legal but the cost of putting ina new kitchen is just not feasable at this point. I really don't sell much, just mostly for friends and family...and i don't really sell them, I just make it for them and they give me the tip they see fitting. Now I've had extended people (friends of friends) starting to inquire about my cake. Should I just tell them the same tip policy??
From my understanding if you take one penney even to reimburse your costs then you are at risk of getting in trouble. And yes for most of us it makes NO SENSE to open our own kitchen for something that is mostly a hobby and just to make a little money on the side. This is why I am opening a kitchen rental, for all of us who do NOT want to be full time bakers, but want to be legal also. I just hope I can find enough of these hobby bakers to make sure I don't lose money. (just hoping to break even!)
Having been in another business for 5 years, I am just not willing to take any chances. So, I'm not making a penny on my cakes until I get legal. That means I'm starting to line up a business plan, rent a licensed kitchen, get insurance, etc. In the meantime, I'm doing a TON of baking to add to my portfolio and gain precious experience!
It's really very exciting to make that kind of commitment and be able to advertise freely! And there's a "power" in looking at numbers that might seem challenging and seeing how you can make it profitable!
It is a personal choice- just sharing some of my personal logic and preferences!
From my understanding if you take one penney even to reimburse your costs then you are at risk of getting in trouble. And yes for most of us it makes NO SENSE to open our own kitchen for something that is mostly a hobby and just to make a little money on the side. This is why I am opening a kitchen rental, for all of us who do NOT want to be full time bakers, but want to be legal also. I just hope I can find enough of these hobby bakers to make sure I don't lose money. (just hoping to break even!)
That is an awesome idea to just have a kitchen for rent...if you were in my area, I would be there in a minute!!!
Go to local restaurants and see if you can rent kitchen space out from them. I was in the same boat as you, kind of. I wanted to be legal, but could not build my own store front, nor would my county allow me to have a seperate kitchen on my propery (which I don't have the money for anyway). I went to a small coffee shop and asked him to use his. We came to a mutual agreement and now I am licensed. Trust me there are plenty out there. I have had three different places in my town ask me if I could use their kitchen and work with them on a deal. You just have to ask around.
Just because you cant afford to build a kitchen doesn't mean you cant be licensed.
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