Well the only forum I could find on KY Baking was pretty old, so I didn't know if anyone would respond to it - starting a new one!
Okay, so I'm pretty sure in KY you have to have a licensed kitchen - I've tried contacting my dpt. of agriculture and other people and never get a response on what "licensed kitchen" means. Any ideas?
Also, I was told I could sell to family & friends if I was baking in my home - but not to others. If I'm selling to family & friends, can i deduct my expenses on my taxes? Do I need to get a business license to sell to family & friends? Do I need to pay for a business name? I'm just thinking it would be great to deduct the cost of my supplies on my taxes - which I know businesses could do - any ideas???
Lastly, I was wondering about doing market research. If I was going to open up a shop - I want to know if the area around it can sustain it - in other words, if I'm competing with other more established bakeries - is there enough business for all of us? Any ideas on how to find this out?
Thanks in advance for all of your help! I LOVE THIS SITE!!!!!!!
Unless you formalize your busines, you cannot deduct your expenses on your taxes. You have to do whatever your state/county/city requires for business. Probably register your business name and file for a tax id number for your state. Then you can deduct your expenses, but you also have to report all your income.
Market research is very expensive. You can do a bit yourself by looking at their product, and watching their sales. On any given day, how many cakes leave the store. If you can create a licensed kitchen in your home, your overhead will be less and you could take a bigger risk.
Perhaps your local health department can help you figure out who is the licensing entity and what you have to do.
I'm from KY too and I wouldn't mind having more info on this also. If you find out anything, could you please let me know? I'm just making cakes for family and friends for now, but maybe in the future start my own business. Thanks for any help you can give me.
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