I am just wondering if anyone can sell cakes.. Can you just put ads out and make cakes for anyone or are you going to get the government after you? I would like to start selling cakes sometime, but I'm scared to start because I dont know if I"ll get it trouble for it! Do you have to get your kitchen inspected? I see so many people on here selling cakes and I'm asuming they dont all have the stainless steel countertops and such...
No, not just anyone can legally sell cakes. What the guidelines are for your state are I wouldn't be able to tell you. Some states are really good about small business and home businesses, some are really strict, others say you cannot have a home kitchen at all.
If you bake cakes and go out and advertise without being licensed you could get fined and etc. Of course that is if anyone finds out, but that is kinda like russian roullette. There are alot of people here though that do it, sell cakes without becoming licensed, it is alot of work and commitment to becoming licensed.
Is there anyone in Wisconsin who know the rules for the area?
You don't have to have stainless steel counters either, definately not mandatory.
I am in Oregon and will have no problem getting licensed.
Most states that allow it the following is mandatory:
2nd Fridge
Keep all business supplies seperate from your general kitchen supplies
Children/Infants not allowed in the kitchen while baking for customers
Papertowels & pump soap in the bathroom
For me to be licensed it will be $300 for a fridge from Home Depot, $175 with the Health Department, $200 with the state for a business license. Business insurance is pretty cheap (about $30 to $50 a month)
In the long run it is worth it. There are so many things you can use as a write off for taxes this way. Home improvements, office supplies, baking products, anything your customer or customer's children will potentially use while in your home (toilet paper, board games, video games etc).
Being licensed also gives you a peace of mind. You don't have to worry about someone getting angry with you and turning you in to the health department, you don't have to worry about fines if you are caught selling cakes etc.
The big thing is with your licensed kitchen you can advertise. If you are not licensed the only thing you can do legally is word of mouth. No flyers, no business cards etc. If you are caught advertising you can be fined. Some states will have a low fines the first time of $200 while others will fine you almost $6,000. Many states won't waver on this fine either. That is just a first time, if you are a repeat offender they do have the right to increase the fine.
Also, if you are fined and decide to go legal depending on the state, their laws, and what their mood is you could actually have your opportunity for licensing suspended for up to a year especially if you are a repeat offender with being fined for this.
The down side is you can't do any copyrighted/trademarked images for money, people think you are able to just whip out a cake for a family event, friends want it free and get disgusted for trying to charge them etc.
My true friends will pay me for my work because they would NEVER think to take advantage of me. Honest customers understand and respect me when I decline to do a copyright/trademark image and we work to find something equal in looks becase they know I take doing the right thing seriously and know in return I am just as dedicated giving them quality products.
I am glad hubby's allowing us to take a financial hit and get legal and licensed. Not only is it the right thing to do, it gives me peace of mind so I don't have to worry about being caught.
On the Business forum the very top sticky is a listing of rules for each state (or as close as could be gathered).
If it is unclear in that thread you can look up your state information via your states heath department website. You want to look up "licensed home bakeries". If it's not clear there either give your sate health department a call and ask "do you allow for home kitchens to be licensed for selling cakes". They will give you a no right off the bat, or a yes and then you can get info on how to do it for your state from them.
I wish it were as easy in Oklahoma as it is Oregon, it might be worth it to me then. As it is, we're going through the process, but only because I really want to do this. I don't believe I'll ever earn enough in just decorating cakes to pay for it.
Here the kitchen has to be separated from the main home with an outside entrance. You do have to have stainless steel sinks, work counters etc. You have to have a separate bathroom with a sink, a 3 compartment sink to wash equipment, a hand sink in the kitchen area along with a mop sink. You have to have commercial appliances which cost a fortune, even used.
And that's just the beginning.....
In other words, home bakeries are held to the exact same standards as any restaurant or commercial bakery. It's ridiculous that those of us who just want to bake a cake now and then have to follow those standards.
I wish they'd do what some states do and be more lenient with those who do under a certain amount of $$$ every year, but no such luck.
Off my soap box now....
Sarsi....the "Cake Decorating Business" forum on this site is full of information about being legal, having a home bakery, etc.
Depending on where you live, a home bakery may not be allowed. Contact your local, county and state health departments.
If you want to sell cakes and not become legal, then you are taking a risk that someone won't turn you in. Lots of people take this risk, accept this risk so only bake for friends and family and don't advertise.
Good luck!!
EEESSHHH!! What a drag!! LOL. I guess I will call the state though, but according to mommabuda, it probably wouldnt be worth it for me!! That's just crazy! Maybe we should all move to Ohio!! 
Well, my husband is hoping to get a job soon in another state, so I can pray that one allows home kitchens!!
No, you can't sell cake LEGALLY without a separate kitchen in WI. I sell cakes...for very little money. I barely advertise and all of my business is by word of mouth. If I get any. I may sell one or two cakes a month. Unless you have NO bakeries in your area you could get caught.
My Wilton instructor knew someone who got caught a long time ago by the local bakery and they had no problem turning them into the health dept. They got a warning and was told never to sell again.
AND I can't even compete with the local bakery on wedding charge per serving! They are still a little over a $1 per serving! I don't know how they are still in business. But, yes...getting into selling from your home can be a big commitment. I am just going to do it until I get caught! LOL
We dont have a bakery in our town. The grocery store is the only place around here with one. And all I ever see there is some cakes, I guess, but mostly breads and bars/cookies.. The two closest towns dont even have a bakery!! Our town only has about 2,000 people in it, it's kinda a "hick" town, and so I dont even know if the people here would want to spend so much money on a custom cake. I was hoping I could advertise in some near-by towns that have more "rich" people in them...or at least not so tight with their walet! But, I guess I cant. Pooey!! I'll just have to let everyone know that I make cakes, hopefully it will get around!!
Right now I do sell by word of mouth but I definetely don't make a profit... I usually do a cake that I've been wanting to do so I only charge them for materials... I have the ladies down at the health department WANTING to buy cakes from me and they KNOW I'm not legal 
haha... so I guess that's a good thing?
As for the copyrighted images... has anyone actually gotten in trouble for that? I mean, I can't see Disney going after a little bakery for selling one cake with Mickey on it or something... but there must be a way to be able to sell them legally... how do you get around that? Do you have to pay the company everytime you use an image?
Oh! Just sell those silly little character cakes! They aren't going to get you! I think I saw someone on here once that called to ask if they could use one of the NFL team logos and the lady kind of chuckled and said "Go ahead! What do we care!" (don't mean to offend anyone and sorry I can't remember who did that!)
I live in tiny place that isn't even a town, but there are couple of bigger bakeries in Tulsa that would probably dearly love to catch every home baker they could. One of them even has a really snotty little blurb on their website warning people about how they shouldn't trust some home baker cooking out of her garage to do their wedding cakes. 
I love the products they sell, used to buy them all the time. But, after I read that I decided never again. They're just snooty and nasty.
It's places like this one that will cause our laws to never be changed. They'd fight any relaxing of the laws tooth and nail...can't take the competition I guess. This is one of the biggest bakeries around here and they don't even do fondant. They claim that fondant "doesn't lend itself well" to the Oklahoma area, whatever the heck that means.
I guess I wasn't ready to get off that soap box just yet. 
As for the copyrighted images... has anyone actually gotten in trouble for that? I mean, I can't see Disney going after a little bakery for selling one cake with Mickey on it or something... but there must be a way to be able to sell them legally... how do you get around that? Do you have to pay the company everytime you use an image?
Yes, they care, and yes people get in trouble. There was just a thread yesterday in the 'General' forum about a CC member getting a 'cease and desist' letter. Disney, in particular, CARES. The law says that if they don't protect their copyright and trademarks when they find people violating it, then they LOSE it! And they will not ever risk that.
They don't care if you're one person. They don't care if you're a little old lady on SSI doing cakes for extra money. They can't afford to care. The fine for using a copyrighted character is up to $50,000, something us cake people generally can't afford -- and it could financially ruin a lot of us.
Do a cute cake and have your customer buy a figurine to put on top. Or buy a licensed deco-pak or edible image.
I don't mean to sound harsh, but I would hate to see someone lose their home because they sold a Mickey Mouse cake and the wrong person saw it.
So as to not derail the thread further (sorry!) here are some other informational copyright threads:
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-391553.html
http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopic-311663-0.html
http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-264413-copyright.html
http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopic-183971-0.html
http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-166811-copyright.html
LOL!! Please dont get me wrong!! I love the town I live in, the people here are really nice and friendly! I have nothing against small towns! When we settle down for good, I actually want to move to a town smaller than this one!! I just dont want to offend anyone! And I can say "hick" town, cuz I'm a country "hick" girl, myself! LOL
Kelly, I was just about to post that same thread about the lady getting the letter from the lawyer. What I am having a hard time understanding is why is it legal to take your baked products to a Farmers Market or outdoor market and sell it to people? The cake police are not stationed out there waiting to see people bring there business license to out door boths. Aren't you still baking in your home kitchen and producing the same product to the consumer? Not everybody is capable of renting, buying, or converting something into a legalized business. It all goes back to the haves and the have not's. If you can afford the luxury to have a peace of mind then congrades to you. But the average home baker does not have that much clientele to warrent renting or buying a place. So what they do is illegally sell and build up their clientele until they are able to support that rental fee or business loan.[/u]
I think that that Great State of New Hampshire has the easiset laws regarding this.
For $50 I had my kitchen inspected by the state health department. I am not required to have a second kitchen, or even a second fridge (although I want one). I am required to have a dishwasher, a 2-hole sink, and a nearby bathroom with locking door and paper towels. My license is good for 5 years.
for $75 I registered a business name. That I have to renew every year.
That's it. I'm legal and I'm getting paid legally.
In many states it is illegal to sell home-baked goods at a bake sale or farmer's market. Or send home-baked goods to your child's class for his or her birthday.
Yep, that's illegal here too.
There's no law against taking home baked goods to your child's class, but due to liability issues most schools don't allow it anymore. No more bake sales, no more cake walk game at the halloween carnival...nothing.
As for the copyrighted images... has anyone actually gotten in trouble for that? I mean, I can't see Disney going after a little bakery for selling one cake with Mickey on it or something... but there must be a way to be able to sell them legally... how do you get around that? Do you have to pay the company everytime you use an image?
Yes they have. We have a thread from yesterday on either this forum or the general one about a law office contacting a member here.
As for Disney... definately! They are the most diligent of them all. They have a whole fleet of employees in each state looking for copyright infringements. I have heard rumors it's around $15,000 when they fines/. When it comes to Disney I am scared spitless of them and will NEVER use one of their images even for a free complimentary cake.
I know that you can do the (Wilton character cake pans for personal baking (no money or being given goods for your time/effort on it) with out a problem. What you can not do is own one and use it for profit. (Kelleym that is what I meant to refer to in my post but I forgot to add that)
The only way you can reproduce a copyrighted image is to get written approval from the holder of the copyright. Any big hitters like Disney, Nickeloden, Warner Brothers etc to that I say good luck. They want royalties which you/we will never be able to afford.
To expand on this... it is even illegal to use a school portrait with out permission. You are legally needing to receive a disclaimer from the photographer as it is their work. I have never had a local photographer tell me no when faxed a disclaimer request. Their response is a signature faxed back approving it with a note "please send us a picture" or "can we stop by to take a photograph of it too!?"
Licensed decorators from these forums can purchase through Decopac or Cakes.com etc. Those companies have paid royalty fees already for licensed bakeries to use their copyrighted products. (HUGE reason I am getting licensed!)
If you can afford the luxury to have a peace of mind then congrades to you. But the average home baker does not have that much clientele to warrent renting or buying a place. So what they do is illegally sell and build up their clientele until they are able to support that rental fee or business loan.[/u]
Ceme, I don't want you to think I am fighting on this so please don't read it that way. I just want to state it the way it is for us.
I am that average home baker!
I am not able in any way to afford this "luxury" as you put it for peace of mind. The money we have had to put out in a few other areas for mandatory home improvements (one of them being black mold clean up and new windows which was causing it to breed and grow) recently has left us strapped very tightly and for us to spend that additional $600ish in getting licensed in Oregon has put a HUGE strain on us financially.
Our cubbards are bare, my husband is claiming not to be hungry at night but I know better. It's because he would rather see our son eat, and with what is left me eat because he knows I've probably had no more than a piece of toast and scrambled eggs for the day and that the baby has forumla and diapers.
We are doing it not because we want peace of mind we are doing this because plain and simple it's the right thing to do, being illegal and doing things under the table is not an option for us. We believe firmly that we don't get to pick and choose which laws we can break. You live by the laws 100% or not at all.
The luxuries are the kitchen aid mixer(s), new ovens, top of the line pans and utensils etc. not being a legal operation.
I am starting off with one Sunbeam mixer and it takes me 2 days to get all the frosting done for a wedding cake possibly 2 1/2 if my mixer starts to get warm on me. All my pans are Wilton, I am using basic Wilton BC recipies (forgive me!) until I start turning a profit and can afford the better ingredients for the Hi-ratio frostings.
Believe me the day I buy my first KA mixer I am going to sit here and shed tears of joy because I have worked hard for it. I will name her/him and sleep with it in my arms the first night or two. 
If it is considered starting a legal business "having the luxury to do it" then I'm definately sitting in the lap of luxury and can't wait to see what it will be like once I start turning a profit and am a success!
I am not able in any way to afford this "luxury" as you put it for peace of mind. The money we have had to put out in a few other areas for mandatory home improvements (one of them being black mold clean up and new windows which was causing it to breed and grow) recently has left us strapped very tightly and for us to spend that additional $600ish in getting licensed in Oregon has put a HUGE strain on us financially.
If I can speak for ceme, I think what she meant is that those of us in states which prohibit any kind of home baking regard being licensed as a luxury. I envy all of you in states with such reasonable laws. I have had a license for a year renting a kitchen, but I am giving it up in December. Texas makes it too difficult and too expensive to be legal while only making one cake a week (which is all I have time for). It would be a luxury for me if I had the peace of mind to be legal and licensed in my own kitchen.
Ceme... sorry if I misunderstood your wording.
My husband said it best after reading Kelleym's reply to my post...
Regardless of where we live if it is something I want to do and want to try to do on my own with out working in a bakery then we need to do it the legal way. (Yes that means doing a 2nd mortgage and building a 2nd kitchen with it's own entrance for me if we had to. I'm VERY lucky to have him as my husband!)
It's not that it's a luxury $$$ wise, it's that we can't afford not to remain unlicensed in the event we are caught (cost to start up vs. fines if I am caught baking unlicensed -and that's before the government gets involved to get their cut of my unlicensed "profits". )
I do feel very lucky to live in a state that allows me this opportunity AND to be home with my children and raise them. Coming from California where I couldn't has me realizing the huge gift I have been handed by Oregon and for that I am thankful.
here in tennessee you have to be license and go through the things that others have posted. the health inspector told me that they caught their people by looking on community boards in grocery stores. they get the name and other a cake and your caught. cost me approx 350.00 per year just for license and permits. hope this helps
Those of you in Tulsa, OK area I just moved from there 2 years ago to Missouri....I wouldn't be Merritts or Ann's that you are talking about is it? I am debating weather to open my store front here or move back to Tulsa Area (maybe Jenks) and open there.....Any thoughts?
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