All of a sudden, all my friends have jumped on the "Cake Bandwagon". Then they drop hints about going into business with me. It just upsets me how they think that it's all so easy. Like they'll just buy a couple pans and some cake mix and charge $2000/cake and be making all kinds of money. They have no emotional investment. Most of they have only shown an interest after I started. I tell them that I've been up late baking cakes and up early to frost them. Spend days ahead making samples for bridal shows and hours on dummy cakes. Not to mention the financial investment. I wouldn't say to a builder "Well I've decided to start building homes. I'll just buy some wood and some cement and land. I'll make a ton of money".
I have been doing this for 3 years and I have an aggressive goal to open a shop in the next 5 years. I feel like I live and breathe cakes. I even dream about them. I'm very serious about wanting to making this a profitable business, but I understand that I have to start out. Just like any business. It's not like I'm the only one in a city of 1 million making cakes.
I just needed to vent. I don't want to squash their dreams if they really want to do cakes. But they don't take it seriously. Just like "Well everyone can do this."
I know exactly what you mean and how maddening it is. Since I decided to go into business, doing all the legal stuff and investing $$$, I now have 2 other family members that want to "go into business" with me.
They don't realize the amount of work, time and effort that's involved, yet want all the glory. NO WAY!!!!
Boy,do I totally understand!
It was my next door neighbor who gave me the shot in the arm to resurrect my catering. I helped her with a birthday party for 100 kids. She loves doing that. To try to make a long story short, she convinced me to get the biz re-started, with her and my daughter as "partners".
So I do the research, we get it off the ground and then she AND my daughter back out. Which turned out to be good for me, actually.
Anyway, neighbor thought it would be "fun" to cook for parties "once in a while".
She had no idea of the the work involved in setting up a website (and the cost), maintaining the website, pricing and buying supplies, bookwork, paperwork, taxes, record keeping, writing the marketing materials, emailing brides, setting appts for samplings, cooking/baking for the samplings, spending an hour or more at the samplings, follow ups on the samplings, actually booking the event, dealing with the payments, planning the menu & shopping list, turning your house into a warehouse, never having time to cook for your family anymore (let alone time for movies and shopping!), no weekends free.
And then .... ONLY then .... do we get to the "fun" part of actually working the event!
Dont' get me wrong .... I'm so glad she planted the idea or I wouldnt' be where I'm at right now. And she does work for me once in awhile. she just realized she didn't want to commit THAT kind of time.
but you're right ... they've no idea.
I know where you are coming from...but don't worry...if their heart is not into it, then they will soon burn out.
Ain't it the truth! It only took me scheduling my neighbor to sit thru 2 samplings for her to decide she was "too busy" to be involved in a business.
Don't let them bother you. It's probably that you make it look so fun and easy, that they think that they will be able to do it themself. Let them try, then they will see what hard work it is, and what a committment it is, and what a pain in the butt people can be.
Everybody thinks that they can be a caterer, until they are schlepping Cambros in the rain, and working 15 hours on days that everyone else is off. Having to work when a family member is on life support and possibly dying, because there is nobody else that can do your job.
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