I want HONEST opinions before I jump into this whole-heartedly. I just posted a picture of a golf birthday cake that I did for my husband a couple of weeks ago. I am still totally in the learning stage and I did this cake before I learned anything about gumpaste so I did it all in fondant (that is why my golf balls are lumpy...LOL). I have done many cakes for my kids over the past few years, but this is my first one using fondant. I admit I have a lot of learning to do, but from my picture, do you think I might have a future in this if I keep practicing?
I am a teacher right now and am totally burnt out after 7 LONG years. I'm looking for a new career. This is something I have always liked to do (my mom did it and sold cakes since I was a kid) and I often make birthday cakes for everyone in my family, by request. There is no business in town that makes custom cakes except for Wal-mart and the grocery stores...but as everyone here knows, they are not original in any way. I want to get into doing original designs. Anyway, let me know what you honestly think. Thanks.

Kim

Kim,
I only do cakes as a hobby so I can't help you with the business question. However; as a 10 yr teaching veteran, I understand why you are burnt out! Teaching is very stressful and only those in education know that Hope your decision makes you happy and remember Spring Break is not that far away!!

Kim,
Your cake is great and you obviously have a talent for this! There are a lot of factors that go into making a successful cake business besides talent. Business savvy, luck, and local laws play into the equation The following threads may give you some of the answers you're looking for:

States that License Home Bakeries

Some thoughts on starting your own business...

Good luck!

Well, I'm hoping I'll be okay as far as the business part...my father-in-law runs his own successful construction company (over 25 years), my mother-in-law owns her own glass and paint shop, and my husband owns a new package store and bar in town. Hopefully they can help me with all the "business" parts.

I have been doing cakes for 30 yrs and worked in a bakery as a decorator for 6 of those years before I even thought about having my own business I started in Feb 06 and just now seeing money. It takes alot of time and effort to make it and I'm still not sure how its going to go I go month by month no income yet just breaking even still. I raised my prices so I hoping that will help. Its all word of mouth for this business when you first start. Lots of things to think about.

I can say this from experience: NEVER EVER EVER think your IL's will actually help you out when it comes time for business advice and help getting things going or once you've gotten your license.

Decorating cakes is the easy part! There is just so much more to being in the cake business. Just dealing with government "gong in the sky" regulations, food safety, inspections, licensed space, equipment inventory, supply inventory, equipment going down at the worst possible moment, checks bouncing, etc. is going to be more stressful than a room full of the little delinquent's parents .

Each and every profession has it's advantages and drawbacks. Maybe it's time to go on sabatical and take some Masters classes or add in a Food Safety major to your degree and you can start teaching that class... Now THAT is a worthwhile class for you to teach once you've gotten your certifications and such because it's teaching students how to not kill themselves with food or make others sick. WHY leftover pizza that has been sitting out on the counter all night is not safe to eat... Or the roommate of mine who had meat, left it sit out cooked for TWO DAYS on the stove after cooking it, warmed it up and ate it, THEN wondered WHY she and her boyfriend were worshiping the "gods" from both ends... (sad to say, she's a teacher too now, but she's an ESL instructor).. The other thing is that you would be working with the students that everyone else has given up on who are probably going to benefit most from the class because of where their life is heading, it's teaching them a LIFE course.

Cake decorating is a blast, but starting out in the cake decorating BUSINESS is a lot of work and the first years are rough. Can you afford to live on peanuts while waiting the 3-5 years that it takes for a new business to take off. Create a business plan AND a marketing plan. Find out how much it's REALLY going to cost (paper towels and hand soap cost money too). Only you can make the decision based on the information you have. Good luck with making your decision.

I just wanted to say welcome.

You will love it here - so much to learn

CoutureCake is so right!!

It is way different running a business than doing orders on the side and calling that a business. They are 2 different animals.

The reason banks and other entities don't want to guarantee the loans for this type of business is because the failure rate is very high!!!

Because you can do an awesome decorated cake and make a few $$ on them don't mean you can survive in the business world. In my city of 250K people I see bakeries open and fail all the time. Last time I took count of the ones I know of there were over 20 that no longer exist.
When you open a cake shop you are competing with Groceries, and home decorators. It really makes it hard to keep you commercial business alive or able to grow to it's full potential.

Good Luck

Being honest
mpc