I just found out I cannot bake out of my home kitchen in my town. I am not in the position to rent a place just yet as I am just starting out and have not made any cakes for the public other than family and friends. I was hoping to have some orders before I start renting a place or donate cakes to events or functions to get some public interest. Without a license, how does one get started? I was hoping to work out of my home until I get confident to go to the next step but without a license, how could I market myself to the public?

I have found in my research most places I looked into want a substantial amount of money like $800.00 and up per month on their off hours! I couldn't afford this now without a client base, so I am really stuck right herre in the starting gate and am not sure how to progress.

Also, how much does it cost to get set up with the basics to start a cake decorating biz, in terms of kitchen equip, etc.? I hope only to do theme cakes or 3D cakes and market myself accordingly. Any advice on a game plan I would really appreciate it.

Thank you,
lsienna

unfortunately, we're in a catch-22 industry. We can't get a loan to be a real business until we've been in business three years; we can't "be in business" until we get a loan; we can't get a loan without past sales history; we can't have a sales history until we've been in business, which we can't do until we get a loan, which we can't get until we've been in business.....

ba-dee-ba-dee-that's-all-folks!

Have you checked with churches? I have a catering friend who cleans a church weekly for no salary and they let her use their kitchen for no rent.

Hi Isienna,

I suggest you try to contact SBA (Small Business Association) & Score in your area. They give you free counseling and help you build your business plan and just direct you on how to get started. It's a lot of work, I'm not even there yet, but I know at least this much.

But there is lot of resources on there web-site, and the Score folks will meet with you for free as many time as you need. Good luck