Gaby, I just looked at your website and I must say your cakes are amazing
! You really should make the most of this slow time because once the folks in your area find out how awesome your cakes are you are going to be sooooo busy !!
Thanks!!! I sure hope so... please keep your fingers crossed!
Thanks, I am planning on doing so... free cupcakes and mini cakes for a LOT of places. If you don't mind me asking, how did you get started? Did you just go by word of mouth or did you advertise somewhere? Thanks again... (and wow, 13 wedding cakes in one week?!? Amazing!)
Just a thought... I remember an old post about Vistaprint... I think you can purchase a mailing list from them when you get postcards printed there... Maybe you can try something like that? Include 5% off order on postcard?
Advertisement is key.. By word of mouth, go to every bridal show possible. See if the newspaper can do and add on your opening. See about and add in a bridal magazine(even a small one).
Go to hotels in your area, see if they are interested in package cakes for brides for their receptions.
Davids Bridal has a package program out there too.
Even, remember you have to bring this ideas or photos to them of cakes you can make fast an pretty.
This is a good source of money if you hit the right hotels.
Go to everything that has to do with bridal shows, meetings of people in the business, clubs.
Is hard work, very tiring, but.. it worked well for us.
I dont own..I am the head designer on the shop for the weddings. When I started the original owner decided to sell cause she wanted to move to another state. I refused to buy the business cause i have lupus and the stress will kill me. 2 kids bought it. They were 21, didnt know anything about cakes.
They wanted just money, so they stop all the advertisement and treated people horribly. Business went down. We were doing barely 3 cakes a week.
New owner again(the kids gave up) She has put her soul into it. She doesnt know anything about cakes.
But she advertises like crazy and goes to everything she can
The business has come afloat amazingly. I just do weddings and I have an assistant.
Then we have 3 girls doing party cakes.
August been slow(as usual) but we started to pick up, and after september, we are slammed.
Sorry for the long post...im trying to let you see, a business was brought from the ground twice..
I wish you the best, I see you are in Jacksonville...
if you come around, visit!.
Edna
Its been fairly busy this month for me, but then busy for me is 3-4 cakes per week since its about all I can handle. I was steady all summer. I've been doing this several years though and so word of mouth is growing...I have ALOT of regulars as well as newbies. Word of mouth is still my best advertisement, and second is my web site. Also I get several orders maybe 2 weeks in advance, so sometimes I'll be like "Oh good, I have a weekend off coming up" and before I know it, its full of cake orders. haha.
It'll grow, it just takes time. Advertise on Craigslist...find wedding planners and event planners on CL as well and email them...etc.
if they taste it........
THEY WILL COME........
Join networking groups. I belong to BNI (www.bni.com .... then select "find a chapter" to find the closest one to you). My first week in this group, I rec'd a catering job that paid for my membership for 3 years. 2 weeks ago, I received a lead from a fellow BNI'er that resulted in 10 catering bookings over the next 2 months, and they are in doctor's offices and hospitals ... a market I've been working to break into!
I also belong to Rainmakers ... http://www.gorainmakers.com/rainmakers/ . My first meeting, I booked a cake for the following weekend.
Both of these orgzs are designed to pass business back and forth to each other. A real "givers-gain" concept that works!!
Is there a PWG (Perfect Wedding Guide) in your area? If so, get with them and join it!! You can attend meetings as a guest without actually joining.
During slow months, I would designate Friday as my freebie day. I'd bake up 10-12 boxes of a dozen cookies (variety in each) and take them to area businesses with a "Hi, I'm here to introduce myself to my new neighbors. Here's some free cookies and my card. We're located blah blah blah. Let us know how we can help with your special events!"
When I wanted to promote my cakes, I'd bake up some cupcakes and take those around to area businesses.
Practically free advertising: On the United States Post Office website, right on the front page, www.usps.com , there is a section called "Create Your Own Cards". I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but the Click 2 Mail option, you basically pay for just the postage ... the post card is printed out and mailed for you by the post office. The Premium Postcard cost a bit more,but you can add a photo of one of your cakes on it and a message on the other side. If you don't have a mailing address list, you can buy one. I sent myself a sample of the Premium Card and it is wonderful!!!
What's nice is you can mail one or you can mail 10,000. (unlike direct mail offers which require you to mail 500 or 1000 or more). I price checked some different quantities and for less than $1, I can send a color photo on a postcard and that includes the postage. It costs me a full $1 just to have a color photocopy made at Kinko's for a single page flyer, and then I'd have to supply the envelope and the postage on top of that!! This postcard deal is the best thing I've ever seen!!
A friend of mine told me he has bought some advertising with the local national sports team .... an insert advertising his biz will be including in a mailing to 15,000 season ticket holders. No idea what he's paying for this.
I met a young lady who does newsletters for housing subdivisions. Ads in her newsletter is under $100 and it goes to 100 to 1000 households ...... new houses with new moms and folks who are new to the area. Check and see if any of those are available. (This is also a person I met thru BNI.)
July s*cked for me. August is looking MUCH better.
Debi -
That is all such great information!
I think that you should change your calling in life. I truly believe that you would make much more money writing all this stuff down and publishing it, or as a start-up consultant.
Theresa 
Wow, thank you sooo much! Thanks Edna and Debi, wonderful advice!!
I didn't know about the USPS, I will definetively check into that! I also joined a "networking" group, will look into BNI. Thanks again!
And Edna, thanks for the inspiration! Would love to meet you (I promise I'm not weird or anything ) Will send you a PM next time I'm in Orlando, we love Mickey so we go often.
Can't thank you enough!!!! Will keep you posted, I'm excited about the up-coming bridal show!
OK, same here... I'm with the OP! We opened July 1st and it has already been 2 months worth of rent and NOTHING, I mean... NOTHING! Just a $120 order of petit fours! It is starting to scare me as we have a lease for 2 years at $1285 a month! Ouch!
So I guess my question is... how do you advertise? Do you go door to door to wedding related businesses and offer your product with free samples? I'm just curious as I need to do something about it or we'll be broke in NO time. We will be participating in 2 bridal shows (at $500) but scares me to invest more and still have no orders... any thoughts?
We are legal and can't wait to get cake orders! I'm kind of desperate to honest with you...
An idea that reaches the right customer: on a weekend, bring a few dozen mini-cupcakes with non-perishable icing to a local jewelry store or two with a little plastic stand and a stack of your business cards. Nicely talk to the owner and noone will turn you down, believe me. Most owners will let you display your cards and help give out the cupcakes for you. Check back in a day or two by dropping off a little gift and ask them if you can bring more cupcakes to give away on another busy weekend. This gets you local couples who are thinking about wedding planning and ring shopping, trust me.
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