One thing that is very simple, but for some reason folks sometimes have a hard time with.....

IF you don't want to be helpful, or are irritated by a post.....DON'T OPEN IT!

CC is here to help folks, and some dont' know how to do the search, or maybe they just want some input.

Take what info is helpful, and leave the rest behind!

Loucinda

Hello Hafeela,

Welcome to Cake Central!

The harsh reality is that you can't just start selling your cakes because people think you should.

It is illegal. I am not saying this to be mean but on the contrary trying to keep you from doing something you may not have known could get you in BIG trouble.

Once you print a buisness card and hand it to someone you are breaking the law unless you have abided by your local health department codes that allow you to be able to sell consumable items.

I do not know what state you live in so I can not advise you as to what you can or can't do. I live in California and there is no way to sell ANY food items that are prepared in your home, There is no way to add a seperate kitchen No way period in Ca. other than renting time at a lisenced kitchen or opening a legal bakery. Even if you rent a kitchen it still has to be Ok'ed for your personal buisness.

Now there are some states that allow the liscencing of home kitchens and some states will give you an inspection for like $15 and bam you are good to go. Some states have stipulations on the items you can sell with a home license ie: you can only sell items that do not require refrigeration.

So no matter what, you will need to find out what YOUR local laws and restrictions are.

Once you have done that you need to do some market research for your area. I have some charts posted in my photos regarding servings and pricing but you must first determine if it is legal.

Once you print business cards you open yourself up to legal conciquenses. You will also have to keep records and pay taxes on that income and you will need to get insurance.

Hope that answered your questions.

As a newbie to CC, sometimes these answers I see are short and can come across as "mean". IMHO I don't think many people are like that or meant that at all. It's the downfall of written responses versus talking to someone in person.

I think what's lovely about forums like this... is that you CAN ask questions and receive answers from 'professionals'. It's nice to see people that give back to their community without wanting something in return... as I'm certain the 'professionals' gain knowledge and get ideas from all the cakes posted on this site, too.... also for free. Sharing knowledge, people. Everyone who's ever considered opening a cake businesses would have asked many 'silly' questions in the beginning. And learnt a hell of a lot along the way.

I hope you find your answers, OP... If you love it and you're good at it.. then definitely do your research on everything that's been mentioned and see if it's something you could do in the future.

In no way is this meant to sound abrupt or mean, however, I have only these shapes on a screen and it's late.

No-one can tell you what to charge. You need to sit down and price out all your costs, and work out your price per serving, look at your time, and look at what you want to make. It differs by country, state, town, clientele, skill level, type of cake/filling/frosting/decoration...the list goes on.

That having been said, if you ask about profiting illegally from people who have jumped through hoops to profit legally, you're going to get some short answers. And you do have to weigh the benefits of doing so against the disadvantages you face if you are found out.

Good luck!

Ok so this is my first post ever on a forum so here goes. lol. I love this website and everything on it. I have learned countless things from pictures or forums, etc.

I have been making cakes for about a year and a half and let me tell you that I have improved soooo much and partly because of tips and tricks Ive read about. I live in west texas where people still think that a walmart cake is the most amazing thing ever and you cant do better (not to knock walmart, bc I do like their cakes).

People out here have never seen fondant or heard about gumpaste, its crazy. Anyways, I have a point somewhere here. I never ever knew that it was against the law to sell cakes w/out a license and going through the health department until I stumbled onto this forum. Blew my mind.

I just thought a few cakes here or there was harmless. To me charging for cakes was not the goal because if I charged too much people would not want them, and then I didnt get to make a cool cake for them. Like I would sulk until I could do one b/c for me its about getting to decorate and be creative and too see someones face when you did a really cool cake.

So now that I know and Im all over it as far as researching health department and so on. But I dont think some people realize that some of us are just not exposed to cakes and what goes with them.

I mean even the pros had to start somewhere, RIGHT? you guys didnt know everything you do now know and I bet some of you wish you did. You guys got to remember some of us are out in the sticks and not aware of it all.

So this is to the newbies. Ignore the rude people and dont let them get you down b/c I bet they still dont know some stuff. Enjoy getting to make cakes.

I cant even tell you how excited I get when I get some new cake thing like stencils or something. You should have seen how excited I was when I found the Damask stencils for twenty dollars instead of 70 like on other sites. My husband was seriously regretting marrying me lol.

Anyways, thanks for listening and maybe next time Ill write a shorter one, and forgive and spelling or errors cuz Im in a hurry.

First up I too am a hobby baker and know nothing about running a cake business in terms of legal/health dep. requirements. However I do have common sense, which tells me that in order to open a business I would have to comply with regulations - whatever they may be for the area i am in. And have a very good idea what i'm doing in terms of portions, pricing, flavours, number of orders etc.

In my opinion what gets people all hot and bothered on here is when someone posts on here with a very basic question and expects a professional answer. Now before you punch your screen and shout at me I do not believe there is such a thing as a stupid question - if you need an answer its not a stupid question.

Eg. if a hobby baker posted a pic of a cake they wanted to do and asked how to work out how many servings it would give or asks about doubling a recipe etc they would get a very helpful answer from hobby and professional bakers alike.

If you are thinking about starting a business and posted a question such as - I've got ABC done but i'm having problems with getting XYZ sorted can anybody help, again the advice would probably be very helpful.

The toys get chucked out of the pram when the two get mixed up and someone who clearly has done no research or spent no time working things out (or if they have this doesn't come across in their post) asks what sounds like a ridiculous question for a so called professional.

The pros on here have invested a heck of a lot of time, money and effort into training, setting up etc. The hobby bakers have too no doubt invested in blood, sweat and tears plus ingredients to do what they have done so far but the difference is for the pros their livelihood (sp?) depends on their work and their reputation.

A previous poster made the analogy of not going into a resturant and asking for recipes etc. I guess what I'm trying to say in a very long winded way is that cake status is a bit like respect it has to be earned with hard work dedication, time money and a little help and advice form those who have the knowledge and experience to FURTHER develop your skills not hold your hand and do it for you.

It's a big old bad world out there and for those who think some answers on cc are mean I would rather someone was brutally honest with me and made me rethink than telling me what I want to hear than be no where to be seen when the brown stuff hits the fan.

Rant over

When I first decided to start selling my cakes, I had no clue what was involved and how to price my cakes. I contacted a few of the other cake designers and got some preliminary information but that wasn't really helpful because I didn't know what that figure consisted of. At that time, I wasn't even aware that Cake Central existed so I was totally on my own.

I did up a spread sheet with the cost of every single item I used in my recipes, from flour to flavourings, cake boards, cups of icing sugar, consumables like plastic wrap, cooking spray, and so on. I even checked with my utility company to find out the charge for each kilowatt hour so I can factor in the oven time. I recorded how long it took me to make the cake, including shopping time, clean-up time, baking, decorating and delivery. I included overhead expenses like insurance, gas, and so on. Then I made up a form from all the information I gathered and as I made each cake, I completed a copy of the form with every single item and expense I used for that particular cake. From that completed form, I could tell exactly how much the cake cost me and how much I made.

I did that for over a year until I was comfortable that I knew my expenses and I could tell how much profit I made from each cake.

You have to be aware of how much it cost YOU to make a cake. It doesn't really compare with anyone else because their expenses might be higher or lower. When you factor in how much the expenses, then you know what your profit is left over from the expenses. You can divide the hours that you spend on each cake into your profit and you can tell what your hourly wage is. You will then know if you spent $15 on a cake you would charge $25 for and it took you 4 hours to make from start to finish, then you made $2.50 an hour. You'll know if it was worth your time or if you need to raise your prices to get a decent hourly wage.

It takes a LOT of work but there are really no shortcuts. Prices for ingredients vary so much from town to town, state to state, country to country. The information you gather has to be relevant to YOU.

Most of the CC'ers who responded are kind, sharing wonderful people but it is really frustrating when people look for shortcuts for this complex issue. It's not realistic to think a serving of cake would cost the same in every single community from coast to coast. There are just too many factors involved.

My advice to newbies enquiring about pricing is that the general question "What should I charge?" should be more along the lines of "What factors should I include to price my cakes?" Then I think you will get a better response because it shows you are thinking for yourself, that you've done some research on your own costs, and you are looking for any factors that you might have overlooked.

And, keep in mind that you will always be told to check the legalities in your area. They are not trying to tick you off, they're trying to help you avoid any repercussions and heartbreak. It truly is the very first step to take if you decide to pursue this as a business.

Good luck!

K'mon ladies, a little kindness goes a long way.

I have just started and am considering starting a small business and i was hoping this website/forum could help with my questions but jeez you guys get a little nasty huh? i dont think ill come back just reading the responses from the "professionals" a little pretentious dont you think? guess ill look for a more "amateur" friendly website...wow