Hello,

I live in FL and as you all know we cannot become licensed to bake from home right now. I was wondering if I can get some advice from someone who rents space. I just started checking into it. This is the problem.

1. I don't want to rent space until I get a good word of mouth clientele going.

2. I don't know what is a reasonable price to rent space. I called one person so far and he said $17/hour.

3. How does that work? Can I make my gumpaste figures at home in advance?

4. I would think I wouldn't make a profit after paying the rental kitchen space.


I really would like to do this for myself. I've been wanting to do it for years. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you,

Michele

Hi fellow Floridian!

I don't know a whole lot more than you do, As we are just getting started ourselves, but we have looked into it.

1. The only way I know to get word of mouth going before you are licensed and in business is to make cakes for free for friends and family, maybe tell people you are going to be starting a business, and have friends and family pass out business cards and such. The only problem with that is you would need to make sure it's not people that would continue to expect cakes for free once you are in business.

2. As far as a reasonable rate, that seems to vary a lot, depending on who you are asking. I think it's pretty subjective. We have mostly heard a flat fee per day, about $50 for the day, as opposed to hourly. I don't know what a reasonable price is for your area, but I would call around to a lot more people before agreeing to a price. Look at all your options.

3. As far as I know, you are supposed to make everything edible that you are selling to people in a licensed, inspected kitchen, but I am not sure about that myself.

4. I have been trying to figure this out myself, and the best thing I can figure is to figure the rental fee into your price, maybe not the whole fee, but definitely make it part of your overall price, since that is an expense just like buying materials to make the cake is.

Sorry I am not more help, like I said, I have had some of the same questions! Good luck!

Thanks so much for replying. I appreciate the advice, too. If I hear anything useful I will forward it on to you.

Sounds great, thanks!

My cake teacher rents space from various catering companies for $15-20/hour. She goes in early in the am before that work. She carries her own liability insurance ($200/year). She has an LLC. She is not inspected but the space she rents is. DK if this is the right way but just what she shared. HTH.

Tampa neighbor here. I'm wanting to also start my own business, but not sure how to go about doing it. I wish I could help you out. The only thing that is holding me back right now is the money. Hopefully within the year I can have enough saved to do something. Good luck, and also if anyone has any information it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Interesting topic. Being from South Florida myself, I've thought about these things as well. I didn't now that in Florida you could not be a home baker. I've been asking around a bit. And I know a friend of a friend who does a lot of business for the banquet halls. I was told she has converted her garage for baking and assembly. She has a lot of business and I can't imagine her not being licensed. hmm. There are a lot of home bakers in this town....

I've also done a lot of free cakes for friends, and it will always generate at least 2 other orders and inquiries. I get around the "expecting it for free next time" by saying "this will be my gift for the birthday boy/girl". that way if they would like something for another occassion next time they know not to expect a freebie.

Another thing I do sometimes, is maybe bake a 10-12 inch cake, then cut cake circles of about 4-5 inches from them. I ice/decorate with something simple, and take as a hostess gift to a get together or party. People get a little taste, and always ask about contacting me later on for a special occasion.

For now, for me it's more of a passion and hobby, but hopefully one day I can do it full time.

We should all keep in touch. I'm going to put you guys in my contacts.

Hey,
I'm in Boca Raton, let's keep in touch!

Sounds great! Your cakes are beautiful. You are very talented.

I couldnt have seen this at a better time! I dont have any more information on the op, but I am getting ready to move to Florida and my dh keeps telling me to start looking into renting a kitchen because he is ready to retire and its my turn to take care of him... HAHA!
I was aware that home baking was not allowed but wasnt even sure of where I would go about renting one out or who to talk to. I think I will start by calling the health department in my county. If I learn anything new I will let you all now!!
Happy caking!

scionmom
What part of FLorida are you moving to?

We are moving to Ft. Walton beach. My husband is in the AF and we are being stationed in that area. I am sooooo excited!!! ))

Oh... I have also found a few sites that seem helpful also..
http://sellingcakes.com/?p=171

and I dont quite understand this one... but then again, its pretty early LOL, but this might be helpful also.
http://www.businessnameusa.com/Answers/Cake%20Business%20in%20Florida.aspx

This is great to see so many Floridians!

My understanding of the laws in Florida are that you can have a home bakery, but it has to be a completely separate kitchen with separate ventilation. You do also have to be sure your area is zoned for commercial. We can't do this at our house because we live in a housing development, and it's against our HOA rules to run a business from our home.

This site has really helped me to see step by step what I need to do:

http://www.business.gov/states/florida/start.html

HTH!

I'm in Orlando and rent space in Winter Park. I pay $266 per month for 8 hours per week.

I live in the Central Fl area and there are a couple of rental kitchens that I am aware of. One is near UCF, Central Fl Commissary and it has a website. The owner is very helpful and accommodating. SHe offers a daily rate or even half day a week. There is one in Winter park I think it is called The Chateau Kitchen. DOn't know much about that one but it has gotten good press. I understand your dilema, because you can't really advertise if you are not properly liscensed. Heaven forbid you land a major contract and have to admit you are not legit on paper. But to get that liscense, you need to be using a liscensed kitchen. I have a property that is zoned commercial that I hope to have liscensed eventually. Problem is I own it with my sister, who is already operating a beauty parlor in her half, so I need some minor construction to make the area completely seperate. More Money!!!??!!

Yes, The Chateau Kitchen, that is where I am renting from. It's very nice with a small problem. The air conditioning is not up to par and it gets REALLY hot when the oven is on.

The owner hasn't been there long, only since October of last year so this problem wasn't known when I signed on. She has had someone out to look at it and it is a insultation problem that I'm not so sure can be resolved. I think it is a tin roof and the area inside is from floor to ceiling (if that make sense). There is no "space" between the floor and ceiling to put insulation. Other than that I LOVE it there. The people are really nice and the shop is quaint and really cute.

Just relocated to New Port Richey here myself, foudn the rental kitchen( a little pricey in my opinion), got the fictitious name, got serv safe certified, but my question is on the insurance. I am new to this and l am getting calls from people wanting cakes. The rental kitchen wont let me rent until I have insurance listing them as the other insured, so my question is.... what type of insurance do I need? do I need E&O only? general liability? im tryng not to spend too much money since this is just the start of the business and im by no means the Cake Boss..LOL does anyone else have an idea of the insurance needed? and maybe a good place to get it? I am ready to apply for the license and insurance, but not sure how to go about the insurance. Thanks!

Hi! I am in Jacksonville and have been doing cakes for about 5 years, but mostly for friends and family. I am also researching info about how to start a business and get licensed! I found a website yoursimplycupcakes.com and this is a cupcake bakery in Naples and they offer to train you to have your own "online" cupcake bakery. The reason I bring them up is 1. I thought their training program sounds really good! and 2. they say they can teach you how to get around the regulations for having an "at home" business. So, I'm just curious if anyone else knows this information? Is it possible? I have a 2 car garage that I could convert, I guess? But, I'm sure it would be costly! Not to mention, my husband would probably not be very happy about me kicking his stuff out! lol! We built our house 2 years ago and I designed my kitchen for cake decorating, expecting to eventually make it a business. I have 3 ovens and lots of counter space and 2 big pantries. Of course, now I am finding all this out! I had no idea 3 years ago, when we started building that it would be a problem, baking at home.

So, since I have been looking, I found a lady that is wanting to rent space at her bakery for $400/month. I thought this wasn't too bad. She is also offering to sell the whole place for $25,000. I'm in no way ready for that, but was seriously thinking about talking to her about renting. But, I don't know about the insurance thing either. So much to learn!

I would be cautious of that company offering the training, you might want to look for the forum that discusses other people's experiences, it sounded pretty shady to me, so do your homework before giving up any money!!! I think the link referred to florida kitchen rentals.

Exactly, I would be very suspiciuos of anyone wanting that kind of money for sharing something that apparently didn't cost them a thing, and you have no idea if you are paying for info that is free anyway!!!!!!

Yeah. I went on a read about it too. It seems too good to be true for sure. I really WISH there was a way around Florida's rules.

I thought the cupcake business sounded okay. And I am not defending them or anything, because I do not know them. But, the training they are offering is to start up a cupcake business. You will carry their name and everything. And it is like $5000 for the weekend training. They offered to give me references from their past students and all. I only checked into their website and emailed them about more info. The reason I brought it up is because one of the things they will tell you is how to "get around" having a licensed home bakery. Because this is how they started their business, from home, online and they have only had their store front for 2 years.

But, Yes, I agree, that if they can find out, then so can I! So, I am working on that!

Their websites are www.naplescupcakes.com and the site for the training program is yoursimplycupcakes.com and they are on FB simply cupcakes of Naples. Everything sounds legit, but you can draw your own conclusions!

I just want to find out if it is possible to get licensed at home? I have the perfect room, at my parent's house, that I could convert into a kitchen, with a private entrance and everything. It would be perfect!

Hi everyone! I'm up in Jacksonville! I've got another year or so of "free practice cakes" before I would consider renting space and doing this professionally. I figure that's enough time to figure out #1 if this is truly what I want to do full time and #2 determine if I can achieve a professional level of decorating & have a market

I have of course looked into it somewhat. I always read that things vary from county to county in other states, but I don't know if this is the case in Florida. In any case, licensing for bakers is in the hands of The Florida Dept of Agriculture. This is the info according to that office:

Can one cook or prepare food at home to sell to the public?
Preparation of food for sale to the public must be in a facility in which there is complete separation of living quarters from food preparation facilities. The food preparation facility must be adequately equipped and fully satisfy all food facility requirements of Chapter 500, F.S., and section 5K-4, F.A.C.

You can read more about this at their website: http://www.doacs.state.fl.us/onestop/fs/foodsafe.html

I would love to hear what everyone else finds out as well, since it seems sometimes you get difference answers depending on where you look

Yes, I was told that I could use a part of my garage, which was initially the third bay, that I had finished as a craft room when I had the house built. I was told by "Inspector Chuck" that i could get it liscensed because it has a seperate entrance from the main living quarter, with a door that seperates it from the rest of the house. I was also told that I would have to have the prep sink and a bathroom in the area that is seperate from that used by the occupants. The inspector I am referring to is a former inspector who now offers consulting services on how to get liscensed and evaluates if it is possible for your situation. He is in the Tampa area and will look at your floor plan and/or visit your site. He also has info on kitchens available in your area. I have a call in to him to see if anything has changed and get more info on our topic. Will let you know when I hear from him

I called about liability insurance and was quoted $600 anyone know of a company that is cheaper?