I live in a small town in Southeastern New Mexico. I recently stopped taking cake orders in May simply because I was swamped with orders and needed a break. I miss decorating but I don't want to have the dead lines and picky brides to deal with, so, I thought maybe I can teach others the craft of decorating. I don't want to have to get the certificate from any big names to prove I know my stuff- I'm self taught and proud of it. Any ideas on how to go about getting a cake decorating class started? Do I need any permits or licenses?

I was wondering the same thing. Can't seem to find any information on it, though.

I took classes at our local adult school. The teacher worked at save mart and did it for extra income and for fun. He was also self taught. check with your town also for community classes and see if they would be interested. Take pictures with you.

Look to see if there are any Young Chefs Academy shops near you, or something similar where they have a kitchen setup. They might let you rent space to teach classes. Sur La Table also has class space, but I don't know if they do anything other than classes that they teach.

As far as licensing goes, you'd need to check with your local business license office. I know that here if you're teaching cooking classes it doesn't fall under the health department inspections, because you're technically not selling food. I don't know how other places do it, though, so you'd need to check on your local regulations.