Hi, everyone! I'm on the verge of signing a lease to open a custom cake / sweet shop in my area. I'm trying to write my business plan, but really have no idea what to estimate for the costs of materials monthly or projected sales. I'm scared to go into this with so many unknown variables. Any thoughts anyone? HELP!!!

I think the best thing to do is get in touch with the SBA in your area (hopefully no gov't shutdown). They have many resources and I'm sure can help you. I know in VA there are a lot of resources on the web through the gov't. Maybe you can check out your local gov'ts website regarding startups.

Pleae do the business plan before the lease. And I don't mean to be negative, but if you do not have the ability to write the business plan, are you sure you have the experience to run a business? Over 80% of businesses fail in the first year, less than 10% make it the next year. Lack of experience is the number one reason for failure. It is one thing to open a home business or commercial kitchen based business with little experience, but a storefront takes real knowledge in small business administration... accounting including exact numbers for COGS... both fixed and variable , tax, employee law, insurance, and so much more. Please be careful.