....that the cake I am making as a gift for my friends baby shower will be seen by enough people I don't know to possibly be the cake that they say "hey, next time I need a cake...."

And I'm freaking out because as you all know, word of mouth is the best advertising. I am not quite ready to start selling yet and I sure as heck don't want to tell people I'm not selling yet if they ask me. I want them to know I'm ready to bake when they are ready with their checkbooks!

I have 4 weeks to get my crap together and get myself ready so I can be prepared if anyone wants to buy a cake from me. Maybe it's wishful thinking to think this but we can all hope and dream, right?

Breathe.

If someone asks for a cake tell them you are more than happy to make the cake, ask for the date of the event. If the date is before you are prepared to start selling just tell them you are already booked. If the date is after you are ready to start selling get the info. You can always just have several business cards on you so when someone asks you can reply "here is my card. Either email me or call me and we can discuss details." That way you are not put on the spot or doing business at your friend's shower (which I think is tacky to do).

Oh good plan! Thank you!!!!!

I didn't even think of business cards!

optimism is great, and I wish you all the best... but just wanted to say, you know how many cakes I've made for friends/family? a lot. know how many paid orders from "word of mouth" i got from all that free super-nom nom really pretty cake? 2... in the past 2 years. people just don't really think like how you are hoping they will think.

as i said, i wish you all the best, but there is a whole cart>horse thing. selling cake takes a whole bunch more then one party for the floodgate of orders to come in, and it takes a heck of a lot longer then four weeks to get a business up and running. i'm not saying to not be excited, but you are setting yourself up for all kinds of disapointment by thinking you are going to generate business you are unpreparred for. focus on getting prepared, get a business plan, get legal, then worry about how to deal with orders (or lack of).

jen

I wouldn't quit my day job just yet if I were you.

My cakes are for friends and family so I don't market myself. But I do get all kinds of wonderful rave feedback from the cakes I've done and it seems everyone there wants my information. So occasionally I've given my info but I've never heard from anyone.

I have gotten a few 'friend of a friend' who was at the baby shower and can you do a 3D cake for $25, requests. I say 'have a nice day!'

I don't want to do this for a living. I do it for fun. Seems like when you start doing something because you HAVE to, it stops being fun.

Well, I'm not quitting my day job. This is most likely always be a side job for me.

And there is a cottage law here in michigan so I don't have to worry about being legal.

I don't expect the orders to come rolling in. One actual order freaks me out. In honesty, I really hope I don't get a ton of orders at one time (ever!) because there is not much chance of me quitting my day job and any orders I do would be on the side anyway.

This business is going to be me profiting from doing something I already do and love to do.