Does anyone do consultations outside their home if they're a home based bakery? The way my house is set up, I don't have a private area to do consultations. With an open floor plan I would have to ask everyone else to leave the house. Otherwise I don't think it will come off as very professional.
Does anyone have any tips for where I could meet with clients? We only have 1 coffeeshop, and I don't think they'd be too happy about me bringing in samples for tastings. And I don't expect to bring in enough revenue to be able to rent an office.
I have a pretty open floor plan too but I still do all of my consults right at my dining room table.
My clients really like seeing how neat and clean my home is, especially my kitchen where their cake will be made.
I like to be here where all of my supplies are because sometimes I use my dummy tiers to stack different size and shape combinations so the client can see approximately how big or small their cake will be.
My children are college aged so I don't have to worry about having little ones interrupt during the consult, but when they were younger they were just told to go read a book quietly in their rooms or my husband took them for a ride someplace.
All of my consults are 30 to 45 minutes.
I think home is best. If your bride is further away & has a busy schedule, I've already brought my laptop & binder full of everything I thought I'd need to a midway Starbucks. Just check with the store before hand to make sure they don't mind you serving your cake instead of there muffins. 
I agree with cakestyles and cocoa. I would wonder how many cats a baker has if I was not allowed in her home. When my kids were younger, if I had to conduct business at home, my children behaved. There is nothing wrong with teaching children good work ethic at a young age. I come from a long line of self-employed businesspeople and I watched my dad from an early age. I worked for him starting at age 9. My children have all been employed by me from a young age and all are now exceptional, employed, educated, young women.
Just my opinion and many will have a different opinion.
And if a home isn't fit for scheduled guests, the owner should not be selling food. How would surprise health dept inspections work out?
And no one is going to rob you or hurt you on a cake tasting. Every time you need a plumber you open up your home to a stranger. Good screening skills will guarantee this to be a professional meeting.
And no one is going to rob you or hurt you on a cake tasting. Every time you need a plumber you open up your home to a stranger. Good screening skills will guarantee this to be a professional meeting.
While I agree with everyone that you should have the tasting in your home, I am a bit concerned about the above comment. Don't abandon common sense just because it is a cake tasting. As a single gal who lives by herself, I always let a friend or my sister know when I'm having a tasting, which are always in my home. After the tasting, I always give a quick call my friend or sister to let them know that I am fine. Again, you need to use common sense.
Seems like home is the consensus! I guess I'm just not sure how to do it around the family. We have several generations under one roof, and I'm not entirely comfortable asking the adults to stay hidden away for an hour. No problem sending kids to their rooms though!
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