I currently work a full-time job, and do cakes on the weekends.  I also do the bookkeeping for my husbands business.   I'm about three years away from being able to retire from a job that I am totally burned out from after 31 years.  Basically, just going through the motions at this point.  I started doing cakes as a side business about 4 years ago and the plan was to go full-time after retirement.  Problem is, things have really taken off and I'm at a point that it's getting extremely difficult to juggle everything.  I either have to learn to say no and limit myself to just a couple of cakes a week or I have to jump in and go full throttle. 

Most of my business is via word of mouth and Facebook, but I recently had a logo and business cards created and am currently working on putting together an advertising brochure with prices and pictures of my work.  Problem is, I'm afraid to actually put it out there-what would be the point if I have to turn orders away.

I guess what I'm asking for those that have done it, at what point do you throw caution to the wind and just go for it?  I hate the fact that I have to limit myself of the thing that makes me most happy to make time to do the job that I no longer enjoy.  Can I really make a comfortable living at this?

3 yrs would be a long time of limiting yourself but then 3 yrs is a short time to wait for full retirement benefits.  Is your pricing now up there or are your just trading $$s with the cakes you are doing?  You have to figure out what your costs will be vs how many cakes you think you can do 'full-time'.  As with the many, many other pricing posts on this site (and others) you need to look at everything involved in pricing including but not limited to: cost of utilities, insurance, ingredients, packaging, investments of more tools, where you live, going price for your area etc, etc.  If you find you are grossly under priced, will you loose ALL your customers, some or none when you raise prices up where they should be?    These are just a few things you need to take a long, hard look at.  Good luck.

It is definitely something that is possible.  As long as your state and county allow it. In NY State where I live it's not allowed unless you have a separate kitchen facility and a 20C license.  But under the Home Processors law I am able to bake an assortment of shelf stable goods and sell these at farmers markets, fairs, and wholesale to select markets. To qualify for this the Health department needed to do an inspection of my kitchen. Product labeling was another thing I had to do in order to sell anything. Never through caution to the wind. Otherwise you could have more cake orders than you can hope to fill.

It's a big decision to make. You're 3 yrs from retirement, have you spoken to a financial advisor, do you need health insurance. There is a lot to take into consideration when leaving your job.  And I certainly understand about the job being a drag when you are so close to the end, I've been there and the last year was the longest of my life!!lol.  Good luck

If you have to ask the question, then no, you're not ready to go full-throttle.  You should have notes and spreadsheets coming out your ears with costs and prices and income and outgo and all that other happy nonsense. Unless you've done a full-blown breakdown of your costs and prices and income, you won't know where you stand.

All that being said, there's also a lot of value in doing something you love.  I obsess over every cake I do, to the point where I lose sleep and when I can sleep, I dream about the details.  But I love to do them and therein is the difference.  They're worth the sleepless nights and the worry.  Kind of like kids.

Only you can make the decision and there will be so much that enters into it that you just can't communicate to anybody else.  I wish you all the best and many good nights' sleep.