Tips you need to know to start selling cakes from home (2023)

If you're looking to start a cake business, here are tips you need to know to start selling cakes from home. Start prepared by learning food safety, food laws, best practices for selling baked goods, and mental preparation.

In this post, I want to share some tips I found helpful when selling cakes from home and some words of encouragement.

Well this is not an exhaustive list. When starting a business, especially a food business, there are many things to consider.

First of all, I would like to say that I am not a lawyer and I am not an accountant. Therefore, always seek advice from a professional before making a final decision. I'm not the best expert at running a cake business either, but I managed to run my business for several years while working full-time and I've learned a lot.

OK let's go…(Oh by the way, I also made a handy tip sheet that you can print for free that lists all of my tips.You can find that at the end of the post.)

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Check the laws:

Before you ever sell groceries from your home, be sure to check your laws. Just because you see people selling groceries from their homes on Facebook doesn't mean it's legal.

Don't trust these other people to have done their homework. You're the one who has to pay for your mistakes, so take care and do your own research.

Google your state laws on selling groceries from home:

• Does your state have a food law? If yes, what does it say?
• Do you need a separate kitchen?
• Can you sell everything or only non-perishable goods?
• What about label requirements?

Know your laws...become familiar with them. We have one in TexasHüttenkostrecht. That means we can sell groceries away from home, but it can't be groceries that need to be refrigerated.

When I was selling cakes from home, it really limited the types of cakes and fillings I could sell. Sometimes you just have to get creative.

For example: If someone wanted cream cheese buttercream, I'd have to make American buttercream with a cream cheese flavor added.

However, laws are not something you want to ignore. Litigation is the real thing, and if you're just a sole proprietor, then your personal money is at stake...not just the company's money. Be very careful to obey the law.

I don't know about other states, but if you're in Texas, here's a link to our cottage food law:Texas Cottage Food Law

I also cannot stress enough the importance of complying with labeling rules as well. Your state or local government may have specific things that you are required to place on labels (Texas does).

Well, of course you can't put a label on the actual cake itself, but you can put a label on the cake box.

It may seem annoying, but in reality the law is there to protect people. I personally have a nut allergy (which is why you don't see many nut cakes on my blog) and to be honest I'm one of those people who really appreciate allergy labels on food.

Make an insurance:

This is another step in covering your butt. I didn't have insurance for a long time and it made me really nervous. My day job is working as a legal librarian (I'm not a lawyer though) so I see firsthand the insane amount of lawsuits that go on.

Sometimes it can be a simple mistake on your part, or the customer got the buyer's remorse and wants revenge. Who knows, but if you have some kind of insurance it can give you a little more peace of mind.

It's a good idea to call your insurance agent where you buy your home or car insurance and ask them what they suggest first.

I ended up getting FLIP, the food liability insurance program. I paid per year and it wasn't too expensive.

Now I've never had to file a claim so I can't give a review on how they pay claims so I suggest reading about it and trying to find some reviews.

Here is a link to their website:FLIP – Food Liability Insurance Program

Decide what to offer:

You want to decide what kind of cake to offer (or at least have a good idea). You can always adapt later once you gain some experience.

So consider:

• Do you only want to make birthday cakes?
• wedding cakes?
• Cupcakes oder Cakepops?
• Just buttercream cakes or do you offer fondant cakes?
• Will you include delivery or charge for it?
• Do you deliver at all?
• What about flowers on cakes?

You don't have to have every detail worked out, but you do need to have an idea of ​​what you enjoy doing and what you really donotwant to do.

You don't have to take orders for cakes you don't like to bake.If you hate working with fondant then only offer buttercream cakes.

You can always expand your offering later on if you find you really want to branch out and as you gain more experience.

Perfect your basic recipes:

You want to compile and perfect your basic cake recipes. You don't have to figure out every single type of recipe you willalwaysOffer, but write down your basic recipes and make sure you're happy with them.

(Video) How to sell Homemade Cakes Online [ 10 Steps to Starting a Cake Business ]

You want at least a basic menu of flavors you offer. Of course you'll get requests for unique flavors and you can step up to the challenge if you want to at this point, but at least the basics like vanilla, chocolate, marble or whatever is popular in your area are perfected.

I kinda like the recipes here on my blog and here are some basics you might want to try:

• Vanilla Bean Cake
• White cake (wedding cake)
• chocolate cake
• marble cake
• Red velvet cake

Practice first:

Ok, I know you know this, but I have to say it. Before you start selling cakes, practice first.

Don't start until you're ready. Now that doesn't mean you need to knoweverything, but you must know and master the basics.

You don't want to wait forever either, because you'll never know everything. Even the famous pastry chefs out there don't know everything. I mean, they know a lot, but they're still learning and experimenting.

Practice your basic cakes. You should master your basic cake decorating skills e.g. B. how to cover cakes with buttercream, stack cakes, etc.

Determine your pricing structure:

Have a good idea of ​​how you are going to price your cakes. There are many different ways you can do this.

You don't have to use just one specific pricing method. For example, portion charging doesn't work really well for a super complicated cake that takes a lot more work than a simple ice cream cake, but that has the same number of portions.

So don't advertise that your cakes are $2.50 each (or whatever the price) or you'll be backing yourself into a corner. You can always use an amount per piece to quote a cake, but personally I've never said "my cakes cost x pieces a piece". I just made an offer on the whole thing.

Most customers think it's the amount of servings that drives up the price, and that may be trueup to a point, but mostly it's the amount of work involved in this particular design.

You can also set up a pricing structure that shows the prices of plain buttercream cakes for 6-inch, 8-inch, and 10-inch cakes... and add from there if you like.

If you try to be the cheap pie man, you will work yourself to death while also feeling unappreciated and resentful. You will lose your love of cake making.

The Cake Boss has a good top up article if you want to check it out. Here is the link to it:How much should I charge for my cakes?

This is just one of those things that takes some practice. Don't beat yourself up if you underload a few times. It will happen. Just re-evaluatePromise yourself not to underestimate your worknext time.

You'll get better and faster at the asking price the longer you do this.

Track your finances from the start:

Start with the accounting from the beginning and don't forget the taxes. If you're not sure how taxes affect you, do a Google search for your country and state, or go to your local tax office and ask.

You don't have to be fancy. You can start by just keeping a simple spreadsheet in Excel or Google Sheets, which is free to use. Then, later, you can step up to something more outlandishQuickBooks orFreshbooksor something similar.

Track your income and expenses right from the start. If you have a segregated bank account, it's much easier to keep track of it this way.

Take good pictures:

You don't have to get fancy and spend a ton of money on a new camera. You can use your phone if you want.

You can get some vinyl backdrops if you want and shoot next to a natural light source. Turn off your indoor lights if they have the yellow bulbs. The yellow lightbulbs make the pictures look terrible. Try taking photos next to a window, or get the "daylight" bulbs.

There are also many photo editing apps that you can use right now that can do some really amazing things.

I have a post that provides some easy tips for taking cake pictures. You can find it here:Handy tips for photographing cakes plus editing

I've since changed a few things since this post, but it's still a good start.

Here's just a bonus note to take photos of:Try not to send "in progress" shots to the client. You may be excited and want to let them know how the cake is coming along or how that topper you made is coming along, but most of the time it backfires.

The few times I did it totally backfired. They will want to change things completely, even though you created the design they asked for and agreed to. You lose more money and more time and/or frustrate the customer who doesn't understand how long things take or how much is involved in changing a design.

It's also difficult for the client to see your vision, so sending "in progress" pictures can make them panic because they see the middle, but in your head you see the end result.

If they ask you about an image in progress, just use your best judgment. I certainly wouldn't be rude. Honestly, most people don't ask for it.

You should also open a Facebook page and Instagram account and add your cake photos there. Tell everyone you know you bake cakes and tell them where to find you and pictures of your cakes.

Organize and calculate cake schedules:

You should set up an organized system to take orders, send out contracts, and keep track of all your cake projects.

Get organized and settle on a simple cake schedule. Have a place to keep all your cake projects so you can plan ahead.

Plan each project so you know what you need to do, when you need to do it, and what materials to get.

Get used to preparing and planning your projects. Being organized helps things run smoothly.

If you're the type of person who flies by the seat of your pants, this may not matter as much to you. Personally, I'm a planner and don't work well under stress and pressure, so I like to keep everything organized and planned as much as possible.

If you're looking for a planning system for planning a large cake order, I've got one for you. It's called theUltimate cake project planner and it's a printable guide to help you plan your cake projects.

There are two versions:The Flower Plannerand theModern geometric planner

Do not forget about food safety:

Familiarize yourself with food safety. See if you can get a grocer's permit. Most of the time you can get this online and it looks and sounds good to customers when you can say you have a grocer's permit.

Your state or local government may not require a grocer's license, but if someone asks, since you bake from home, it's nice to say you have one.

You can even include your grocer's approval number on your cake box labels. (By the way, check your local laws for proper labeling as mentioned above.)

Find out how to accept payments:

Want to control how you accept payments: PayPal, Square, cash, check, a payment app? Just find out how to accept payments.

Set up your branded business items:

You want to set up your other branded items like business cards, boxes, labels, thank you cards, etc.

As for logos or other stationery, it doesn't have to be perfect. You can change this at any time and adjust later. Don't let that stop you from getting your logo and website (if you have one) perfect. Don't dwell too long on this step.

It will constantly change and evolve. Things don't have to be perfect and you can always adjust things later if needed.

By the way, you don't actually need a website to begin with. You can start on Facebook or IG and see how it goes, and then when you want a more professional space, set up a basic website.

There are many tools that make it easy to set up websites yourself. You should go to godaddy and buy your domain first, and then you can use a website/hosting service like Wix, Squarespace or Shopify to set it up easily.

Now if you are setting up a website that involves blogging about pies then I would use WordPress plus a host but for a simple setup the above options work just fine.

Determine your policies:

I think this is one of the most important things you need to do before you start selling cakes.

Think about it: what will your business policies be? For example, find out what you will do for discounts... will you actually have them? If so, how much and for whom? Will you give discounts to all friends and family members? Know this in advance because you will be asked.

Ask yourself: do you want to bake cakes for people for free first, just to get some practice, or do you want them to pay for the ingredients?

There really are no wrong answers here. Just determine what you feel comfortable with and what actually seems fair. If it doesn't seem fair to offer a family member or friend free cake and it's cost you a lot of time, then state in your policy that you're charging family and friends and what discount, if any, you're giving.

Now that's going to sound negative, but it's been like that for me and for many other home cookers I know. The biggest cake making problems I've had have been with friends of friends or people who knew something but weren't around.

There will be people who, because you're a home baker and you know a little, will think that you should be super cheap and make them an "offer", however unfair that may be to you. Have your policies ready for this.

Write a basic contract and specify whether you want a contract for every order or only for a certain amount.

If you don't say "non-refundable deposit" and it's not in your contract, they could cancel at the last minute, reclaim your deposit and leave you with a decorated cake and no money for it.

• I wouldn't record the date either (putting the cake project on my calendar) until I received the deposit and the contract was signed... I made sure to let the client know that too and I gave them the date that the Deposit and the contract to be signed are required so it doesn't get done at the last minute.

• Do not block this day or purchase ingredients and supplies until the non-refundable deposit has been paid. I didn't want to hold a date for someone who wasn't serious and had no intention of completing the order. If you are serious, leave a deposit.

• The other half would be paid before or upon collection. Preferably beforehand and especially if it was a wedding cake. It all has to be in the contract. They need to know the due date by which they must pay you the remainder of the sum owed.

• In the contract they have the last day to make changes to the design. Make that clear to them.

• Make sure that contract also states that once it leaves your hands, it is no longer your responsibility. If it falls over because it is being moved from one table to another, you are not responsible. If you put objects in the cake and it becomes unstable or inedible, that is not your responsibility. These are all things that are good for making a deal and going through with the client.

• Make sure you both sign the contract. You can do this on paper or through a contract signing app.

I have a sample contract that I used which you can download below.

Please note, however, that I am not a lawyer and therefore do not constitute legal advice. You will need to consult a lawyer for further advice on what needs to be included in a contract.

You can download the contract from the link below to use at your own discretion. I take no responsibility if this contract does not meet your needs.

Contract in Word format

(If you don't have the Word program, you can upload this file to your Google Drive and edit it there.)

OK,once you have established all your basic business guidelines, you don't actually give your customers your policy... it's just something you can walk past.

Of course you give them a copy of the contract, but not really your business policies...these are just the rules you follow in your business.

A quick note on the guidelines:I find it easier to say "no" with business policies when necessary. You can blame politics for that. Just say, "I'm so sorry, but my policy is not... or my policy is to…” or something like that.

Cake serving charts for customers:

ok you don'thaveto do this, but I always thought it added a nice touch.

When you place each order you can add cake serving cards and also cards that let the customer know about any non-edible items that are in the cake like dowels etc.

You can find serving charts online and print them out on nice cardstock paper. Cut them to the desired size for your customers. It's a guide to help them cut the cake. This is especially helpful for them if it is a wedding cake.

If there are items that are not edible, such as You'll think it's helpful while protecting your business. Customers will love this personal touch.

I actually designed some inedible-in-this-cake cards that you can print off and use for yourself.(There are 6 different designs.) You can download these and either fill them in by editing the PDF, or just print them out and fill in the elements by hand.

Just click on the graphic or the link below and it will download automatically.

Prepare yourself mentally:

You will never be fully prepared, but you must at least be comfortable with setting boundaries.

You have to set some limits, and that means if you don't want to take cake customer calls after 5pm on weekdays or weekends, then stick with it. Revert to your policy as we discussed above.

Ok, I'm getting real now... Some of us find it really hard to set boundaries, especially us women. We are raised to be the opposite. It's just our societal pressures, but we can learn something else.

If you struggle with setting and actually sticking to limits, and sometimes let people overwhelm you (no shame on the game, I was too), there is a very good book you might want to check out.

You can find it here:Borders by Henry Cloud and John Townsend

Be prepared to grow a thick skin as you deal with returns, last-minute changes, canceled orders after the order is placed, and so on.

Those are all lessons I learned, and honestly, it's not in my nature to handle stress or conflict well, so I wasn't ready to deal with it. With you it may be different.

Your borders will be pushed.Be kind, but stay within your boundaries.Just know that mean people or people trying to take advantage of you are NOT the majority of people.

At the same time, you also want to be somewhat flexible. If a customer has an emergency such as a death in the family or something similar, you may want to reevaluate and adjust your policy for that particular incident.

Do what is comfortable for you, but also don't let anyone run over you or bully you.

Keep learning and trying new things:

Keep learning and trying new things and ways of doing things. You can take classes on Craftsy (now Craftsy), watch YouTube videos, read cake magazines, read cake forums, and join cake Facebook groups. Other Cakers are often happy to share what they know.

Try new ways of doing things. You never know... it might work better than the method you're currently using. keep an open mind

Get support:

Join Facebook groups for baking and cake decorating. You can learn a lot just by reading other people's posts, and you can ask questions if you get stuck.

However, make sure you are in a supportive group.Some are not as supportive and can be a bit strained. It's okay to remove yourself from a group if you don't feel comfortable. Nobody has time for drama.

You can also join online forums, e.gCakeCentral. There are many people there who are very helpful.

And even if you don't want to ask a question, you can search for your question in their forum. You often find the answer because someone else has probably already answered it.

Listen to your gut feeling and stick to your values:

If something about a customer or an order makes you feel good, honor your intuition. If you don't feel experienced enough to bake a certain type of cake, you can say no.

This is your business and it is okay to refuse an order if it is necessary.

For example, if someone requests that you bake a cake that is out and youknowledgeit just gets way too hot, then you can just say no. DO NOT accept this type of liability. When your gut tells you something, listen to it.

If a customer wants a specific cake they found online, be sure to let them know that the final look may vary slightly as it is made by a different person.

Try to manage the expectations as best you can. You can't really control what a customer will think of the final product, but you can let them know there will be slight variations from the image they gave you.

You are the expert. Most of the time, the customer isn't being rude, they just don't know it. If they show you a picture of a fondant cake and say they want it in buttercream, well, there are just some things that can't be made with buttercream.

Explain that to them...they just don't realize it. If they insist they still want to proceed, use your best judgment. If you're uncomfortable, say you're sorry but you can't make this cake in buttercream for her.

It's either abouta littleDiscomfort now by telling them no or dealing with ita lotof discomfort later, by stressing yourself out during manufacture knowing what's going to happen... then you end up dealing with a dissatisfied customer anyway.

When I was selling cakes I had a rule that I would use fondant cakes when baking themonlyGanache under the fondant. I used buttercream for the filling, but the outside was covered in ganache instead of buttercream, then the fondant went over the ganache.

I just got a smoother finish on my fondant when using ganache and it was a lot more stable for me. I explained this to each customer and gave them a choice of white or semi-sweet chocolate. Nobody had a problem with it and when I explained why, they all understood. Just be open about things like that.

I once heard on a podcast that humans are the only animals that question their own intuition.A rabbit hopping down a path and seeing a wolf doesn't say, "Oops, that's a wolf and it's going to eat me, oh wait, maybe I'm just being negative and it's just a friendly wolf." No, it's hopping out there It knows something is wrong.

So listen to your intuition. You won't always know 100% why you're feeling a little off, but you feel that way for a reason. Also, don't let a customer or another vendor bully you. Stick to your values.

Thank your customers:

Last but not least, thank your customers!

Give them a thank you note when you deliver or collect the cake, or mail it to them later. You can even add a discount card for their next order and some business cards.

If you really care about them, they will feel it. Just make them feel valued.

So I hope if you are just making the decision to sell cakes, or if you have just started selling cakes, this has been helpful to you.

There are many things to consider here, but the main thing is to prepare as much as possible, but realize that you don't have everything perfectly prepared to start and that's okay!

Don't feel like you can't adjust things later...you certainly can and should!

Other Posts You May Like:

• Questions to ask before taking a cake order
• How to store a cake
• Common cake decorating problems and how to avoid them