It’s one thing to be a talented cake decorator, but something quite different to be the owner of a successful cake business. In fact, we’ve seen many technically talented bakers suffer through difficult times, while observing others with less experience and skill achieve great success in business. I would chalk up the difference in these [...]
Starting a Cake Business At Home
If your state permits a home cake business, this is a great opportunity to test the waters with very little overhead. That said, there are different types of home bakery businesses, each with varying degrees of regulatory requirements and you should be clear about what is legal in your community. The three types of home cake businesses we will cover in our book are those regulated by cottage food laws, where one can use their family kitchen to produce food for sale; home businesses with a separate licensed kitchen; and cake businesses where all business activity except food production takes place in the home.
If at all possible, we recommend starting out at home with your existing kitchen, as it is a safer way (financially) to explore this business. This is particularly true if you are already employed but dream of transitioning out of your existing job and into entrepreneurship. Most home businesses are started under cottage food laws. Cottage food production is when a person uses their family kitchen to produce foods for sale to the general public. These foods are made from Non-Potentially Hazardous Recipes and therefore not all baked goods are included in these regulations. For example, cheesecake, meringues, lemon curd, and many cream cheese frostings are prohibited. Cottage foods laws differ from state to state but typically involve limits on the types of foods produced, (nonhazardous) the annual amount of revenue, labeling requirements, inspection requirements, and other rules and regulations.
