How to Start A Cake Decorating Business

Starting A Cake Decorating Business - Background Info:

The baking of scrumptious cakes that are decorated like no other is a talent; the decorating today being an art form.

Traditional cakes like Grandma used to make have been coming back - but with a twist.

Today, brides-to-be are having Victorian tea parties as their wedding shower themes and high-end downtown areas are selling premium cake on a stick or cut cake in a box delights.

Supermarkets and bakeries usually do not specialize in cakes alone, and this is where niche marketability for premium cakes and decorating have an edge.

Today, innovative cake decoration includes 3D lifelike cakes, photo cakes, and cakes that use sugar-crystallized edible flowers.
Specialty wedding cakes --- like no other ---and other special-occasion cakes will always be in demand, so a cake decorating business is usually simple to start and grow into a lucrative business.

Tasks And Skills Needed To When Starting A Cake Decorating Business:

Business Specific Tasks:

If you are planning to do all the business tasks or hiring or subcontracting tasks, here's a list of tasks that need to be attended to when it comes to the business side of running a cake decorating business:

Bookkeeping
Advertising/Marketing
Scheduling/order-taking
Computer literacy
Answering machine

Industry Specific Tasks:

Same as above if you plan to do everything yourself or get help, here are some of the tasks necessary to operate a cake decorating business:

Research, experimentation, and implementation of cake ingredients

Classes in cake decoration

Baking: correct temperatures, mixing, etc.

Calculate estimates

Ordering of supplies such as pans, mixers, etc.

Ordering of ingredients and decorating items and supplies

Almond paste shape (flower) designs

Creation of fillings

Approximate Daily Hours Needed To Run a Cake Decorating Business:

General Hours of Operation: - When your business is open - Depending on your location, this job typically has longer hours that span from early in the morning to early evening.

You must be prepared to bake and decorate on weekends and sometimes last-minute as well.

Hours Needed to Prepare - Before Opening and After Hours Activities - Just as with a bakery, only a bit more specialized, cake decorating requires time to mix ingredients and bake the basic cake base. Sometimes, as with 3-dimensional cakes, it can take several hours to cut the cake as required for the design.

Additional hours are needed to prepare fillings and icing, mold crafted edible decorations and do the actual decorating of the cake.

Some cake decorators spend a day alone to do nothing but crystallize edible flowers and create marzipan or almond paste designs for cake decorations so that they have them on hand.

Number of Employees Needed To Run This Business:

Minimum Number of Employees - During the Start Up Phase: You can start this business yourself on a full- or part-time basis.

Number of Employees - Once Your Business is Up and Running Successfully:

Website maintenance

Bakers

Decoration-makers: hand-crafted edible flowers and other implements

Clean-up

Inventory supply

Delivery drivers

Order-takers/customer service

Skill Requirements for This Business:

Handle the necessary ovens and other baking equipment adequately

Bakery experience or long history of baking

Experience working for a cake decorator

Knowledge of various cake recipes

Wedding and party planning

Color and design

Licenses:

If you are just starting out by word of mouth, a couple of cakes per week leaving your house will be fine without a license. However, if your cake decorating business becomes more regular, you have two options: get a zoning permit for commercial sales in your neighborhood or rent a kitchen area, both of which may require Health Department inspection and licensing.

To make your business legitimate, you will also need an LLC business license and tax i. d. number.

Approximate Minimum Start up Cost:

Bare essential: - The average startup cost may vary form a couple hundred bucks if you already have a lot of the equipment to thousands of dollars if you want top-of-the-line equipment such as ovens and other kitchen tools and decorating gadgets. You can start off small and expand your crew and equipment as you grow.

Minimal exposure - Plan to spend a minimum of $250-$500 initially for business cards, flyers, signs, and listings in bridal directories and publications to get you going.

Necessary Equipment to Run this Business:

Necessary Start-Up Equipment & Supplies:

Oven(s)

Various sizes and shapes of cake pans, including for cupcakes

Cake decorating equipment & supplies

Heavy-duty mixer

Icing bags

Decorating tips

Cake boxes

Non-stick spray

Shortening

Flavoring

Food coloring

A computer with Internet access

Business cards and a website

Phone

Supplementary Equipment: - Equipment or helpful products that you can acquire to once your business is off and running:

Delivery van or truck

A digital camera to photograph your finished products

A 3-ring binder to hold a portfolio of your cakes

Menus, flyers, brochures

Garden to grow your own edible flowers

Dispatch units and service and/or cell phone

Monthly Expenses To Consider:

Answering and/or cell phone service
Warehouse or other storage rent
Wages
Gas/Electricity
Cake decorating ingredients
Internet access
Certifications
Advertising/Marketing
Water

Special Requirements For This Business:

You may decide to obtain additional certification in the baking industry.
You need to create cakes that not only rival, but surpass other bakery cakes in taste and appearance by a large margin to be successful.
You should design your business around a "one-of-a-kind" theme or niche with creativity and innovation with your designs in mind.

Pros And Cons:

The Pros of Running a Cake Decorating Business:

Easy to start.

Smaller investment than many other businesses.

You have the advantage of being your own boss and setting your own hours.

You get to interact with the public.

Provides a creative outlet.

This business is completely expandable and can grow easily.

The Cons of Running a Cake Decorating Business:

Work will probably entail weekends along with longer work week hours.

Customers can be difficult under stressful situations (such as with a wedding).

You must possess a high degree of patience and attention to detail or results could be disastrous.

You may have to work harder and spend more money in order to create a solid reputation for your cake decorating business.

Supply explanations as to why your cakes are more expensive that store-bought or bakeries.

Type of Customers You Need to Attract:

The types of customers you need to attract the most, especially to start off with to make a profit right from the beginning, are business people and wedding planners.

You need to keep in mind that while cakes are in demand for birthdays for children, most mothers today bake their own or purchase from a supermarket to keep their party costs down.

Office parties, religious holidays or rituals, weddings, anniversaries, and other events and celebrations can all contribute to your customer base.

Cake Decorating Business Statistics:

For a complete compilation of cake baking and decorating statistics, see AIB International

Revenue:

Cake decorators in bakeries make approximately $24,000 per year. Private cake makers and decorators can charge up to $300 or more for a cake. One wedding cake request was to have doves fly out when the cake was cut. That cake cost $650.

Resources:

Industry-Specific Websites:

Cake Decorating Techniques

Coolest Food-Shaped Cake Decorating Techniques

Icing Photo Images

Keen Cakes

Cake Decorating

Courses:

Baking 911

Wilton

Cake Decorating Classes

FCI (French Culinary Institute)

Equipment and Supplies:

Kitchen Krafts

Sugar Craft

Shop Bakers Nook

Forums:

Cake Central

Associations:

Retail Bakers of America (RBA)

Books:

Starting Your Cake Business

Professional Cake Decorating

Colette's Cakes: The Art of Cake Decorating

Software:

Wedding Cake Design Pro

Love to Know Cake Decorating

Other:

Crystallized Edible Flowers

Edible Flowers

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