I meant to post this earlier in the week, but got sidetracked by a really crappy work week (and that's being polite about it). I've mentioned before that I want to eventually open my own bakery. For the past few weeks, I've been trying to figure out how to go about making that really happen. I don't really have any investment capital to speak of, so finding a store front is pretty unrealistic, at least at this point in time. It makes more sense for me to start by running it out of my home, get some experience, build a customer base, and then expand from there. But... how do I do that?
I asked my mom (she is pretty much my go-to whenever I need some real advice) and she said to just people that I'm starting to sell my stuff and that they should see me when they need something for birthdays, holidays, get-togethers, etc. She said that way, I can start with friends and family and then (hopefully), word of mouth will take care of the rest. That's a wonderful idea but really.. that's it?
Seems to me it can't be that easy. If that really is all I have to do, then I guess this post does that, since I really do want to start selling and growing my business (or creating my business, I guess). I mean, I guess I don't really know any OTHER way I would start a bakery, but doing it my mom's way just sounds way too easy. In an effort to take her advice to heart, I asked my friends on facebook to tel me what their favorite bakery treat is and what they feel is a fair price to pay for it, but I only got 8 responses from the 140 or so people that had access to it, so.... not really very helpful at all.
Honestly, I'm still not really sure what to do. Is it really as easy as just telling people?
Anyone else have any experience in this? Either baking or something similar? How'd you start?
I don't have any experience but I know lots of people sell homemade goodies at my local farmer's market.
ReplyDeleteI love brownies and for one of those big palm size ones you normally find in a bakery I'd pay $3-4. We have a local bakery that we love for cupcakes and they charge $3 per cupcake (with icing and small cookie on top) and it's totally worth it.
When looking for a price to sell at, first price out how much YOU are paying for the ingredients. Then look at how much time it is taking you and add your wage to the cost. And then add a bit of markup for wear and tear on your personal appliances/dishes. Last but not least, add the cost of selling supplies (bags, ribbon to seal the bag, etc). Then divide by how many items it makes and you have your price.
I hadn't even thought of farmer's markets. That's a good idea! There's a bunch of smaller ones around here that usually run in the in summer on weekend mornings. I'll have to look into it. I haven't sat down to figure out how much I would actually charge for things, but from the limited amount of feedback I've gotten, it seems like $3-5 for most single-serving things is pretty reasonable (cupcakes, brownies, cake slices, etc).
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