Cash from Baking??

mrscupcake_2

Me again! Been and spent a small fortune on equipment in Lakeland today! It had to be done I tried to source as much of my basics from small local shops who are inevitably cheaper but Lakeland had all the other odds and sods I needed! So I feel prepared I am itching to get started with my new gadgets!

Bluefire your stall looks amazing! So retro I would have bought the remaining ten off you had I been there!

A few more questions (sorry I know I'm a pain!)

- Are the farmers markets easy enough to get into? I'd love to do stalls similar to yours bluefire but no idea how to go about it do you just go along to the markets you're interested in and speak to the organisers?

- Is it an unspoken rule at these markets that all produce be free range and organic? I'm trying to work out costs and although I always buy free range as I'm quite passionate about the subject I don't usually buy organic.

- When preparing for events is it best to prepare cakes in advance and freeze or does this affect the quality of the cakes significantly?

What do you all do to market yourselves? I was planning to bake cakes for all my friends and family and ask them to take them into work with cards and prices to try and spread the word also facebook ... can't think of anything else !

A tips for those of you hoping to photograph your cakes against a nice background , I found some rolls of retro looking wrapping paper in Tesco for a quid so I plan to wrap some cardboard and use that to place my cakes on to make them really stand out

mellymeep

I've just read all of the thread and its so inspiring reading all of your success stories, I would love to do something like this but sadly I rent and will be unable to get permission for a business on the property I think!

mrscupcake_2

mellymeep are you sure? It may be worth a try. Afterall, a baking business on a from-home scale is unlikely to be big enough to cause problems, need and specialist machinery installed or bring customers in and out of the house. These are the main concerns a landlord would have. Why don't you try writing a letter stating your intentions and ask for permission in writing. You may be surprised!

hayley11

mellymeep wrote: »

I've just read all of the thread and its so inspiring reading all of your success stories, I would love to do something like this but sadly I rent and will be unable to get permission for a business on the property I think!

I rent and it wasn't a problem with my landlord, as long as it was on a small scale, by that he means not installing industrial equipment and having bags of flour all over the place.

You've got nothing to lose by asking

hayley11

neneromanova wrote: »

Right, I'm confused.....

What paper cases do you ladies use to bake your CupCakes in? So far, googleing has brought up loads of different case sizes *rollseyes*

I use this size

http://www.cakecraftworld.co.uk/viewproddetails.asp

I've found this size the best so far.

hayley11

Babyplum, you're not hijacking the thread! It's here for questions and discussion.

Bluefire

mrscupcake wrote: »

- Are the farmers markets easy enough to get into? I'd love to do stalls similar to yours bluefire but no idea how to go about it do you just go along to the markets you're interested in and speak to the organisers?

I started doing my local farmers' market after winning a cupcake competition they were running, but the other 2 events I've done I've literally just emailed the organisers to book a stall. They will most likely check that you're registered with the council & that you have public liability insurance.

- Is it an unspoken rule at these markets that all produce be free range and organic? I'm trying to work out costs and although I always buy free range as I'm quite passionate about the subject I don't usually buy organic.

Nobody as of yet has asked me anything about my ingredients. As nice as it would be to buy everything organic you have to be able to charge an amount to justify it, which I've found I can't.

- When preparing for events is it best to prepare cakes in advance and freeze or does this affect the quality of the cakes significantly?

At the end of the day it depends on how you work really, and how many cakes/flavours you're producing. If you're super efficient, or have help, you may be able to bake & decorate over 1-2 days. If not, freezing can become a necessity. I find the icing always takes the longest, especially if there's prep to do beforehand which most of my cakes have unfortunately! (Melted marshmallows to be placed in, caramel melted over the top, lemon curd spread over etc)

- What do you all do to market yourselves? I was planning to bake cakes for all my friends and family and ask them to take them into work with cards and prices to try and spread the word also facebook ... can't think of anything else!

I've had a lot of help from the farmer's market - through being their new producer I got featured in both the local newspaper & a magazine that gets delivered throughout the area. I'm also planning to visit some cafes to see if I can get any business through there, and deliver some postcards with my prices etc to businesses.

Hope that helps!

mrscupcake_2

thanks bluefire that's really helpful, much appreciated!

skintbint_2

hi folks - just popping in the Works have a couple of books that may be worth buying but think this deal is worth it when i think how much i have spent on books
http://www.theworks.co.uk/product.asp?cid=1&pid=2423

there are a couple of cupcake books too

mellymeep

mrscupcake wrote: »

mellymeep are you sure? It may be worth a try. Afterall, a baking business on a from-home scale is unlikely to be big enough to cause problems, need and specialist machinery installed or bring customers in and out of the house. These are the main concerns a landlord would have. Why don't you try writing a letter stating your intentions and ask for permission in writing. You may be surprised!

I suppose there's nothing to lose! The only thing putting me off is that we don't deal directly with our LL, all our contact goes through the estate agents... who for lack of a better word are bloody useless!! I don't think I'll get permission from them when they wouldn't even give us permission to repair the damage to our bedroom floorboards as result of a leak (they've taken so long to do anything about it we thought we'd just offer to do it ourselves!)

I can only try though I guess!