I have been baking for quite a number of years. Originally, it began baking for family and friends, now; it is more “business”. Armed with a number of recipes that I have developed over the years, I baked whenever I could for people. Since no one really knew that I baked or made candy outside my of my “inner circle”, I began bringing in a number of items to work (my day job). I am lucky to have a large number of coworkers who love sweets, so word of my baking would hopefully begin to spread. Since shamelessly promoting one’s self is not me, I did a mix of bringing in some baked goods (great test group for new products – plus for me) for all to enjoy and then during certain holidays promote my price list to get some sales. The biggest challenge for my business is that it is difficult to compete with large box stores or supermarkets in price. Since I do everything from scratch, time is money. A number of large bakeries and supermarkets have pre-made items brought in and then they finish them off in the store or they purchase pre-made mixes to use, thus lowering their cost. Since I knew I could not compete (my prices will be higher), the plan was to focus on the quality of my ingredients and the taste of the finished product. By promoting this aspect to customers, it was a way I felt I could separate my product from that of the large supermarket/bakery stores.
I know some great bakers who focus on only one item such as, muffins, brownies or wedding cakes. This is wonderful, because you can begin to develop your niche in the baking market. When you know what you wish to offer, then you can figure out what equipment you need (you may have some equipment already). Join me next week as we discuss what equipment will need to begin a home baking business (for fun and/or profit).