Start a Cake Decorating Business

One of the best part-time businesses for any individual to start is the cake decorating business. It requires no special skills other than interest and a desire to excel. Most women who start a cake decorating business do so because of the compliments that they received from their family and friends when they decorated their first cakes.

Start up costs: A cake decorating business may look simple but it does require a lot of effort and planning. The first things that you need are a heavy duty mixer, food colors, baking pans, icing flutes, bowls, spatulas, a microwave, and a space within or outside your kitchen where you can decorate the cakes. You may even need a helping hand to clean up the place every evening. Once your business grows, you will need to buy large cooling racks, turntables and separators. Also, don't forget to buy a camera. It's a very useful tool to promote your business. You must take pictures of the cake from all angles, and build up a portfolio, that can be shown to customers both offline and online.

Pricing: You should never consider your cake decorating business as a way to pass time. From the beginning build your business on sound business lines. Never make the mistake of making or decorating cakes free of cost for your friends. You must remember that you have put in your time and effort into making the cake, and you must be compensated for it. The best pricing is one that is slightly less than the market price, but which gives you a healthy return. It is not a business that can pay you fancy returns so you should be happy if you make one to two dollars for every hour of your time that you invest in this business.

Target market: The cake decorating business is a crowded market. There are scores of bakeries in every city who prepare great cakes. So, how do you manage to survive? The only way you can hope to make a mark is by being creative and innovative. Your cakes must look different. If possible, they must taste better than the ones baked by city bakeries. If this happens then you can expect to get orders for birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, graduations, baby showers, Easter, Christmas, etc...

Decoration ideas: The success of a cake decorating business depends on how innovative you are. You have to come up with new ideas and new designs if you want to be noticed. Earlier, your sole source of information was women's magazines. Today, you have a small army of five star bakers talking about cake making on television, and on the net. You must pick up as many ideas from these sources as possible. Many of them may turn out to be unique, once you modify them and give them your stylistic color. You may even consider joining a cake decorating school if one is available in your city. Another option is to locate such a course on the net.

Publicity: The best promotion for your cake decoration business is word of mouth advertising. Ask your friends and family members who have bought cakes from you to spread the word generously. To encourage word of mouth publicity you can even provide referral discounts. Another useful option is flyers. Put it up in bakeries and confectioneries.

You can even consider setting up a website. It does not cost much but it can become a great window where you can showcase your finest productions. This will motivate people to come to you.

You must remember that cake decorating business is going to be around. There will always be demand for cakes, and innovative ones at that. All you need is patience to carve a niche for yourself.