Starting a home bakery is a great way to turn a love for baking into a business and earn extra income. If done correctly, the bakery could be the perfect way to turn your passion into profits.
Like any business, there are steps to take to ensure the business starts and operate correctly. However, the sheer excitement of starting the bakery could could lead to missteps and cause setbacks.
Steps to Start and Grow a Home Bakery
Before heading to the store to purchase ingredients and supplies here are few things to consider:
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Decide what you want to bake and sell. Choose a product that doesn't cost a lot to make. This is your starting point. You do not want to spend too much initially.
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Apply for Cottage Food approval from your local or state government. This is an important step since there are rules for home kitchen use for preparing foods to sell to the public.
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Open a separate bank account for your home bakery business. Use that account ONLY for bakery transactions. Preferably, take payments for baked goods using electronic payments to track sales.
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Operate your home bakery like a real business and not as a hobby. Open a separate bank account for your business. Keep accurate records of purchases, sales and any other business transaction. These come in handy when filing your tax returns.
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Market your business to your friends and followers on social media platforms and also offline whereever possible.
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Set up a web presence (if affordable) and send people to your store to complete the purchase. This allows customers to engage with your products and purchase.
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Keep track of customers and reach out to them when new products are available of if you have discounts to offer.
These are just few steps to help you get started in your home baking business. Start small and expand when the right opportunity comes.
