Make Your Cake Decorating Business More Efficient, part 1

It is true of any business that efficiency equals greater profit. In the previous post, we looked at some general ideas to consider when starting your own cake decorating business, and in this number one we look at a number of things you can do to maximise efficiency and make your time and effort more productive.

Bulk Produce items that you will use frequently. Things like fondant flowers, figurines, certain types of lettering - these can all be made in advance so you don't have to set up to make them each time you do a cake. Every niche uses particular things repeatedly, so if you work your niche thoroughly, you can save a lot of time and effort by this type of mass production. Many of these things can also be bought from a good supplier, or contracted out to someone who specialises in them. Do be careful though - storage methods and times will vary for anything edible, so check this before you start.

Maintain good communication with clients Be very clear about their requirements for the cake, and also of dates and times. If you are unsure, ask. It is better to double check than to have to start over because you thought they wanted red flowers when they really wanted blue. You will save a lot of time and extra work, not to mention your reputation, if you get all these details in writing and refer to them often. It is a good idea to give progress reports - e-mail is ideal for this - so the client knows you are working for them and care about the service you provide. It will also give them the opportunity to correct any misconceptions, but be careful here - people do change their minds about such important features of their special occasions, and you need to be clear about exactly when final decisions must be made.

Emergencies will arise from time to time. Experience will teach you what to be prepared for, and it is wise to always have necessary equipment, tools, and materials ready for unexpected repairs when disaster strikes. (Sometimes a cake is beyond saving - check out this You Tube clip. It may be amusing as a video clip, but look at how upset the bride is - it really isn't funny. Someone's carelessness has caused this to happen - if it is the cake maker, then I wouldn't expect them to get paid). Being efficient in all aspects of your cake decorating business will help to avoid last minute rushes that tend to create such problems. Part 2 of this post will talk about some more things you can do to help achieve this.











 

Starting a Cake Decorating Business at Home, part 2

While it is important to develop and maintain your cake baking and decorating skills to the highest standard, if you want to start a cake decorating business at home you will also need to master a range of business skills. In part one of this series, we looked at finding and working a niche, developing your creative skills, and promoting your cake decorating business. In this post we focus on presentation of yourself and your product, understanding and working within your abilities, and the use of technology, both for making and selling your cakes.

Presentation  It goes without saying that the presentation of your cakes is of the utmost importance - and that includes everything from the cake itself to the board it is displayed on and whatever table or stand is used - but it is equally important to present yourself and your business in a totally professional manner. Personal grooming and hygiene is fundamental in the food industry - doubly so when you are meeting clients, and so too is the presentation of your promotional material, price lists, contracts, and any other documentation you need. Keep them in a clean, tidy, and easily accessible folder so they are readily available to hand to people. The quality and convenience of desktop publishing means that this material can be printed as required, rather than keeping papers in a ratty old folder to get dog eared or covered in cake decorating ingredients. Make sure your vehicle is clean and in good repair, and the same goes for your home, especially that part of it you use for your business, particularly if you see clients at your home.

 Work within your limitations You will know your strengths and weaknesses regarding designing and decorating cakes, so work within these. If you are confident and capable with fondant and sugar sulptures, and the other finery involved in wedding cake construction, then by all means enter this most lucrative of all cake markets, but if your skills are not yet sufficiently developed, work other niche areas until you can meet the exacting demands of this one. If you are constantly improving your knowledge and skills, you will soon find yourself able to offer a full range of cakes for all occasions, giving your business a broader and stronger footing.
It also pays to be careful of over committing - you are better to start slowly until you get enough experience to know how many clients can be properly serviced within a certain period of time. Nothing will damage your reputation more than delivering an inferior product because you have had to rush, or even worse - failing to deliver at all.

Technology is your friend and it is a friendship that you should take full advantage of. You will be well aware of the various electronic and mechanical devices available for the actual making and decorating of cakes, but where technology really comes into its own is in the management and promotion of your business.  There are lots of business software programmes available - find a really good one that covers everything, from accounting and taxation, to business planning and staff management (if you get big enough to need that!).
Perhaps where technology really comes into its own, is in the promotion of your business. E-mail and the various types of social media (Facebook, Twitter etc) are great for maintaining contact with clients and suppliers, and it is a very simple matter to make and host your own website (this can be done very easily and free on Web 2.0 sites like Squidoo) and used in conjunction with the recent advances in digital photography, these are the perfect way to promote your business and provide a portfolio for potential clients. Use of all these types of technology is greatly to your advantage in running your cake decorating business, and will only be more so in the future.
Tomorrow's post will look at ways in which you can make your home based cake decorating business more efficient (and profitable).

Starting a Cake Decorating Business at Home, part 1

There are many reasons for starting a cake decorating business at home – from the artistic to the purely financial, and it is the intention of this blog to take a look at some of the things you will need to consider before embarking on this fascinating, enjoyable, and potentially lucrative enterprise.

Think about the numbers for a minute – there are 6 billion people in the world, and every one of them has a birthday every year. Of course, they don't all have birthday parties, and of those who do, not all of them will have a celebration cake, but even a small percentage of 6 billion is a fairly sizeable potential market, and that's just for birthday cakes. Consider the number of people who get married each year – just in your local area or circle of acquaintances – and then consider that everyone who gets married then has an anniversary each year, often celebrated with an anniversary cake. The numbers are starting to stack up, don't you think? Don't forget graduations, retirements, business and club anniversaries, and of course Christmas – all regular occasions that require the services of a creative and reliable cake decorator.

If you are considering entering this profitable market, there are a few things you will need to consider apart from the development and refining of your baking and decorating skills, and it is the purpose of this blog to address some of these issues, as well as to display some of the quite stunning photographs and videos of the amazing cakes made by some very clever people in this industry (of whom you will eventually be one if you master your artistic abilities alongside your business management skills.)

Here are a few ideas to begin with – there are plenty more in upcoming posts:

Specialise in one type of cake to begin with Every occasion requires a different type of cake, and these all use different techniques, materials, and equipment, and employ a wide range of themes. Decide on a niche, then research the market thoroughly and develop your skills accordingly. If you are mainly interested in weddings, then study that niche and become familiar with it. As you work the niche, you will gradually become known within it and build up a client base which may even be sufficient to enable you to make a good living from just the one niche, but if you wish to broaden your horizons, by all means learn and master other niches too. Many of the skills you develop are interchangeable across all areas of this diverse market, especially the basic business principles.

Perfect your techniques It goes without saying that your cakes need to be of a high standard before you can offer your services to the market. Practise makes perfect, and you can gain heaps of this by decorating cakes for family and friends (not for free though – it can be an expensive hobby, and you will at least need to recover your costs), and of course for your own immediate family's special occasions. If you need help to refine your skills, there are a number of top quality books and tutorials available online, or at the local bookshop, and you can probably find classes in your area as well.

The importance of promotion The cake you decorate and supply for a special occasion will be the focus of attention for a number of people for a period of time – cake cutting is usually the focal point of the formalities – so the cake itself is your best advertising tool. This will generate word of mouth, a vital ingredient in any marketing campaign, and absolutely indispensable in yours. With good word of mouth, you can probably run a successful cake decorating with no other advertising; without it, you may as well not bother. Of course good word of mouth advertising is not only free, but also very easy to get. You just have to provide a consistently high standard of product and service, and make sure everyone knows your name.