-L. wrote:
> Bob (this one) wrote:
>
>>Who subscribes to rec.food.baking? Are you a professional? Are you a guy
>>who likes to bake on weekends? Are you a mother who needs to bake for a
>>family? Hobby? Work? Hate it but have to? Love it but not enough time?
>>
>>Who are you? What kinds of information are you seeking?
>>Pastorio
>
> Mainly lurker. I am 42, live in Portland, OR, am a SAHM with a
> wonderful son who is 2. I cook three meals a day for our family and
> bake mainly desserts for parties and my husband's office (requests). I
> like to bake and haven't done as much of it in the last couple of years
> but since DS is becoming more independant, I can spend time baking
> again.
>
> We are considering opening a business as an outlet for my cakes and
> desserts. So a lot of what I am doing now is experimental.

My oldest granddaughter has decided to do wedding cakes and other
celebratory baking and asked me a lot of questions about getting
started. My first bit of advice was to tell her to get a job in a place
that does something like what she wants to do. Otherwise, it's guessing.
And a good way to lose a lot of money. She's been to culinary school and
has a notion about commercial versus domestic cooking, but she asked me
a lot of the wrong questions. Premature stuff - what kind of pans should
she buy, should she offer delivery (!), how much staff should she
have...? We talked about kitchens, storage, budgeting, inventory,
pricing, staffing, etc. I deliberately befuddled her because, while it's
good to be upbeat and energetic, it leads to a false sense of security.
I tried to give her a sense of what she doesn't know and needs to research.

Check the health department laws where you are before doing any baking
for money. Check local prices and charge more, not less. You're making a
premium product and people should pay for it. You can't be bashful about
money. I know about all these pitfalls because I've fallen into them at
one time or another.

Good luck with it.

Pastorio