I have an opportunity to buy a small neighborhood bakery from a baker
who wants to retire. Baking has been a hobby of mine for 20+ years and
in many respects this opportunity represents what could be the
realization of a dream - or at least a fantasy.

There are many positives:
1. great potential because of mismanagement.
2. equipment and space can support multiple bakers and a 4-5 fold
increase in sales.
3. good, but not great parking.
4. on the route to and from downtown.
5. there's been a bakery on this site for 60 years.
6. I understand business (former finance professor, current
consultant)
7. I can get more excited about baking than I can about software.
8. and a few others...

But also a few negatives:
1. there's a big difference between baking a couple of loaves of 3
different kinds of bread on a Saturday, and 50 loaves of 10 varieties
every single day - PLUS dozens of donuts and the like.
2. what's a low carb bread???
3. is the current popularity of low carb diets a fad or a trend?
4. increasing the commercial side is critical and I really don't care
for the sales process.
5. and a few others...

Any comments from you bakers out there?

Tom

In article >, says...
> I have an opportunity to buy a small neighborhood bakery from a baker
> who wants to retire. Baking has been a hobby of mine for 20+ years and
> in many respects this opportunity represents what could be the
> realization of a dream - or at least a fantasy.
>
> There are many positives:
> 1. great potential because of mismanagement.
> 2. equipment and space can support multiple bakers and a 4-5 fold
> increase in sales.
> 3. good, but not great parking.
> 4. on the route to and from downtown.
> 5. there's been a bakery on this site for 60 years.
> 6. I understand business (former finance professor, current
> consultant)
> 7. I can get more excited about baking than I can about software.
> 8. and a few others...
>
> But also a few negatives:
> 1. there's a big difference between baking a couple of loaves of 3
> different kinds of bread on a Saturday, and 50 loaves of 10 varieties
> every single day - PLUS dozens of donuts and the like.
> 2. what's a low carb bread???
> 3. is the current popularity of low carb diets a fad or a trend?
> 4. increasing the commercial side is critical and I really don't care
> for the sales process.
> 5. and a few others...

Well - low carb breads are normally heavier grains that digest more
slowly than refined grains. Whole vs. separated, etc.

I think the whole low carb thing is moving toward requiring glycemic
index information on everything. Not a bad idea.

The current trend is a fad. Much of the maligning of carbs comes from
plain white bread. I hate plain white - I like whole wheat. Always have,
always will. Only exception is Italian bread and I'm experimenting with
whole wheat with that too.

Your main obstacles seem to be number 1 & 4. Yes, you'll get very tired
of bread in a very short time, unless of course you love doing it. For
some people the baking process itself is fulfilling. You need to look
deep inside yourself and see if you really think you could do it.

As to #4, if you really think the place is underutilized you can hire
sales help, hey I bet there's even a consultant out there that would
help with that.

"Thomas Kerscevsky" > wrote in message
...
> I have an opportunity to buy a small neighborhood bakery from a baker
> who wants to retire. Baking has been a hobby of mine for 20+ years and
> in many respects this opportunity represents what could be the
> realization of a dream - or at least a fantasy.
>
> There are many positives:
> 1. great potential because of mismanagement.
> 2. equipment and space can support multiple bakers and a 4-5 fold
> increase in sales.
> 3. good, but not great parking.
> 4. on the route to and from downtown.
> 5. there's been a bakery on this site for 60 years.
> 6. I understand business (former finance professor, current
> consultant)
> 7. I can get more excited about baking than I can about software.
> 8. and a few others...
>
> But also a few negatives:
> 1. there's a big difference between baking a couple of loaves of 3
> different kinds of bread on a Saturday, and 50 loaves of 10 varieties
> every single day - PLUS dozens of donuts and the like.
> 2. what's a low carb bread???
> 3. is the current popularity of low carb diets a fad or a trend?
> 4. increasing the commercial side is critical and I really don't care
> for the sales process.
> 5. and a few others...
>
> Any comments from you bakers out there?
>
> Tom
>

Taking something you love doing and trying to do it for a living can be
tricky. If you're the one who is doing it, you may find that you tire of it,
and not only does it become "just a job" but you also lose the fun of doing
whatever it is in your free time.

On the other hand, you might find that you end up hiring people to do the
very thing that you find to be fun while you end up doing all the management
things and/or all the other assorted things that your employees can't or
won't or shouldn't do.

Thomas Kerscevsky > writes:

>From: Thomas Kerscevsky >
>Newsgroups: rec.food.baking
>Subject: Is this a good time to buy a bakery?
>Date: Tue, 02 Mar 2004 02:35:15 GMT
>
>I have an opportunity to buy a small neighborhood bakery from a baker
>who wants to retire. Baking has been a hobby of mine for 20+ years and
>in many respects this opportunity represents what could be the
>realization of a dream - or at least a fantasy.
.. . .
> 6. I understand business (former finance professor, current
> consultant)
.. . .

Tom:

One of my friends has been involved in the bakery industry for many
years in various capacities such as overseeing production for a
large, mass-market baking company's plant. About a dozen years ago,
he was hired by a national chain of franchised bakeries to develop
techniques and training materials for the franchisees.

One of the debates among management was whether it was easier to
train a baker how to run a business operation or train a person with
experience in business how to produce a good bakery product.

After looking at their experience with their existing franchisees,
they concluded that it's easier to learn business than baking. It's
possible to provide step-by-step guides for things like accounting,
advertising and cash management. It's much more difficult to teach
the skills and qualitative judgement which come from experience in
hands-on baking.

Your experience as a hobbyist baker should be very helpful in your
understanding of the baking process and your ability to judge the
quality of your commerical product -- and probably more valuable to
the success of your business.

Cheers,
The Old Bear <-- he's not a real bear but he is a real MBA

Thomas Kerscevsky > wrote in message >...
> I have an opportunity to buy a small neighborhood bakery from a baker
> who wants to retire. Baking has been a hobby of mine for 20+ years and
> in many respects this opportunity represents what could be the
> realization of a dream - or at least a fantasy.
>
> There are many positives:
> 1. great potential because of mismanagement.
> 2. equipment and space can support multiple bakers and a 4-5 fold
> increase in sales.
> 3. good, but not great parking.
> 4. on the route to and from downtown.
> 5. there's been a bakery on this site for 60 years.
> 6. I understand business (former finance professor, current
> consultant)
> 7. I can get more excited about baking than I can about software.
> 8. and a few others...
>
> But also a few negatives:
> 1. there's a big difference between baking a couple of loaves of 3
> different kinds of bread on a Saturday, and 50 loaves of 10 varieties
> every single day - PLUS dozens of donuts and the like.
> 2. what's a low carb bread???
> 3. is the current popularity of low carb diets a fad or a trend?
> 4. increasing the commercial side is critical and I really don't care
> for the sales process.
> 5. and a few others...
>
> Any comments from you bakers out there?
>
> Tom

Running a business is not the same as enjoying baking as a hobby; your
priorities are different in the business world.
If your goal is to earn money in bakery business you had a lot of
catching up to do.If you had not run business before . You are in a
different ball park.
You have to study the financial aspects,interpersonal relations with
clients,staff, customers, and the other management side of the
equation.

From my observation in this field it does not require exceptional
baking skill in running a bakery business but good business acumen.
I had seen people who had a smattering of bakery knowledge; in some
cases totally ignorant about baking,but become succesful bakery
businessmen.
In the other side I had witnessed people who are highly capable bakers
but became a disaster in running their own bakery business.
But I am not trying to discourage you totally but just given some
form of warning.
If you are persistent and if you see that there is an opportunity in
such business; anyway just do your homework,hire somebody who will
train you in the entreprenureal aspects, and keep an open mind and be
optimistic .
If the bakery business (by previous owners )if already established
then there is less effort to market its products nor maintain the
business than starting from a scratch.
Hire a capable staff as you will not less time in doing baking your
self.
Roy

Far as I can tell, someone wrote:
>There are many positives:
> 1. great potential because of mismanagement.

Or maybe a load of problems that will take forever to fix.

> 2. equipment and space can support multiple bakers and a 4-5 fold
>increase in sales.

Getting customers to come buy is harder than simply increasing
production. Can you afford to advertise? Look deeply into costs for
that. I find it very expensive.

> 4. on the route to and from downtown.

EZ on and off the road? People pass my shop at high speed on the way to
work.

> 5. there's been a bakery on this site for 60 years.

That's a very major plus!

> 6. I understand business (former finance professor, current
>consultant)

Also a major plus. But until you do front line work every day until
you're bored sick of it, you are only fantasizing.

> 7. I can get more excited about baking than I can about software.

It won't be exciting after about six months. After that, it'll be a
grind, I promise.

>But also a few negatives:
> 1. there's a big difference between baking a couple of loaves of 3
>different kinds of bread on a Saturday, and 50 loaves of 10 varieties
>every single day - PLUS dozens of donuts and the like.

You betcha. BIG difference.

> 2. what's a low carb bread???

A current fad. Probably worth ignoring very soon.

> 3. is the current popularity of low carb diets a fad or a trend?

See above.

> 4. increasing the commercial side is critical and I really don't care
>for the sales process.

That might kill your business. Unless you can afford to hire a
salesperson. I hate it too, and I did it for years.

Do you fully understand the hiring/firing process? Do you have the
cojones to fire an employee? Will the present owner spend a month with
you going over every part of the business?

All that being said, if you really love baking, you're well off. Any
self owned business will become humdrum if you don't love it.

I do most of my own baking, product ordering, inventory control, and
lots more. My wife does the books, (with the help of a CPA) a lot of
the baking, payroll, and much more. We both work the counter, make
deliveries, and put in 70+ hours a week. Every single week. Often more.
We will have been open a year on mid-March. We have not made a penny
profit yet. That is expected as a start up. We knew what we were
facing. Peopel LOVE us, but sometimes they don't return for weeks.

It can be both exhilerating and discouraging at the same time.

Yesterday, sales were very poor. Today they were terrific, but there is
NO explaining why.

I strongly strongly strongly advise you to go to a local office of the
Small Business Developement Center http://www.sba.gov/sbdc/. Get all
the help you can from them.

Needless to say, there are a million factors to look at-- How long you
can go without a salary, condition of the equipment, your lease,
employees, suppliers, actual value of the business, etc.

SBDC will help you, at virtually no cost, much more than you can
imagine.

On Tue, 02 Mar 2004 02:35:15 +0000, Thomas Kerscevsky wrote:

> 1. there's a big difference between baking a couple of loaves of 3
> different kinds of bread on a Saturday, and 50 loaves of 10 varieties
> every single day - PLUS dozens of donuts and the like.

This sounds great and very exciting to me (READ: one who isn't doing it).

THE GOOD: Have you looked at what your wholesaler or baking supply
house might offer? I know BakeMark offers a wide variety of frozen doughs and
mixes that would take a lot of pressure off of you until you get your
thing going full steam. How you fixed on cooler/freezer space? Anyway, one
could start an entire product line with the things they have.

THE BAD: I'm taking it that you are going to be making everything up
by hand, at least the bread? Yes, there is a big difference. Ya gotta
be fast, fast, fast. Which can only come from time, time, time.
You might be able to hire an experienced bakery worker who
could show you some stuff during their fleeting moments of sobriety.
Habla Espanol?

THE UGLY: One thing hardly mentioned is that commercial baking is really
a physical challenge, particularly when doing make-up by hand. I've
worked at two commercial bakeries (one large one small) and developed
trouble with my hands after about a year at the small one
because of the constant trauma due to the make-up and scaling. Also the
hours are a bitch given that decent bread can't be done in one 8 hour
shift. Are you married? You know you're a REAL baker when
you come home and your wife says, 'Excuse me, sir, can I help you?"

What type of equipment are you going to be using?

sounds great, but it will be VERY HARD work as i am sure you will
already know. Iused to be a baker but on a much smaller scale and i
slogged my guts out from dawn until 2pm. when i finished.And i did not
make bread! what i did make was all the cakes, trifles, biscuits and
scones and decorated the cakes etc. i used to make hundreds of scones
each morning doing about seven different varieties, then monday to
saturday i would also put on a "special" from another list of about
five. these proved to be very popular, so, maybe you could do that
with your bread. bake the popular breads daily and do a different
"special" once or twice a week.this would give your customers
something to look forward to and would not tie you down to dozens of
different breads daily, )until you make a mint and can afford staff)
go for it and good luck.