As A Student, Starting Home Baking Business Worked Well For Me

by Leila S.
(North Carolina)

For Me, Starting A Small Home Business Came Out Of Necessity

To be perfectly honest cooking or baking was not something I was especially good at. Though I came from a family of good cooks, I just didn't have the gift.

But, life doesn't always take the turns you expect it to.


I had just moved to a new, smallish town away from the big city to finish college and was having a tough time finding a job that was better than minimum wage. I also noticed the lack of good bakeries in the area.

My Home Baking Business Started Because I Saw A Need And Craved Good Baked Goodies From A Neighborhood That Had Nothing To Offer Me

I wasn't a cook originally, but my desire for baked goods got the best of me and after many failed baking attempts I had finally gotten the hang of how to make the perfect cupcake. I had even mastered the art of bread making and the perfect Kolache.

As a student I needed a flexible schedule and my fiancé suggested I try selling some cupcakes at the local coffee shops since their selection was lacking.

• I pulled cake recipes from all over the place including old cookbooks I found at the thrift store and free internet websites.


• My frosting and decoration style was learned from watching reruns of Food Network cooking shows.

Starting A Small Home Business Selling Cupcakes Was Not The Easiest Business In The World, But I Got Through It

My first trip to try and sell my cupcakes wasn't so easy. I actually ended up giving away over 3 dozen to coffee shops so they could 'test' the product with their customers.

Although I wasn't getting buyers at first, my friends were more than willing to take cupcakes off my hands and offer me donations to cover my ingredient costs.

Starting A Small Home Business May Also Mean That You May Initially Have To Do Without Profits

It had been 2 months and I had seen no real profit from my baking.

It was pretty discouraging.

I am actually lucky, because I went back to the coffee shops I had visited 2 months prior and they actually wanted to BUY some of my cupcakes.

I Also Learned That Even Though You Start A Small Home Business, You Have To Make Sure You Keep It All Legal

I had forgotten to do some legal things for my cupcake sales. Most importantly, my food handler's license.


I ended up having to delay the order a week so I could be legal to sell them food. The shop was really nice, and let me put out business cards and advertise if they got a small discount on a batch.


I was eventually selling this shop 2-5 dozen cupcakes per week and was offered further delivery gigs at local diners.


Apparently my business cards did the trick, because I was offer a job catering cupcakes and now kolaches to one of the local businesses in town.

I Was Able To Start A Successful Home Baking Business As A Full Time Student

I was doing pretty well for a full time student. So well, in fact, that I had saved enough money to purchase a used vending truck.


I still sold cupcakes to coffee shops, and did the business thing on Fridays, but when I wasn't baking or delivering or in class, I was driving my Cupcake Mobile all over town selling wherever I saw a crowd.

If You Are Thinking Of Starting A Small Home Business, My Advice Is To Get All Your Legal Stuff In Order

A home based baking business is really an easy small home business to start, just make sure you cover the bases.

Handling the legal stuff is important - just be flexible.

Also, If You Are Thinking Of Starting A Home Baking Business, Don't Spend Money You Don't Have

I managed to start my home based baking business without getting into debt at all.Baking is a great business choice because ingredients are usually inexpensive.

Oh, and one last piece of advice. Don't say no to a huge order.

• If you have to stay up 48 hours baking do it.


• It'll be worth it.