How to Become a Home Baker and Start a Home Baking Business

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Jul 27, 2019
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How to Become a Home Baker and Start A Home Baking Business?

Do you enjoy baking? Are you looking forward to becoming a home baker and starting your own home baking business using your ability to bake yummy treats? Are you still confused about how to start a bakery business from home in India?

Let's Get Started!

This step-by-step guide will help you venture out into the home baking business and become a successful home baker.

Before we begin, there are a few things you need to know in order to make your baking business a success.

Most of us have often thought of starting a business from home. But due to some issue or another, it has always remained a plan and never been implemented. The first and foremost step is to decide on the kind of home-based business you want to start. Make sure that you have identified what you’re really passionate about and have the zeal to begin your journey towards your businesses inception.

For me, I absolutely love and enjoy the art of cooking and baking. So, I started my journey to become a home baker for eggless and sugar-free cakes, cupcakes, cookies and chocolates. I am in love being a home baker today and I am able to make a living from it. Ultimately, it’s your passion that counts.

If you want to learn all the skills to become a successful home baker, this 30-day course with expert trainers and bakers is the perfect course for you! For more information, you can reach out to us at info@bakedemy.com

DECIDE ON THE TYPES OF CAKE YOU WANT TO SELL AS A HOME BAKER

How to start a bakery business from home in India? You have to start with cake! You can consider starting off with a basic range of vanilla and chocolate cupcakes and subsequently expanding the range as your home baking business becomes more successful.

A home baker can bake any type of cake, beyond our imagination. But you don't need to know how to do everything - some specialize in selling cupcakes from home or baking gluten-free cupcakes, while others focus on creating amazing wedding cakes.

The idea is simple. Identify your strengths and work towards it. Being different is the key to success, so offer something which helps you stand out from the rest.

GO TO A PROFESSIONAL WORKSHOP OR CLASS

A lot of home bakers start baking by following YouTube videos and trial and error. But if you are looking to become a commercial home-based baker and serve real customers, then its recommended to attend professional workshops or classes from renowned academies or established top bakers or cake artists. Make sure that you have got the right skills to serve better than bakeries. If your delivery will not be as per the client's expectations, then it will lead to a loss of goodwill and will hinder your business progression.

Some of the academies or established professionals you can refer are:

Bakedemy, India. Started by homebakers.co.in and Anybody Can Bake together - it offers 90-day online only courses to learn everything about home baking, cake decorating including entrepreneurship skills, digital marketing, social media and food photography. This will 100% equip you on how to start a bakery business from home in India. - Highly Recommended

Bakedemy-Professional-Baking-Cake-Decorating-Course

GET THE REQUIRED FSSAI REGISTRATION FOR A HOME BAKER

The Food and Safety Standards Authority of India requires any petty business person dealing with food, even if they make less than Rs. 12 lakh per annum from the business, to register their business. This registration is therefore mandatory for everyone who starts a home baking business even if it is from home.

You may think the FSSAI registration is not required unless you are a big food business with employees under you, so it is not something to worry about when you are just starting out. But ensure that you get registered so that you will not face any problems in the future - the FSSAI can levy heavy fines if you run a business without registration. For more details on FSSAI registration and license, refer our article on "FSSAI Registration & Licensing For A Home Baker – All You Need To Know".If you're interested in applying for one, then we can apply for you on your behalf. Click here to register.

OTHER BUSINESS REGISTRATIONS

Consider securing your brand name and logo with a Trademark registration. It is not mandatory but becomes necessary once you become a larger business. It is always useful to keep your brand protected so that no one can use your name and defraud customers. While it might not be very useful early on, it is something to consider as your career progresses. Getting a trademark registration is not very straightforward - it is best to consult an IPR or Trademark lawyer to get it done.

GST Registration - we know that GST is payable on various goods and services that we buy. But have you ever wondered if you are liable to pay GST to the government as a person selling goods - i.e. cakes? You might be liable if you have a high turnover every year. For most states, the threshold of GST exemption is Rs. 40 lakh. So if you don't earn more than Rs. 40 lakh a year, you don't have to pay GST. If you are in a special state - this includes all the seven north-east states and Uttrakhand, as well as Union Territories like Ladakh. Then you will be liable to pay GST if you have an annual turnover of over Rs. 20 lakh per annum. Since not many bakers reach this turnover level immediately, you won't have to worry about this immediately.

REGISTERING YOUR BUSINESS

Since most home bakers start their business alone, they usually don't think about company registration. There are a few cases when you should consider getting your business registered. If you are running your business with someone else as a partner - whether it is a friend or relative - please register as an LLP. This is not mandatory but will ensure you don't get cheated by your partner(s). It will also ensure that your business will continue with your children or other heirs in case you retire or are unable to work. Securing your hard work by getting this registration is very helpful.

If you are independently operating, registration is not a necessity. You could consider registering as a one-person company. But the compliances required every quarter is not worth it if you are operating at a smaller scale. Registration as a private company is also unnecessary - you are the only person involved in the business so it is not needed.

GET YOUR RECIPES RIGHT

Cakes are the star of the show; that’s the reason people order cakes from home bakers so that they can customize it as per their preference. Choosing the right cake recipe, therefore, is vital to the success of your home baking business.

Test out your recipes on family and friends. Ask for their honest feedback so that you can make necessary improvements before advertising. Repeat this process until your cakes are the best they can be and becomes the most delicious cakes you’ve ever tasted! This will be the key to a successful and long-lasting home baking business.

When choosing your basic cake recipe, try to find a simple and proven one to work. Here are a few cakes suggestions to get you started:

Plain cupcakes with different icing variations;
Flavoured cakes;
Wedding and celebration cakes;
Themed birthday cakes; and
Tray-bakes and bars.

SOURCE YOUR INGREDIENTS

It is very important to ensure you get good quality ingredients and for the best price possible. In India, online stores offer very competitive prices for basic ingredients like flour, sugar and even essences. But some baking specific items like cocoa powder, sprinkles and butter paper usually cheaper in local baking supply stores. If you are a healthy baker, your ingredients are best sourced from organic supermarkets since they offer pure ingredients and often work directly with farmers. Check out this page for special offers on Baking Raw Materials.

THE WEAPONS- KITCHEN EQUIPMENT

Before you can start selling baked goods, you’ll need the right equipment. If you love baking enough to turn it into a part-time business, there’s a good chance that you’ll already have most of the equipment you need. But there are a few things you may need to purchase.

Here are our top 10 essentials for all cake makers:

A good quality electric food mixer;
Non-stick cake trays (enough to bake at least 2 batches of cakes);
Digital scales for accurate measuring;
Cooling racks;
Measuring spoons;
Mixing bowls;
Wooden spoons;
Rubber spatula for easier handling of cake mixture and icing;
Cake cases; and
A good oven.

STOCK MANAGEMENT

Stock control for a home-based cake business need not be a complex process involving copious hours of work. Essentially, you just need to ensure that your ingredients don’t go out of date, and you maintain accurate records of items purchased. A simple spreadsheet will be sufficient for most bakers selling cakes from home, but you may want to invest in a simple stock management system once your business starts growing.

COSTING AND PRICING - AN ISSUE FOR MANY A HOME BAKER

Many people tend to price their cakes much cheaper when they start out so that they can gain expertise and clients. However, this will not be sustainable in the long run because you will become known for cheaper cakes and therefore your clients will not be willing to pay later. Always value your time and effort no matter what expertise you have in baking. One big hurdle that new and experienced bakers face is getting the pricing right for a cake. A basic formula people use is 3 times the cost of the ingredients used. While this is just a general rule used, it isn't the best. You need to factor in these costs, but you also have to value your time & skills. You need to ensure you are earning a profit through your business.

HomeBakers.co.in have designed a detailed Baker's Pricing Calculator, that's reviewed and approved by Ms Ashwini Sarabhai, one of the Top Cake Artists in India as per Cake Masters. It's available in Microsoft Excel and Google Sheet versions. You can purchase both the versions from us just for ₹500. If you're interested, click on "Buy Now".

DELIVERY

Delivery is an issue that most home bakers face. Most of the bakers deliver the cake personally or have clients picking it up from their doorstep. Some have resorted to taxis for delivery. Some of them have tried other delivery services too. However, delivery still seems to be a problem for many. A tip is to always do what works best for you. Many bakers strictly offer only the pickup option or even delivery only. This depends on what is convenient for you. Pickup works if you don't have the time or resources to personally drop off cakes. Delivery works if you don't want clients to show up at your house throughout the day and disturb your routine, or if you are worried a client won't know how to handle an intricate cake and might damage it.

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

Your first impression matters a lot. The presentation and taste of the Cake will help you mark your first impression. If you happen to gain one satisfied customer, that will lead to many more. A satisfied customer is essential; this is an industry that thrives on word of mouth marketing which, other than the internet, is the primary source of marketing. Facebook is the most popular among home bakers, closely followed by Instagram and Twitter.

Many home-bakers indulge in some more marketing. Some bakers send out mailers to their client list built over the years, others put up stalls in schools, apartments, flea markets etc. to promote their bakes. Overall, the marketing may appear to be very rustic, but it works.

We work with several home bakers across India to help customers get the exact cake they want! Sign up on our website as a baker by clicking here.

WEBSITE AND PHOTOGRAPHY

Some well-established home bakers are taking their business to the next level by having their websites up and running. Once you start getting sufficient orders and people are looking up your page on social media, block your domain name. Get a website as soon as you can and focus on uploading good quality photos. In the baking world, photos are the best way to sell.

The images of cakes that home bakers create are usually posted by them on popular social media channels or their Facebook pages. A large number of home bakers click the pictures themselves. Some have learnt the art of photography over time and others have family members and friends helping them.

Another important aspect of this is branding. Ensure that your orders go out with your business card always. Make sure to customize your boxes & another packaging so that your logo and brand name are clearly visible. This leaves a lasting impression on people and they will be more likely to remember your brand and recommend you to others.

Digital Marketing requires skills and experience to make it work effectively. Even if you build it over time, it can take a lot of your bandwidth which you can spend in baking more cakes. HomeBakers.co.in offers Digital Marketing exclusively for Home Bakers for as little as ₹5000 a month. If you're interested, then email your interest to info@homebakers.co.in

UPDATE YOUR SKILLS CONSTANTLY - NEVER STOP LEARNING

For any home baker, trends are very important to follow and learning never stops. You can do so by watching videos on YouTube or by attending workshops and classes. But make sure that you constantly keep your skills up to date. Clients keep up with trends and the business is all about trends. If you don’t know how to make an item that they want, it will hinder your business progression.

Additional Tips

You should reach out to an event planner or a wedding planner in your friend circle. Partner with them and you will always get their orders for any event they organize, whether it is a 100 person birthday party or a 1000 person wedding! Another way to kickstart your business is to reach out to local businesses like supermarkets and other grocery stores, or even bakeries that don’t make their own produce and contract to sell them a specific dish on a daily or weekly basis as per their needs. This will ensure a steady income for you and will help you carve out a niche.

The best way to begin custom orders is by telling your friends and family that you take orders, and to post on social media. Ask your personal circle to spread the word and leverage that to retain clients. Always ensure that you have a social media page dedicated to your bakes, both on Facebook and Instagram. This way, potential clients can see your previous work.

- By Anjana Lath and Akhileshwari Anand Raj - Updated on 27th July 2019

Using an online platform like HOMEBAKERS.CO.IN is also a great idea, since it removes the tension of looking for clients and getting orders. You only have to focus on your craft. Hope this article helps you with your endeavour towards baking.

To keep getting inspired, do not miss out to get the latest updates on our events, blogs and newsletters on https://homebakers.co.in