Starting a business

[Kailyn]

I make and decorate cakes as a hobby and friends have suggested I make a business out of it, but I don't know where to start.

Would I need special insurance to run it from my house? I've thought before about starting a website and have looked around and seen this kind of thing http://website.1and1.co.uk/website-builder but things like domain names make no sense to me.

Can anyone direct me to a simple guide to doing all of this?

[Sue]

You need things like hygiene certificates, for a start.

My sister is a very talented cake decorator (she won an Ideal Home competition at Christmas) but when she looked into starting a business she was put off by what would be involved.

Pricing is also an issue, bearing in mind the amount of time involved (assuming you are spending a lot of time personalising the cakes, as she does).

I also wouldn't recommend 1&1 for hosting a website. My http://www.thegooseisout.com website is hosted with them, and I have been less than impressed with their service if anything goes wrong or you have queries.

If you do not understand basic things like domain names, and will have to get to grips with building a website on top of starting your cake business, I'd either pay somebody else to do it, or else think very very carefully about whether you have sufficient time to put into all this.

I don't want to put you off, so if you are really keen go for it, but I think you may be underestimating the work involved in relation to the potential financial return.

ETA: And building the website is only part of it - you then have to promote the business so that potential customers will actually visit your website!

And you will have to do tax returns every year as a self-employed person, which is a pain.

[dbboy]

Kailyn, see http://www.food.gov.uk/business-industry/caterers/startingup/

I am a local business and management consultancy (see my website www.crownwestonassociates.org.uk) and would be happy to have an initial meeting with you at NO cost to help you move your proposition forward.

Yes it is a lot of hard work to start your own business, but well worth it in the long run. The key is starting small and then developing it from their. I look forward to hearing from you.

[PN33]

Start a Wordpress website. There are thousands of videos on YouTube teaching you about how to get it set up (in terms of domains, hosting etc) as well as customising your site, adding content etc. You really don't need to be technical, and I'd expect any semi-computer literate person to be able to get started in less than a day

[Annette Curtain]

It's not a Cup Cake business is it ?

Please say no.

Other than that , show us one of your cakes please.

[Kailyn]

Brilliant, thanks everyone. No, lol, it's not a cupcake business, bigger cakes, usually birthdays, christenings, weddings, that kind of thing. I'll post a pic later, rushing to go out now.

Sue, (great website, just had a look) I'll bear all that in mind. It's early days yet and something I've only just started thinking about.

Thank for the replies :)

[MrBen]

Go for it Kailyn. It doesn't sound like you'll be remortgaging your house to do it, low start up costs and you can build it up gradually, in your spare time or as fast as you feel like. What's the worst that can happen?

I'm guessing your turnover will be under certain thresholds, so if it's your only source of income you can keep things quite simple from the admin, tax side. You could set up with HMRC as a sole trader/self employed and likely wont have to register for vat etc.

Whether you are starting up as a one man cottage enterprise or looking to build a larger SME, a great reference book that tells you all is the FT Start Up guide 2013 by Sara Williams which is clear and assumes no prior knowledge : http://www.amazon.co.uk/Financial-Times-Guide-Business-Start/dp/0273778757/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371105517&sr=8-1&keywords=FT+start+up

I would advise against spending a lot of time and money on a website. For your type of business I'd keep it simple, get a local SE22 designer (complete with a beard and Macbook pro) to do some nice fonts, create a decent logo for your "brand" and add a few pics, contact details and some links to help people find you for typical google searches like "custom cakes Dulwich" or similar. Thats all you need. The website is unlikely to generate huge amounts of sales, its more of a reference point for potential customers. Word of mouth is probably your best start up sales channel alongside a few other things. SE22 magazine can actually work quite well- or sponsor this forum for a few weeks?

Best of luck.

[Peckhamrye]

Get on Twitter and hook up with Band of Bakers - lots of amateur and semi-pro bakers there, some provide cakes for Anderson & Co on Bellenden Road to sell - will probably have good ideas. Also Ellie's Bakehouse. Twitter foodie scene in SE London is very big.

@peckhamryeeats

[bloonoo]

Hi

Weebly is really good for hosting websites on - free and you can get them looking really good easily!!