It doesn’t matter if you’re planning on opening a business with the traditional method of renting a store or investing in one, or you are all about that modern approach. Either way, how you run your business is more important than where you choose to run it from.
These are our suggestions on how you can run a baking business without a store, hassle free! Also, while you continue to read this article, we would like to suggest that you also read our article Steps To Taking Your Baking Business Online.
Better befriend FDA!
The first step before opening any type of food and beverages business is to follow all the FDA guidelines about the preparation and distribution of the food items. You should always check in with your lawyer and get all the legal formalities done.
Some states have different laws than other states, so it’s better if you get familiar with the rules and regulations that are advised and implemented by your local government. According to some states, in addition to getting your food manufacturer’s license, or LLC, you may also be required to register for a food distributor’s license.
Taxes!
Regardless of where you run your business, your state decides your taxes! You must contact your state’s tax or controller’s office about whether or not you need to collect state tax on your food items. In addition to the state tax, you should also find out whether you are required to collect a food tax or not.
Make It Online!
If you don’t have a website, you don’t have a business these days. Everybody uses their phones and almost everybody uses social media. You can always use it to your benefit and make your business online so that your customers can reach you 24/7 with ease. You can design your website according to your needs or get it done by a professional. There are a lot of courses available online if you want to learn more about website designing.
Related: Home Made Food Items You Can Sell Online
Make An Online Ordering Facility
Create an online ordering facility for your customers to get their food delivered to them whenever and wherever they want. Give them a way to get treated with their favorite tasty treats! Make an easy landing page for placing orders and making the payment. Make your website easy to navigate so that your customers can order their favorite food and beverages hassle free!
Guards Up!
Create an LLC or other business entity, preferably not a sole proprietorship; just in case you need to protect your personal assets from a lawsuit in the future, if someone should get sick or have problems with your food items. Better set up a partnership to protect both your business and personal assets.
What To Sell?
Knowing what your business is going to be about and what your products are going to be like is only going to help you in planning your business model. This will also help you in getting a better idea about the type of ingredients that you will be needing. Collect more information about their shelf life and the type of storage that you will need for them. So make a plan of what you want to sell before you decide to start your business.
Plan Before You Jump!
Write a business plan before you decide to jump into the field. You’ve to come up with a projected budget, projected expenditure as well as the projected profit. When you’re done with making separate accounts for all your expenses and incomes, you will need to figure out a great marketing strategy for your business. For more details on this, you can also read our blog How To Keep Track of Expenses In a Bakery Business.
Gearing Up!
The next step is to purchase your own equipment. Only because you are running your business from home, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have to buy separate appliances and baking equipment. In fact, it’s a mandatory guideline that you have to follow. According to some states, you also have to build or prepare a second kitchen or cooking area (separate from your personal kitchen) for your baking business.
Wrap It Before You Tap It!
The experience of ordering from any bakery or restaurant really depends on only one thing more than anything else: The packaging material used while delivery. Whether you are going to deliver a jar of jam or a packet of cookies, it needs to be delivered with care and safety for the customer to really appreciate it.
Your packaging only adds up to their experience of doing business with you. So choose your packaging material smartly. We suggest that you make samples and take trials before coming down to a conclusion and choosing the packaging material. You should take your time with this one so that you don’t need to spend excessive time to apologize to your customers for a bad experience later on!
Read Also: How To Present Your Package For Delivery (Presentation Is Key)
Bake It Off!
So what are you even waiting for now? You only have to bake your goodies and wait until they reach their destination. We hope you get to experience the pleasure of baking throughout this process. So just roll up your sleeves and get to work now!
Sell Your Treats
This is the step where you will get to see your customers satisfied and happy with their tummy stuffed with your yummy food and your reviews stuffed with their compliments!
We hope you gained some useful insight about the process of starting a bakery business and running a bakery business without a store. All the best for your ventures!
Also Read: How To Start A Food Business from Home| Steps To Take Your Baking Business Online
