How to Start a Home Biscuit Business
For people who love to bake--starting up a home based baking business may seem like a logical next step. Indeed, if you possess a love for baking biscuits, have some business savvy and are looking for a lucrative way to make income from home--grandma's delicious recipe that everyone loves may just literally bring you home-baked biscuit business success.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Your jurisdiction may require a food handlers license Contact your business licensing and zoning bureau. According to Business.gov, the food industry is regulated by local jurisdiction and does not require licensing or oversight by the federal government. However, local jurisdictions have stringent food handling requirements that must be followed. You may be required to list your ingredients on your packaging. Strict zoning laws also apply to home businesses. Since each jurisdiction is different, it's best to call your business licensing bureau to find out what zoning laws are in effect in your area as well as what type of food handler's licensing is required.
Be prepared for your jurisdiction to require that baked goods be produced in a commercial kitchen. Commercial kitchens follow food and safety guidelines to protect the public from the dangers of salmonella or food poisoning. Foodsafety.gov has information on food safety as well as general information about inspections.
-
2
You'll probably need to start out sub-leasing time in a commercial kitchen. Look for a small bakery or restaurant that will allow you to sub-lease their commercial kitchen. You'll have to train and learn the safety guidelines to follow, obtain your food handler's licensing through your local licensing office and be on hand to have your products and food handling skills inspected. Once the business is baking a large amount of biscuits and you still want to operate from home--consider farming out this part of the business to a commercial bakery.
-
-
3
You have a large pool of customers to pull from. Consider your customer base. As a licensed baker--you'll have plenty of options to help you build your lucrative biscuit business. Bookstore cafes, small coffee cafes, bakeries who don't have your recipes and small restaurants are prospective customers. You can also sell your goods over the Internet. A website, a good description of your delectables and some mouth-watering photos of your biscuits are about all it takes to get started on the web.
-
4
You'll need packing and packaging supplies Determine your inventory. You'll need supplies aside from the baked goods to bake your recipes. Whether you ship orders or deliver to restaurants or other retailers, you'll need supplies to package your goods. Check wholesale prices from local wholesalers who sell packaging to bakeries. Laura Shirley, co-owner of Le Chantilly Cafe and Bakery in New Mexico, says most wholesalers have minimum order requirements that run anywhere from $75 and up.
-
5
All businesses--even home-based ones need to cost out all supplies Cost out your start-up supplies. Now that you've checked prices and have an idea of how many supplies you need--cost out every detail of the supplies and labor you'll need to fill orders. Shirley says this is where too many start-ups go wrong. "They say to themselves, I won't charge for gas when I deliver to bakeries, because I use my own car. When business increases and they need to hire a driver--they forget to increase their prices. Next thing you know, they go out of business because they don't charge enough to pay for their costs." Determine your costs down to the paper clips and don't forget to charge for your labor. Shirley says a good rule of thumb is a mark-up of three to four times all of your costs.
-
6
Write a detailed business plan. Write a winning business plan with details about how you'll market your home business. Even though you'll be operating out of your home--run your business like a business from the start. Determine what you'll need to do to bring in customers from the Internet, or locally, or both. Shirley says going to businesses and handing out free samples is a cost-effective and easy way to get local business. Write out a marketing plan to bring in Internet customers. Consider teaming with other local Internet marketers to offer free samples to their customers. A detailed business plan is your road map to building a lucrative home biscuit business.
-
1
References
Resources
- Photo Credit gold biscuits image by peter Hires Images from Fotolia.com biscuits image by pdtnc from Fotolia.com old and shabby dirty commercial kitchen interior image by starush from Fotolia.com foule de gens consommateur ou client image by ARNAUD JORON from Fotolia.com shipping line of boxes-cartons image by Michael Brown from Fotolia.com house money image by Alexandr Shebanov from Fotolia.com Writing of business plan image by Vasyl Dudenko from Fotolia.com
