Many people are these days looking at home
businesses as an alternative to finding a regular job in a tough job market, or
to add to their income on a part time basis. If you have some baking skills and
you are interested in home baking, then starting a home business is a real
option. It is relatively easy to start since you will probably have most of the
tools and equipment already in your kitchen. The question of course is what to
bake? There are so many possibilities but not all of them are suitable for making
money. I have been involved in home
baking for profit for quite a long time and have come to realize that an
important factor is the cost of ingredients and therefore not all recipes are
suitable for baking for profit. From my
experience the following home baking ideas provide the best opportunity to earn
a reasonable income from your efforts.
- ·
Home bake cookies
- · Homemade candy
- · Cookie/candy bouquets
- · Gift baskets
One of the big advantages of baking cookies
for profit is that you are almost certain that you will find a market for your
products. Cookies are always popular provided that you provide a quality
product at a reasonable price. Again not all recipes will fit the bill, but
there are certain old-time favorites such as ginger cookies, chocolate chip
cookies, sugar and spice cookies that will be a success. A niche to consider is
to bake diabetic cookies or cookies for special occasions.
Homemade candy is another option that can
be very profitable. Making candy does require some specific knowledge of
working with sugar and chocolate but this can easily be acquired on the
internet or by getting one of many books available on the subject. There are a
wide variety of candies ranging from hard candy such as lollipops and peanut brittle,
to soft candies such as marshmallows, Turkish delight, fudges etc. There are
also no-bake candies such as coconut ice, peppermint creams etc. Whatever your choice, it pays to take one or
two types of candy and concentrate on making it something special. By taking
one candy, for example fudge, and adding different ingredients such as
chocolate, nuts or ginger etc., you can develop a range with variety and some
uniqueness.
Home made coconut ice |
Cookie and candy bouquets have become very
popular as gifts and for special occasions. It is an ideal way of adding value
to your products and opening up new ways of selling your products. They make
excellent gifts and can be linked to special occasions such as birthdays,
births etc. Bouquets can be very simple
and straight forward. You will find many ideas on the internet for cookie and
candy bouquets.
Gift
baskets can also be arranged from your homemade cookies and candy. This is an
excellent way of adding value and promoting your products. These are popular
for special occasions such as Father’s day.
Baking
from home can become a profitable home business. The best way to start is to
choose one or two recipes and try your products on friends and family to get
their feedback on the quality of your product. The next step is to look at
proper packaging and to find the right price. Once you have a product that you
can sell, the process of promoting and marketing both off-line and on-line
starts. If you want to get first hand
information on starting a home bake business, why not have a look at my e-book "Bake for Profit".