How to Start a Successful Cookie Business 1-2-3
Besides being a billion-dollar market, the cookie business can be ideal for
stay-at-home parents or someone looking to start a low-cost business to start part-time. That said, there are
some thing you want to consider before launching your start-up.
Before you start a cookie business, make sure you have a desirable product that will be able to compete with
both the giant cookie companies and the people who just like to bake their cookies at home.
Pick a specific niche market rather than trying to appeal to everyone. What makes your product different?
Better? If you can stand out from your competition, you can do well in the cookie business.
The permits and licenses you'll need will depend on where your business operates and what type of
food products you are selling. Each state has its own requirements. Your kitchen will be required to pass an
inspection by the Board of Health. Upon approval, they will license you. You may also be required to maintain a
standard recipe for product labeling purposes.
You can find out how to select a niche and make your cookies or baked goods stand out (before you start a
cookie business) by using the guides and resources below.
How to Start a
Home-Based Baking Business
Quincella Geiger has operated her own baking business from home for 20 years! What started as
a hobby turned into a thriving full-time baking business, also including gourmet gifts.
Quincella has compiled a terrific step-by-step guide that starts with start-up process, with helpful
resources for finding equipment and supplies and a simple and easy to follow business plan (Can it get any
easier?).
Understanding that many people share the same love
of baking - yet may need advice when it comes to business, she provides really helpful information to
entrepreneurs.
Some that I especially like include affordable alternatives to baking at home, tips on choosing a baking
specialty like cookies, price-setting strategies, how to increase revenue by creating gourmet gifts and
creative marketing and advertising ideas.
See what you get >>
- You'll find out how to get get your business license and heath permit
- How to save money buying equipment and preparing your work space
- Where to get the equipment and supplies you need, how to handle shipping and other important
answers
- 12+ ways to find clients and 4 large groups who can buy (lots of) baked goods
- Get it Now: How to Start a
Home-Based Baking Business
rated by customers
Other Cooking-Related Business Plans (Downloadable):
Writing your own business plan can get complicated and overwhelming - and hiring a business plan writer can
get expensive. The third alternative is to use business plan templates or view plans written by existing (and
successful) businesses - it's a great time saver, and no doubt you'll save some money and come out with a solid
business plan.
Cookie Business Resources:
Marketing Your Cookie Business
Using a Scrapbook in Your Cookie Business
If you own a cookie business, you should have scrapbooks both online and offline of
your creations.
I was blown away when I attended my cousins wedding and saw all of the various things that were done with
cookies. Oreo cookies were dipped in a chocolate and then in white icing, the names of the bride and the groom
were on the cookies.
I've also seen very large cookies with designs on the front of the cookies. One store advertises a very
large cookie with white icing and then in pink the words "will you marry me?" Seeing a photo of this is much
more of a sales tool than just a verbal description.
I have seen cookies in the shapes of a suit jacket, in the shape of a person and even in the shape of a 3-D
rose.
I have seen icings in every possible color and I've seen multiple shades of icing on one cookie. I've seen
large cookies and small bite-size cookies, along with everything in between.
For a new baby, I've seen cookies in the shape of a bottle, and for a birthday, I've seen cookies in the
shapes of a balloon and a heart. For a wedding, I've seen cookies monogrammed with the letters of the wedding
couple, and I've seen cookies shaped as red roses and left by each place setting.
Cookies on a stick are a
favorite of mine. We've all seen flowers in a vase, but cookies on a stick in a vase always make me smile. What
could be more fun than a dozen chocolate chip cookies on a stick, in a vase?
If you sell these items, you know my words are not doing the products justice. Words alone just can not sell
cookie decorations like photos in a scrapbook can. Add some journaling. Let potential customers know what the
various designs pictured were used for. I believe a scrapbook of your designs will help create more sales by
allowing the customer to see visually exactly what they are ordering.
Audrey Okaneko has been scrapbooking for several years. She can be reached at audreyoka@cox.net or visited at http://www.scrapping-made-simple.com
29 Ways to Get People to
Buy Your Cookies
An easy way to meet potential clients and
get referrals for free without having to give a sales pitch is to get involved in your
community. Join professional groups and industry organizations to network with others. Participate
and plan events involving people in your local neighborhood.
The more active you are, the more word will get around about who you are and what you do. You'd be surprised
that how the friendships you make can turn into business opportunities - simply because people like you.
Take the guesswork out of finding customers by picking up the best marketing guide I've found. You'll find
out free and extremely low cost ways to attract new clients to your business with very little effort -
saving you tons of money.
Marketing Expert David Frey shows you how to implement these strategies right away, for immediate
profit. Find out how >> The Ultimate Small Business
Marketing Resource
Business Cards that Make Advertising
Easy
Give them to people in your neighborhood, network with people you know, leave them with stores, offices and
other places that busy professionals tend to hang out. With over 300 professional business card designs
and easy-to-use templates, creation is a snap, and printing is done for you. Free Business Cards for Your Cookie
Business
Hire Help the
Easy Way:
Easily find a team of experts to help you build your business - virtually. Save money in overhead
costs, get work done more quickly and eliminate payroll hassles.
- Website Designers and Software Developers
- Marketers, Salespeople and Telemarketers
- Accounting and Bookkeeping Assistants
- People to handle Customer Service and Administrative Tasks
- oDesk makes outsourcing easy and affordable so you can grow your business faster.
- Get a Free Tour, Post a Job
Cooking Business Associations
- American Bakers Association
The leading trade association for the baking industry.
- American Society of Baking
The American Society of Baking is a professional organization that brings together individuals in the
grain-based food industry for personal development, recognition, education and leadership.
- Culinary Business Academy
The Culinary Business Academy is an educational institution dedicated exclusively to the science of
successful business in culinary endeavors.
