Hey Besties! Today’s post is for our current and aspiring Baking Biz Besties! We’re still early in the year and you have plenty of time to set your bakery up for your best year yet! Imagine how happy you’ll be later this year when your business is crushing the goals you’ve set! It’s entirely possible, in fact, with the right strategy, it will happen. So if I were to ask you, what is your strategy to be a successful home bakery, what would you say? Do you have a strategy? Hint: Waiting for orders is not a business strategy. And this is why most home bakeries are not nearly as successful or sustainable as they hoped to be. Bestie, if you don’t have a strategy or you don’t know if you have a strategy, then this post is for you.
This website was created to support, promote, help, encourage and celebrate home bakeries. The talent and heart in this community is unmatched and the world needs to see (and taste) it! I’m passionate about helping fellow home bakers attain and exceed all their goals. But here’s a reality check: In my years of working with home bakery owners, I can tell you that the business side of owning a bakery is the downfall for most. And I get it, you started this business because you love to bake! You’re creative and love bringing joy to others through your baked art! Whereas the business side of a bakery requires the other side of your brain; it’s not as much fun. I mean, I think it’s really fun, but most bakers don’t…I’m weird that way.
But do you know what is fun? Crushing your bakery business goals. And if you’re serious about running a business, you need to find the joy in the business stuff. That is what will make or break your business and what will make it enjoyable or a nightmare. So let’s dive into 3 things you can choose to do today to change the course of your home bakery business!
Hobby business or goals business?
Before we really get into it, it’s important that we make a distinction between have a hobby business and a goals business. Both are respectable businesses that should be in compliance with cottage bakery laws, as applicable, and paying business taxes legally. But knowing which kind of business you have is key to considering your business strategy.
Hobby Business
If you occasionally sell cookies to family and friends, enjoy the money it brings in but don’t have aspirations of this becoming a significant revenue source or full-time pursuit, you have a hobby business. A great portion of home bakery owners fall into this category! The good news for you is that you don’t need a real business strategy! If you’re happy with the level of orders you’re getting and the revenue it provides, bake on!
Goals Business
However, if you have aspirations of your home bakery providing a significant revenue stream for your family, then you have, or are creating, a goals business. You’ve got goals for your business…serious goals. Why is it important to know if you have a hobby business or a goals business? Because you can’t want or hope for a goals business with a hobby business strategy. If you want big things to happen for your business, you need a strategy and action plan to support that.
You can have a successful home bakery either way, but the approach, mindset, expectations, lifestyle and revenue are completely different. And there’s no right or wrong answer…but only you can decide what you are pursuing and creating. I’m here to support you either way.
The Most common mistake for home bakeries
Competing for the same customers as all the other bakeries. This is the #1 thing home bakeries do and then wonder why their business isn’t thriving. Now, if you’re the only home bakery in your community, lucky you! With the right exposure strategy, you will have an easier time growing your biz! Unfortunately, this is rare these days. The cottage baking industry has exploded in recent years and there is a lot of competition out there. And hoping the customers from another bakery start coming to you, is not a strategy. You might get some, but again, if you have goals, you’re going to need more than that.
The first thing you should do is decide who is your target customer or demographic. If you’re all competing for the same residential community members, it’s going to be hard for any bakery to really break out. To paint a picture, let’s take a stroll down the bread aisle at the grocery store. Each brand is targeting different groups – budget conscious, carb conscious, gluten-free, party packs, the list goes on and on. They know they can’t just put out a comparable product and home people choose them. They’ve tailored everything to a specific kind of customer. They know they won’t get ALL the customers, but they can be successful if they can capture their target customers.
So how about taking the road with less traffic and less competition? Create your own niche and become THE home baker where others are not competing. Corporations, small businesses, wedding circuit, event centers and fundraisers are just some examples of niches you could pursue. For example, connect with an event center where you can be one (or the only) bakery they recommend for their events, and you could build a whole business around supporting one, or multiple, event centers.
If corporate orders sound interesting to you, I have a whole blog post HERE about serving those target customers. You have SO many options out there to create your target audience where you will have little to no competition! These underserved demographics need bakers too and many of them have deep pockets! Serve them and watch your business grow!
What makes you special?
Not trying to be snarky, Bestie, but it’s a valid question for your bakery. In the second decision you can make today, is considering what makes you different or special from the other bakeries. Do you offer different products? Different flavors? Specialize in certain techniques that others can’t do? Offer delivery when others don’t? Similar to our bread aisle example, if you want to break out as a business, you’re going to need to be different. What do you have or offer that makes customers come to your bakery?
Honestly, sometimes this can simply come down to customer service. And when I say customer service, I don’t mean just being nice. Remember the saying from Maya Angelou, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” This could not be more important in building a business. Your customer needs to feel like they are your only customer. Not in a way where they take advantage of you, of course. But when your customers feel heard, know you care about them, their occasion, their experience, they will be back, and they will tell their friends.
There are a million tiny things that may or may not even cost you anything extra but make the difference in setting you apart from the other home bakeries. Do those things! Give your customers options, shock them with your customer service. In a world where customer service is almost dead, it doesn’t take too much to delight a customer these days.
make an action plan
Which leads us to the third and final actionable step you can take in setting yourself up for a successful home bakery! How would more time and less stress sound? Do you think that could help you build your business? I can guarantee it would. And Besties who follow this planning strategy already report the huge difference it makes for them personally and in their businesses. The planning strategy I recommend is covered in THIS post, in great detail. Taking the time to plan now, will give you your action plan for the rest of the year to reach and exceed your goals.
Remember, when you have a goals business, you’re not just waking up every day and winging it…that’s not a sustainable plan for success. But when you are intentional about your business and have a daily action plan, you simply follow the plan and watch it work! You can take vacations, do that kitchen remodel or just take time off to enjoy your family while still reaching your goals; you just have to plan for it.
I challenge you to follow the planning strategy and see the difference it will make for you. And I’ll be waiting to hear!
Let’s Recap
Remember, I’m here to help cheer you on, support and celebrate you, Bestie! But there’s only so much I can do…it’s up to you! I want you to be wildly successful and if that’s what you want, let’s make it happen. We covered 3 actionable steps you can take today:
- Explore and decide on your target market. Take the road less traveled, with far less competition.
- Determine ways you are, or can be, different from the rest. What will make customers keep coming back to you?!
- Make your action plan. Following the planning strategy will create an action plan for your whole year. Enjoy the extra time and lower stress that comes along with it!
I hope that taking these first few steps, will make a significant difference in building your successful home bakery business. You can find me and thousands of other Besties HERE if you ever want to ask a question, get support, celebrate a win or laugh off fail!
Lastly, are you already receiving my weekly newsletter? If not, you are missing out! You can subscribe below for receive my weekly newsletter that includes new recipes, techniques, tutorials, free printables and more! Happy Baking, Bestie!