To think a cupcake buisness will work

[NicosChica]

Hi mn's
Hve 2 ds's(2y & 3m)and SAHM (won't pay to go back to work untill they start nursery/school).Was wondering if any of you have started any buisnesses whilst being SAHM's?
I'm interested in doing a cupcake course-most courses cost around £150 for a day.
Do you think it's a good idea?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for reading

What would you learn on the course?

Hi seeker-I would learn special techniques-icing,flower decorations,embellishment,sugar craft tools etc

why would you need to go on a course to learn how to make a bun?

If you don't already have the skill to do it, then tbh I doubt you could learn enough in a day to sell them

That and I can't go a day without seeing a cupcake! They're everywhere!

and frankly since Waitrose stopped doing they're lavender and lemon cupcakes and broke my heart....I don't want to look at any others :o

You could probably buy a book and learn them much cheaper couldn't you?
You'd probably develop your own technique too, being self taught.
Before you decide, look into how many others locally are doing the same thing, as round here, every other sahm is trying to compete for the cupcake market.

there are lots of youtube videos on sugarcraft. you would be better using the money to buy the tools and then spending the day with a book from the library and a load of buttercream.

you realise that you need to get your kitchen inspected if you are going to sell your buns don't you?

Sounds like running cupcake courses is the more lucrative business

1. They're called FAIRY cakes 2)They will take over the World.
2. All bow down to our FairyCake overlords

You won't learn anything in a day course that you can't learn for free from a library book. Sugar craft is very very difficult and you can do longer courses if it's somethign that interests you.
But honestly, a SAHM running a cupcake business has become the new yummy mmmy (bleargh) cliche. Why not think a bit further outside the box than fairycakes with too much icing on them. At our farmers market there was a guy selling the most divine cupcakes in the whole world. He lasted a month, because even at £1.50 a cake he could not make it pay, and he sold all his stock in hours

£150 is an awful lot of money for a one day course. Sounds to me like somebody else's cunning business plan rather than necessary for yours.

A friend of mine is doing cupcakes on the side. Before committing yourself to doing anything, you need to research your local market, think about price of ingredients and therefore the profit you can reasonably make, how are you going to sell them (and therefore questions about your kitchen being suitable from a food hygiene point of view (and you'll need to register with the council). Will you just sell 12 at a time or whatever? Are you only going to make them if orders are received, or will you be making on spec? When my friend had her first wedding order (150 cupcakes) she ended up asking two of us to come and help out with the decorating - it's a last minute job and very full on.

A cupcake business will fail. Every other yummy mummy in the UK is currently attempting to hawk cupcakes in their spare time. Why not try offering something original?

Infact I know of someone who, after grinding a succesful business into the ground, decided cupcakes were the way forward because everyone in the saturday market was selling them so they must be good business. I think he should get himself on to the apprentice.

What about those other cake things that are two halves with a filling? Can't remember what they are called but the are very trendy and growing in popularity unlike cupcakes. Can't remember what they are called though.

Whoopie pies Mollie?

Whoopie pies!
I made some of those, I won't be bothering again! Gimme a cupcake any day :)

x post with Daisy, I type too slow :(

Do people who make and sell cupcakes have food hygine certificates for their kitchens? I'd imagine you wouldn't be allowed to have grubby kids in the same place as food for public consumption is being prepared. What happens if someone gets sick from a cupcake? Do you have to have ingredients labels? And warnings for nut allegries etc?

www.scambs.gov.uk/environment/foodproductionandquality/catering.htm

And yes, warnings for nut allergies etc. It's a business selling food to the public.

Yes whoopie pies. Aren't they the new cupcakes? Surely easier to make too.

cupcakes will be out of fashion as fast as they came into fashion- sorry.

Thanks pumpkin. I wonder how many people actually comply with those rules!

cup cakes - pah! - too many out there already, cheapo but nice ones in the supermarkets, posh ones at £2.50 each by mailorder

if you really want to do something like this, why not have a go at inventing something a bit different instead?

I also agree that if you need to go on a course, you probably aren't good enough to make it work, I really do - there are already dozens of mediocre cake makers out there trying to make money from adverts in village halls and parish magazines.

unless you are an excellent baker and a very shrewd business woman as well, you won't succeed in making your millions, sorry if thats harsh