r/cottagebakery

What's the process of getting an ID (instead of printing address) Texas? I emailed them on the site a couple of weeks ago clearly stating what was needed and I got asked the same question a week later and responded confirming. Still waiting for a response for the next steps. Does it normally take this long to get a response?

Any insight/ideas is appreciated! 🙏🏼

Two years ago I was laid off from a tech job and decided to try and start my own business. I had very little experience in running a business beyond being the 8th employee of a tech company that was able to grow to ~100 employees before getting laid off. About 18 months ago I launched a dessert brand and have steadily and slowly been able to grow it to some level of profitability; I've been able to both pay my bills (which was the primary goal) and also use whatever I have left over to reinvest into the brand in a couple of different ways.

The company pays for itself at this point which I am grateful for and I think it can actually scale based on feedback from other owners that I've spoken to. Currently, our main source of income is farmer markets and craft shows. We are really well received by customers, so far 25 5stars on Google and have been able to grow my social media as well. We frequently sell out at these markets. However, markets can be fickle and I'm learning that I can't always count on the same level of foot traffic every single time.

I've worked out a wholesale offer and have begun to reach out to business via IG to try and get them on as wholesale clients. From my research it looks like this would be a good way to create consistent recurring revenue in between markets. Additionally I am planning on attending some bridal shows as I would also love to start booking some weddings as well.

Honestly, I don't know what I'm doing but I am slowly pulling it all together. I've been reading a lot of books on how to run a business and trying to apply what I've learned when it comes to building out things in the backend as well as taking serious approach to tracking finances like spending, profit etc.

I would love to hear back from anyone who has been successful in this space on how best to scale. I don't think I want to be tied down to a specific location so I don't want to open a brick and mortar store but I'm open to any and all sensible ideas tbh. I also would love to hear what books you guys would recommend that I read as I have found that they have been very helpful in teaching me what I don't even know that I don't know.

TLDR: New dessert brand operating for 18 months. Profitable so far but still obviously very young as a company and I'd love some advice from others who are successful in this niche on how they scale and what mistakes they made.

Hi! Just getting started, working on figuring out my recipes, etc. Coming from a marketing & web background, I want to make sure my branding looks professional from the get-go. I’ve been on Hotplate’s site but they don’t seem to have user examples. Is anyone willing to share a screenshot?

Any other selling platforms I should check out?

Thanks!

Just got my Servsafe cert (yay!!) and am super excited to move forward with selling my goodies! What is your favorite thermal label maker/printer?

My mum really struggles to keep all her order history and customer information in one place. I was wondering if there's something you use?

So I am in the preparation stage for a small home baking business, and I planned out most things, but there might be some holes. I have researched the local regulations, so I am not asking about the legal side of things. The idea is that I would supply to small coffee shops, I don't want to sell to individual customers, for the time being at least. I would focus on muffins, sweet and savoury. It would be a side job, I am a freelancer already in a different field, so making a huge profit is not the goal.

What would be the practicalities of a business like this? Would I have to deliver a fresh batch every morning, or let's say every other day? What's the best way to approach coffee shops, considering that they already have their suppliers for baked goods? How could I make this efficient (eg. freezing the batter in advance)? Is there anything that I might not think about? I am open to any advice/tips. :)

Hey yall!

I started selling sourdough at my local farmers market this year and have a fantastic opportunity with a local church but I’m in way over my head with the technology aspect.

Pretty much, this pastor wants me to setup an ordering system and have a pick up station during their weekly services. This is such a fantastic opportunity but I’m so overwhelmed trying to figure this out.

Is anyone using a service for preorders and processing payment that someone who barely knows how to use their phone can setup?

Thank you!