Home Bakery Business Certificates, Licenses, and Insurance

by Aurelia Lambrechts | Home Baking Biz Tips

Home Bakery Certificates, Licenses and Insurance

Please note that this process will vary in each country AND in each state/province around the world.

I’ve gone over many websites and spoken to many home bakers in countries across the world. It seems that the process is more or less in the same in most countries, but you’ll still need to do your own research.

This post will help you to get a great overview of the process, but you’ll need to take responsibility to double check what you need to do in your own country. The costs of this process is also different in each country and state/province.

This post is here to ease your mind and show you that the process of obtaining your business license and health department certificates is actually not that complex or stressful!

Why You Need a Home Bakery Certificate and License

If you live in the USA, it’s important to note that every state has their own regulations about Home Bakery Businesses! Here’s a super helpful and thorough document that spells out the laws of each state in the USA >> click here to download it.

If you live in the USA and you’ve discovered that Home Bakeries are illegal in your state, city, or town, don’t stress! The laws are being changed all the time. Here’s my interview with Katie Sacoman about how she changed the Cottage Food Laws in Albequerque, New Mexico!

In South Africa (where I live) they won’t really hunt you down and fine you if you do not have the correct documentation – we are a third-world country after all. In other countries, they might fine you though.

The main reason for getting a home bakery business license and certificate is because it is ETHICAL and LEGAL. I would not want to bake goods for the public in my kitchen if I knew something was not up to scratch. Would you?

The municipal standards for health and safety are there to protect us and our clients.

Most food markets will also require you to provide the correct documentation for your Home Bakery before you are permitted to trade. If you don’t have it and an inspector decides to pay a visit to the food market, both you and the food market owners could get into a lot of trouble – a severe fine or even being shut down.

Certificate & License Required for Home Bakery

Home Bakeries need to apply for 2 different documents.

A Certificate of Acceptability (Name Might Vary) from the Health Department:

This certificate refers to the condition of your food preparation facilities, in other words your home’s kitchen. An environmental health and safety officer will visit your home to inspect your kitchen and bathroom facilities.

They typically look out for the following criteria:

They’ll naturally expect a very clean kitchen, so clean your entire kitchen, from head to toe. Remember to clean inside your fridge and cupboards as well.
Kitchen counter tops are non – porous. This means that they do not absorb any substances during food preparation. For this reason, your countertops should always be treated to be waterproof. They don’t have to be stainless steel, they should just be waterproof. If they are not waterproof, they will absorb food and become infested with bacteria. Not cool.
Adequate washing facilities. You don’t need a massive dishwasher or 3 sinks. They just check that you have running hot and cold water and at least 1 basin – preferably 2 though.
Bathroom facilities– quite obvious I guess. It is important that you have a bathroom for staff to use away from the kitchen.
Adequate storage and packaging. You should have airtight containers to store baked goods in overnight and also for transportation to restaurants and food markets. When it comes to packaging, the standard cake boxes from a packaging store are totally fine.
Adequate refrigeration. Sometimes they’ll check to see how cold your fridge is. It should be 4°C/40°F or lower.
Hairnets and Aprons– also quite obvious. Also have plastic, non-latex gloves for handling your bakes when packaging them.

Some countries require you to label and weigh all your baked goods. Don’t let this intimidate you. Print out stickers for all your products. You can create pretty designs for free on Canva.

You don’t need to buy those super expensive electronic food scales to weigh your bakes. Just use an affordable digital kitchen scale. It’s the best $15 – $20 you’ll ever spend!

If you have large cakes you need to weigh that don’t fit on the scale, just place a small chopping board on top of the scale first and then you can add the cake on top of that. This way it will fit onto the scale and you’ll be able to weigh it accurately.

home bakery licenses

Hawking in Meals Business License:

This license refers to producing goods on one premises and transporting them to a different premises to be sold there. This is typically what Home Bakeries do, since we don’t have a restaurant or café at our own homes.

Whether you supply goods to restaurants, cafes or delis or sell your goods at food markets, this is a license you really need to do so LEGALLY.

The same Environmental Health and Safety Officer will ask to see your food transportation containers. They should be airtight and watertight with lids.

An Inspector may also visit you at any food market you do. There are also some additional criteria you will have to meet if you plan to prepare bakes at the food market itself and not at home. You can download all the additional guidelines for informal food trading.

Applying for Home Bakery Certificate and License

Use Google to find your city’s main Municipal Office. Phone them and ask to speak to someone in the Environmental Health and Safety Department. Explain the nature of your business and ask them what licenses and certificates you will need to apply for.
Decide which day you want to go to your municipal offices. Be sure to double check their office hours – in South Africa they are only open for like 5 hours a day! Take your Identification Document along and a black pen.
When you arrive at the Municipality Building, ask staff to direct you to the Environmental Health and Safety Department.
Wait in line – yay. When it’s your turn, explain the nature of your business clearly so that they can give you the correct application forms.
Complete the forms and pay the fee. In some countries & states it’s not too expensive, but in others it will cost more. But think of this in terms of investment. Getting this license will ENABLE you to make money from your baking. Thus, the license will essentially pay for itself and so much more!
The Environmental Health and Safety Department will the contact your closest Environmental Health and Safety Office. They will then contact you somewhere in the next 2 weeks to set up an appointment for inspection.
Make sure your home is nice and clean and all your pets are outside during the inspection. Be friendly and show the official your kitchen and bathroom facilities. Be available so that you can answer any questions they may have Also have your hairnet and apron on standby so that you can show them to the official. Once they are satisfied they will leave.
The environmental health and safety office issues your Home Bakery certificate and license. The Municipality will phone you to come and collect it, but they also offer to post it to you if you live far out of town. The whole process takes about 2 – 4 weeks from start to finish.

Note that the Home Bakery Certificate and License are linked to your specific baking premises (your home). If you move house you will need to apply for these documents all over again.

I scanned my Home Bakery Certificate and License the moment I receive them. It’s always handy to have them on file in case the physical copies get lost! Which tends to happen in our home… to MANY official documents… like our marriage certificate!

Home Bakery Businesses do need a few Certificates, Licenses and Insurance to operate legally. But they are all very easy to get and aren't expensive at all! Here's all the info you need, with step by step instructions, to get your required Home Bakery Business documents. #homebakery #bakingbusiness #cakebusiness #homebaking

Home Bakery Business Registration

It is not compulsory to register your Home Bakery’s name if you are a sole proprietor. Sole proprietor simply means that you (1 person) are the exclusive owner of your business. If you bake from home you are a sole proprietor by default until you decide to register your business as a CC, LLC, etc.

Some countries and states will require you to register your business as an LLC or Pty (Ltd) before you are allowed to start selling your baking.

You’ll need to do some research to find out how things work in your country and province/state.

Home Bakery Insurance

This also varies greatly from county to country. I’m aware that folks in the USA sue people for almost anything if they have the power to do so. In South Africa we can’t really be bothered.

I don’t believe insurance is necessary for a Home Bakery – no matter what country you live in. If you are worried that someone may sue you because they had an allergic reaction to your bakes, then include a thorough disclaimer on your Home Bakery’s website or Facebook page.

You can check out my Home Bakery’s disclaimer. Just copy it and sub in your own Home Bakery’s Name and details where applicable.

Obviously you should have household insurance to protect your entire home against theft, fires or floods. All your home bakery equipment will automatically be included in that. One of the many perks of baking from home!

And that’s it my friend! Please let me know if you have any other questions by commenting below. I’ll be more than happy to help.

Chat soon

Aurelia 🙂

What info are you looking for?

Hi! I’m Aurelia 🙂

I help home bakers create a Home Bakery Business with consistent orders so they never have to worry about a stable income.

What info are you looking for?

philosophyofyum

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Want to start a Home Bakery Business? Or maybe you have a business but you want more customers and consistent orders? Here's a free library full of resources, tips, tools, secret recipes and ideas to grow your Home Baking Business. Click through to access the free library! #homebakery #homebaking #bakingbusiness #cakebusiness

You absolutely DO NOT need to make fondant cakes to have a successful Home Bakery Business! Learn how I've been baking, full-time, for 6 years without EVER touching fondant! Click to learn how you can do it too... #homebakery #bakingbusiness #cakebusiness #homebaking #baking

One of the BEST ways to make your home bakery business stand out from your competition, is to pick a business name that actually attracts customers! In this post you'll get a behind the scenes look at what customers look for in a business name. You'll finally understand which types of business names attract them to a baking business, and which types of names put them off or bore them. Click the post to get the tips now! #homebakery #bakingbusiness #businessname #baking #homebaking

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Don't throw out your split chocolate ganache! You can save it and make is 100% smooth & shiny! :D Click through for all the tips you need to fix and prevent split/oily/grainy chocolate ganache. #chocolateganache #splitganache #bakingtips #bakingtipsandtricks

Want to get that thin, super shiny crust on top of your brownies? Great news is, you don't need to drop your favourite brownie recipe in search of a shiny-top brownie recipe! You can use this simple baking tip to get a shiny crust on ANY brownie recipe that contains dairy and sugar! Click through to get the step by step method for baking brownies with a shiny crust on top... #baking #bakingtips #brownies #homebaking #bakingtipsandtricks

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6 Ways to Stay Inspired & Motivated in Your Home Bakery

by Aurelia Lambrechts | Home Baking Biz Tips

6 Ways to Stay Inspired & Motivated in Your Home Bakery

Ever heard that quote by Confucius: “Choose a job you love, then you’ll never have to work a day in your life.”?

Well…

He was lying.

He may have been a deep genius, but he was still lying.

Truth is that no matter what work you do, there are some days when you just won’t feel like doing it.

My high school Math teacher had this hilarious line she pulled out of her archives whenever we complained about our schoolwork: “Ons is nie in die hemel nie, ons is in Afrika.” Which translates to: “We are not in heaven, we are in Africa.”

But whether you live in Africa or not, ANY work will inevitably be difficult on some days. And some days are worse than others.

There are always random days when the inspiration is low and your pillow is just SO FLUFFY.

Then there are other days where you have energy, but just feel a bit “meh” and baking doesn’t seem so great and before you know it it’s 3 hours later and you STILL haven’t started (because you just keep scrolllling and scrolllling on Instagram – like me)!

And those days a client asks you for something new and NOTHING comes to you.

If you’re like me, you may even have had weeks where you just keep steam rolling on, FORCING yourself to keep going… Please tell me I’m not alone?

So even if you work on a rose plantation, some days just aren’t that rosy.

Today’s post is all about sharing practical tips to help you on such days to get you out of Baker’s Block and restore your baking inspiration!

Warning: Some of these tips may be quite confrontational and intense (especially the first 2), but I’m sharing what has undeniably worked for me.

Freedom and Inspiration usually involves laying down our pride in one form or another.

More often than not, baking inspiration returns after applying tips number 1 & 2, but I’ve included 4 others as well for desperate times 😉

So here we go 🙂

1. Rest and W(h)ine

Because we are bakers and we overwork ourselves (more often than not), I simply HAVE to start with this tip.

When we are tired and worn out, we can’t push ourselves to keep going for too long. It’s so weird, but over time, society has started branding REST as “laziness” or “idleness”, but that is completely false.

I read this amazing article by The Guardian about rest and productivity.

Alex Soojan-Kim Pang wrote a book about the importance of rest and its power to actually BOOST productivity beyond belief! Here’s a quote from the interview that hit me straight between the eyes!

“’More hours equal more productivity.’ This is an assumption – a mistake – that we’ve been making for a very long time. And now there’s more than a century’s worth of research that OVERWORKING ourselves is bad for people, organisations and also BAD FOR PRODUCTIVITY. It’s something that can be sustained for periods of a few weeks but after that you start creating more problems than you solve.”

When we are overworked, there is zero inspiration.

Important note: Intentional rest is not watching Netflix or playing Xbox. Stay away from screens. Research has shown that physical hobbies help our minds to recover from exhaustion much faster.

Due to my physical reality, I am not able to do any exercise, but talking a leisurely walk in our neighbourhood does WONDERS for my mind and mood! Barefoot is even better!

When I take a walk, I also try to focus on what I SEE, rather than what I think.

I’ll focus on the delightfulness of the breeze, the beautiful singing of the birds, the movement of the trees in the wind, etc.

If I stay inside my head for the whole walk, I don’t feel any better by the time I get back to our apartment.

Other options can be reading a good novel, playing cards or a board game with friends/family (laughter is the best rest!), a picnic, a nap, playing with your cat/dog, drinking a glass of wine while listening to your favourite music, a walk in nature or even just in your neighbourhood…

If you have more ideas, please share in the comments below!

2. Processor (Mind) is Overloaded

I’m busy reading a psychology book called “I’m ok, you’re ok” which deals a lot with our thought patterns about ourselves and others. (I’m quite a nerd yes, but bear with me – I promise I have a point!)

Dr Harris likens our minds to computer processors. When there’s too much for our minds to process (conflict in relationships, harsh self-criticism, bitterness, unforgiveness, overwhelm of emotions) then we LITERALLY CANNOT BE CREATIVE. It is impossible, because there’s no processing power left at all.

In fact, we can actually only be efficiently creative and inspired when there’s nothing negative and overwhelming for our minds to process.

Tips to get your creative juices flowing again in your baking and restore your inspiration!

You may have noticed that I’ve been totally absent on my Instagram Account the last 2 weeks. It was not intentional at all. I just had some conflict going on with a friend.

This conflict was occupying my mind 24/7! Constant analysis – back and forth on repeat. As soon as it was sorted out, I had the ability to start experimenting with my baking again and resuming my writing and posts 🙂

Bottom line:

Sort things out with your loved ones. Forgive.
Have grace for yourself in every area of your life – let your thoughts about yourself be kind.
Journal, take a walk, talk to a friend or do whatever you need to do to PROCESS your emotions and not ignore them.
Our emotions don’t magically disappear, we need to deal with them in order to free up our minds’ processors for creative productivity.

3. Listen to Success Stories of Other Entrepreneurs

Before I dive into this tip here’s something CRUCIAL you need to know about your inspiration & motivation…

As business owners we no longer have the luxury of WAITING for inspiration to strike. It’s our responsibility to make sure we stay inspired and motivated.

In our business journeys we need to GIVE and CREATE a lot, which drains our inspiration very fast.

The longer you carry on with your Home Bakery, the more inspiration and motivation you’ll need. And if you wait for it to “come to you”, it’s like you’re waiting for a warm day in the middle of winter! It’s just NOT going to happen.

Don’t let yourself (and your business) be at the mercy of random inspiration and motivation.

Take responsibility to keep yourself inspired and motivated – EVERY WEEK!

And here’s one of the best ways:

Now, even though I’m personally not aiming to be a millionaire or have a GIANT business, there’s so much value to glean from the successful entrepreneurs who have gone before us.

The “How I Built This” Podcast has transformed my perspective of what’s POSSIBLE for unqualified entrepreneurs like you and me.

When we see what’s POSSIBLE, we start looking at our circumstances very differently.

I’ve made a habit of listening to one episode of the How I Built This podcast one specific night per week while I cook dinner. Podcasts are cool like that because you can listen to them on the go!

Even if I think “nah, I don’t need inspiration this week”, I STILL listen to an episode and afterwards I’m ALWAYS grateful I did.

So, whenever your inspiration/motivation meter is low, listen to an episode of this podcast.

Better yet, commit to listening to an episode on a specific day and time every week. This way you’ll STAY inspired and avoid hitting a “low”!

You’ll leave with gleaming eyes and a heart BURSTING with excitement and courage for your own business journey!

4. Go Eat your Favourite Dessert

Weird little fact… I hardly ever eat anything I bake. Sure, I taste the cake scraps (which is not much since I figured out how to bake perfectly level, flat, cake layers), or a bit of left over ultimate frosting. But I sell all my goods in batches so there are never extras.

And on top of that, things just taste better when someone ELSE makes them for you, am I right? 😉

When I’m in DESPERATE need of inspiration (because I’m super frugal and don’t like spending money when I can make something myself), it does wonders to go and eat one of my favourite desserts that remind me why I’m baking in the first place…

For people to experience the euphoria of sensational FLAVOUR & QUALITY.

Struggling to stay inspired and motivated in your Home Bakery Business? You're so not alone! It honestly happens to every Home Bakery owner. Here are 6 things you can do when your motivation meter is on empty... #homebakery #homebaking #bakingbusiness #cakebusiness #bakingtips

In general I’m more into simple bakes, done exceptionally well. Unless it’s a cinnamon doughnut… I’ll eat it ANY way I can get it. (Fresh and warm is obviously best, but fortunately I’m obsessed with them so even yesterday’s cold cinnamon doughnuts will still make me happy. I’m cheap like that and it’s fine by me!)

So my go-to favourites in Cape Town are Pasteis de Nata by Hoghouse Brewing Company (totally mentioning it first for a reason!!), Flourless Chocolate Cake by Fork Tapas & Pincho’s Bar, a fresh croissant by Woodstock Bakery or Rosetta Coffee Ice Cream by The Creamery.

Every once in a while we need to spoil ourselves with an amazing treat that makes us SMILE involuntarily. It tends to spark our inspiration back into flame!

5. Watch Unique Sweets

I’ve mentioned Unique Sweets a hundred times before and I’ll mention it another hundred times! You seriously cannot be an Artisan Baker without watching this show at least every 2 weeks.

There are few things that make me as excited about baking as Unique Sweets does.

Every episode inspires me so much! There are always such unique eateries on the show with the most amazing passion, ideas and creativity.

I always keep my notebook handy when I’m watching an episode because I know that I’ll be inspired with at least 10 new ideas – without a doubt!

Of course it’s also inspirational to watch bakers that are inspired themselves. It’s so contagious!

6. Go Buy Amazing Seasonal Ingredients

We all have our best-selling bakes. There’s nothing wrong with that at all, but baking the same things over and over and over again can definitely throw a wet towel on our inspiration.

I bake for 3 local coffee shops every week, so I play brownie-brownie quite a lot in my kitchen. Needless to say, it does become a bit monotonous at times.

The best antidote for this inspiration sucker is to go out and buy amazing, fresh, seasonal ingredients. Go to the grocery store; take a good look at all the seasonal fresh produce. Pick one type of vegetable/fruit and commit to baking something with it.

An even better idea is to go to a local farmer’s market (WAY more inspirational than a grocery store!) and chat with the vendor.

They’re SO passionate about their fresh produce! By the end of the conversation you’ll be excited off your rocker to bake something with the fresh blackberries you just purchased.

New, fresh ingredients bring back the wonder of baking in moments.

7. Bonus Tip! Stop & Smell the Cookies (Gratitude)

This is a tip I try to apply every single day – even when I’m not lacking inspiration.

It’s quite shocking how many days you can just carry on, on auto-pilot, without appreciating the incredible BEAUTY of BAKING. And when that happens, our joy and inspiration quickly flies out the window.

Fellow Home Bakers, let us never forget how profoundly blessed we are to be ABLE to bake.

Let’s not take it for granted; whether we bake full time, part time or just as a hobby. We are BLESSED to be able to enjoy the wonder of baking.

Whenever I forget this and start complaining about the long list of things I have to bake on a particular day, I try to intentionally focus on the beauty of baking.

Like that moment you pour the thick, gloopy, shiny brownie batter into the pan.

Or the moment that chocolate ganache comes together and you realize that there isn’t anything else this luscious on earth!!

Another favourite is the sound that baked goods make when they come out the oven.

And the aromas we get to inhale… All day… Come on… WE ARE SO BLESSED!!

Name another job that satisfies all of our 5 senses on a daily basis? We get satisfied on every level: sight, sound, smell, touch and taste.

Whenever I turn into a spoiled, ungrateful brat in my head, I just remind myself of these facts and focus on them throughout the day.

It doesn’t take long at all for the inspiration to return when I start paying attention and being grateful.

Those are my favourite tips for maintaining my Inspiration & Motivation in Home Bakery 🙂

Let me know in a comment if you have a favourite tip or any other tips that have helped to restore your baking inspiration!

Chat soon

Aurelia

What info are you looking for?

Hi! I’m Aurelia 🙂

I help home bakers create a Home Bakery Business with consistent orders so they never have to worry about a stable income.

What info are you looking for?

philosophyofyum

What is love? This Valentine's Day I felt compelle

🌟 Here's MAJOR business tip that came from a co

New years "Instagram vs Reality" - we could not ge

Tired of low views on your stories? Ugh, the algor

🤫 BEHIND THE SCENES of creating the course that

Want to see something shocking?! This week I looke

He said: "You could be working in a grand office,

There’s nothing like the smell of FRESH lemon...

Load More... Follow on Instagram

POPULAR BAKING BIZ TIPS

POPULAR BAKING TIPS

POPULAR BAKING BIZ TIPS

Got a question? Something to add? Let’s chat in the comments section down below! (I respond to every single comment)

← How to Plan your Home Bakery's Weekly Work Schedule Ultimate Carrot Cupcakes Recipe →

How to Plan your Home Bakery’s Weekly Work Schedule

by Aurelia Lambrechts | Home Baking Biz Tips

How to Plan your Home Bakery’s Weekly Work Schedule

A few of my students have asked me for tips on how to plan your home bakery’s work schedule to prevent burn-out, but still make a substantial income AND spend time with my family.

As humans, we can’t speak about our work schedule without including our family responsibilities in the conversation!

There’s one struggle that EVERY home baker faces more often that we would like to… This struggle is none other than overworking ourselves.

The struggle gets especially hard to micromanage when you are baking part time on top of a normal day job, right?

To be more thorough and provide more perspective, I realized that I need to hear how other home bakers schedule THEIR work week because I can only speak as a full-time baker & wife, but not a part-time baker and mother!

So I’ve asked some of my amazing Instagram friends (7 of them), who also bake from home, how they plan their home bakery’s work schedule.

Some are single, some only bake part-time, and some have up to 4 kids ranging from infants to college students!

I’ll first share what they had to say and then lastly include my own schedule, plus a summary of key points that I’ve picked up across the board.

And to help you plan better and be more efficient, I’ve created a free Weekly Planner for you to download and use in your own business! Here’s how to get it:

1. Join my free Resource Library for Home Bakers,
2. download the planner and
3. print it out 😀 Simple.

Lindsay from Freckle & Flora Home Bakery:

Check out Freckle & Flora Home Bakery on Instagram!

“I use my baby girl’s nap times for any admin during the day (and to shower 😂) but that gives me about an hour to reply to emails etc. And then my ‘work’ day starts at 18:30 once she is in bed for the night.

As most of my orders are due for the weekend, lately I’ve been trying to have Mondays – Thursdays as my actual baking days. Fridays are decorating and detailing days.

Unfortunately, I often end up working the day away on Saturday and Sunday while my husband is home and able to take care of my daughter. But we are trying to get it done during the week so those can be family days.

I love focusing on macarons and cookies because they have a longer shelf life.

Macarons I can prep up to 3 months in advance so they are perfect to work on when I have extra time or really allow getting ahead and managing my time as I please.

Decorative cookies are definitely the most time consuming but they are my Home Bakery’s biggest attraction.”

Nicole from Bake Toujours:

Check out Bake Toujours on Instagram!

“I have two days a week where my kiddos go to school. I usually try to fit all production into those days. I have a production sheet and inventory sheet and just see what’s low and plan for the week accordingly.

I try to do my bakery shopping when I grocery shop for the house, but sometimes I need to run errands and do production that same day. Then I’m usually pressed for time and map out a plan to do a few things each night once the kids go down.”

Candice from Eat More Cake:

Check out Eat More Cake by Candice on Instagram!

“I’m married, but don’t have any kids yet. I do an inventory check and shop on Sundays. Mondays – Wednesdays I prep ingredients and make frosting. Thursdays – Fridays I bake.

Saturdays I decorate and do deliveries. I do everything in the evenings since I work full time during the day.”

Dusty from Dusty Rose Cakes:

Check out Dusty Rose Cakes on Instagram!

“It’s a very hard balancing act, for sure!! I’m a mom to not only an 18 month old, but also a teenage son and a daughter in college. I also run a cleaning service for two hours every morning.

I write out my baking list on Monday mornings and make sure I have everything for the week. Then I get baking and planning the week’s orders.

I can do 4 bakes per day and I try to be done by Wednesday. Thursdays and Fridays I make buttercream and start decorating.

I try to get all my prep work done before bed time. Then after I get my daughter down, I decorate. I usually have everything done by 21h30, then I can chill and watch Netflix, do yoga, or spend time with my boyfriend.”

Tam from Sweetly Sifted:

Check out Sweetly Sifted on Instagram!

I am married! At the moment I work out of our apartment. My husband wears noise-cancelling headphones when the mixer is on and I keep him sane with cake scraps and Netflix ✌🏻

As I work full time as well, I usually have a week-long work plan with baking on Mondays usually, prepping any décor on Tuesday and Wednesday buttercream and fillings on Thursdays and decorating anytime.

I rest in between, whenever I can! Sometimes I think I am crazy for taking so much on but I love it!

I always make sure that I limit pickups on Fridays and Saturdays only, leaving some of Saturday and all of Sunday for me and husband to have together.

I have Mondays off work so I usually spend the whole day prepping planning answering emails and baking cakes, cupcakes, making cookie doughs, macaron shells, etc…

Astrid from Astrid’s Home Bakery:

Check out Astrid’s Bakery on Instagram!

“For me, it’s easier… I’m single! Hehe, so I have a pretty flexible schedule. I tell my clients that orders need to be placed a week in advance, so that gives me the chance to plan ahead, buy any supplies and try out recipes (if I am doing something new).

I also like to bake one day and decorate the next day. I usually rest on Sundays as I’m very involved with my church.

So, that’s pretty much how I manage my time. I do take last-minute orders but only if I know I have the time.”

Learn how to plan your Home Bakery's weekly work schedule for optimal efficiency and profit, without burning out or neglecting your family :) Includes input from 8 different Home Bakery owners! #cakebusiness #homebakery #bakingbusiness

Amie from Hot Hands Bakery:

Check out Hot Hands Bakery on Instagram!

“I split my time between freelance digital marketing and baking. Mondays – Fridays I usually work on the computer for the first half of the day and bake in the afternoon.

Usually I end up baking one night during the week and one day during the weekend.

My husband mostly works at home when he’s not traveling, so we just coordinate schedules. Sometimes we’ll take a day off during the week together and work Saturday, etc.”

Aurelia from Philosophy of Yum:

Check out Philosophy of Yum on Instagram!

Yep, so I’m married and a full time Home Baker! Over the past 6 years of baking full time at home, I have come to realize a sobering truth:

If I’m overworked, it is MY fault and no one else’s.

I used to bake for every day of the week because I was afraid my clients would move on to another bakery if I turned them down. And the biggest motivation for baking every day is obviously that I didn’t want to lose out on money.

I baked this way for 3 years and completely exhausted myself… It was not pretty.

If I had to list all the family and friends I turned down for BBQ’s, picnics, birthdays, dinners, etc., this post would be like 10 000 words long. It’s so bad and sad.

My husband played a KEY role in this area. I was so mad at him for not understanding my obligation to bake every day.

By God’s grace, He often surrounds us with people who love us more than we love ourselves.

I decided to stop baking for Sundays and eventually for Mondays as well. This meant that I was off the whole weekend. The exact days my husband is off as well.

What happened to my clients? They just started planning ahead. In fact, my new work week made my bakes appear more exclusive! So rad!

What happened to my profit? Well, after I learned how to stop undercharging for my bakes, my profit is seriously almost exactly the same as when I worked 7 days a week.

What happened to my quality of life? It’s a million times better!!! I now actually have ENERGY and HEALTHY relationships and TIME. I finally have a LIFE.

So guys, don’t fall for it. YOU DO HAVE A CHOICE. You are your own boss, so you need to learn to be a KIND one.

I now have a timetable (which I HAVE to stick to ALWAYS). I bake for 2 coffee shops for Tuesdays and Fridays. I bake for a local deli for Wednesdays. And the rest of my business comes from direct clients. I bake for Saturday mornings, but by noon it’s all done.

With direct clients, it works great for me to do all my baking the day before clients collect. And then I decorate everything the morning of their collection. But I do take care to prep all the decorations the day before, i.e. making sauces or jams, making chocolate decorations, chopping nuts etc.

So I work Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesday mornings, Thursdays, Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings. So I basically work 4,5 full days a week and from noon on Saturdays I am (very intentionally) free the whole weekend!

I permit an exception at the end of each month, since folks over here love spending money on bakes when they get their pay checks!

During such a week I will work the whole Wednesday & Friday as well, but not on the weekend.

Resting on weekends with my husband, friends and family has increased my quality of life DRASTICALLY!! In fact, it has also helped me to recover from my work week better so now I bake with a LOT more speed and precision during the week.

And yes, I have thanked my husband and apologized repeatedly for being such a near sighted workaholic.

The Most Important Thing in Home Bakery Time Management:

Let’s be honest here. We LOVE baking. We gravitate towards it and it’s not going to stop any time soon.

My first step towards a balanced, healthy work life was to ACKNOWLEDGE that I can’t just carry on and hope that my work life and family life magically holds together. It doesn’t work.

I get it, there’s always stuff that NEEDS to be done. But taking at least 1 day where I have NOTHING to do with baking, has increased my passion & work performance drastically.

>> Don’t abuse your passion, rather set rules in place to maintain it.

You NEED to set up a schedule for your work week (including at least 1 day of TOTAL REST) and stick to it NO MATTER WHAT.

If YOU don’t respect your rules, then no one else will. Don’t make exceptions. It’s never “just this once”. If you allow clients to twist your arm once, they will do it again.

Just last week someone phoned me last minute and asked me to bake a gluten free cake for them for the next day.

My policy is that orders need to be placed at least 3 business days in advance. It is plastered all over my website. These folks were too late, so I politely said no, but then they even offered to pay me more!

PAUSE and digest for a minute, no matter how nice and persuasive they are!

By now I’ve learned how to politely decline, but in the beginning I had to spell out the consequences for myself:

# Aurelia, if you do this, then you will be working till 10pm and start working again at 6am.

# If you do this, then you won’t be able to spend any time with your husband tonight.

# If you do this then you will be teaching the client that it is totally okay for them to bribe you! You will be teaching them that you can be won over when they wave an extra $10 bill in your face.

# Do you really want to be someone who is manipulated by sweet speeches and money?

And what was my conclusion (in my mind)?

NO! I don’t want all those things to be my reality!

Spelling out the consequences for myself gave me the perspective I needed to politely decline orders that cross my boundaries.

A few of my students have asked me how I plan my home bakery's work schedule to prevent burn-out, but still make a substantial income AND spend time with my family! For a more thorough post & perspective I've included the work week schedules of 7 additional home bakery owners, as well as my own. #homebakery #cakebusiness #bakingbusiness

So once again, here’s the most important thing:

If YOU don’t respect your rules, then no one else will.

Don’t make exceptions. It’s never “just this once”. If you allow clients to twist your arm once, they will do it again.

In the end, something will suffer. And if YOU suffer, your husband, kids and friends will also suffer.

I sincerely hope that this post has given you some clarity and perspective on how to plan your Home Bakery’s work schedule!

If you have any questions or concerns, just comment below and then we can chat about it.

Chat soon

Aurelia

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Hi! I’m Aurelia 🙂

I help home bakers create a Home Bakery Business with consistent orders so they never have to worry about a stable income.

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4 Biggest MYTHS About Starting a Home Bakery Business

by Aurelia Lambrechts | Home Baking Biz Tips

4 Biggest MYTHS About Starting a Home Bakery Business

Home Baking Businesses are incredibly fascinating and they come in ALL shapes and sizes! I’ve had my own successful Home Baking Business for 6 years now and I’ve loved pretty much every second of it.

Every job (whether you work for yourself or not) has its ups and downs, but I’m SO exceedingly grateful for my little Home Bakery!

Over the last year in particular, I’ve realized that so many passionate bakers have talent, but they don’t pursue their passion/dream of having a FULL TIME Home Bakery because of FEAR…

Fear that they don’t have the “required” specific skill set it takes to have a successful Home Baking Business.

A skill set that has FALSELY become synonymous with the term “Home Baking Business”. These are nothing but MYTHS.

These Home Bakery Business Myths Are:

You need to have studied formal pastry/chef/baking courses at an institution.
You need to have studied some kind of entrepreneurship/business courses at an institution.
Being a master at Fondant work, gum-paste details and sugar art is ESSENTIAL. Being a master at creating detailed designs to match whatever theme a client wants is ESSENTIAL.
And then also this belief that you need heaps of capital (or investors) for expensive kitchen equipment, branding, packaging, advertising etc.

I’ve grown SO deeply frustrated with these beliefs, because they really are TOTALLY false. Today I’m hoping to expose these myths once and for all.

Without becoming too feisty.

I’ll try my best.

But I might fail at diplomacy here.

The reason WHY I want to expose these myths is because I keep coming across amazing, passionate, GIFTED Home Bakers that are actually very unhappy – for various reasons. And they often lack confidence because they don’t fit the brief listed above.

It breaks my heart, because they don’t need to feel this way.

There’s another way!

BUT FIRST, let’s start by breaking down the myths. Sound good?

MYTH # 1: You need to study formal pastry/chef courses for your Home Baked products to be “GOOD enough” to Sell

There’s this old mind-set still hanging around in society that makes life and growth quite difficult. It’s the belief you need to formally study and have some kind of qualification before you can work in a certain field.

Over time, some new shortcuts have been created (like short courses) which aim to condense your learning experience into a shorter span of time.

Although I love the idea that you don’t need to put aside YEARS for these courses, they still have major flaws.

I’ve wanted to do a thorough course in Pastry for 5 years now. Unfortunately, all the options would require of me to set aside a minimum of 6 months to complete the course. 6 Months of FULL TIME study.

This means no work and no income plus a mild expense of $ 5000. How is this sustainable or even possible?

My friend, this is a different time. The online world has opened up doors for all of us to learn almost any skill and excel at it.

You don’t need to study a formal, expensive course for your Home Baking Business to succeed. AT ALL.

If a cake tastes amazing and rocks your world, then no one cares if the baker has a qualification or not!

You can learn and grow into the BEST baker you can possibly be without any formal training. I’ve developed 5 FUN weekly habits over time that keep me sharp and constantly evolving as a Home Baker.

These 5 Weekly Habits Include:

1. Watching an inspirational dessert show. Shows like Unique Sweets, Great British Bake Off, Zumbo’s Just Desserts etc. NOT decorating shows. Watch shows that focus on flavour! I always keep a notebook handy to write down which new flavour combinations I’ve learned, which new techniques I’ve learned and how I could implement them in a bake I’m comfortable with – like brownies.

2. Conquer something technical that has EPIC flavour (typically spaced out over a month, with research on the specific bake every week). Perfect Baked Cheesecake, Flawless Cupcakes, Perfect Lemon Meringue Pie… these are all very technical desserts, yet I’ve managed to master them through extensive ONLINE RESEARCH and then practicing baking them. It’s all you need. Really.

3. Eat something that gives you a YUM-high! Hard Work, right? 😉 Eating YUM-high food/treats is essential to keeping your flavour edge sharp in your baking. Eat something every week that inspires you! It doesn’t have to be expensive either. Get to that baked thingy that everyone in your town/city is talking about!

4. Follow GREAT bakers (not decorators) online. You will learn something NEW every time. I still do.

5. Use seasonal ingredients for inspiration. Fresh, seasonal ingredients can inspire you to create bakes you’ve never tried before. Search online to see what other herbs/spices/nuts go with that seasonal vegetable or fruit.

It's a TOTAL lie that you need a baking degree/diploma to create a successful Home Bakery! You can start your business this week while you keep working on your baking skills in the background. Your baking doesn't have to be "perfect" before it'll mean something to people. If it's delicious, you can sell it! #homebakery #cakebusiness #bakefromhome #bakingbusiness

These habits have grown me into the baker I am today without ever needing to pay a cent for training.

I’ve explained the core concept of each habit, because I don’t want to be stingy, but if you want to, you can download the full, free, 5 page guide in my Free Resource Library. I’m confident that you’ll love it!

Another super effective strategy to Grow as a Baker (for free) is to volunteer at any restaurant/eatery/bakery/suppliers that do anything related to baking. This includes breads, pizzas, doughnuts, pastry, cakes, etc.!

You get to learn, hands on, on a schedule that works for you. Since you are volunteering and providing them with free labour, they can’t exactly make demands on your time. I recommend doing weekends or like every second weekend.

This way the restaurant/bakery gets FREE extra labour and you learn for FREE – TOTAL win-win!!

I’ve explained the basics without being cryptic, but if you want to read more on this strategy of mine you can download my full guide from the Free Resource Library.

MYTH #1 BUSTED!!

MYTH #2: You need to formally study business/entrepreneurship for your Home Baking Business to be successful

Once again, my friends, this is a different time. The online world has opened up doors for all of us to learn almost any skill and excel at it. You don’t need to study a formal, expensive course in business for your Home Baking Business to succeed. AT ALL.

The web is absolutely TEEMING with online entrepreneur & business coaches who are giving away a WEALTH of info – for FREE.

I’ve learned all I need to from these peeps. Their free stuff has made me a savvy entrepreneur with a successful Home Baking Business even though they never speak about baking.

If you have a little bit of money to spend on this, it will definitely help though. I HIGHLY recommend “The $100 start up” by Chris Guillebeau.

This book has genuinely smashed my concepts of business and redefined my home baking business’s focus. It’s really inexpensive and amazing.

So yes, it’s paramount that you learn about business and entrepreneurship, but you don’t need to do a formal, expensive course at a university or institution.

MYTH #2 BUSTED!!

Myth #3: You need to be a master at fondant, sugar art and themed designs for your home baking business to succeed.

Now this is where I get very VERY feisty.

As any “normal” baking nerd would do, I’m part of a few Baking Facebook groups. On these groups you typically see folks posting these AMAZING wedding cakes with mountains of fondant work, sugar flowers and modelling chocolate details… They are works of art.

One day I posted a photo in the one group of the types of cakes I do. A rustic, purist, cleanly presented carrot cake.

This Carrot Cake Recipe has generated $5000+ in sales for my home bakery business. I asked in the group if anyone does cakes like these because everyone’s work seems so “wedding-cakey” or “themed”.

Everyone’s responses SHOCKED ME.

Here’s what the fellow Home Bakers said on the group:

“I love baking cakes like yours for myself, my friends and family. But in order to make a living from baking I have to make fondant cakes.”

“LOVE these kinds of cakes, but fondant cakes are what customers want, so that’s what I do most of the time.”

My heart sank!

Is this is truly what most Home Baking Business owners believe??…

It does not have to be this way. I would just curl up in despair if the only way to make a living off baking was to make fondant, themed cakes.

Here’s why…

In general, ANY creative enjoys creating something that THEY actually want to buy themselves. As soon as you start just creating for “whatever anyone wants”, you quickly get frustrated, bored and burned out.

“In order to make a living from baking I have to make fondant cakes…” But it’s not what she enjoys doing at all. She feels she HAS to do it.

TRUTH IS that there’s a WHOLE other market today that is into QUALITY and FLAVOUR. This is what I’ve discovered & experienced over the last 5 years of building my own Home Baking Business.

FLAVOUR and QUALITY (taste) create more concrete memories than sight. It’s been scientifically proven.

When more of your senses are involved in an experience, a more solid memory and rich the whole experience.

If you eat a cake with an awful flavour (includes both your taste & smelling sense) and texture, the only sense that the memory can stand on is SIGHT.

SIGHT does not create a very solid memory to begin with since it is a sense we use 16+ hours per day.

BUT if you eat a cake with a glorious flavour (includes smell) and beautiful, fresh texture then you already have 3 senses involved in the experience and memory!

That’s why the desserts and bakes from our childhoods are forever seared into our memories.

You absolutely DO NOT need to make fondant cakes to have a successful Home Bakery Business! Learn how I've been baking, full-time, for 6 years without EVER touching fondant! Click to learn how you can do it too... #homebakery #bakingbusiness #cakebusiness #homebaking #baking

I’ve NEVER heard anyone say: “oh do you remember when we ate that green fondant?! It was the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten in my life!” “Yes! And those silver deco balls, how divine!”

Nope. Never.

Over the last decade, the cake decorating scene has exploded on television and social media. It was always there, but shows like Cake Boss, Ace of Cakes, Charly’s Cake Angels etc. opened up an exciting new world to the public and bakers.

Overnight, super decorated, fondant cakes became the new beacon for “baking”. People were loving them on TV (and social media) and demanding them from their local bakers!

Now, I am not saying there’s no need for cake decorating (that would be foolish and ignorant). It’s an amazing art!! I’m just saying that the cake decorating “hype” has gone completely out of control and created this stigma that

BAKING = DECORATING and DECORATING = BAKING. This is FALSE.

You can be an amazing cake DECORATOR, but this does not make you a great BAKER.

In the name of “You eat with your eyes!”, super pretty, BUT terrible tasting, dry, tough, stale cakes have been served to the masses for years now.

I have been on the receiving end so many times… I’m sure you have too?? It totally sucks. It ruins everything.

Bottom line: lines have become blurry and the concept of actual BAKING has been severely compromised by an exterior decorating obsession.

Ultimately, WE ACTUALLY EAT WITH OUR MOUTHS, NOT OUR EYES.

And, believe it or not, there’s a whole market just waiting for someone to produce DELICIOUS cakes, FULL of FLAVOUR, that give them a yum-high and leave them in a daze. Great, full on BAKING. This is what I’ve done and you can totally do it too!

Now obviously the cake needs to be neat and presentable, but all this means is clean lines. A neat finish on something HONEST, HOME MADE and AUTHENTIC.

You never need to make sugar flowers, or spend hours kneading purple fondant, or bake a cake a week in advance so that you have enough time to put the 1000 modelling chocolate ornaments on the cake IF YOU DON’T WANT TO.

So yes, I’m going to say it OUT LOUD:

You CAN make a comfortable living as a home baker without EVER baking a wedding cake or a themed cake!

MYTH #3 BUSTED!!

Myth #4: You need loads of Money to start a Home Bakery Business

SO, totally and completely false.

When I started my home baking business I had almost nothing. I had a $10 hand mixer, 2 cheap plastic mixing bowls, 1 square tin and 1 muffin/cupcake tin (and a $5500 student loan to pay off, lol!). That’s it! That’s all you need. I didn’t even have an oven, so I baked at my (then boyfriend) husband’s student house and then decorated the baked cupcakes back at my own student house. You can make it work!

I know there are so many gorgeous kitchens on Pinterest, blogs and magazines, but don’t fall into the comparison trap.

A beautiful, fully equipped kitchen is not essential to your home bakery’s success.

Remember, this is good, honest HOME BAKING. When your mom or gran made your favourite birthday cake, could they manage without the $1000 Cuisinart Mixer? Was the cake memorable even though they mixed it by hand?

I’m betting YES.

It's a TOTAL LIE that you need heaps of money and fancy, expensive kitchen equipment to start a Home Bakery Business! All you need is a hand mixer, the oven that's already in your kitchen and a mixing bowl - that's it. Click through to start building your own full time Home Bakery Business. #homebakery #bakingbusiness #cakebusiness #cupcakebusiness #homebaking

Focus on the quality of your bakes, not the aesthetics of your kitchen and I promise that your home baking business will be successful.

Beautiful branding and packaging can also be a very tempting expense. If a wrapper is beautiful, but the candy tastes bad, will you ever buy it again? No.

Just go for simple packaging to start off with. You can seriously get away with 50 cents per cake box. To add a personal touch, get a logo stamp made for $10. It looks super rustic and cool!

A simple, affordable logo design solution is to do a trade exchange with a local graphic designer. Creatives really look out for each other and are keen to help where they can! Offer them a cake in exchange for a logo.

If they are super good, maybe offer them a $100 voucher/credit at your home baking business. It’s a wonderfully enriching experience working with any other creative! Give it a try 🙂

The last area where big spending can be super tempting is advertising for your home bakery.

Take it from someone who has done this for 5 years…

When it comes to baked goods, ONE word of mouth referral from someone who has actually tasted your bakes is worth more than 1000 flyers or 2000 views on a Facebook ad. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Also remember to keep the “home” in Home Bakery. Your clients want a touch of “home”. Focus on retaining your clients and build genuine relationships with them so that you become their GO-TO Baker! Loyal clients are the backbone of any Home baking business.

MYTH #4 BUSTED!!

I hope that this post has been helpful to you and that it has also LIBERATED you as an authentic home baker. Please be YOU. Your gifts and talents are SO needed!

What’s next?

If you can relate to what I’ve shared, then Philosophy of Yum is exactly what you’ve been looking for. I’m so excited that you are finally here!

I’ve created a Library of FREE Resources specifically for current and aspiring Home Bakery Owners because I want to see you succeed!

This Library is filled with my BEST downloadable tools, tips, guides and my Home Bakery’s TOP SECRET Recipes to provide you with everything you need to build your own SUCCESSFUL HOME BAKERY BUSINESS.

Click the button below to take a FREE peek inside the Library – no strings attached!

FREE PEEK INSIDE THE LIBRARY

Please comment below if you have any other struggles or doubts about building your own home bakery business because I would LOVE to help!

Chat soon,

Aurelia 🙂