Small Business owners....inside

[CWO]

Man, I guess things have taken a turn for the worse in the cake industry.

Back when I was doing it, granted it's been a while, I was turning down people and trying to price myself out of making them. Hell, we just had a Photobucket account to show pics. I'd say 90% of our clients were referrals and return business. We were working out of our house kitchen and killing it. It's kinda funny, if you find a handful of the right clients, it starts to build itself. I used to take calls ALL the time saying "Hi, you made a cake for my sisters kids birthday party last year and I'd like to know if you would do my sons, he's turning 4 next month".

Are you getting much return business or referrals?

I really hope this thread helps you out. I have been considering getting back into it as a supplemental income myself. Subscribing.

[slow99]

At least have somebody worth a shit proofread your site - errors, passive voice, etc.

[black2002ls]

Man, I guess things have taken a turn for the worse in the cake industry.

Back when I was doing it, granted it's been a while, I was turning down people and trying to price myself out of making them. Hell, we just had a Photobucket account to show pics. I'd say 90% of our clients were referrals and return business. We were working out of our house kitchen and killing it. It's kinda funny, if you find a handful of the right clients, it starts to build itself. I used to take calls ALL the time saying "Hi, you made a cake for my sisters kids birthday party last year and I'd like to know if you would do my sons, he's turning 4 next month".

Are you getting much return business or referrals?

I really hope this thread helps you out. I have been considering getting back into it as a supplemental income myself. Subscribing.

I get a little bit of return business. The problem I am seeing now is, everyone does cakes. Every house wife in Texas has not taken the wilton cake decorating course down at michaels or hobby lobby and thinks they are the next cake boss. That is fine and dandy, until you add in the cottage food bill. They can now sell their sub par products to their friends and family and make a little money.

I guess, much as you mentioned, I'm having trouble tapping into the market of people who actually refer business to their friends.

I will definitely say, the quality of my cakes is no where near that of those you were posting. I don't get many opportunities to do the specialty themed cakes. I've been decorating for the better part of the last 12 years, most of which was at a commercial bakery at Wal-Mart. I didn't get to use fondant or do anything really fun, but I was responsible for all wedding cakes due to my quality of work. I've had a problem with time management in the past (while doing this on my own) because I was so accustomed to having all of my materials pre-made, if I ran out of icing, I grabbed another 5 gal tub, if I needed a color, it was pre-mixed 99% of the time. This wedding cake is probably the best quality I've turned out since I've been doing this on my own.

[black2002ls]

At least have somebody worth a shit proofread your site - errors, passive voice, etc.

If you see them, point them out and PM me.

[slow99]

If you see them, point them out and PM me.

Will do. Just glanced but spotted 3 ... I'll look more deeply later.

[wishitwasasvt]

My thoughts and observations from our (my wife's) business:

Your website can make or break a deal. She's been in business for 5 yrs now. After rebranding earlier this year there was a noticable difference in inquiry quantity. She even outright asked some of her new clients why they signed and more than one of them said, "I liked your website." If your site looks cheap, then your product is cheap. If your site looks cluttered and messy then you run your business in a cluttered and messy way. If your site looks classy and professional then you are a classy and professional business person. You know what they say about first impressions. A good site is not cheap, but it can make a big difference.

Once your site is top-notch, invest in a good SEO package. The best site in the world doesn't mean shit if no one sees it.

Start blogging. We hired a blogwriter. We know what the peak traffic times for the market are throughout the week and there are three blogs published every week at the peak times. Not always big, long writeups... maybe just something about the newest trend, or a cool design you thought up. Use good pictures.

Link the blog to Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Like other people said, get your ass on Pinterest. Cross-link to all of your other sites/tools.

Get out and meet your potential vendors. You want to do wedding cakes? Go meet with specialty dress shops, florists, venues, etc. Anything wedding related. Get your name into the entire industry, not just the baking corner. Cross promote. Stay in front of these people once you have a relationship and make them feel important.
My wife (planner) has a core group of vendors that she is tight with. She will always recommend them first, and they do the same. You need to build relationships like this and not just rely on one-off website hits and google searches.

When someone sends clients your way, send thank you notes (handwritten) or small gifts.

Get out to networking events. Here in DFW for the wedding industry there's something called Thursday Therapy. It's a happy hour once a month that moves locations (always at a wedding related place) and is frequented by planners, photographers, venue owners, etc, etc.

^this. There are a ton of networking groups all around the metroplex that meet up weekly. You need to get your name out in every industry that even deals with cakes, cooking, weddings, photography, hell even special events planners..if you need help with your website and pics for your website pm me and I'll set you up with my wife, we'd love to help you out...

My names Gary Allen btw..

[CWO]

My advice would be to focus on fondant work and carving. That's what I feel separated myself from the rest of the home-bakers. Everyone has seen a fondant cake Ace of Cakes or Cake Boss. That's what people want for themselves, but can't afford a Duff or Buddy cake. That was my niche. Out of all the cakes we made, if I remember only two were finished entirely in butter cream.

[Strychnine]

This wedding cake is probably the best quality I've turned out since I've been doing this on my own.

Work with a professional photographer.

Like Mike said, put up the money to build a few "demo" cakes. Get PROFESSIONAL pictures. No harsh flash, good background, etc, etc. (I didn't click through your gallery, just going off the pic posted).

If you have made cakes for weddings then you need to try get copies of their pics. (If that pic above is from a professional photographer then I feel sorry for the bride).

Also, I wouldn't link out to FB for your gallery. You need to get that integrated into your site, whether it be a slideshow, popups, etc.


For example, here's a few shots from my wife's preferred bakery.

http://sugarbeesweets.com/

[black2002ls]

No, that picture wasn't from a pro, It was taken from a pro quality camera, but with my less than stellar skills. I've got a couple of orders in the pipeline, so I'll get some cake forms and get some demo's made up and have a photographer shoot them for me (thankfully I've got a few in my network)

I'm also in the process of re-working my photo gallery. Its going to take a couple of days, but I'll post when its done to have you guys tear it apart so I can put it back together.

[RCITNet]

Photos make the world of difference. A friend of mine is a photographer and she'll probably help you out for free just to add photos to her portfolio.

Sent from my DROID RAZR

[black2002ls]

RCITNet thanks, I may have you put me in touch with her. One thing I want to throw out there for those who have offered help, I am VERY grateful, and I can return the favor in cake! However, I am out here in Greenville most of you I'm seeing are in the metroplex, a lot of which are on the opposite side!

Anyway, its time to head to my full time job, I'll get working on the Gallery some more tonight.

[black2002ls]

Here is a quick gallery mock up using a css code

http://russellsconfectionperfection.com/main/index.php?id=56

One thing I absolutely HATE is how the background repeats on larger pages. I would like to either fix this, or replace the background with something better, any ideas?

[MustangPoser]

Let me see how today goes, I might be able to get you a mockup designed for a new website.

I work with WordPress mostly, so I can take the mockup and turn it into a WordPress theme in ~1-2hours. You would just need to add all of the content and clean up the design of inner pages over time/pay someone to finish it.

[black2002ls]

finishing isn't a problem. I've done a lot of the coding on my page myself, I had someone install the CMS and set up the templates, along with a couple of other things I wasn't familiar with. I have trouble with the creative part of it, the templates, backgrounds, etc.

[MustangPoser]

Yeah I think I will have time to do this. I just played around with your logo to see if I was feeling it and this should be fun enough to waste my time on.