Cake Business Ideas – Are You Asking the Right Questions?

In the spirit of the release of The Wedding Cake Designer’s Success Pack, I began thinking of all questions to be asked in a cake decorating business – and how many seem to be missing the mark.

Not asking the right questions might have the power to ruin your business, but more likely (and importantly) it has the power to stop your business growth. There is something to be said about wild success and utter failure – at least One of the worst times in a small or home business is that period of stagnation where nothing seems to be happening. No new customers, possibly no repeat customers, no new products, designs or ideas – this is the time us creative people really start to climb the walls in anxiety!

I have made my own mistakes by not asking the right questions, learned from those mistakes, and even written books from those lessons! For example, each time a cake is to be designed, you should know the answers to:

• The size of the cake (not just layers, but actual SIZE.)
• All flavor and decorating specifics.
• Where the cake will be stored just before the event, for how long, and how it will get there.
• Are all of the necessary order forms and contracts filled out correctly and signed?
• ETC.

It’s not just about what you ask your customers, either. Some of the most important questions you need to ask are of yourself. Before you ever even take orders, you may want to consider asking yourself things like:

• What kind of events do I love creating for, or what do I want to specialize in?
• What are my “signature” flavors, items, or recipes? What makes me stand out?
• How will I let others know who I am and what I do on a regular basis?
• Who are my target customers and where should I go to speak to them directly?
• ETC.

While it may seem like a lot of extra work at first, making sure you are asking the right questions will ensure you almost never have to redo work. This will save you time, frustration, and money. Not to mention that by making sure all of the details are handled, you look professional to your customers and they will be happy to tell all of their friends!