A Home for Sugar and Meringue?

I've talked before about my need to find a kitchen space that I can license so that I can sell and market my cookies and cupcakes legally. This has been a huge obstacle. Kitchens aren't easy to find and they don't come cheap. However, without a kitchen, I can't really market my baked goods and I feel like some opportunities could pass me by, 'cause I'm just not set-up like I need to be.

My Options:

1. Rent something- However, kitchen space for rent is almost non-existant in my area.The few places I do know of that might be available would cost an arm and a leg. Even if I quit my job and baked all day every day, I probably couldn't get enough cookies made to pay the rent let alone make a living. I may be able to split the rent with another baker but I'm not too crazy about sharing.

2. Build something- My husband knows how to build things. He's an HVAC guy so he knows how to do the heat, air, electrical and plumbing too. We might even be able to get some lumber from his folks (they tore down an old barn). I've found some adorable plans for some tiny cottages online. Problems… finding the time to build something and finding a place to build something. Finding an inexpensive lot with no covenents might be difficult.

3. Buy something- There's a sweet little house on the market and it's affordably priced. It would cost the same or less than building something and the payments would be significantly less than rent. I know the people who are selling it. They're trustworthy. I could try the cookie thing for a couple of years, if it doesn't work, sell the place and probably recoup most of the cost or rent it out. Problems… This place is affordable because it's 10 miles out in the country in the middle of a run-down neighborhood. Lots of ramshackle houses and run down mobile homes. Financing… do I try to get a small business loan, refinance our house and add this one on, find a grant? I can't tell you how much time I've spent searching for a grant to apply for. My dad has written and recieved many grants for his job so he's been looking too and we're just not finding anything. By the time I figure out a way to pay for this house, it will probalby be gone.

What to do?

Anyway… my favorite junk shop had all their books 1/2 off this weekend and I got a whole bunch of great vintage cookbooks for my etsy shop plus a few other fun things. Aren't those little girl candles sweet? I also got a really cool old metal cabinet for $25. For that price, I couldn't let it go, but honestly, I have no where to put it. (I need to buy another house!)

We were expecting a blizzard this weekend so I prepared by baking cookies… of course. I pulled out my 1963 copy of Betty Crocker's Cooky Book and made cream cookies. They're shown in the mosaic above.

Happy New Year & May the Force Be With You!

I can't believe I haven't posted anything since December 15. I guess time really does fly when you're having fun. We had a great Christmas and a happy New Year with lots of gatherings of family and friends.

My son's 8th birthday was on the 23rd, so I thought I'd show you some of the Star Wars cupcakes I made for him. The Vadar and lightsaber cupcakes were inspired by flickr user Kati Peck , the R2D2 cupcakes were my own idea/design.



I can't wait to see what this year has in store for Sugar and Meringue. Maybe this will be the year I really get things off the ground. I've had some very encouraging things happen lately. I don't feel like I can talk about them 'til they're official but I will say that I might be getting some exciting recognition. I hope I can build on this recognition. We'll see what happens.

So now what?…

I see oppurtunities. I have a chance to get some great recognition. But… I don't have a liscensed kitchen. I can't persue most of these oppurtunities without a liscensed kitchen.
If I manage to find a kitchen space… I will need to figure out how to pay for it. All of the recognition and opportunities I've been talking about are "maybes" and they won't generate any income for a while.
I have a good job. But it's full-time, leaving me with little time to work on building a business and not nearly enough time to produce (let alone market) enough cookies and cupcakes to pay for a kitchen space. In this economy, can I risk giving up a good job to start a business?

I guess, I just need to take things one step at a time and see what happens. I'll go to work, take care of my family and then devote what time I have left to business planning. I think, as long as I'm working hard towards my goals, whatever is meant to happen will happen.

If only I were a Jedi…

May the force be with you in 2009!

Things Are Piling Up Around Here!

bowls & cupcakes, originally uploaded by Flying Time Designs.

I have some bowls. I like them. I piled them up and took a picture. I made some cupcakes. They turned out ok.

–Nuff said?

Well, it's summer and it's hot, and I just can't seem to think right now (let alone write) but for the sake of all my adoring fans I'll try. : ) ( yes, I'm being sarcastic)

Business Planning…

As far as the business planning goes, I'm in "wait and see what happens" mode for right now. The kitchen space I was interested in is not yet available and as discussed in my last post the response to my things at Art in the Park was mixed. I think everyone liked both the taste and appearance of my cookies and cupcakes, but I'm not sure they're willing to pay what I have to charge. On top of that, our Starbucks is closing (yes, we only have one, unless you count the one in Target). I've always said that people would pay more for my cookies and cupcakes (verses the Walmart bakery) for the same reason they would buy coffee at Starbucks instead of McDonalds. –They're just fancier/better. And I've reasoned that if my town could support a Starbucks then it could probably support a business like mine. Well, now I'm not sure what to think! I know budgets are pretty tight these days. Anyway, I'm not giving up, just cooling my jets a bit. I'm still trying to make some connections in the community and get the word out about what I do.

Interviews…

Ages ago I asked some very nice bakers if they would be willing to let me interview them. That was so long ago that I'm sure by now they've given up on me. In an earlier post, I said that I would try to get those interviews done this month. YIKES! This month is almost over. Here's my dilema… If I just e-mail some questions to these ladies and they e-mail me back with their answers… well…there's no back and forth…it might seem kinda cheesy and boring. I want this to be more conversational. So…I've drug my feet, trying to come up with the best format for this (it's harder than I thought!). Maybe, I should try calling them on Skype, record the call, turn it into a podcast and post it somewhere. Huh…I'm not a journalist, I don't really know how to conduct an interview and I know even less about podcasting, plus I really don't have the time or money required. But… it might be fun! Having a podcast that gives me an excuse to call up bakery owners and cupcake bloggers and just chat sounds great. Plus, I haven't been able to find any podcasts like this on iTunes or anywhere so I might be able to fill my own little niche. Hmmmm… me and my big ideas. Anybody know anything about podcasting? What do you think?

Etsy…

I haven't promoted my etsy shop for a while, so I thought I would show you some of the "cool" things I have listed now. I keep adding new things and I'm working on some new cupcake toppers so stop by from time to time to see what I've got.

Structure…

I function best when things are structured and organized. (Although, I am getting better at flying by the seat of my pants!) Anyway, I think I can improve the content of this blog by adding a bit of structure and planning. By September, this is the structure I hope to follow each month (altough I may change the order):

Week 1 – I'll share a cookie or cupcake recipe, probably from one of my vintage cookbooks, along with ideas about decorating and presentation.

Week 2 – the interviews or podcasts or whatever I decide to do

Week 3 – I'd like to start a feature called "Baking with My Boy" . I'll drag my son into the kitchen and we'll bake/make something together and share it with you. You know… fun, simple stuff.

Week 4 – Kinda random. I might talk about my business planning or my etsy shop or some fun products I've found. Whatever…

I didn't think I had much to say and look how much I've rambled on! I have to say, it feels good to get all those things that have been piling up in my brain all typed out. I just hope it doesn't sound completely senseless!

bye!

Art in the Park

Hi! Thanks again to everyone who participated in National Sugar Cookie Day! I've got a few new links to share!

Damaris from Within the Corners of My Kitchen shared her favorite sugar cookie recipe. They look delicious! And, Jennifer Conway celebrated by showing us her vintage cookie cutters and buying some cookies from a local bakery.

Caitlin of Carmel Turtle asked if I made any cookies for Sugar Cookie Day…

Yes! I did! Actually, I made about 9 dozen cookies for "Art in the Park". Here's some photos of my cookies…





"Art in the Park" was my big community debut. Honestly, I'm not yet sure what to think about how it went. First of all, without really thinking, I bought the cheapest canopy that they had at Wal-mart and (of course) it was a piece of junk. My booth looked and felt like one of those forts you rig up with blankets and stuff when you're a kid. Tall people had to duck to get in. Then, having set up much earlier than the boothes around me, I guess I got the schematics wrong because the Indian Taco stand set up in front of me at the last minute so I ended up being kind of blocked off and hidden. Also, keeping the food out of the sun and keeping the wind from blowing everything over was an issue (which I expected).

Enough whining…it wasn't all bad.

I offered a variety of cupcake flavors and frosting flavors. Customers ordered their choice of flavors and I swirled the frosting on with a pastry bag right there in my booth (I kept the bags of frosting on ice). Then I let them choose what color of sprinkles they wanted and let them pick out a sugarpaste shape for the top. I had a big chalk board with all the flavors and instructions on it but I'm not sure everyone understood what I was doing. Those who did "get it" seemed to really enjoy having a cupcake custom made for them while they watched, especially kids. I heard one super sweet little girl tell her mom she loved me! That totally made my day.

The cookies I brought did not sell well at all. Lots of people looked at them but very few bought them. I had them individually priced at $3 - $3.25 ea. and the boxes (shown above) had 5 cookies in them for $7.00 with one "fancy" cookie on top and 4 more simple cookies underneath. I overheard one person say they were too expensive. My guess is that that person has never made decorated cookies before. Given the price of ingredients and the time involved in making my really fancy cookies I've got them priced as low as I possibly can.

I guess, when it was all said and done, I covered my costs and handed out lots of business cards so we'll see what happens next.

Michelle of Faerie Dust Dreams must have somehow known I needed a little confidence boost. She gave my blog some awards!



Thank you!
In accepting this award,
I agree to:
1. Display logo and link to who gave it.
2. Nominate at least 7 blogs.
3. Add links to those 7 blogs.
4. Leave the nominees a message that they received the award.

So, I'll link to my nominees in my next post. Right now it's time to get my boy to bed.

Getting Serious

Bakeries with "The Look", originally uploaded by Flying Time Designs.

Oh my! What am I getting myself into?

I've been having a great time making pretty cupcakes, playing with packaging, taking pictures, looking at pictures of bakeries I like (like the ones shown above)…doing all the fun parts of starting and having a cupcake & cookie business but, I've decided it's time to get on with it and start making some real plans to try to turn my dreams into reality.

Here's some of the steps I've taken since my last post…

•I talked with a connection at work about having a booth at a community event in mid-July. I think this will be a good place to show the community what I do and this event draws the kind of people I think will be interested in my cookies and cupcakes. It might be a good way to test the market. However, this is an outdoor event and in prior years the weather has always been bad. I'm worried about how my cupcakes and cookies will hold up if it's really hot. I have no idea, how many cookies and cupcakes I should plan to bring. I don't know how I'm going to set up my booth, but I know I need to get some signs and things made for it. I'm going to be gone next weekend and the weekend after that I'm going to be really busy so I don't know when I'm going to work on getting ready for this. I need to order some of the specialty items I want to use to make some of the things I want to make. I need to firm up my prices. I should get new business cards made (the ones I have now are more "etsy oriented"). What am I thinking?

• I talked with my realtor friend this week about finding a kitchen/bakery space. This friend has great business sense, knows a lot about the community and has a great sense of style. She seemed very supportive of my idea to start this business. I really value her opinion so I was glad she didn't laugh at me and tell me I'm a nutcase/dreamer! She had a few really good ideas about places that might work for me. Ohhhhh mannnnn… talking locations makes this all seem very real and a bit overwhelming. Therefore…I started working on my business plan again and really trying to crunch the numbers. I'm not sure what my expense are going to be yet but I'm thinking I'm going to have to make and sell somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 cupcakes or 100 cookies a day for this to work. I have a few other ideas about how to bring in income including "make your own cupcake parties", but still…Can it be done? Can I get that many cupcakes/cookies made? (theoretically I can) Can I sell that many a day, especially if I decide not to have a store-front right away?
Will people around here pay $1.50-$3.00 for a cupcake? Once I start showing my stuff at local events will I get many orders? If I do will I be able to handle them while I'm still working full time? Will I know when it's safe to quite my day job and start baking full-time?

Is it worth going through all this work and stress and risk to make this happen? YES darnit! The alternative would be to spend the rest of my days in a windowless cubicle at the mercy of a boss, probably watching someone else open up this type of business. NO WAY!

A Real Business Woman

Sugar and Meringue, originally uploaded by Flying Time Designs.

Hi! Just thought I'd show you some pictures from the new (old) cookbooks I just listed in my etsy shop. These images are from three different cookbooks but I love the way they look together. The colors are just so sweet!

I finally got my business cards uploaded to Vista Print and they came yesterday. I was pathetically excited to get them. I feel so "official" now. Can't wait to include them with my etsy orders and give them to my friends. It's the little things make me so happy.

The "To-Do" List

New Stuff for Sugar and meringue, originally uploaded by Flying Time Designs.


•look for fun things to put in the etsy store √ (see above)

•get fun things listed in etsy store √ (I got a few of them listed)

•design business cards √

•Get business cards printed

•design a "party pack" for the shop with invitations, cupcake toppers and goodie bags √

•get parts to "party pack" printed and assembled

•try this recipe for macarons (they look so pretty and yummy!)

•learn to make poured fondant (here's the directions I plan to follow)

•determine prices and create a listing of them in iWeb that I can link to from here

•try some different cupcake and cookie designs using gumpaste accents

•work on a business plan

•research possible kitchen spaces

•decide wether or not to show cookies at fall craft show

•learn to live without sleep

A possible solution…

My creation, originally uploaded by Flying Time Designs.

Last time I posted, I was fretting about the amount I would have to charge for cookies decorated with flowers like the ones shown above. In order to make a decent (equal to the pizza delivery guy's) hourly wage, I would have to charge about $40/dz. and that didn't seem like a very competitive price. Most of the places I've found online charge less than $36/dz., usually around $30. Well, I may have found a way to balance my prices so that the finished price per dozen averages less than $30. For the anniversary cookie order I was working on, I decorated 1/2 the cookies with the marshmallow fondant and the gumpaste flowers, but for the other 1/2, I just coated the cookies with white icing and sprinkled them with sanding sugar. They look gorgeous with the other cookies and only took about 45 min. (start to finish) to make. That means I could probably charge around $12/dz for those and come out okay. So…a dozen fancy cookies-$40 + a dozen "filler" cookies -$12 = $52 for two dozen cookies or $26/dozen. No, this is not my firm/final price, but probably pretty close to what I'll be charging when I get this business underway.

Living on the Edge!

Taking risks and boldly trying new things, I used my new (used) Berkel 20 qt. mixer today without reading the owner's manual or receiving proper training! I'm happy to say, the kitchen and I are still in one piece and the cookie dough that I made tastes fine. Phew!

Meanwhile, I've been making more gumpaste flowers for some anniversary cookies a friend asked me to make. I couldn't wait to start working on these cookies. I love making pretty, wedding/shower /anniversary cookies, and the colors she requested really appeal to me.

I kept track of how long it took me to make the gumpaste flowers and it averaged around 1 1/2 min./ flower. Hmmm…a pizza place in town advertised a $10/hr. wage for a driver. I figure I deserve to make at least as much as that guy for my time. So with that in mind, each flower is worth about 30¢. In the previous post, I listed how long most of the other steps took. So, my time + the cost of the ingredients, packaging and a tiny bit for overhead = about $40/dozen ($3.35/cookie) to make what pizza delivery guy makes. I haven't seen many places that charge more than $30/dz. so I must be doing something wrong. I suppose with more experience working with gumpaste, I might be able to work a little faster, and I'm sure I can get my supplies a bit more cheaply when I start buying them in bulk, but still, I don't know how I'm going to speed this process up enough so that I can charge $30/dz and still make a living. I'm hoping to get in touch with other bakers to find out how they do it. I would like to start posting some interviews here soon.

Just in case my friend reads this post, I have to say, I wanted to make these cookies. They will be fun to work on, look good in my portfolio, and help with my research. She is a very talented crafter so I told her we would do some kind of a trade or something.