Any suggestions/ideas/experiences for someone planning on opening their own bake shop after culinary school???

Question

Im 21yrs old, very much into arts and crafts, painting, sculpting, ect. However, I love to cook and bake. I figured combining the two for a career I can go into would be ideal and rewarding for my future. I can apply all of my artistic skills to my baking for cakes, specialty foods, candy ect. I just have no ideas on where to start once I get out of college. As far as location, finances, and upkeeping the business, im kind of lost. Any ideas or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

I am a chef I went to culinary school, first of all you need to find a location for what you are serving if it is just a bakery larger towns are better, find you a shop then get a hold of a wholesaler such as sysco thats who i use and price all your equipment, utensils etc.. get together a total cost sheet, then you will want to find a bank that will give you a business loan, I found it easy as well I have 2 partners so it helps out alot. If you are in culinary school you can go ask your dean he or she will help, I had a class on it when I was there. There are lots of books out there as well. i have a bunch I could give to you as well. Good Luck

Answer 2

When you go to a culinary school, there are classes on the business side of the business. You can talk to instructors who usually have professional experience of their own.



You will also need a lot of money to start a business. Your best bet is to first work for someone to gain experience & save some money. Then you go into business on your own when you are ready. Going into business is easy, but making it a profitable business is not.

Answer 3

Location is very important, excellent products. atmosphere counts as well. One of the biggest problems I have seen aspiring restaurant owners is...they don't have the capital backing to keep it running, till a true profit can be made to sustain on it's own. They might have enough money to pay all the bills for 6 months to a year. That 9 times out of 10 has been the down fall. Myself and others agree that you need to have enough money stored to pay all your bills and overhead for at least 2 years.

Best wishes for your new aspirations :)