A Home Baked Goods Business: Which Way Does the Cookie Crumble?

The scene is familiar: you bake a plate of brownies or a dozen cupcakes for your family lunch, corporate gathering, or church party. Everyone loves your baked goodies, and a few even offer to buy some from you. You might start thinking: should I put up my own business? Would I earn a decent income from it?

The truth about home-based businesses is that you can earn only as hard as you work, and only as big as your market is. If you are selling or offering something that is not always in demand, you might end up on the losing end. Moreover, if you offer something that is too expensive, your business could fail within the year.

These are the common mistakes that home baked goods businesses make, whether they are home-based or not: owners tend to bank so much on the compliments given to them by friends and family, that they forget there is a much larger market out there with varying tastes and whims. Moreover, they forget to make a business plan and instead botch up the pricing scheme, so that they lose three to four-fold of their initial capital within the first two years of operation.