Cottage Business - Getting Started
So, you think you want to start a cottage business? Expand on a hobby, make a little extra cash, or even eventually replace the income from a full-time job? I get it. If you had asked me a year ago if I would ever open a micro bakery, I’d tell you absolutely not. It never even occurred to me that people would find my baked goods good enough to actually pay money for them. Yet here I am… growing every month in sales and now expanding to a website, blog, recipes, and other product sales. It’s been a lot of fun and a lot of stress, but I keep reminding myself that this is all my creation and it can go in any direction I please. Which brings us to the blog you are currently reading. You are clearly interested in starting a cottage business, so here’s some quick tips from someone who has learned everything the hard way, my personal favorite way to learn things, over the past few months.
RESEARCH COTTAGE LAWS FOR YOUR STATE! I can’t be clear enough on this. You’ve got to follow the law, or you risk hurting the rest of us with increased restrictions. I currently live in Arkansas, which has a lot of freedoms regarding cottage laws, but I still see people selling food items that could come back to bite them if a customer gets sick or complains. If you want to be successful and minimize the risk of fines, lawsuits, or bad reviews, just follow the law. It’s that simple.
Don’t get your customers sick. Would you eat at a restaurant that didn’t have a clean kitchen and/or the workers didn’t wash their hands regularly or follow proper hygiene? No! Clean your workspace and clean it often. Wash your hands often. Lint-roll your clothing, pull your hair up, wear clean garments, and thoroughly check your workspace often to make sure it’s up to standards. I live in a house with teens and three dogs. I would be mortified if I sold a baked good that had contaminants. My work procedures are listed below:
Deep clean my kitchen the day before I start mixing sourdough. Wipe EVERYTHING down, disinfect the sink and countertops, vacuum thoroughly, and make sure my air purifier is turned on.
Mix Day: I wake up and wipe everything down again, lock the dogs out of the kitchen, make sure my body and clothing is hair and lint free with a lint-roller, start a sink of hot soapy water (change out throughout the day), wipe out my mixer and all other supplies with a damp paper towel, wash up like a surgeon, then get started. I only use paper towels to wipe my hands, supplies, countertops, etc. because dish towels hold onto germs, hair, lint, and other contaminants you don’t want in your products. Is this possibly overkill? Maybe. But I can’t sell food products out of my home without knowing I’ve taken every step necessary to minimize risk.
Bake Day: I repeat all the prep listed above. I go above and beyond to make sure my customers are purchasing baked goods free of contaminants that could turn them away from my products or make them sick.
Don’t overspend on supplies you don’t need. Start with what is necessary to produce some basic menu items. You’ll need packaging, labels, and signage/menus for posting online or at events. Labels can be handwritten if you have nice penmanship. Mine looks like that of a serial killer so I REALLY needed to print mine. If you have the funds to create a logo and print it on a sticker or label, that makes your products look more professional. Once you’ve made some sales, you can then work on expanding your menu, packaging, presentation, etc. Pop-up/vendor events don’t have to be a huge production. If you are a creative soul, find stuff around your home to make the presentation appealing. You’ll definitely need a table and/shelves to display your items. I don’t have tablecloths. I purchased some black sheets on Amazon for $35 for six sheets. They work great! You need signage, but that can be printed for pretty cheap, and you can get creative and make some yourself with some craft supplies. Please don’t go broke just prepping for a fancy presentation. You can make something that looks really great with a little frugal ingenuity.
Get honest feedback. Family and friends are almost always going to tell you your products are the bee’s knees. Find some testers that will give you HONEST feedback. I have a few that I send new menu items to test before I ever introduce them to customers. Sometimes I get it right the first time, see my French Onion Sourdough recipe, and sometimes it takes a few iterations. Use their feedback to improve before selling and you’ll build a customer base that keeps coming back for more!
Sell, Sell, Sell! Don’t wait for customers to come to you. Get out there and promote your product. Drop free samples off at local small businesses, offices, or schools. Everybody loves free stuff, and this is how you’ll get your name out there in a completely organic way. Post on social media and in groups as often as possible. At vendor events, do the same. Hand out free samples and engage with customers that walk past your booth. Too often I see vendors sitting behind their table barely speaking to potential buyers, then wondering why they didn’t sell very much. You’ve got to put yourself and your product out there. If what your selling is good, the customers will come (see #4). I recently sold out at an event in 3.5 hours. Almost all of my sales came from reaching out to people passing by and offering free samples. Even a customer on a low carb diet came back and bought one of my sourdough loaves because the sample was THAT GOOD. If you have a great product, get it out there!
Constantly reevaluate. What’s working? What isn’t? What’s my best seller? How can I improve? Growth comes from innovation and improvement. If you aren’t sure how to approach this, feel free to shoot me a message and I’d be happy to walk you through the process.
At the end of the day, you have to ask yourself if starting a cottage business is really worth the time, effort, and money. It certainly isn’t free, but there are ways to do it in a frugal manner that still grows into a successful and profitable business. You just have to make sure that you’re honest with yourself on expectations and what you’re willing to take on. I’ll be posting several more informative blogs on realistic costs, budgeting, selling, and running a cottage business in the near future. My goal is to clear up any confusion and help inform newbies to the cottage business world or those looking to embark on this chaotic adventure. If you’re currently getting started, the best advice I can give is to take it slow and don’t give up. You’ve got this!