Starting own bakery business is something that any bakers or chef can dream of. People with no experience or skill in making bread or pastry also interested to get involved because of its prospects. Food related business always give steady income and good return not to mention how fast this business can grow. This is based on fact that 61% of American eat breakfast everyday and 32% of them eat out or purchased it at least once a week. This business alone generate $18 billion sales a year in United States. By 2012 the U. S bread and roll market is forecast to have a value of $14. 2 billion. How about other region and continent?Well for develop country mostly in South East Asia, bread and pastry considered as alternative for rice because of its mobility and fast serving. Office workers need something simple for lunch to save time especially woman who consider bread to replace rice for dietary purpose.
There are important steps to take before you can start your own bakery. First you need to decide on what type of bakery business you want to run. Home bakery business sounds simple and easy to manage however you need to consider the pros and cons. Running a production in the middle of residential area would be nice for marketing but it can be disaster for your neighbors. Loud sound from your machinery can cause head aches to your neighbors. You can choose to be bread and pastry supplier. You can save cost on shop assistant and display room. Prepare a proper kitchen for production and supply your bread to other bakery or cafe. This type of bakery does not need much advertising exposure because you just need to reach cafe manager or restaurant owner to have a sales. After deciding the type of bakery you desire, its time to write your business plan. Every business no mater how small or big need a proper business plan to be successful. With this business plan, you can keep track on your business development and progress. You need to write a business plan that contain description of your product, your targeted customer, budget, management and staff, your company objective and mission.
The hard part on starting a business is financing. How do you plan to finance your bakery?If you have a proper business plan, you definitely know how much you need as starting cost. This includes the cost of machinery, proper display room, advertising and rent. There are also monthly cost such as utility bills, rent and salary. You need to estimate your business cost per day and calculate for at least 12 month running cost. When you have the exact numbers, now you can start thinking about how to obtain such money. You can use your own money, make business loan or you can find a benefactor that willing to invest in your business. Proper business plan will attract investor and soften the bank management to release a loan for you. After taking care of financing, its time to find a suitable location for your bakery. As mention before, home based bakery is really good for marketing because it location in residential area. People usually need bread and pastry for breakfast and for evening meal. Strategic location will ensure the flow of income and growth. Things you need to consider for good location is high traffic and residential area. But make sure your bakery located not too close to competitor because it will effect your sales.
After acquire a suitable location, you need to determine the type of licence and certificate you need to run a bakery. You can go to your local authority to make sure of this. Basically you will need licence for business and premises from local authority, product and food safety certificate from health department, and if you are in Islamic country such as Malaysia, you will need Halal certificate for Muslims consumer. After your bakery been approved, now its time to go shopping. In your business plansneak a peek here, you should already know which type of machinery or tools you need for your bakery. This is very important thing to remember. You do not want to waste money on machine that you will never use. As you know, these kind of machinery is very expensive and need a suitable personal to handle it. You will need to determine which kind of mixer you need for production, dough divider, suitable oven, chiller, freezer for frozen goods and cooling rack that you can use for displaying your product. Having a good display room always leave a good impression and returned customer. Sufficient machinery and appliance will ensure stability in production and fulfilment orders.
Investment in staff proved very useful asset for future expansion. Hiring a good and hardworking staff will increase productivity and produce a quality product. Based on the size of your operation, you should determine how many workers you need. For examples you need a baker to make bread, this includes mixing and shaping, oven man to baked and shop assistant to take care of the display room. This is all depends on your size of operation. However, make sure you have sufficient staff to prevent unnecessary problems. Lastly, advertising will play important role in your bakery business. Having a good set up of bakery does not help you to get sales. You have to make sure people know about your bakery. You can try advertise in local newspaper, radio station and television. Using a creative and interesting flayer also works on high traffic location. Offer a free gift for your customer and do not forget to slip your business card so that they will return again to your bakery hopefully to buy something not just the free gift!