3 fears that keep bakers and bakerettes from starting a small bakery business

For those of us who have a passion for baking, especially if you have been baking for a while – even your family members and friends even know about it. You possibly bake your family’s occasion cakes and even for a few friends. Whether you’re in another profession; maybe you have a full-time job in another industry, however, you love baking and have been seriously thinking of baking for business.

We all know that there are many things that will keep you from making that first step to baking for business.  I personally meet a lot of people who have been postponing starting a small bakery business in Kenya for months or even years; it’s a passion from them, but they are afraid. Does this possibly describe you in anyway? ^_^ Well, this post is for you then. There are many fears that stop you as a baker or bakerette from starting that small bakery business. I will share the top fears I have heard most individuals mention and how to get through them in order for you to take the first step to achieving your dream of starting your small baking business.

Fear of Insecurity

Most people get employed in order to earn a living and to make sure they are financially stable and secure. The fear that most bakers have is that if they are to start their own small baking business, they will not be financially secure. This is especially true for those who have families. That fear can keep you from taking the decision to start a small bakery business until it is too late. If you have a passion for your business idea, I believe that it is possible to find a way to start it and keep going. In order to deal with this fear of insecurity; my suggestion would be to start the business as a part-time business activity at first. If you work Monday to Friday; you can work on your business in the evenings and weekends. Build your business model around those hours and slowly build your bakery brand. This will help you fund and build the bakery business gradually with the income you get from your job until it grows into a sustainable business. You can then quit your job and focus on your business full-time. Make sure not only to write a basic business plan for your business, but you also need to plan your exit strategy from your job. Give yourself a timeline e.g. I will start my bakery business part-time and run it for 6 months, then I will quit my job and focus on it full-time. If you plan well and have the discipline to execute your plan as planned, you will succeed.

Fear from lack of knowledge

The other major reason that stops most bakers from starting their businesses is their lack of knowledge about the bakery industry. They are afraid because they don’t know where to start; they don’t know what the requirements are legally, financially, they don’t have any business skills and these fears stop them from taking any steps. My solution for that is to research and learn; seek out the knowledge you need in order to be well equipped. First you need to sit down and figure out what you require to start a bakery business. You can start by even going to our Baking For Business page in this blog and reading the information I provide for you on all your requirements: legal, equipment and ingredients. Another invaluable resource for all that information is my book on “How to startup a small bakery business successfully.” You can get the e-book or the hard print copy where I provide all the requirements and steps to take in order for you to start a small bakery business successfully. If you know any bakers with businesses, you can also talk to them and see what advice or insight you can gain from them. If you don’t know any, you can find baking groups on social media where you can connect with other bakers and gain information and knowledge. You can also start going to different business seminars, training workshops and/or classes near you to gain entrepreneurial knowledge. A great first step is choosing to attend our monthly business master classes where we will be sharing business information for anyone in the bakery business. You can also choose to use a platform like the YES application by Kuza Biashara which provides you information on all aspects of a small business and has valuable information on topics such as personal skills, financial skills, etc. Go out there, find out the information and knowledge you require to start your small bakery business and then start it.

Fear of failure

This is a fear that plagues all individuals who want to start any type of business, even after you start a business, entrepreneurs can tell you that they still may have a fear of failure. How do they get passed it? Absolute Belief. Most startup entrepreneurs have an absolute belief in their business idea. They believe that it will succeed, so they do everything in order to make that possible; first by having faith in it, then by investing in the idea in every way. By constantly researching and getting information on starting it and sustaining the business. By investing in it financially, getting the right team members, gaining the skills required to run the business successfully, constantly finding out what customers think of the business products and/or services, as well as keeping them happy and satisfied. This is not to say that you will not encounter failures in your bakery business; you most likely will, but they should not stop you. Learn from your failures, adapt and change accordingly, re-strategize when you need to, if something isn’t working – stop doing it and move on to something that is. That is how one succeeds in business, by constantly learning and adapting, by getting feedback from the business (data & operation activities) and from the customers. If you feel that you can do that, then you can be able to start your small bakery business and be successful.

I hope this post has been helpful to anyone who is stuck feeling afraid, feeling that they can’t start their own small bakery business. You can start; just get past your fears, research and plan well and you will be able to start and keep moving.

If you have any questions or fears you may have about starting a small bakery business, feel free to ask below on the comment section. You can also email me on: amaribreads@gmail.com

To find out when our next Bakery Business Masterclass will be and the topic we’ll cover, just go to our Business Masterclasses page or click on this link to get more information on how to book your spot by signing up via email.

Please share this post in your networks and help someone else who needs to read this post, thanks and happy baking!