Do you want to know 4 simple, yet powerful steps to grow your bakery business?

We get quite a number of visitors on our blog and we’re always so grateful. One thing we like to do is get feedback on the type of information home-bakers, small bakery business owners and any of our blog visitors would like to know.

A recurring question I’ve noted is ‘How to work towards having a successful bakery business”. Obviously there isn’t one formula that can apply to all types of baking businesses; therefore, there isn’t one exact answer to that question. I do however believe that making sure you do certain things in your business will move you towards the goal of running a successful bakery business. Today I will outline four very important things you should do in your baking business that will move you towards that goal of having a successful bakery business.

1. Have a solid business plan

Most small bakery business owners start at home, then gradually move their business to bakery shops as the business grows. In that transition from home or hobby baker to bakery business owner; some bakers may not find it necessary, or even think it important, to write a business plan. It is one of the most important factors in your success as a bakery owner. If you don’t have a business plan for your bakery; or if you want to start a bakery business but haven’t written a business plan – please make sure to do so. You can click here for a Free bakery business plan template, just sign up via email to get it sent to you. It is very important; for clarity in every aspect of your business, i.e. Financial planning, Niche, Marketing, daily operations, etc. This will give you direction in your business activities, goals and plans.

2. Have a consistent Marketing Plan

In a study conducted by Michael Bowen of Daystar University on ‘Management of Business Challenges among Small and Micro Enterprises in Nairobi-Kenya’ in 2009; one of the main challenges small business owners cited, was competition.  71% percent of small business owners in the study mentioned competition as their top 3 challenges in their business’ success. Most of them when asked how they dealt with competition; mentioned discount offers, better customer service and additional services. In general, all of those small business owners improved their marketing strategy in order to get more sales. As a small bakery business owner, the same concept should apply to you. The baking industry has very stiff competition these days and you have to be very creative and innovative in your marketing to attract customers and increase sales. The only way to do so is to sit down every month and plan out your marketing strategy, including your goals and objectives in order to achieve increased sales. You can click on this link to get ideas on how to start marketing online.

3. Make sure you have met your legal requirements

One major downfall of small bakery businesses that I’ve observed is not having the required legal requirements. When county authorities visit a bakery business that doesn’t have the necessary permits; this could end up costing the business owner quite an amount of money. In order for you to avoid these unplanned financial expenses, make sure you comply with the legal requirements as you’re formalizing your bakery business.

Get all the necessary business permits and health certificates you require to run a bakery business. Even if you are a home baker, make sure to get the necessary requirements. This will avoid such financial emergencies that could bring your business to the brink of closure. Click on this link to get a list of legal requirements for a small bakery business.

4. Set up systems in your small bakery business

In order for you as a small business owner to run your bakery successfully, you need to set up operations systems that will help you run every part of your business efficiently and effectively. A great example is your recipes; when you bake a ½ Kg Vanilla Cake, you should be able to follow the same recipe each time and get the same delicious results. That consistency is important in every aspect of your small business.

You need to have a set of actions/guidelines/activities that you follow each time when doing a certain activity in your business for consistency and continued success. The types of systems you require to set up in your small bakery business for example, are; Production system (e.g. standard recipes, cooling, packing, packaging, etc.), Financial System (how you deal with your financial activities and record them e.g. how to record sales, expenses, invoicing, etc.), Payment system (how you collect and track money coming into your business and going out), Customer Service system (how you handle your customers while they’re ordering, doing their goods delivery, feedback, complaints, their information for future use, etc.).

These are just a few of the systems you’ll need to set up in your bakery in order for it to grow in a positive and successful way. This also formalizes your business and makes it a bit easier to run over time and as it grows.

I hope all the above information has been of help to you, please comment below on any questions or suggestions you might have on the above topics.

Make sure you share this post to your networks, it might help someone out ^_^

We offer training on various bakery business topics for anyone who is starting a small baking business, or if you already have one and want to run it more efficiently as a small business owner, we mostly offer online classes for these topics, click here for details.

We also have an 8-month Online Baking for Profit Mentorship program if you would like to enroll; click on this link for more information.