Open Source One

When starting a bakery business, pay attention to each of the following areas:

Business Plan

You will not get off the ground easily without a business plan, unless you happen to have launched bakery businesses before and have all of the cash you will need to launch. For everyone else, the business plan lets managers think through all of the steps of launching and running the bakery. Reading your business plan or at least its executive summary first is the only way most investors and lenders even will be willing to talk about putting money into your business.

Fundraising

To start a small, local business like a bakery, you can fund the company from a combination of many sources. Most businesses are launched this way, often using the founder’s savings, credit cards, home equity loans, bank loans, and, investment from family, friends, and professional angel investors through the sale of company shares or bonds. Investors often want to see that others putting in money, so the challenge may be to find the lead investor who will take the plunge and pave the way for others to follow.

The Right Team

The team of employees that you will need to launch depends on the role that you intend to play in the business once it launches. If you will be the day-to-day manager, you may need to hire a lead baker and counter help. If you will be that head baker, you may need help on marketing and administration from a business manager. An initial staff may comprise of full-time, part-time, and contracted help. When you can afford to move from part-time hires to full-time you can often find higher quality employees, but there is flexibility in working with part-timers at first when your needs are uncertain, especially for non-critical tasks that are easily trained, like counter sales.

The Right Location

The right location will be based on the customers you want to serve. If you pick the location before knowing what customers you want, you may find that the customers will instead be limited by your location. You might not be happy with those limits.

If you look to serve commuters, you should be on the route out of town or on the way to the bus or train station. If you want to build a corporate and government client base, it will help to be close to the downtown or corporate centers or to offer delivery to them. Also, pay attention to your immediate neighbors to see if they will complement your bakery. The existence of competitors right on your block is not a huge problem. Being near competitors can help to increase traffic and potentially be a benefit for both of you as long as you compare well with the prices and products of the others.