Conducting Business as a Cottage Baker

Being a Cottage Baker has so many perks, but it also can be difficult to get over the fact that it's just you doing your thing, and trying to build a business from scratch (Pun intended)!

Let's talk about some ways we can change our vocabulary, to change not only the way others see us, but how we see ourselves as business owners, and professional cake artists.

Kitchen vs. Studio You may be working out of your home kitchen, and you may have a small 8' x 8' former eat-in kitchen to work out of like I do. This is your Studio. You can call it your home studio, your bakery, or anything else you'd like. But call it something! Doesn't it sound much better when you inform clients you have a Studio/Home Studio rather than "I bake from home". You create edible masterpieces from scratch here, so it certainly deserves a name!

Baker vs. Cake Designer

Are you a baker? Absolutely. Is the sweet old lady who bakes delicious bread behind the grocery store counter a baker? Definitely. So what sets you apart from her? Maybe you are a cake artist, or a master sculptor, or a cake designer. Whatever it is, whatever you do best than that is how you should identify yourself. While some may disagree, one of the great things about being in this industry is that you don't need traditional schooling. You just need a desire to learn, a bit of artistic ability, and the willpower to not give up. Having the confidence to give yourself a title, and to be able to say it out loud will absolutely help make you sound and feel like you are qualified to help your clients with their desires.

Customer vs Client

A customer comes in, shops around, and eventually purchases something. A client is someone with whom you form a relationship with. Back and forth e-mails about design, meeting for a tasting, and getting to know them and what their style is, is absolutely relationship building. By addressing the people you work with as your clients, you are expressing that you have a relationship with them, and that they are important to you.

Business vs. Company

Not gonna lie, I totally channel my inner Brooke Davis when I started referring to my cake business as my company. According to business dictionary," A company is any entity that engages in business." You don't need to have employees, or multiple locations to refer to your business as a company. Just a little self confidence.

I vs We

This one I feel is a bit more personal. We all know that it's mostly just us in the kitchen or behind the desk, but do we really want everyone to know that? Technically your LLC is a separate entity, so maybe that justifies us using the pronoun "we" when we talk about what we created or what we offer. Or maybe it's because your husband/wife helps with the deliveries or getting groceries, so it really is "we".

For others, like the incredible Shannon Bond, they confidently take the credit for their sole role as CEO/baker/artist and proudly use the pronoun "I" when writing about what they can offer you. However you want your business to be perceived, I encourage you to do what you feel is right, just be consistent!