Are you interested in starting a bakery business from home?
Do you need a sample bakery business plan template? Do you want to learn what it takes to build a successful bakery business from home? Then i advice you read on.
Bread has long been a part of man’s diet. Nowadays, different varieties and flavors of bread are being made and sold in commercial establishments known as bakeries.
Bread is a staple food with a worldwide consumption.
A lot of people include bread in their daily diet because of its ready-made nature and ease of consumption; thereby making the business of bread baking a profitable one.
Starting a Bakery Business from Home – Sample Business Plan
It is often advisable to first seek the advice of a consultant or those already in the business; this will give you an insight into the basic mechanics, requirements needed and a few pointers on how to start a bakery business successfully. These main points are covered in this article.
But before I go into the details of starting a bakery business, I want to emphatically state that the information provided in this article does not in any way replace the need for you to conduct a bakery business feasibility study, write a bakery business plan sample and do your own due diligence.
You can always find bakery business plan template names ideas if you do a search online.
Secondly, the information shared in this article is applicable to any locality; be it USA, Canada, UK, Nigeria, Ghana, etc. Without wasting your time, below are creative ways on how to start your own bakery business.
The Requirements
You might be thinking skills, materials and a suitable venue are all you need to be to start a bakery business. You are partly right. In fact, just like any kind of business, a bakery business would have more than one requirement. These requirements are identified as:
a. Bakery License
b. Bakery Insurance
c. Bakery Equipment
d. start-up
e. Staffing.
1. License
Opening a commercial bakery requires undergoing processes which would grant you with the necessary documents like business permits and licenses. Since you will be selling bread, you would need to obtain a seller’s permit which already includes your tax identification number and the license from the city in which you will be setting up your bakery business.
Since bread is food, you would also need to have a food vending license from the state you are in and also an approval from the state’s health department to guarantee your food is free from hazardous content and that your bakery is clean and sanitary. For those planning to start this business in Nigeria, an important license you will need to obtain is NAFDAC approval.
2. Bakery Insurance
For you and your employees’ protection, you need to have your bakery business properly insured. Two things your bakery should have are product liability and standard liability insurances. Another important thing is to have fire insurance in case fire breaks out from faulty wirings, equipment, and accidents. You might also want to throw in compensation insurances for your employees.
3. Equipment
In order for your bakery business to run smoothly, it is important that you have access to appropriate and quality equipment. You should have ovens and mixers of different sizes and features. Display cases, as well as refrigerators are important for the food you are selling. Your bakery equipment should be in a perfect working condition.
4. Set-Up
This is one of the basics of setting up a bakery business. You should have the capital or the funds to either rent or purchase a building and the equipment for your bakery. This is where the need of a well-formulated business plan comes into play.
5. Staffing
Hire people who can handle tasks such as advertising, marketing, baking, and accounting. It is also essential to hire someone to be working in the front counter while you do your baking in the back. And always be prepared to hand out your bakery business card when you go to events.
As a final note, it is very important that you approach successful investors in the same business; this will give you a realistic insight on what it takes to run a successful bakery, the challenges involved and the possibilities or profitability of the business.
It’s also important to join associations related to the industry like the American Baker Association so that you can stay up-to-date with the latest trends in the bakery industry and also rub mind with other bakery business owners in your territory or country.
Writing a Business Plan for a Bakery – A Sample Template
Going by the huge demand for baked foods, a bakery business has excellent chances of success. However, the success of the business hinges largely on the skills and experience of the owner as well as how carefully the business is planned from the outset.
If you are planning to start a bakery business, you need to write a business plan. While you might want to dismiss this idea as insignificant, you must bear in mind that the business plan is the only official document that will detail the analyses of every aspect of your business.
Although writing a business plan might not guarantee the success if your bakery business, not writing it is a shortcut to failure. Here are the guidelines for writing a detailed business plan for your bakery business:
How to Write a Business Plan for a Bakery – A Sample Template
a. Describe your bakery business
This will go under the “company overview” section of your business plan. You should include details about when, where, and how you are planning to start your business. Also include vital information about you, the business owner, and your skills and experience with which you will run the business.
Should you require third party funding to finance your bakery business, this section of your business plan will convince investors or lenders that you really have what it takes to start such a business.
b. Write your market analysis
You need to conduct an extensive analysis of your business and the market in general, and document your findings. This is to find out whether there is demand for your products and whether the business has an alluring growth potential.
This section of your business will also include as much as possible information about your prospective customers, including their income level, spending habits, dietary preferences. You will also include details about the competition in this section.
c. Define your products
This part, which will go under the “Business Offering” section of your business plan, will list and describe the type of products you will sell.
Obviously, you will sell baked foods, but specify if it will be cakes, breads, pies, ethnic-baked foods, or specialty items such as gluten-free products. You may want to include custom-made orders such as after-school cupcake decoration for kids, birthday cakes, valentine cakes, wedding cakes, and so on.
d. Discuss management
Detail how your bakery will be managed. You will include your expertise and qualifications, as well as those of the employees that will work with you. If you are very good at baking but lack accounting skills, you should detail how you will handle that, for example if you will hire an accountant.
You will also need to work with an attorney, especially if you are using the business plan to seek investors or to get a line of credit.
e. Write your marketing plan
The marketing plan section of your business plan will detail what you will do to attract customers to your bakery. It will include your products, pricing, place or distribution, and promotion. You should describe the products you will sell, your bakery location, your pricing strategy, any extra services you will offer such as delivery services, and any growth plans. In addition, this section will also include details of your advertising campaigns or public relations efforts.
f. Write your funding plan
After having calculated how much startup costs you will need to get your business up and running, you need to figure out how to procure the funds. If you cannot provide all of the required funds from your own end, you will need to approach third parties such as angel investors or banks and other lending institutions.
g. Make your financial projections
This section will include details of what you expect to make within a certain period to break even or make a profit. This period could be a fiscal or calendar years. You will also need to outline all costs, such as rent, supplies, salaries, and other overhead or operational costs. Your revenue will include sales made from bakery offerings and earnings from other services, such as custom cakes.
h. Write your executive summary
Although the executive summary is the first part of your business plan to be read, it is the last part to be written because it summarizes all other parts of your business plan, which you won’t usually know until after you have written them.
Whether your business plan will help you get third party funding or not depends on how well your executive summary is written.
A good executive summary will compel develop the reader’s interest in your business and compel them to read the other sections of the plan.
A badly written executive summary, on the other hand, kills the reader’s interest as well as your chances of getting funds.
