Self-Employment Afraid to Discuss Possible Plan

[TheRainbow]

I don't know what it is, but I'm in a rut. Because of family circumstance, I am not going back to work, and as a result, I'll lose my part-time position. One of us has to stay home with her old daughter who has a weak immune system, and a lot of appointments, and of course, it's me for obvious reasons.

 

I've been thinking of ways to make some extra money, to feel like I'm contributing to the household, and feel productive outside of just being a wife, and mother. Not that those things aren't important to me, but I want something more.

 

Which brings me to my dilemma, and I'm not even sure why it's a dilemma. But I've been thinking about setting up my own at home business making and designing cakes and other baked goods. All our family and close friends come to me to make themed cakes and cupcakes. Since I can't work, I've been thinking about putting my talent to good use. It isn't as simple as just putting an ad up. I need insurance, need to register as self-employed, among other things. I want to discuss it with my husband, but I'm afraid. I'm afriad he'll think the idea is stupid, which is ridicolous because he has never given me any reason ever for me to believe that.

 

I'm not sure what I'm even looking for. Maybe I need some kind words or advice or anything.

[bathtub-row]

If you’re going to just do it for friends and those who are recommended to you, I think you’re over-complicating things quite a bit. First of all, you don’t need to register as self-employed. There’s really no such thing that I know of. You may want to register a dba but it’s not imperative that you do so. As a matter of fact, unless you’re making a certain of money, i don’t think you even need to report the income. I’m not sure what you mean about insurance. If you go commercial, there are most likely food licenses you’ll need to get but doing cakes here and there really doesn’t put any demands on you in that sense.

 

Another idea that may appeal to you even more would be to do the cakes and possibly other things under the umbrella of - for instance - a test kitchen. Get yourself a dba, and treat it as a business. If you do that, you will have a lot of tax deductions you could claim at tax time. Any travel you do could be tax deductible because it would fall into the category of research, etc. Certain food purchases, items for your kitchen like pots and pans, a portion of your home that’s used for your business, and more would be tax deductible.

 

Do some research and learn to think outside the box. You seem to think there’s this major criteria involved with being self-employed but there really isn’t - assuming you’re in the States (I don’t know about other countries). I have 2 jobs that I claim on my taxes and I don’t have a dba for either of them because my name is actually the business (it’s the nature of those businesses that don’t really need a company name tied to them). I can legally claim numerous things under those things. Self-employment is actually, to me, at the very fabric of our souls and the greatest way to express our freedom.

 

Don’t worry about what your husband will think. Discuss it with him, of course, but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t pursue this goal. You never know where it’ll take you.

Edited May 22, 2019 by bathtub-row

[nittygritty]

Research local and state laws for selling baked goods out of your home to the public before pitching the idea to your husband. There may be licenses, permits, inspections, etc. required depending on where you live.

[d0nnivain]

Being self employed is not for the faint of heart. There are more ways it can go wrong then right. It sounds like you are on the path to thinking it through & that's good.

 

Before you approach your husband you need an actual business plan. If you are in the US reach out to your local Small Business Development Center (SBDC -- it's a division of the SBA) & take their classes on entrepreneurship; they are about $15. Also talk to the counselors at your local SCORE.org another free / cheap business advice resource, made up of retired executives. Check out a group called NAWBO, National Association of Women Business . Owners. Read books about being self employed. I recommend Birthing the Elephant. Then sit down & actually write a business plan which includes proposed expenses, a marketing plan, your target market, barriers to entry & projected revenues.

 

After you do your homework, then you can talk to your husband.

[JuneL]

I think you can start by doing informally through word of mouth first, while doing your homework on how to set up a small business formally. Like a previous poster pointed out, if you’re just making a very small amount of money informally during the initial stage, things don’t have to be super formal. Plenty of people give private lessons without registering their “business” or paying tax.

[bathtub-row]

She’s talking about selling cakes to friends and acquaintances. I think creating a business plan for something like that is a little over the top.

[d0nnivain]

She’s talking about selling cakes to friends and acquaintances. I think creating a business plan for something like that is a little over the top.

 

I disagree. She asked for advice on how to tell her husband because she feared he would think it was a dumb idea. Organizing her thoughts will help her talk to him.

 

At the very least she needs to understand the numbers. It's one thing to bake & decorate a cake then sell it to friends / family but if you don't factor in the costs of ingredients; costs of supplies including the cake boxes; costs of electricity / gas etc.to bake the cake; cost of insurance because what happens if somebody claims they get sick; cost of getting the cake to the customer if she's expected to drive it there; costs of increased insurance in case somebody slips & falls on her property coming to pick it up; & she prices her cake at $20 not understanding that all that cost her $30 she's actually in a financial hole.

[BaileyB]

I’m trying to figure out how you are planning to find the time to bake when you have a fifteen month old and a five month old....

[Art_Critic]

home business making and designing cakes and other baked goods

I think this is a fantastic idea but remember that family and friends will only buy a small portion of what you think and then after that the repeat business may not be there to sustain any kind of real money to bring in the household.

 

This idea is great on many levels.. sanity is one.. my wife is a SAHM and honestly I wish she would get out of the house and do stuff, I think her emotional health is thin because of not being around people and I think she has lost her purpose at times.

 

I think if you do this go all in and make sure you use social media and also friend up all your kids friends parents too, my wife has a friend that did it for years and most of the people who bought her cakes/cookies were school mates and the like of her son.. she did out grow it when she had her second child but she had a great little business for about 5 years.

 

Time to put pencil to paper then talk to your husband

[JuneL]

You can solve the cost issue (at this stage) by asking the person to provide all the ingredients and charge a per hour or per cake rate. Perhaps it’d be more feasible to do your gigs when your husband is home taking care of your kids, so you can travel to your client’s house to make the cake on the spot. You probably need to supply some baking tools, which I assume you already own.

[JuneL]

This idea is great on many levels.. sanity is one.. my wife is a SAHM and honestly I wish she would get out of the house and do stuff, I think her emotional health is thin because of not being around people and I think she has lost her purpose at times.

Have you not lost your attraction and respect for her?

Edited May 22, 2019 by a LoveShack.org Moderator
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[Happy Lemming]

Research local and state laws for selling baked goods out of your home to the public before pitching the idea to your husband. There may be licenses, permits, inspections, etc. required depending on where you live.

 

In addition to these items, you may also want to research "General Liability Insurance" and other business insurance(s) for your sole proprietorship.

 

If someone claims one of your baked goods made them sick, you need to have the proper insurance to protect yourself.

[pepperbird]

op,

I have three kids, and they all have special needs of one form or another. Consequently, I was a stay at home parent for many years.

 

I also work at home, and my career is online. All of it.

 

 

 

I can't offer practical business advice for a start up, but I do have some that can help keep you grounded. If there is a group for small, home based business people, it can be worthwhile to join. There's often also a lot of of free ( or nearly free) workshops in many communities for those who are considering starting their own company as well as networking evenings and other events. Not for profit groups can also be great starting points. If they host fundraisers, you can ask if you can set up a table to sell cakes and baked goods...you donate a portion of the proceeds, and it gets you some exposure. You can hand out business cards with each purchase. You may even be able to partner with a local party company to provide cakes for some of their functions.

 

Whatever you do, if you're working at/from home, it's so important to make sure you still go out and connect with friends and family. It can be really easy to become isolated.

[Mr. Lucky]

In addition to these items, you may also want to research "General Liability Insurance" and other business insurance(s) for your sole proprietorship.

 

If someone claims one of your baked goods made them sick, you need to have the proper insurance to protect yourself.

 

And here-in lies the problem OP - you're dealing with food.

 

If you were knitting and selling afghans, you'd have few problems flying under the radar. But once you get into foodhandling for profit, there's a slew of agencies from local government to health departments involved. Not a simple road to follow.

 

It's actually fairly common in some immigrant communities to sell food out of your residence, I buy tamales from a local lady every year. But as has been pointed out, there can certainly be a downside if you come to municipal attention or issues occur.

 

I also think it would be awkward to convert friends for whom this has been a "favor" to paying customers. Some things to consider...

 

Mr. Lucky

[TheRainbow]

I have had friends, especially back in my old city, before returning to my hometown that made off-hand comments about how I should go into business. So a lot think I have the talent. I have looked into it somewhat, and in my city/state there are some strict guidelines that I'd need to ahead too. Food safety and cleanliness isn't a problem, because I'm naturally a neat freat, follow food safety guidelines every day in cooking. But from the business side of things, is where I think my husband would be able to help provide some insight. I'm just afraid to talk to him about it.

[d0nnivain]

Food safety and cleanliness isn't a problem, because I'm naturally a neat freat, follow food safety guidelines every day in cooking..

 

You misunderstand. Having a clean residential kitchen is a far cry from complying with commercial food safety standards. Most home kitchens cannot pass. Do look into this before you sell food. Regular inspections are mandatory. You can be fined or worse sued for non compliance.

 

My state prohibits food prepared in a private home from being consumed in a retail setting. There are tons of rules & regulations.

[Happy Lemming]

Even if the food you prepared (and sold) to an individual did not make them sick, they can still claim it did. There are a lot of unscrupulous people out there looking to make a quick buck from a slip/fall claim or bad food claim.

 

In the end, you will have to defend yourself either by obtaining an attorney or paying them off to go away. General Liability insurance protects you from these types of individuals. They have attorneys who deal with this stuff all day, every day and know how to handle it. Again either a quick payout or appropriate counsel to prove your food was safe.

[Foxhall]

Interesting idea,go for it, perhaps treat it as a hobby to begin with and see what kind of a response you get for your products, could you operate a weekly stall at a food market, could you target the alternative food sector, target the gluten free market.

 

I was involved for a while with investing in a similar venture of a friend and yes there will be some financial outlay needed if you were to think of developing a viable business, but I would not get bogged down in the financial side of it at this stage. I think you are too early for that yet, perhaps test the water with your products, what volume are you able to produce on a weekly basis, what feedback you are getting from customers

 

If you have a passion for it and a desire to make a go of it that is a good starting point.

Edited May 23, 2019 by a LoveShack.org Moderator
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[preraph]

I have a friend who did it. Like you, people were always asking her to do it, and I told her she needs to charge for it. She put up a website. I think she may have stopped doing it much once she had her baby though. Not really sure.

[preraph]

If you're in the US, you can write off part of your home as dedicated to a home office for a good tax break. But on the other hand, if you report your earnings, you will be charged extra for being "self-employed." A lot because it has to pay for Social Security and Medicare. If you did it under the table to just friends, that might be better. Just don't ever get audited, though, or you'd have to explain that. Also you might have to take credit cards. Either way, there will likely be a paper money trail the IRS would question. Maybe a lowkey cash only doing it for people you know would be best.

[JuneL]

There’s a seller handbook for selling food or edible items on Etsy. You might want to check that out. I’ve ordered home-made goodies sold on that site.

[Mr. Lucky]

My state prohibits food prepared in a private home from being consumed in a retail setting. There are tons of rules & regulations.

 

Some states are starting to see this differently, including California:

 

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Bill--493760271.html

 

I met a gent who was raising funding for a home-cooked meal version of Uber or AirBnB, complete with ratings, reservations and referrals. Perhaps disconcerting to think you'd go to a stranger's house and pay for dinner, but who'd have thought you'd ride in a private vehicle or stay at a single-family home?

 

TheRainbow, once you get over the hesitation to talk to your husband, you need to understand the laws specific to your city and state. There are also food halls and shared off-site kitchens that handle all the paperwork for you, kind of like Regus does with offices. This is an industry currently swept by change so there are both opportunities and challenges...

 

Mr. Lucky

[bathtub-row]

Being an entrepreneur takes a little boldness, and one of the main characteristics of entrepreneurs is that they don’t see problems as obstacles, they see them as challenges to resolve. If you’re going to strike out on your own, you need to shift your thinking from doubter to determined.

[TheRainbow]

So I finally brought it up with my husband. He thinks it's an ambitious idea, and would like to look into it. He is more business sense, knows where to look and what questions to ask about how to start up. He says I have talent and knows there is a lot of business for what I do. So here hopes it's worthwhile.

[d0nnivain]

Congratulations on being brave! Hope it all works out.