Start Your Home Bakery: Week 3(Ready to Sell)
Welcome to Week 3! Can you believe you're already more than halfway through your 4 week journey?
By now, you know your cottage food laws, you've perfected your recipes, you have a business name, you've figured out your pricing, and you have a social media presence. That's amazing progress!
This week is when we shift from planning to preparing. We're stocking up on everything you need, creating systems to keep you organized, and doing a practice run so you're totally ready when those first orders come in next week.
Let's get you set up to succeed!
Day 15-17: Stock Up on Supplies
Time to shop! This is one of the more exciting parts because you're actually buying the stuff that's going to turn into your business. Make sure you are watching sales, and stocking up when you can but don't get too far ahead of yourself.
Ingredients shopping:
Make a master ingredient list for your menu
- List every single ingredient you need for all your menu items
- Note which ingredients overlap (flour, sugar, butter, etc.)
- Calculate quantities based on making at least 3-4 batches of each item
Where to shop:
- Costco or Sam's Club for bulk basics (flour, sugar, butter, eggs)
- Restaurant supply stores for specialty baking ingredients
- Regular grocery stores for smaller quantities or specialty items
- Amazon for things like vanilla extract, sprinkles, or specialty add-ins
- Keep an eye out on other small businesses that offer these things and then you can ditch the regular stores and Amazon.
How much to buy:
- Start with enough ingredients for about a week's worth of orders
- You don't need to stock up for months—ingredients go stale!
- Buy flour and sugar in larger quantities (they last longer and I immediately put my flour in the freezer until I need to refill my storage containers)
- Buy butter, eggs, and dairy closer to when you'll use them
Pro tip: Create a spreadsheet or notebook to track what you buy and what you use. This helps you reorder at the right time and not run out mid-batch! You can track which stores you buy from and what prices are so you can tell when something is on sale or if the price has gone up and you need to adjust your pricing accordly.
Packaging supplies:
This is where your products go from “homemade” to “professional.”
What you'll need:
For cookies:
- Clear cellophane bags or bakery boxes
- Labels with your required cottage food info
- Ribbon, twist ties, or stickers to close bags
- Tissue paper (optional but makes it look fancy)
For cupcakes:
- Cupcake boxes (usually hold 4, 6, or 12)
- Cupcake inserts to keep them from sliding around
- Labels
For cakes:
- Cake boxes (get the right sizes for your menu)
- Cake boards or drums
- Labels
- Maybe a cake carrier if you're delivering
For brownies/bars:
- Clear containers with lids
- Or boxes lined with parchment paper
- Labels
Where to buy packaging:
- Amazon (lots of options, delivered to your door)
- Restaurant supply stores (good prices for bulk)
- Local cake supply stores
- Dollar stores (for some basics like clear bags)
Budget-friendly tip: Start simple! You can always upgrade your packaging later. Plain white boxes with a pretty label and ribbon can look really professional.
Business essentials:
Business cards
- Include in every order
- Hand out when people ask about your business
- Vistaprint, Canva, or local print shops
- Keep them simple: business name, what you sell, contact info, social media handle
Labels
- Get them printed with all your required cottage food info
- Avery labels you can print at home work great to start
- Include: business name, ingredient list, allergen warnings, “made in a home kitchen” disclaimer, your contact info
Other supplies to grab:
- Extra mixing bowls if you don't have enough
- Parchment paper (buy in bulk!)
- Cooling racks
- Airtight storage containers for ingredients
- A good kitchen scale if you don't have one
Quick tip:
Don't blow your whole budget on fancy packaging right away. Start simple and professional, then upgrade as you make money. Your customers care more about taste than whether you have the fanciest boxes!
Day 18-20: Create Your Systems
Okay, I know “systems” sounds boring and corporate, but trust me—having these in place will save your sanity when orders start rolling in.
Set up order tracking:
You need a simple way to keep track of who ordered what, when they need it, and whether they've paid.
Options:
- Simple notebook (old school but it works!)
- Google Sheets or Excel spreadsheet
- Note-taking apps on your phone
- Dedicated order management apps (but keep it simple to start)
What to track for each order:
- Customer name and contact info
- Order date
- What they ordered (be specific!)
- Quantity
- Pick-up or delivery date/time
- Special requests or notes
- Total price
- Payment method (Venmo, cash, etc.)
- Payment status (paid or not paid)
- Order status (received, baking, ready, delivered)
Create a template so you're not reinventing the wheel every time someone orders. You can do this in Canva.
Production schedule template:
You need a way to plan when you'll actually bake everything.
Weekly view:
- List all orders due that week
- Block out time for shopping, baking, packaging, delivery
- Don't forget to schedule cleaning time!
Daily task list:
- Break each order into steps (prep, bake, cool, package)
- Note oven times and temperatures
- Schedule hardest tasks for when you have the most energy
Batch similar tasks:
- If you have multiple cookie orders, bake them all at once
- Package everything for one day at the same time
- This is way more efficient than jumping between tasks
Ingredient inventory system:
Keep a running list of:
- What ingredients you have
- How much of each
- What needs to be reordered
- When you last bought it
Update this after every shopping trip and every baking session. Running out of brown sugar mid-batch is not fun!
Message templates:
Save yourself time by creating templates for common messages.
Order confirmation:
“Hi [name]! I've got your order for [items] scheduled for pick-up on [date] at [time]. Your total is $[amount]. I accept Venmo, Zelle, or cash. Looking forward to baking for you!”
Pick-up reminder:
“Hi [name]! Just a friendly reminder that your order is ready for pick-up today at [time] at [address]. See you soon!”
Thank you message:
“Thank you so much for your order! I hope you enjoyed everything. I'd love to bake for you again soon!”
You can personalize these, but having the skeleton ready saves so much time.
Quick tip:
Start with simple systems and add complexity only if you need it. A notebook and some calendar reminders might be all you need at first!
Day 21: Practice Run
This is the most important thing you'll do all week. A practice run or a soft launch lets you work out all the kinks before you have a real paying customer depending on you.
How to do your practice run:
Step 1: Create a fake order
- Pick something from your menu (maybe two dozen cookies or a cake)
- Pretend someone ordered it for pick-up two days from now
- Write it down in your order tracking system just like it's real
Step 2: Go through the entire process
Shopping:
- Check your ingredient inventory
- Make a shopping list
- Go buy what you need (or use what you have)
- Time how long this takes
Prep work:
- Gather all ingredients and equipment
- Measure everything out
- Time this too
Baking:
- Follow your written recipe exactly
- Note the actual baking time and temperature
- Does everything turn out as expected?
- How many batches can you fit in your oven at once?
Cooling and packaging:
- Let everything cool completely
- Package it up with labels and everything
- Time this step
Calculate total time:
- Add up every step from shopping to finished product
- Did it take longer than you thought?
- Was your pricing accurate for the time involved?
What to look for during your practice run:
Things that went well:
- What worked smoothly?
- What was easier than expected?
- What systems helped?
Things that didn't go well:
- What took way longer than expected?
- What did you forget?
- What would you do differently?
- Did you run out of anything?
- Were your recipes accurate?
Problems to fix now:
- Missing equipment?
- Need more mixing bowls?
- Packaging doesn't work as well as you thought?
- Oven temperature off?
- Need better lighting for packaging area?
Quick tip:
Take notes throughout your practice run! Don't wait until the end or you'll forget the little issues. Keep a notebook handy and jot things down as you notice them.
After your practice run:
Update your systems based on what you learned:
- Adjust your time estimates
- Fix your recipe instructions if needed
- Add missing items to your shopping list
- Update your pricing if you way underestimated time
- Reorganize your kitchen if the workflow was clunky
Give away or eat your practice items:
- Share with friends, neighbors, or coworkers
- Ask for honest feedback
- Take photos for your social media!
Week 3 Wrap-Up: You're So Close!
Look at you! Week 3 is done and you're basically ready to start selling!
Let's recap what you've accomplished:
- ✅ You've stocked up on all necessary ingredients and supplies
- ✅ You have professional packaging and labels ready
- ✅ You've created systems to track orders and manage production
- ✅ You did a complete practice run and worked out the kinks
- ✅ You know exactly how long everything takes
- ✅ Your kitchen is organized and ready
What's coming in Week 4?
This is it—the final week! Next week you're going to:
- Announce that you're officially open for business
- Take your first real orders
- Bake and deliver them
- Make your first sales!
Are you ready? Because you totally are!
Your homework before Week 4:
- Fix anything that came up during your practice run
- Restock anything you used during your practice baking
- Prepare your “grand opening” social media posts
- Get a good night's sleep—next week is the big week!
Questions?
How did your practice run go? What surprised you? What took longer than expected? Drop a comment below! Head over to SKOOL and let the home bakery community cheer you on.
Ready for Week 4? Click here for the final week—making your first sale!
Need to catch up? Check out Week 1 (getting legal) and Week 2 (business basics)!
This is part of my Start Your Home Bakery series. One more week to go! Use #CottageLaw3StartHere to share your journey!
