So I've been pondering this idea for a couple weeks now... There's this new coffee shop that just opened up near my apartment. It's a really small, quaint place. I went to check it out yesterday and I inquired the owner about who does thier baking, mentioning that I do some myself. The guy gave me a free cup of coffee and said he'd try some of my baked goods. So last night, I made some Chocolate-dipped almond biscotti and one of my chocolate chip coffee cakes and brought it to the coffee shop this morning on my way to class. He gave me another free cup of coffee this morning and told me to come back later and he'd tell me how he liked it. So on my way back from class I stopped in and it turns out that he really liked the biscotti! He told me to make another batch, and told me to cut him a deal on it and he'd sell it in the shop!
I'm totally excited. For a couple reasons... I've always wanted to bake, whether I owned my own bakery or made baked goods for a restaurant etc. And even though I wont be able to make a huge profit on this biscotti, it's something! I dont mind putting in the extra time if it's baking. I love to bake!
It costs about $6 a batch for supplies. I figured if I charged him $15 per batch I'd make $9... not bad for 2 hours of work and made from scratch. If he sold them for $1.50 each, or even $1.25 each he'd still make a profit of $15-$10 per batch. He said he didn't get around to trying the cake yet. That would probably be a bit more profitable because you can cut it into more peices. At any rate, the idea of making a little extra cash while doing something I enjoy is enough for me!
I'm just proud of myself for asking. They say you never know until you ask, and I went for it! And I got 3 free cups of coffee and a cinnamon roll in the process! Doesn't quite make up for the supplies necessary to make the first batches I gave to him, but regardless I think it was worth it to make the connection.
In other news, I used my coupons and did some grocery shopping.
Campbells healthy select soup... on sale .90 off, coupon doubled makes an additional $1 off 2
Total price: 2 for $1.50 or 0.75 a can
Total saved: $2.80
Coupon for 1 free Pria Energy Bar
Total price: $0
Total saved: $1.35
Prego Sauce $2 each. Coupon doubled makes an additional $1 off 2. And I'll be mailing in to get one of them free. After rebate...
Total price: 2 for $1.50 or 0.75 a jar
Total saved: $3.00
Cottage cheese doubles 1.12 each. Coupon doubled makes 1.00 off 2.
Total price: 2 for 1.24 or 0.62 each
Total saved: $1.00
Glade air freshening spray on sale for 0.88. Coupon buy one get one free.
Total price: 2 for 0.88 or 0.44 each
Total saved: $1.00
Pure Protein bars on sale 1.00 each. Coupon buy one get one free.
Total price: 2 for $1 or 0.50 each
Total saved: $1.50
Total saved: $10.65
Yay!!! More to add to the challenge... totals to be posted later 
I did it!!!!
January 18th, 2007 at 02:58 am
January 18th, 2007 at 03:04 am 1169089474
January 18th, 2007 at 03:20 am 1169090443
January 18th, 2007 at 04:10 am 1169093432
It's so great you approached the owner! Good for you......and doing something you love AND getting paid for it is a joy filled thing!
January 18th, 2007 at 04:13 am 1169093593
January 18th, 2007 at 05:34 am 1169098494
January 18th, 2007 at 05:35 am 1169098547
Rats, now I'm hungry...I LOVE bakeries.....
January 18th, 2007 at 05:39 am 1169098776
January 18th, 2007 at 05:59 am 1169099954
January 18th, 2007 at 11:58 am 1169121513
January 18th, 2007 at 01:36 pm 1169127419
January 18th, 2007 at 02:17 pm 1169129823
January 18th, 2007 at 03:13 pm 1169133180
January 18th, 2007 at 03:51 pm 1169135462
I guess it depends what part of the country you live in, but if you live on either the west or east coast, for example, i think he could charge more than $1.50 each.
January 18th, 2007 at 05:14 pm 1169140450
January 18th, 2007 at 08:49 pm 1169153395
Hey - price is negotiable. Start a little high in your negotiations too. THey might just say yes. If not, be flexible. Good Luck!
January 18th, 2007 at 09:33 pm 1169156007
January 19th, 2007 at 12:27 am 1169166458
You'll probably get faster at making it if you do it all the time, so you may well get it down and if you make a double or triple batch at a time, that will cut down on production time, as well. And I'm not sure that baking time really needs to be considered in her actual labor time, maybe a bit for the electric, but if it bakes for 30 minutes and her actual work time is 1.5 hours, it comes out better. Plus, you made a cake during those two hours, also, right? So the profit in that hasn't been discussed yet, pending the guy's decision.
January 19th, 2007 at 03:11 pm 1169219502
January 19th, 2007 at 03:22 pm 1169220137
The problem i found later was that, well, you can only raise your prices so much before clients/customers protest. Once a year is the most i think you could reasonably raise your rates, and only by a moderate amount, so the danger with starting at a very low rate is that it's hard to play catch-up down the road.
Perhaps there's less margin for pricing in the world of biscotti though. You might want to do a little field trip to the shops and cafes in your town, or those places most similar to the one where you're selling your biscotti and check the prices on other bakery items. Yours should be in line with theirs. I know if you to some place like Starbucks, it's not that cheap. You may be surprised.