A Business School for Bakers
Do These Sound Familiar to You?
I work full-time and struggle growing my business.
I get some orders but it's inconsistent and each week is always different.
I have no idea what to put in my business plan. What's a business plan?!
I take my orders through text messages. People send pics all the time.
I'm already selling cakes. I do alright for myself. It could be better though!
There's 10-20 other bakers in my area. Too much competition!
I'm booked and busy one week. Then nothing the next week.
My costs went up again. I really need to figure out how to price my baked goods.
I have a day job but it's just not enough anymore. I could use extra money.
Oh no! I actually lost money on that order because my pricing was off.
I'm not sure what else to put on my website. I already have a ton of pictures.
I'm ready to make money with cakes!
Is this course for me?
If you sell cakes, cookies, or any other sweet or baked goods, then yes it is!
What is Sweet Success Academy™?
Sweet Success Academy™ is on online baking business school brought to you by the team at Sweet Success Magazine®. Our first course, "Starting Your Baking Business", is your complete guide to setting up and starting your cake or baking business and being boss!
The course is designed to be completed within 8-12 hours, with a business being created in 3-6 months.
You might be thinking "That seems like way too long!"
The reality is that bakers who are serious about starting a new business are also working full-time jobs and/or have family responsibilities. It is hard to carve out time every single day to build a solid business foundation that can sustain you for years.
New and established business owners will find guidance on business planning, audience analysis, pricing, marketing, and sales strategies to help grow their business.
Eight Reasons to Join Sweet Success Academy™
Business education and resources designed exclusively for baking and cake business owners, and those just thinking about starting a business.
Access to expert training and live Q&A sessions.**
Become a part of a global community of bakers and get access to industry peers.
Cost-effective baking business education without breaking the bank.
Designed exclusively for bakers and cake decorators, by a baker and cake decorator.
Trying to figure everything out yourself is no longer working!
Finally stop the random texts at 2 AM asking for a price quote.
You're ready to make money with cakes (or baking).
So, are you ready to REALLY jumpstart your cake or baking business?
"Starting Your Baking Business"
Your Step-By-Step Blueprint for Building a Baking Business
Course Curriculum
"Starting Your Baking Business" has eight in-depth modules to guide you through necessary steps to building your cake or baking business.
About the Course (orientation & overview)
Baking Business Startup Requirements
How to Create a One-Page Business Plan
How to Identify Your Ideal Client
Marketing and Promotion Strategies for Your Cake Business
Pricing Your Products in Your Bakery
Making it Legal with Contract, Policies, and Procedures
Bonus Topics on
Social Media Techniques
Sales Strategies
Opening a Storefront
PLUS
Live Q&A Sessions with your instructor and featuring guest experts in Law, Marketing, and more**
Includes Course Workbook
Stay organized and take notes as you navigate through the course. Focus on the lessons and strategies that are important to your sweet success!
Three Membership Tiers
Sweet Success Academy™ has three membership tiers so you can choose the type of training and support that works best for your personal learning style and your budget.
ALL TIERS INCLUDE:
Course workbook so you can take notes and work through the activities
Access to our private members community where you can ask questions about the course content and get additional support as you go through the modules and build your business
Access course through computer, web, or Patreon's mobile app
Level 1 - $37/month
Our most budget friendly option. This option is for you if you prefer to read and take notes without all of the bells and whistles. Includes:
Full access to Sweet Success Academy™ course "Starting Your Baking Business"
Text-based content only
Colorful graphics and imagery
Access to members-only discounts and promotions
Access to our private course community to get your business-building questions
Access to special content and course updates as it's released
Level 2 - $57/month
This option is for you if you prefer to read and take notes, in addition to having instructor-led training videos to support your learning. Includes everything in the previous tier PLUS:
Course videos with no ads
Level 3 - $75/month
This option is for you if you want the full learning experience with reading and videos plus ongoing live community engagement and support. Includes everything in the previous two tiers PLUS:
Live virtual group Q&A sessions - RSVP Required
Access to our content library of cake business tools, resources, mini-workshops, and Q&A recordings.
Pssst...Another reason to join and finally get your cake or baking business on track this year; Investing in education, courses, and training is a business expense and qualifies as a tax write off!*
Say Goodbye to...
❌😫 Spending hours trying to figure out how to set up a business on your own.
❌😫 Worrying about the baker down the street who is also selling custom cakes and cookies.
❌😫 Undercharging yourself because you heard that you just take your costs time three. (Please stop doing this!)
❌😫 Trying to find clients by leaving comments on random posts in social media groups asking for a cake by Saturday.
❌😫 Not knowing who you are selling to or how to reach them.
❌😫 Winging it. Let the experts help you. No need to reinvent the wheel when there is a clear path to sweet success.
Say Hello to...
✅🥳 To a cake or baking business that practically runs on autopilot.
✅🥳 An unlimited source of qualified client leads who are eager to work with you. (And keep coming back)
✅🥳 A solid pricing strategy that is customized specifically to YOUR business and actually gets you paid.
✅🥳 A website that works hard for you all year round.
✅🥳 Proven business systems and processes that make your business easy to manage once implemented.
✅🥳 Working smart, not hard in your baking business.
✅🥳 A baking business that supplements your current income, or even replaces it.
What Should I Expect After Joining Sweet Success Academy™?
Expect to:
🎉Start thinking strategically like a baking boss who makes decisions based on data and proven business strategies and systems.
🎉Develop business skills that will support you wherever your career may go in the future.
🎉Work on your business and build the foundational systems and operations that make it easier to manage your bakery.
🎉Have an interactive community and opportunities to speak directly with your instructor and guest experts**
🎉Have access to tools and resources that support your bakery business management needs**
🎉Build a bakery business that can earn you money consistently year over year.
Starting a baking business from scratch is hard! The knowledge and tips learned in this program makes the process simple and easy.
About Your Instructor
"I went from "winging it" to having proven systems and strategies to drive wedding and party cake sales."
Alana Thomas
Thank you for joining Sweet Success Academy™! Like many of you, I started out baking and cake decorating just for fun, only making a few cakes as a hobby. However I was completely winging it when it came to sales and building a business. There were no social media videos to watch or groups to join to ask for help.
Working in the corporate space, I saw first-hand how important foundational business skills were to business growth. I had the graduate-level education, and finally got the experience by seeing it in real-time at work. That's when I applied the same techniques to grow my cake business. I created a marketing plan, revised my website, built a sales strategy, and changed the way I took orders. I went from "winging it" to having proven systems and strategies to drive wedding and party cake sales.
Those same corporate strategies I modified to fit the unique needs of bakers and cake decorators are what you will learn in Sweet Success Academy's™ signature course, “Starting Your Baking Business."
See you in class!
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the course start and end?
The course starts as soon as you enroll and never ends! (At least not until you stop your subscription.)
It is a completely self-paced online course - you decide when you start and when you finish. We recommend that you complete the course within 8-12 weeks as the end goal is to have a fully operating business, and ongoing support as you move to the operational stages.
**Note - you must be an active Tier 3 subscriber to participate in our Live Q&A sessions with guest experts.
How long do I have access to the course?
After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course, and any resources added to the membership level you're subscribed to, for as long as you maintain an active monthly subscription on Patreon.
**Please note that Sweet Success Magazine® and Sweet Success Academy™ are two separate products and subscriptions.**
Who is this course for? I'm already selling my cakes/baked goods.
This course is for all bakers and cake decorators who are hobbyists ready to transition into a business, or those who have started the process of becoming a registered business and want to make sure all of their bases are covered.
Oftentimes, people start baking and selling their cakes and cookies without fully forming a business and this course helps with that.
There are no tricks or shortcuts here, this course is for those who are ready to take the steps needed to make their business legal and officially open for business and start making sales.
How much money will I make?
We cannot determine how much money you will make in your business and that's not the purpose of this course, and there are no income guarantees.
Sorry friend! There are no shortcuts or get-rich-quick schemes here.
This course is intended to walk you through the steps of building a solid business foundation, taught by an award-winning baker and cake business owner.
The business principles taught in this course are the same business principles from other industries, however, they are customized for cake decorators and bakers who want to own their own bakeries, whether it's a home-based bakery, cottage food business, or retail bakery.
I'm not sure I'm ready to start a business right now.
Completely understand! There will always be responsibilities, obligations, and deadlines to meet. You have to decide if creating a baking business is right for you and if today is the day when it will be one of your top priorities.
We've designed the course to be self-paced and easy to follow and you can always come back to the materials as many times as you need to, as long as you maintain your membership. If you cancel, you can always sign up again, however, it will be at the current pricing at the time of re-enrollment.
The course is designed to set up your business over the course of several weeks, so you can work at your own pace. We've also included a course workbook that you can download and take notes. This will also give you your personal guide and playbook to set up your business.
I'm setting up my business outside of the USA/in another country. Can I still sign up?
This course general contains general business education that is applicable regardless of your location. Some information is targeted towards USA-based businesses since that is where we are based, however it is not exclusive to USA-based businesses.
Regardless of where you are establishing your business, you will need to ensure you are abiding to all of the local laws, rules, and regulations of your area.
How does it work?
This online course consists of 8 modules that walk you through all of the steps of building a cake or baking business and action items needed to complete each step. There is also a companion course workbook that is available for download so you can take notes and write down ideas you want to implement as you build your business.
Log in to Sweet Success Academy(tm) on Patreon, view the course curriculum and start reading/watching the topic of your choice. Although we do suggest starting from the very beginning to ensure you have covered everything in regards to the course and building your business.
Course Structure:
Tier 1 - Text-based course with access to the community.
Tiers 2+ have a short video explanation of each topic.
Tier 3 takes it one step further and includes monthly live Q&A sessions where you can get your specific questions answered. RSVP is required.
See the tier structure for more informations.
Disclaimer: The information presented and distributed in this course is not a substitute for hiring a lawyer, accountant, business consultant, or other business professional. We cannot and do not guarantee the outcome of following the recommendations provided and any statements made regarding the potential outcomes. You accept, agree and understand that you are fully responsible for your own efforts, progress and results. We offer no representations, warranties or guarantees verbally or in writing regarding your earnings, business profit, marketing performance, audience growth or results of any kind. Information is general and for educational and informational purposes only. Due to global baking audience, additional research on your part is needed in order to build a baking business and to be in compliance with your local business rules/laws/regulations. The terms cake business and baking business are used interchangeably throughout this course. The end products have no impact on the business principles and outcomes taught throughout this program.
Results vary per person, by location, and also depend on the amount of time and effort you put into building your business. All Sales Final.
*Tax benefits/write offs are based on USA IRS Tax rules and regulations. Results not guaranteed. Must verify your individual tax situation with a tax professional.
**Live Q&A sessions and access to the resource library are only available in the Level 3 membership.