Update on the 'Sweet' Side Business

I wrote awhile ago about potentially milking some profit out of an after-work pursuit that I get a lot of pleasure out of: baking cupcakes. :o) I spend a ton of money on premium ingredients for cupcakes for my friends, and why not make a little cupcake catering business out of it? Very low budget, on the side kind of thing.

I also recently read an online article on whether or not your great idea could be a real business. According to Forbes, the three questions you have to answer in order to know:

--- Do you have a compelling value proposition?
In other words, will people pay for it? On a per unit basis, yes, I think so. Because these are small purchase items, and people find it easier to part with $2 than $20 regardless of what the price/value is. The real trick will be keeping total price low for a dozen, while still making a good enough margin.

--- Is there a viable market for your new product or service?
So, is there a large enough market for it, and is there room for growth? Not sure about this one frankly. There are a lot of good, reputable, convenient cupcake shops in our area. The benefits of this would be personalized designs and free customization at no extra costs.

--- How hard are you willing to work?
This one I’m not sure about either. The other question I’m unsure of – how much I want to invest to make this work. I don’t know how hard I’m willing to work, but I know I can work a bit harder than I have been. My new to-do list: Create a menu of flavors, names & descriptions, and then create a blogsite for cupcakes so I can refer to people.

May Goals

This month I'm going to try to make my goals a little more motivating...

1) Uniting Sustainability and Savings
- I’m bringing in ceramic mug and cups to work – which will keep me drinking the office floor coffee instead of Starbucks, and water instead of grabbing diet cokes from vending.
- Reduce how much I drive each week. Walk to the Guy's instead of driving on nice days. Limit driving for weekend errands.

2) My Own Personal "Stick" for Going Overbudget on Food in April....
- Before I go back to the grocery store, I’m first going to get through every single one of these delicious dinners in my pantry:
... Lentil Soup & Organic Black Chips
... Pasta with Frozen Snap Peas
... Mediterranean Kashi Pizza
... Omlette & Turkey Sausage
... Chicken, Broc& Cheese, Near East Grains
... Chicken, Corn & Near Grains
... Turkey wrap with cheese &spicy mustard
- No more premium grocery stores. Only the value grocery stores (even though they’re way inconvenient in location) for the month of May. Maybe I’ll even head back to Super Target, since they’re definitely the cheapest.