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.