The rebirth of Iced Images Cakes

Having made a decision in 2007 that I wasn't going to make any more cakes, and sold a lot of my equipment,  it was a bit of a shock to my friends and family when in 2012 out of the blue,  I announced I was not only going to start making cakes again, but also set myself up as a bona fide business and make it my full time job!

Back in 2007 I was working pretty much full time, with 2 children who had many after school activities. I found that it was just impossible to make cakes for people in the time I had left. I am not very good if I don't get enough sleep so working into the small hours was not an option, especially with work the next day.

A few years later, my youngest son was going to be starting school, and having stopped work when he was born to look after him, I was beginning to be concerned as to what I was going to do when he wasn't at home anymore. The idea of not working is great, but in reality I found that most people do work once their children start school, some work evenings and some weekends, and actually the number of people around to meet up with was going to be very few. To be a "lady that lunches" required money that I wasn't going to have, and I might even have to consider "joining the gym"!!!!

I started thinking about what I could do! What was that "thing" that I could do as a job that I could fit round school hours and holidays etc. I really had no idea what to do!! Then over the course of a week in February 2012, 3 different people asked me for advice on cakes they were making, and that got me thinking! I did have a skill I could utilise at home, that I had almost completely forgotten about. People told me I was good at decorating cakes and valued my advice, so after a little while I decided to relaunch Iced Images Cakes.

Not really knowing where to start, I got some business cards printed, and handed them out to a few friends. Things had changes so much since I set out with Iced Images back in the 1990's. The Internet has really changed the way people work, and customer expectations!  The plan was really not to start the business properly until September when Toby started school, but I started the preparation, straight away as there was so much that needed to be done.

I firstly registered with the local council Environmental Health who sent me the "Better food, better business" book which I worked through over the coming months. I completed my Food Safety Level 2 course, and then set about getting Public Liability Insurance, which I initially got through the British Sugarcraft Guild.

Whilst this was going on, I handed out a card to my sons 11+ tutor, who the next day rang up and ordered a cake, and that was the start! That one cake order has lead to 4 birthday cakes, cupcakes and now a wedding cake for 2015 from that family,  so you never know where your orders will come from and where they will lead.

My plan was to get back into wedding cakes, and again it was by chance that a friends stepdaughter was getting married and had been let down by her cake maker. I was asked to make her cake for her and she told me about Kent Wedding Swap Shop (KWSS)!

So September 2012 arrived, and Toby starts school, I have a small launch party at home to celebrate the opening and ran a raffle for some cupcakes, the proceeds going to Cancer Research. That was the official beginning!!!

The Environmental Health lady came to visit in early October and inspected my kitchen, and asked me a few questions, nothing too taxing thankfully! She commented on how clean my kitchen was, and how her own kitchen was never this clean! Well, I am sure it would be if you had the Environmental Health Inspector coming round! In fact she never even took her coat off, she was there for such a short time. However being from a science background I had prepared all sorts of log books and records relating to fridge/freezer temperatures, material traceability, cleaning rotas and I made sure she looked at them and realised the effort that I had gone too before she left. She awarded me the 5* rating for Food Hygiene which I was hoping to achieve.

Now I needed some business! I started to comment on posts on KWSS, but never got any business, I couldn't understand why, which proved just how naive I was. I seriously thought I could go straight out charging £100 a tier when no one had ever heard of me or seen my work. I had to get myself out there, to get known. So I paid out a huge sum of money to have a stand at a local wedding fair which netted me 2 orders. I really slashed my prices, offering 3 tier cakes for £150. This meant no profit, just covering my costs,  but it meant I was getting pictures of recent cakes on to my website and facebook page and getting recommendations by brides. Also though making little money, this paid off and I now get loads of recommendations, but my cakes now cost a lot more so that at least I get a few pounds for my efforts.

I signed up for a few more wedding fairs and met a lot of the local suppliers. Feeding them cake during the day goes a long way, as if they like what they see/eat they will recommend you to their clients and vice versa. I have also found out that it's not necessary to pay £100's of pounds to exhibit at a fair. Just because they charge a lot to exhibit doesn't mean that the footfall is going to be high. In fact some of the smaller venues that hold their own fairs often have the more serious brides.

I have also explored other avenues of advertising, I have had a couple of magazine adverts in local publications which I have traded for a cake or two, and have a listing on many of the free wedding/cake directories on line. I also work along side another local cake decorator who I recommend to my customers if I am unable. To take their order. We also act as back ups to help each other out if one if us is taken ill.

Truly though, most custom comes through recommendations and word of mouth. It's amazing where orders come from! One day I was walking out of or local swimming pool after Toby's swimming lesson and someone I knew grabbed me and asked me to make the a cake. A guy we had in decorating watched me make the One Direction Cake, and ordered 3 cakes for his family. Sometimes months after the original wedding fair people can get in touch to book or enquire about a cake, so you never really know what is going to happen and when!!! Just don't ever leave it to the last minute to get in touch, you may be disappointed!

I pride myself on being reliable, giving great service to my customers and going that extra mile to make sure the customer gets what they want. I will deliver a cake made to the best of my ability with no dents, finger marks, flat sided etc. made cleanly and hygienically. That is why I am able to charge my prices and people are willing to pay them! Although as I work from home and there is only myself employed I have few overheads which helps me to keep my prices down too.

I am very lucky to be able to work from home everyday, and have a dedicated room to keep all my equipment in and work in! I enjoy every minute of every cake I make, even though some are more tricky than others, often drawing on the skill of a structural engineer, or a mathematician to get the desired result. Many hours of planning goes in to many of the cakes I make as well as a lot of care and attention!!! I hope to carry on being able to do this job I love for many years to come!