Cottage Industry

Cottage industry is a big part of what many homesteaders do.  They sell things they make or raise or bake/cook or grow from their own homes, at a farmer's market stand or even online.  There are so many options for work from home job ideas now.  

I have become more of a work from home kinda girl in recent years.  I bake and sell items from my kitchen as well as recently starting to sell Pampered Chef.  I have spent the last several days finishing up a cooking show/party event and most all the money I make goes to pay for lessons these days.  LOL  We also get the occasional extra item that might surprise us on our budget during the month, too, but mostly music lessons is the target for now.  

I enjoy what I do and I really do have a lot of time with my family.  I am able to keep chickens and garden and cook meals and keep house as well as help my family financially.  It is also a great alternative for me since the Lupus issues have worsened in the last few years.  I can take a day off to recuperate if I need to and I don't miss out on work like I would if I were going to an office or classroom each day.  

I am researching the idea of broadening my income a bit with selling some crocheted or sewn items on Etsy or maybe locally.

I will let you know if I put a shop up.

The Daily...

This week I cleared all the pumpkin and squash vines out of the garden and I will be working to remove weeds and any pests that might be trying to winter over (squash bugs).  We are now letting the chickens out into the yard for part of the day so that they can help us control the bug population and they can stretch their legs and get more sun.  Happy chickens lay more eggs so we are hoping the daily jaunts will be beneficial.  I am also not averse to the multitude of "fertilizer" these little girls are providing.  

I have already had several neighbors tell me that if I get to the point of having extra eggs they would be glad to buy from us.  We have such sweet neighbors!  We are praying for a new family for the house next door that is for sale and would love a chicken friendly family.  Friends would be even better.  At this point we cannot afford to sell any eggs because we are just feeding the family but there might come a day... We shall see.

Baking Pies Once a Week

I have started baking pies again to sell.  I have set aside Thursdays for baking days and as the weather turns cooler I will be adding quick breads, yeast breads and rolls and other things like muffins, granola, scones, etc...  I bake them in my home and sell them locally.  

Right now I am baking seasonal fruit pies... peach, berry, apple, etc. 

This is a gluten free apple and I make traditional apple, too... with crumble or lattice top.

This one is a Paleo Peach.... absolutely no sugar or high carb ingredients outside of the fruit itself.  Made with almond flour, agave and fruit.  This picture is so you can see the fruit under the topping and below is the finished pie with full topping.

This is a traditional peach pie with lattice top... I can also do a crumble topping on this one, too.

This is a mixed fruit one with peach and blueberry.

Some days there's pie and these days that day is Thursday...  

Please place your order by Wednesday to get on the list for the Friday delivery or pick-up.

Thank you for supporting our little local home bakery and our family!

September Goals...

Buckling down this month to do the official kick-off to build the business.  Tomorrow is Labor Day and this week is the first full week of September.  My first e-mail goes out Tuesday with a list of items for the Fall.  I am doing baking to get things started.  I am still saving for a personal chef course and then I will work on that.  I am setting three to five big goals to do each week

For the week of September 5-10

*   Send out Fall Baking Price List and begin taking orders for Holiday items.  As I do the baking I will take photos for the portfolio to post on the blog and in the cookbook I am building with business recipes... see below for this goal.

*   Marketing Goal... put business magnets on vehicle and carry business cards everywhere I go.  Pass out at least 5 cards each week and keep building e-mail list and send weekly updates and reminders.

*   Continue reading Personal Chef and Catering Books by Denise Vivaldo and add Jay Conrad Levinson's Guerrilla Marketing Excellence book.  I will also be purchasing Dave Ramsey's new book, EntreLeadership by the end of the month.  I will do a book review on my favorites as I go.

*   Continue to revise and complete business plan (for the month of September)

*   Spend time building recipe collection.  I have purchased a notebook, stickers, recipe cards and tabs and will be typing in recipes to print and put in notebook to organize the menus and recipes I use.  Print all menus and price lists to put in notebook.  Be on the lookout for new things and spend time testing recipes as I go.  Purchase new printer cartridge soon...

IN THE TEST KITCHEN.... APPLE RECIPES AND PUMPKIN ALE RECIPES....

Goal Setting for the end of August

Book to read:

Continuing to read...

Denise Vivaldo's Home-Based Personal Chef Business

and also reading...

3 Organizing Goals to accomplish for the week

*  Set a daily schedule for me to follow... homeschool, housework, business tasks, etc...

*   More file cabinet maintenance as I go through crates and boxes

*   List making for event for Thursday - shopping and equipment list... shop and do some prep on Wednesday and finish and deliver Thursday - did I mention I have a job on Thursday, btw?  WOOHOO

Paperwork/Research tasks

*  Build contracts and pricing lists

*   cost recipes and input at least 5 new ones a day... 

build notebook once input is completed for hard copies

*   Business plan continued...

*   More pricing for shipping and send sample to see how it ships

*  Test 3 new recipes this week for the fall - this will make family happy!  LOL  

Contacts to make

*   Continue to build e-mail list

*   Purchase Personal Chef Course by August 31st

*   Adding electronic business card to all outgoing e-mail

*  Contact doctors offices and other office locations to see about leaving business cards in the lobby

*   Contact Chamber of Commerce for information and contacts on Women and Business locally

As I do my research...

I am learning more about local and state requirements.  This particular law - the Texas Cottage Food Law - has some exciting news for people like me.  It is expensive to start a business and this particular law will save me quite a bit of facility rental and other fees.  I know that it is important to have very sanitary conditions but a law like this would allow me to use a church kitchen that may not necessarily be completely up to specs.  It would allow me to bake in a very clean environment that may not pass the equipment requirements completely and give me time to purchase items as I make money and can afford them.

There are lots of people that have issues with this law and I can see why.  There are many home bakers that are not sanitary.  They have not been to culinary school or through a SafeServ course.  It will certainly have to be regulated to some degree but I am grateful it helps me at this time in my new venture.  I am interested in following the progress of this as they make adjustments and changes to refine it but for now... I will use it to my financial advantage.  I am certainly grateful for such a time as this!  :)  It is in effect as of September 1, 2011... perfect timing don't you think?

Week of August 15th... Goal Setting

I updated my list post from this past week and will rewrite a list of goals each week here for my business progress.

I think I am going to break it down for the rest of August like this...

Book to read:

Denise Vivaldo's Home-Based Personal Chef Business

3 Organizing Goals to accomplish for the week

*   Build a business notebook this week with customer information section, menu section and recipe section.  Input all into computer and then print hard copy for new notebook.  Later I will be adding forms for personal chef and such but for now I need a skeleton format to get started.

*   Continue to go through, at least, one box per day until clutter is culled and gone

*   Set up one file drawer for business only... the other three are children and family, educational notes and papers and scouting stuff.

Paperwork/Research tasks

*   continue to write business plan.  Spend at least one focused hour per day building this

*   Contact different companies about shipping cost for shipping foods and perishable items

*   Sign up for CIA newsletter.. build a file in bookmarks with food sites that are sources of industry information and trends.

Contacts to make

*   Continue to build e-mail list

*   Give out at least 5 business cards this week

*   Be in touch with Michelle this week on information gathered and menu items available right away. 

Goal Setting to kick off the week...

After I registered a business last week I started some list making and finally dug out some books I have been intending to read for quite some time.  Timing is everything I think.  LOL  The time is right now and these books are speaking directly to where I am.

The book I have chosen for this week is... 

I am already half way through this one in about two days.  I am a slow reader but I have been disciplining myself to sit and read more.  I will be writing goals each week to keep me on task and for the first few months I will be including a business book of some kind in the rotation.

Goals for this week are...

1.   Read the above book - completed

2.   Complete the process of writing a business plan - in progress... may take several weeks to complete

3.   Price and make a decision on which personal chef program I will complete for certification and register.... in progress... waiting on money to purchase course but have one chosen

4.   Make an equipment list and start pricing the items.  Decide what I will save for first for purchasing. in progress but written down

5.   Start building an e-mail list - in progress but written down

6.   Clean church kitchen thoroughly and start preparing it for use... wound up with emergency at home with plumbing and did not make it up there... next week for sure.

7.   Build holiday baking menu to start sending out for orders.  Set a deadline for placing orders.  Will send out by September 1st and pick a deadline soon.

8.   Write out menu for Eagle Court of Honor and start pricing items for purchase.  Budget for the extra expense on our personal budget and have oldest make his list of guests to prepare for.

9.   REFinish desk and set it up for business - in progress... Dan is refinishing this right now

10.   Set up filing system and add to it as I clean out all the crates and boxes around the house with papers in them... I am the crate lady it seems... it is pathetic!  LOL  I cannot resist a good crate. Cleaned out two a day and started filing system... still in progress... will take several weeks still

A little drum roll please...

I have an announcement.... I am now the sole proprietor of a new business here called Family Table.  I am in the process of putting a home office together and working on files and sorting to get my head wrapped around the organization part today and in the coming week.

I am starting with baked goods... both regular and gluten free.  I have a glitch right now, in that, I do not have a floor mixer and am limited on the amount of yeast breads I can make at one time.  I can, however, bake lots of quick breads, muffins, cupcakes, cookies and cakes without that.  I am also making granola and will be in he test kitchen coming up with new flavors and fun names for them.  I am currently offering blueberry/almond and cranberry/pecan.  I can also do a special order for requests.

I am also working on a way to ship these and sell on the internet.... at least the granolas for now.  I am in contact with a friend to build a partnership, maybe, for shipping breads to her B&B on a regular basis.

I am working on a menu of pies and holiday breads, muffins and other assorted treats.  I will be taking local orders soon... starting in September.  I need a few weeks to get all this up and running.

Eventually, with a little more reading and maybe some training, I hope to add a personal chef service and small affairs catering.

I have my artistic sister-in-love working on a logo for business cards, stationary, notepad and other forms of advertising for me.

God is good.... I am so grateful for all of the encouragement I have already received from friends and family.  I will share all the details as I go when I have things available.  I will share it all RIGHT HERE!!!  I have added a Family Table Page link at the top and will try and keep it updated and will be adding more tabs for an "about us" and some other information.

So, welcome to our family table... real food for real families every day of the week!  :)