Thinking about opening a bakery? Read this BEFORE you sign anything!

Friend…we need to have a REAL conversation today because some of y’all are out here MANIFESTING a brick-and-mortar bakery like it’s gonna solve all your business problems.

And I get it. I’ve BEEN there. Wanting to get out of your house doesn’t make you wrong - it makes you HUMAN. But wanting it and being READY for it are two completely different things.

When I started my bakery in 2009, I started from home with NOTHING. I had no experience in the baking or food industry, I had just filed for bankruptcy, and was wearing the stay-at-home-mom hat.

So, trust me, I know exactly what it feels like to be bumping elbows with kids, managing a household, while busting out the seams in your home trying to fulfill orders.

But before you go signing a lease out of desperation or “because it’s always been the dream”…

I need you to hear this next part with love:

A storefront does NOT automatically level up your business. In fact… it can break it.

Let’s get into the truth no one’s telling you.

The Storefront Fantasy (AKA: The Lie You’ve Been Sold)

You see all these beautiful bakeries on social media. You see the followers they have, the sold-out holiday seasons, the lines out the door, the collaborations with huge celebrities and brands, and think if you ONLY had a storefront, you could have all that and MORE.

Well, friend, I’m here to tell you owning a brick-and-mortar isn’t ALL rainbows and sunshine. In fact, it’s an entirely different ball game when we’re talking about operating a storefront vs. working out of your home.

Opening a storefront isn’t just “more space,” and “more customers,” and “more followers.” It’s more responsibility, more risk, and more expenses than most bakers realize.

With a storefront, in addition to the expenses of ingredient costs and overhead, you also have labor, workers' comp, insurance, equipment costs, maintenance costs, the list goes on and on, and frankly, it never ends.

Not to mention, there’s a completely different set of stakes on the line. Some of you have investors breathing down your neck, payroll you’re not sure how you’re gonna meet, and figuring out how to increase foot traffic.

You’re comparing your HOME bakery to someone else’s FIFTEEN-year operation - and wondering why you’re not there yet. That comparison alone is robbing you of the clarity you need BEFORE entering into a storefront.

And before you say, ‘But Janelle, I’ve outgrown my space!’ - let me challenge you:

You haven’t outgrown your house.

You’ve outgrown your systems, pricing, boundaries, and capacity.

Fixing THOSE will give you more space than any storefront ever could.

More Space Does NOT Equal More Profit

You may have a booked-out calendar for WEEKS, but if you don’t know how much PROFIT your business is actually bringing in from home, then you don’t truly KNOW if you’re ready for a storefront.

Revenue and Profit are completely DIFFERENT.

You could be seeing an increase in your revenue month after month, but if your profit isn’t increasing, then that’s a huge red flag.

Revenue is the money your business generates. Profit is what gets REINVESTED BACK into your business.

If your home bakery is making $6,000 in revenue but only $1,800 in profit…

How do you expect to suddenly cover $3–6K rent, payroll, utilities, insurance, maintenance, AND your own paycheck?

The math ain’t mathing, friend.

So if you can’t answer how much you're PROFITING from home, how much each product is actually bringing in, and if you don’t know your expenses down to the penny…that tells me that you’re not ready for a brick-and-mortar.

Owning a storefront doesn’t FIX your problems; if anything, it MAGNIFIES the glaring problems that you already have.

So HOW do you know if you’re ready for a STOREFRONT?

You’re READY for a brick-and-mortar when you are already accustomed to paying for PAYROLL. Your business is already absorbing a labor expense.

You can’t go from making products for free and co-mingling your regular home finances and then jump into mass production, hiring a staff, and paying 3-6,000 dollars in rent.

I can promise you, you will NOT be able to swim, my friend.

And that’s when the horror stories you’ve heard about bakery owners closing their businesses 1-3 years in start to make sense.

You can’t go from barely crawling at home to stomping with the BIG DOGS.

So STOP trying to RUSH the process of getting out of your house. And instead, I wanna encourage you to focus on GROWING out your home. Start by embracing the business lessons that you need to learn to outgrow your home so that you can properly step into the next level of entrepreneurship.

Final Thoughts: The Storefront Isn’t the Dream… the Stability Is

I know you might want a storefront so badly, and friend, I want that for you, too if that’s your dream.

But MOST IMPORTANTLY, I want you to be equipped and prepared for when that next season happens for you.

Because I promise you, if you try to skip all the necessary foundational steps REQUIRED of building your business, you’re gonna drown.

And I don’t want that for you.

So embrace the BUILDING phase. Don’t let your “vision” and emotions distract you from the current season you’re in. And PLEASE, stop romanticizing the idea that a brick-and-mortar bakery will UP-LEVEL your business.

Think you’re READY for that next step in your business journey? Take my FREE QUIZ to find out before you jump!

With tons of love,