Received an order for 26 lbs of candy today

gayle-mo

gayle-mo

Well-known member
4 - 1 lb boxes of caramel, 10 1 lb boxes of Rocky Road Buttercream Fudge and 9 1 lb boxes of Walnut Buttercream Fudge.

Don't want to get in trouble with the IRS so guess I'll need to start keeping records and paying taxes.

Anyone know when you cross over the line from hobby to business? Guess it's time to call my tax lady.

Anyone have any tips for me? TIA! smileys/smile.gif

 
Wow! Can't help you on the tax stuff, but Congratulations!!! I hope you'll have someone helping you

out - that's a lot of candy to make!
P.S. Your fudge is sooooo good!

 
That's great, Gayle! I don't think there is a dollar amount where it becomes a business,

Most businesses lose money at first and therefore don't own taxes. Just be sure to keep track of every little itty bitty expense to deduct from your profits. And by all means call your tax lady.

I don't know what your sales tax is in MO, but at least in CA food is exempt. Still, with a resale number, you may get better prices on ingredients. Something to think of eventually.

I doubt if you'll have enough of a profit right away to worry about income tax, but keep in mind the self-emplyment tax, (including Social Security) which is about 15%, and set it aside as you go so you're not pulling your hair out on April 15.

 
Awww...thanks, Meryl! Glad you are enjoying it! I've really enjoyed

reading your cake book, too. Hope to be able to try one of the recipes soon. My middle dd's bd is Dec 27 so maybe then.

Thanks again for it!

It's really not that big an order that I'll need help. It's a fraction of what I made for that bazarr last weekend. I can make the fudge in 1 day, cool overnight then cut and package the next.

I'll do the caramel one morning and cut and wrap that afternoon and evening and be done.

 
Thanks for the tips, Joe....

I have all my receipts and I spent a lot on packaging, etc., too. Good thing I bought extra boxes when I ordered for the sale last weekend.

Yes, I'll be calling my tax lady on Mon to see what she advises.

This order is going to a really nice hotel in Branson to be given as employee Christmas gifts. I'm soo glad I ordered the sparkly elastic bands for the boxes.

How's your business going, Joe? With the economy down I'm sure it's taking a hit like most everything else.

I saw gas here today for $1.57! YAY

 
Thx Sue....check the buttercream fudge recipe in T&T

The caramel recipe is there, also. Go for it! smileys/smile.gif

 
I will be making them both tomorrow!!! Thanks Gayle! I just bought a chocolate

tempering machine off of ebay - can't wait till it comes so I can "play"!
I made some Gingerbread truffles last week - they were really good. You mix them up, (chocolate and gingerbread spices), let them set up, dip in white chocolate and then roll them in toasted rice krispies that have been sprinkled with the gingerbread spices. They were good!

 
Let me know how you like the machine, CactusSue, I've thought about getting one....

to dip the caramel! smileys/smile.gif

Let me know how it goes tomorrow. Just don't over cook the caramel and on the fudge, make sure you get the butter mixed in well. You'll do great!

You might as well make a batch and a half on the caramel. Everyone will eat it fast. At my family always does.

The truffles sound good. Did you post the recipe?

 
Congrats, Gayle - such wonderful news! As for your other question

years ago I looked into selling baked goods from my home kitchen and what I remember was (and please, since my memory is foggy at best and it's been many years, don't rely on what I'm saying as necessarily correct):
1) as long as I didn't advertise I could use my home kitchen (so basically it was through word of mouth, is what I understood)
2) once I started to market my goods the thing I remember most is that I needed to use a separate kitchen from my 'family' kitchen and it needed it's own entrance.

Eight years ago we built our current home it includes a finished lower level walk-out (we live on a lake) and we put an extra 'full-funtioning' kitchen in it. Mainly we did this since when we entertain large crowds (like both families over for Passover) we set up on the lower level where I can accomodate up to 30 or so and the kitchen is put to good use. But also because in the back of my mind I hoped to someday 'market' some home made cakes/concoctions.

Best of luck to you, Gayle.

Deb

 
Gayle, Great Job! Congratulations! Wonderful news! Do you use anything special

to package them up? I was thinking of making candy for our neighbors. Do you purchase candy boxes?

So glad that all your hard work is paying off!

Best,
Barb

 
My mom told me something similar about using your own kitchen.

Also, depending on your state regulations, you might be required to have a safety and health inspection. So you might want to look into that. Good luck with the candy...fudge is my absolute favorite candy in the whole world.

 
That's awesome, Deb!

I do have 2 health dept kitchens at my disposal and we own a farm that I can go set my candy stuff up in, if it takes off in a big way. I'm not really anticipating that, but if it were to happen, it's an option. (until we sell it, at least)

I'm really not advertising. It's been word of mouth, though I did have some business cards to give people who ask for my phone number.

Congrats on your great home! We may be building in the next couple of years, also..depending on what the economy does, so your idea really hits home with me. Thanks!

Blessings from Missouri! smileys/smile.gif

 
Congrats Gayle!

What Joe said is good advise. If you have a resale number, all of your ingredients and packaging materials will be exempt from sales tax. That can be a huge help in keeping your costs down. Also you will be able to buy in larger quantities from a wholesale restaurant supply store. I never looked into candy packaging, but they might carry the boxes you use. And as Joe said, keep all of your receipts no matter how small they seem. I used to make two purchases when I was shopping, one completely business and one completely personal. It made it easy to keep track of costs. I would also advise keeping track of your expenses and profit as you incur them. Just make a habit of entering all the info into a spreadsheet so you can see a breakdown of your expenses. It really helps to be able to look at what you are paying for packaging, butter, sugar, etc. I saved an incredible amount of money by switching from using Kerr canning jars a brand called American Harvest (I think), it was like $2 or $3 difference which really adds up quickly.
Another thing to keep track of is how much time you are actually putting in to make everything. It's nice to be able to see a dollar/per hour amount. That way you will be able to see if making a certain product is worth your time and energy.
You will do great Gayle, I am so happy for you!

 
Barb, yes, I bought the 1/2 and 1 lb fudge boxes....

I bought them off eBay because I didn't want to buy 1000 of them from a wholesaler. I have really struggled with what to wrap the fudge in, though. Fudge shops seem to wrap it in the waxed deli type papers when they cut and sell it but it won't stay fresh long that way.

What I did was buy some commercial grade plastic wrap, which is heavier than your normal type. I have been wrapping the slab in that, then placing it in the boxes. Looks very nice. I bought white boxes and also some with holly leaves on them. Then I bought red and green sparkly elastic bands to top them off with. They look nice. I also did some in tins for my daughter's work bazarr. The boxes sold better. (I charged a bit more for the tins because they cost me more to buy)

For the peanut brittle, etc., I bought Wilton clear bags and used that. For holidays I will probably use a curly ribbon over the silver twist tie.

Sometimes for my neighbors and friends I buy little holiday pkgs (boxes, bags, containers) at WalMart, Deals or Dollar Tree. You can get some nice looking things at minimal cost at all three.


Your neighbors won't care how it's packaged, though! They'll just be happy to receive it and know you thought about them.

 
All good advise, Dawn! Thanks!

I already knew which things would be more profit making as well as time. Though the fudge costs more to make, I can crank out batch after batch of it quickly. Saves me so much time! Toffee and Caramel are the two that take a lot of time. ugh I think if I sell any more toffee I'll only do chocolate/nuts on one side as it took twice the amt of time and ingredients and I don't really think people care one way or another. It looks nicer, though.

Which spreadsheet do you use? I don't have Microsoft Office on my pc. I guess I need check some software out. Right now I'm keeping all my info in a notebook.

I can buy wholesale by my cousin who has the restaurant. My son-in-law also has wholesale capabilities. Of course I would do my own if it were to take off.

Yesterday I bought 10 more lbs of butter at our local market as they had it on sale for $1.79 a lb then later I was in WalMart to pick some photos up and found it was $1.50 a lb. Lot a huge difference but .60 on 2 lbs is quite a savings when you are using a lot.

Thanks for all your tips! I really value advice from all you who have done similar things.

 
Thanks, Pat...

You should see my kitchen!!! I have piles and piles of stuff I have to find storage for! Think I'm going to set up some shelves in another room just to keep my supplies in.

I have to admit that it does smell really good when I get started making candy! smileys/smile.gif

I'm glad to be able to just do these small custom orders to get started. If it grows large, that would be great! If it doesn't, then I'm happy with however it plays out. It makes me happy to see people's faces and hear their comments when they taste my candy.

(I enjoy it by way of them, and save myself the calories!!! smileys/smile.gif

 
Thanks for asking Gayle, but business is really really bad. It's a terrible time to be in retail.

You'll see lots of stores closing in January. We would be one of them if we weren't stuck with an iron-clad lease until October.

Catering has been slow too but at least I don't have any overhead.

Whatever you do with your new business, don't rent a store!

 
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