Have You Thought Of A Business Decorating Cakes?

I confess. I watch too much TV. We do have a rule that the TV does not go on before 7 pm, and although we do watch a 30 min blip during the day occasionally to catch a recipe or an exercise show, but it’s a habit we rarely break. Of course, when I say “too much”- you’re talking to someone that didn’t watch ANY TV for many, many years.

What I love to watch is HGTV (some are not-so-good..), The History Channel, Discovery Channel, and yes, the Food Channel. Good Eats is a show I recently discovered that could be very educational as it describes the science of food, and why different foods react the way they do. Since I really do love anything to do with entrepreneurship, I really love bios of great entrepreneurs, and how others started their empires. I watched “The Age of Walmart” twice, the one on McDonalds, and many other shows documenting entrepreneurial pursuits. Yes, I’m one of those kind of TV watchers… to the dismay of my family!

I bring this up because I believe there is so much to be learned from some of these shows. If you’ve ever thought of entering the business of decorating cakes, then you must watch TLC’s “The Cake Boss”. It’s a New Jersey true family business, and while their behavior isn’t always exemplary, I believe it gives an accurate portrayal of the pros AND cons of the business of decorating cakes.

If you don’t have cable TV but do have high speed internet, then you can watch episodes online and view all the tools and perks they have on their website at http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/cake-boss/cake-boss.html. They even show the owner’s “sketch book” and how he plans his cakes.

So, what if you have young budding chefs in your family that have no idea how to decorate cakes, but would love to learn? Teaching Good Things Kathy Brodock has created a DVD that is an excellent introduction to how to decorate a cake and make it look professional. I’ve never gotten very fancy, but I’ve baked almost all our birthday cakes for the last 32 years, and I saw lots of new things I want to try!

Basic Cake Decorating, as the cover says, is “All you need to know to start making beautiful and creative cakes“. It starts with a full list of all the supplies you will need, and proceeds to show you the difference between decorating tips, how to fill the bag (I thought I knew, but she has a much easier way of doing it with less waste!), which cakes are better to use and why, which ingredients work better than others and more. I was really amazed at how much information was detailed in an easy to understand manner in only one hour. You really can be decorating your first professional looking cake after practicing these techniques.

If I had known it was as easy as Kathy teaches, I would’ve saved hundreds of dollars in the few professional cakes we have purchased over the years. It’s a small investment in time and materials that could pay off as a very profitable hobby for any of your children (or yourself). My daughter would’ve loved this when she was younger, and now as a grandma, I’m seriously considering buying the equipment to help my 3 young granddaughters learn the trade.

We got together last Christmas with my 3 granddaughters and made (sort of) 3 Wilton’s Gingerbread Houses and really struggled with the icing part. Watching this DVD really taught me enough that if we tackle a project like this again, it will be much, much easier! It really does pay to learn from other’s experience. I highly recommend this DVD to get started. (no, I’m not getting paid to do a review!)

The internet is full of creative ideas for decorating cakes, cupcakes, cookies, gingerbread houses and more. Once you have the basics in place, you could use your skills to create beautiful, edible gifts, too. However, the biggest  advantage to learning this as a family is you will be creating memories that last forever.

Do YOU decorate cakes or cookies for fun or profit? Send us your pictures and we’ll post them!

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