1. Opening and Operating a Retail Bakery
By Rick Douglas Crawford

2. Chapter 1 Early Steps and Key Decisions

3. "Be brilliant on the Basics"
Concept to Reality
What Are Your Specialties?
What Type of Bakery Is Yours?
Franchises
Failure Is An Option
Types Of Business Organizations
Your Job As A Bakery Owner
Timeline---Introduction

4. Concept To Reality Identify the concepts that interest you most.
Begin to identify the skills in yourself to see if you can and want to do it
Clearly express your goals for a baking operation
Learn what tools you need to make progress in getting it done
Evaluate the marketplace to see if there is a need.

5. What Are Your Specialties?
What will my customers relate to best?
Will I be excited to represent this to my customers?
Do I have additional insight that will help me succeed?
Is there an honest need for the product/service in the area I plan to locate?

6. What Type of Bakery Is Yours? Who are going to be your customers?
Fad or Fashion?
Fads are shops that might be the most popular trend at the time.
Fashion are shops that cater to all markets (think traditional bakeries)
Here are guidelines to help you answer the fad or fashion question:
Closing: If three or more shops are closing, that sends you a message.  Maybe the fad is slowing down, so be careful.
Expansion of product lines: Use the Rule 3; if three companies are expanding product lines, there might be a message there.  However, the message may be that there is opportunity and the companies are reacting to the marketplace. Check it out with great care.
Shops openings: Good sign of a healthy market, but in any rapidly expanding market, it will over expand and the last three shoppes to open are usually the first three shops to close.  
Local or franchise: Franchise chains do a lot of research before opening and try not to follow fads.  However, some move on to the "next big thing".  So if the "big guys" are planning for the end of one product line, you need to think about it!

7. Fad or Fashion? Cupcake Shoppes Donut Shops Specialty Retailers
Gluten Free Baking

8. Fad or Fashion? Specialty Retailers (Continuation)
Sugar Free
Cake and Wedding Cake Shops
Organic and Health baking Shops

9. Specialty Retailers (Cont..)
Full-Line Bakery
Pet Treat Bakery
Bread Shops

10. Day Parts??? What is it? Day Parts
Is a section of time during the day that you and your customers think you should be extra busy.  
Day part examples
Picking up pastries on the way to work
The time when people expect to eat: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Afternoon cake pickup- on-the-way-home type of thing
Minor day parts
Happy hour or after work
Morning break
Afternoon tea

11. Bakery and X
The X part of a bakery-plus store requires an explanation as to why the operation should be a combination store.  There is a lot of value by adding additional business lines to a bakery.  Most of those reasons are about day parts.
Example: Bakery/Deli
Carry-out bakery
Eat in cold breakfast
Coffee break and a treat
Lunch- huge
Cake pick up
Tea time breaks –Small
Catering- huge lunch orders

12. Bakery and X cont... Day part time Example: Bakery/café Bakery Myths
To-go bakery 6am to 7 pm
Dine in breakfast -full -service  6 am to 10 am
Dine in lunch 10:30 am to 3 pm
To-go cakes and pastry 7 am to 8 pm
Happy hour 3 pm to 7 pm
Dinner 5 pm to 9 pm
Dessert (European Café)/Dine in 11 am to closing
Catering- any hour- off site
Private meeting room- Free WIFI helps guarantee that it is always booked
Bakery Myths
Donuts only sell in the morning.
The last hour the store is open, sales are always bad
Customers do not purchase from empty showcases.

13. Franchises Always an area to consider
The industry considers franchises "business with training wheels."
They have a lot of the issues worked out and have a better success rate that going at it alone.
However, always check the litigation records between the franchisee and franchisor.
If they are being sued in 30 states, it will not have the resources to service you.

14. Franchise: Weighting your reasons
Pros
Cons
Proven concept
Operations training
Support
Economies of scale
Established product line
Limits on innovation
Royalties- 6% or more go to the franchisor
Bound by contract- what you wear, sell, display, and sometimes price are all in your contract in a franchise.
Your purchasing is sometimes a hidden profit center- The franchisor receives rebates on your purchases from approved suppliers and equipment purchases
What support is not there when you need it?  Make sure you understand the franchisor's specific responsibilities to you, the franchisee.

15. Failure is and Option
The failure rate in the retail baking industry based on 5 years is 95%!!  Why do most bakeries fail? (the 8 main reasons)
Lack of capital
Costly mistakes
Poor location
Poor production
Poor merchandising
Staff turnover
Lack of controls
Situations beyond your control

16. Types of Business Organizations
Sole Proprietorships
You have several options tax wise, but the gist is that you own the company 100% and company profits are your income.
Partnerships
Two or more people own the company.  (Get paperwork done very early)
Limited Liability Companies (LLC)
These give you some of the tax benefits of a partnership with the protection of a corporation.
Sub Chapter S Corporation (IRS Form 1120s)
A limited number of shareholders and the ability to avoid double  taxation of a "C" Corporation are the key benefits.
FMLA and PPACA
C Corporations
This is the full-blown corporation with all the rights and restrictions

17. Your Job as A Bakery Owner
Here are some truths about the job:
Self-employed people are by nature very busy people
Leadership is a learned skill, not a gift at birth.  Practice, practice, practice.
One of your biggest issues will be working IN your business, not ON your business
Good Communication skills are learned and must be practiced
Good training is Priceless, Bad training is worthless!