Getting started
How to start a home bakery
Yes — you can start a home bakery for under $200. Most states let you sell certain baked goods from a home kitchen under cottage food laws — no commercial kitchen needed to start.
This guide is the order of operations, not a pep talk: what to buy, what to skip, and where most people lose money before they make any.
The order of operations
- 01
Check your state’s cottage food rules — what you can sell, where, and whether you need a permit.
- 02
Pick a hero product. One thing people reorder beats a dozen things you’re okay at.
- 03
Price from real costs: ingredients, packaging, utilities, and your time — most home bakers under-price by 30%.
- 04
Run a weekly pre-order window instead of holding inventory that can go stale.
- 05
Post what you’re making — the process sells better than the finished shot.
What you’ll need, compared
| Piece | What to look for | Entry |
|---|---|---|
| Permit | Cottage food license per your state | $20–100 |
| Packaging | Compliant, food-safe, on-brand | $30 |
| Scale | Gram-accurate for consistent batches | $20 |
| Equipment | Stand mixer, thermometer | $100 |
| Storage | Extra fridge or cooler for pre-orders | $30 |
One thing people reorder beats a dozen things you’re okay at.
Once the basics are in place, the work is the same for every business: a store that takes real orders, a brand people remember, and content that posts on schedule. That’s the part most people get stuck on — and the part you don’t have to do by hand.
Next step
Build your bakery business
Tell Clymb what you’re building and the store, brand, and social content get built and deployed — not a template, an actual business.