Bakers' Christmas Preps

The ber season just started and this is the most exciting season for every baker. December isn’t just the Christmas season, but also the month when most weddings (and of course anniversaries) happen here in the Philippines. These simultaneous events give bakers a big opportunity to earn more! But before our schedules become clogged up by personal happenings, let’s take this precious time to prepare for the ber season and make these last months of the year the awesomest time of our baking journey for 2018. Here are some prep tips: 1. Set your targets. Yes, begin with the end in mind. Plan ahead what you want to achieve this season. Decide how much you want/need to earn and for what. At this point also, you must set your mind that your main goal is to love your customers and your family. Huh? Yes. If you decide to love your customers, you will give them the best products that will surely delight them. And you will strive hard to attain your target income to share blessings to your loved ones.

2. Decide what product/s to sell. If you have a lot of products in mind that you can sell, I strongly suggest that you streamline the list to 10 products or less. This will condition your customers to be more decisive on choosing which product to order. Set their mind that these are the best products that you have (and make sure that they really are). This will also ease up the production process. Let’s say you only have 3 products on the list, then you only have three sets of recipes to prepare.

3. Attend workshops to learn more. If you are just a newbie, or you would like to try out offering a new product, this is the best time to master the recipe. The shortcut to doing this is by attending a workshop and learn from the pro. You may also get recipe books and videos to learn more about baking. Checkout our recipe e-books and videos now! We're on sale!

4. Have a taste test and market test. Make samples of your products and distribute to your target market (friends, workmates, neighbors). Ask them for their honest opinion about the product’s taste, presentation, and packaging. Aside from knowing what they want, this step also gives them a message that you’re perfecting the products for them. Thus, they feel valued and they give their trust in you as a seller. It’s a win-win!

5. Finalize your product list. After learning more and adjusting to your market’s preferences, it’s time to finalize your product list. Again, keep it short and sweet.

6. Brand your baking business. Now that all the details are set, it’s time to check your branding. Do you already have a name of your business? How about a logo? Are you accessible on Facebook? Your answer to these questions must be YES. If not, you’ll lose a lot. A name is highly important because when your products become famous, the customers will talk about it. They must have something to associate the product with while it spreads through word of mouth. A logo is vital too because it’s the “face” of your business. A Facebook Page is also important because hello, everybody is on Facebook and people do everything on Facebook. If you have concerns about branding, I can help you out with that. Check out my pre-designed logos here.

7. Launch your Christmas products. Now that you are all set, it’s time to launch your Christmas products. How? Post it on Facebook, send e-mails/SMS to your previous customers and friends, and give out your order slips. Don’t be too pushy on doing this because some people are not fond of receiving such messages. The secret is in the framing of your message. Here’s a sample message that you can send thru SMS/FB/e-mail: “Hi! This is Tin from The Pastry House. We would love to help you make this Christmas sweeter for your loved ones! We have just launched our Christmas products and we hope you can check them out if your family and friends would love to receive them as Christmas presents. Please check out our FB page fb.com/pastryhousegt to see the list and pics. Looking forward to baking for your loves!"

8. Make some noise. Nobody will know about your products if you don’t tell people about it. If you have a Facebook page, you may try using paid ads to make your posts appear on the newsfeeds of those who might be interested in your product. You may also ask your closest friends to give out copies of your product list to their friends. I hope that these tips would help you achieve your baking and selling goals for this year. As an early Christmas present, I created a FREE Christmas Planner that you can use for this season. Feel free to send me a message if you have some questions or if you need more advice especially on social media strategies and branding. Praying for more victories for all of us here at We Bake With Love!