Starting a business - have your cake and eat it

The startups guides to setting up a part-time business are a rich source of material for teachers and students.  The latest in the series guides us through the potentially sticky challenge of starting a cake-making business…

Some great materials in the guide

Key points that are relevant to the new AS specifications include:

Understanding the market:
- Market size - £1.8 billion
- Market growth - 1-1.5% p.a. (i.e slow growth, mature market)
- Intensely competitive - low barriers to entry
- Many niche segments

+ other points

- Labour-intensive production process
- Requirement for training & high quality standards
- Pricing the product is difficult - easy to undercharge
- Cake-makers are faced with rapidly rising prices for raw materials (ingredients)

Lots of scope too for classroom puns that will endear you to your students:

Market share - getting a “slice of the action”
Challenges of the start-up - not to be “trifled at”
Promotion - all part of the “marketing mixer”
The business plan shouldn’t be “half-baked”

Revision Presentation - Marketing Mix: Introduction to Products & Brands [17 May 2012]
Revision Presentation - Training [17 May 2012]
Revision Presentation - the Startup Cash Flow Forecast [13 May 2012]
Revision Quiz - Sources of Finance for a Startup [12 May 2012]
Revision Quiz - Cash Flow Forecasting for a Startup [12 May 2012]
Same product - different prices: Greggs sausage roll costs more in Hammersmith than Hull [9 May 2012]
Enterprise, Location and Culture - Inside the new Google Campus in London [14 Apr 2012]
Legislation forces Coke and Pepsi to change their recipe [9 Mar 2012]
Start-ups - the Wooden Smartphone? [4 Mar 2012]
Lesson video : Franchising for beginners [4 Mar 2012]
The history of Apple’s product innovation - in 30 seconds [10 Feb 2012]
A light-hearted look at induction training [6 Feb 2012]
Crazy Frog-Great example of a targeted marketing mix? [28 Jan 2012]
Job Production…Unwrapped [10 Nov 2011]
Promotional Pricing at its Worst [7 Nov 2011]
Unilever hit by rising costs [6 Nov 2011]
Lesson video - a day in the life of a supermarket [20 Oct 2011]
How PepsiCo are trying to control diseconomies of scale [18 Oct 2011]
Revision Quiz - Startups and Understanding the Market [16 Oct 2011]
Revision Quiz - Market Research for a Business Startup [13 Oct 2011]
Revision Quiz - Locating the Startup Business [12 Oct 2011]
Revision Presentation - Risks and Rewards to Enterprise [7 Sep 2011]
Revision Presentation - Objectives of New Businesses [6 Sep 2011]
Strategies for success on the beleaguered high street [6 Sep 2011]
Insights from an Entrepreneur - Lara Morgan (Pacific Direct) [5 Sep 2011]
Luke Johnson on sources of finance for a startup [29 Aug 2011]
Debunking the myths of entrepreneurs and startups - a must read [28 Aug 2011]
Corporate culture meets recruitment [28 Aug 2011]
Spotify - Five Years to Break-even [28 Aug 2011]
British manufacturer exploiting a niche [21 Jun 2011]
An end to outsourcing? [18 May 2011]
Private v Public Sector - A Clash of Two Cultures? [20 Apr 2011]
Is the role of inflation over inflated? [30 Mar 2011]
Revision games - Marketing Basics (True / False) [16 Feb 2011]
Michael Porter - Shared Value and the Limitations of CSR [15 Feb 2011]
On-the-job-training - The Come Fly With Me approach [23 Jan 2011]
Training, social immobility and tuition fees - KPMG’s blueprint solution [13 Jan 2011]
Q&A - Why do most businesses sell more than one product? [29 Dec 2010]
BUSS1 Revision Quiz - Employing People [14 Dec 2010]
BUSS1 Revision Quiz - Sources of Finance for a Startup [13 Dec 2010]
Business Pricing Tactics Under Scrutiny [12 Dec 2010]
Video case study - enterprise at the sharp end [27 Nov 2010]
Dominos Pizza - Growth & Strategy (Part 2) - Innovation, Service and Smart Operations [26 Nov 2010]
Revision Crossword - Product Basics [6 Nov 2010]
Cash flow Clue-doh! The Mystery is Revealed… [2 Nov 2010]
A great example of off-the-job-training - Starbucks Coffee College [16 Oct 2010]
How to start a toy shop [12 Oct 2010]
Insights from an Entrepreneur - Will King (CEO King of Shaves) [10 Oct 2010]
The business cost of labour turnover [7 Oct 2010]
37 Ways for a Business to be More Competitive [24 Aug 2010]
Lesson Worksheet - Enterprise & Entrepreneurs [9 Aug 2010]
Essential business reading for the summer! [5 Aug 2010]
Entrepreneurs LIVE! 2010 - THE Enterprise Event for Students in 2010 [1 Jul 2010]
New BBC Resource: Start Up Stories [25 Jun 2010]
Customer Service - What Students Can Learn from John Lewis Partnership [12 Jun 2010]
Rajeeb Dey to Speak at the 2010 Business Teacher National Conference [3 Jun 2010]
British vodka beats the world! [19 May 2010]
Measuring changing shopping habits and inflation [15 Mar 2010]
HRM priorities as firms exit the recession [27 Feb 2010]
Money as a motivator in social work? [20 Feb 2010]
Strategies for the Recession - Insights from Six Restaurant Group CEOs [19 Feb 2010]
The Museum of Brands - well worth a visit [14 Feb 2010]
Revision Quiz - Marketing Mix (20 Questions) [12 Feb 2010]
The 40 Schoolboy Errors Made by Startups [6 Feb 2010]
Government support for apprenticeships [6 Feb 2010]
Flexible working thrives in the recession [1 Feb 2010]
What business students can learn from how businesses have handled the recession [1 Feb 2010]
Leadership sets the culture for a thriving retail brand [31 Jan 2010]
Product, pricing and profitability in a changing market [20 Jan 2010]
Revision Presentation - Revenues and Demand [30 Dec 2009]
Some good reasons why startup business plans are a waste of time [17 Dec 2009]
Primary v Secondary Market Research for a Startup [4 Dec 2009]
Operations in Action - Video Tour of the Amazon Depot [23 Nov 2009]
The UK: A nation of accidental managers [10 Nov 2009]
Brompton Bicycles - Guardian Profile [9 Nov 2009]
School for Santas [7 Nov 2009]
Q&A - What is globalisation? [27 Oct 2009]
Managing Cash Flow - Beware the Economic Recovery [26 Oct 2009]
Economist on Lean Production [20 Oct 2009]
Pricing strategies and tactics under investigation [15 Oct 2009]
Startups and Small Businesses in Numbers [14 Oct 2009]
Ukraine 1 England 0 - A match to remember? [12 Oct 2009]
Teaching Activity on Startups - Mini Briefs [7 Oct 2009]
The Decline of Newspapers Creates a Surge in Local Startups [4 Oct 2009]
V-Water - from start up to exit [4 Oct 2009]
Emma Jones to speak at the Business Teacher National Conference 2010 [30 Sep 2009]
Born in the Storm - 4 Start-ups One Year On [16 Sep 2009]
Memory Challenge - Start-ups [15 Sep 2009]
Is a recession the perfect time to launch a technology start-up? [14 Sep 2009]
Icing on the cake for entrepreneurs [13 Sep 2009]
Research Start-Ups! Team Challenge [4 Sep 2009]
Protecting a brand - global giants struggle to fight off the counterfeit fakers [31 Aug 2009]
AQA AS Business (BUSS1) - Recommended Websites (2009/10) [27 Aug 2009]
More trouble in the skies [27 Aug 2009]
Plastic car is a blast from the past [25 Aug 2009]
Demand and supply in action - tea prices surge [4 Aug 2009]
Business angels take flight - just when small businesses need them [12 Jul 2009]
Batch production in action - cricket bats [12 Jul 2009]
Microsoft and Google compete head-to-head [9 Jul 2009]
U2 on Tour - Investment appraisal and capacity utilisation rolled into one! [2 Jul 2009]

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