Well, most states demand you have an "approved kitchen" before you can sell stuff you have made at home.
Why not see if there is any need in your area for a personal chef. Then you could go into other people's homes, cook meals for their freezer...and charge for your time.
Linda c

imin2crafts,

Here's a link to the New England Food Safety Consortium. I'm sure there's something similar in your area. This link will give you a general idea though of regulations you'll likely encounter. There could be, and probably are, both state & local home-kitchen laws. You'll also need a business license & insurance.

Phoning your local Cooperative Extension office is a great place to start...they'll either have all of the info you're asking about or will direct you to the correct office. In case you're unfamilar with them, the Cooperative Extension system is a nationwide, non-credit educational network. Each U.S. state and territory has a state office at its land-grant university and a network of local or regional offices. They are a wealth of information on everything from gardening, livestock, food preparation/preserving, home food businesses, to general home economics. For the most part, their services are free. They do charge for somethings like soil tests but that won't be applicable to what you're looking for. I'd expect they'll send you a large packet of info...all free...that will answer most all of the questions you've got.

Unfortunately, due to the requirements placed on a home kitchen...it takes a little money before you can start making money. Some communities have "Community Commercial Kitchens" that you can rent by the hour...ask your Cooperative Extension agent if any are located near your location.

Good Luck!
/tricia

Here is a link that might be useful: New England Food Safety Consortium

I know it's not cooking related, but a couple of years ago I went through closets and storage and sold a whole bunch of stuff on E-bay. It got quite addictive when I brought in a couple thousand dollars for stuff that was laying around, and I never missed it. Some of the stuff I sold for more than I bought it for.

I also like the personal chef idea. There are probably a lot of different things you can do. Good luck. I know what it is like to need money. Who doesn't?

Duane

It can be really expensive to start up a cooking venture from your home. And you have the board of health to deal with. Difficult to really make money that way, I think.

Alternatives--how about being a personal chef? Where you hire out to cook in other people's homes? There are websites of info on getting started with that.

Another option--if you create your own recipes, how about recipe contesting? There's huge money to be made in that. At any given time there are probably 40-50 or more open contests. Other than maybe subscribing to a good cooking contest website, there are no start-up costs, and very little day to day expense. However, DO keep careful records of ANY money you spend on contesting (internet, ingredients, equipment, travel expenses, phone, etc) because if you do happen to win, you'll need those records at the end of the year when you do your taxes (and you'll need a good accountant who can get things set up properly for you, so you can minimize your tax liablity).

I also know a woman who had a friend who was a professional woman who liked to cook dinner for her family when she got home from work--but didn't have the time to do the planning/shopping, etc. So the woman I knew would get recipes together, do the shopping, and have everything ready for the professional woman when she got home.

Thank you all for the helpful information. i will check out all suggestions. We have a county extention office but did not know that was covered in their office. I just need to figure some thing out. Again thanks for the info...Deb

My sister told me about a friend of hers that does occasional catering, and uses either the church or the school kitchen when she has to prepare the food. I don't remember now which facility it was, but somehow she worked it out with that particular institution to rent the space. That might be something to check out. Also, if you have any community colleges or even universities in your area, look into what programs they offer.

I've had the somewhat lame brained and somewhat brilliant idea of providing college students with meals, particularly the vegetarian college students. My daughter fussed the whole year she was in the dorm at the school she attended because the vegetarian offerings were very limited and not very palatable. I thought it would be neat to cater to that clientele. The obvious problem with this idea is that college students don't have money, and if they do have money to spend on food, there's plenty of restaurants around colleges that provide the same service. Still, it's a fantasy of mine to reach out to these students somehow with a better alternative than fast food or restaurant food or lousy dorm food.

If there's a way to make something like that work, (ha ha) it's an idea for you.

Sally

I had a friend that cooked for our office. She would fax us the menu of what was available that week, we would put in orders, then she would deliver it to us. She rented the kitchen of a bakery that was closed one day a week. They were happy to rent to her one day a week - extra cash for them since it was closed anyway. She would offer several entrees each week that were ready for the freezer, we would order as many or as few we needed. I think it's good to market to an office building to cut down on your running around for delivery. If you know someone to get you started in a particular place, word of mouth soon takes over. Be sure the 'place' has room for growth. Good luck on whatever you decide to do.

If you have lots of friends and aquaintances and feel they would support you while getting it off the ground, there is a loophole to the "special kitchen" requirement in my state and probably most- you'll need to check...

Dinner parties, cooking clubs, and cooking classes from your home can work. Because it's your home and not restaurant it falls out of the requirements of the county health regulations in my area. Be prepared for a boat load of work and you have to be a very good planner and shopper to keep the costs reasonable enough to make any money. You need a space large enough and nice enough to bring 12 to 30 people in.

If this is interesting to you, look for similar offereings in your town or proximity and a attend a few to get an idea how it works to see if you're up to the challenge and ready to put your own spin on it.

michaelp

Michael:
Most of the organizations in small towns, that have Halls large enough,
to hold a fair amount of people, are Fire Company's,
VFW's, American legions , etc.
They usually have Dinners of their own, for Fund Raisers.
I don't know if they would take too kindly to competition.

But it is worth a try, to ask about, what you want to do.
Imn, that is , not you.
Did you see the Monster Bread ?
Lou

Check out this website called Bizymoms. All about work at home moms. They give you ideas and info on how other moms got started.

Here is a link that might be useful: BizyMoms

Deb, many restaurants are only open part of the day or night, and might rent you kitchen time as well as a bakery or church. You have to check carefully into the laws in your area. Here in my county, your ingredients also must be stored on the premises, and not at your home.

I have a friend who does the personal chef thing. She has made a specialty of catering to people with particular dietary needs, and has thousands of recipes...low salt, low fat, vegetarian, hi fiber, low fiber etc.

If you are very good with desserts, sometimes a restaurant will contract out with a single person to supply all their desserts. A restaurant I worked for did that, and the lady used our kitchen during our off hours. One bit on that, if you were to do it, make sure it's clear from the get go who "eats" the spoiled desserts...those that don't sell or those that get broken or become unusable for other reasons.

rachelellen has a good idea - go with a specialty - maybe gluten free, or organic (whatever) cookies, muffins, cupcakes.... sell them to local delis or specialty stores. What about canning - jellies and jams are popular so are salsas. I know this might sound strange but dog & cat treats sell very well, low cal - organic; some people spend more on their pets than they do on themselves. Remember packaging is almost as important as the product.

Deb, I am a Personal Chef in Eastern North Carolina, I also do occassional catering with my son on the Outer Banks. Location is key to success. In today's econonmy it has been a difficult business to start. I'd be happy to share info with you. Also check with your city/county Board of Health some areas it is easier to start cooking form home than others. Here in NC all you need is a separate area for prep and cleanup (seperate sink) and the killer for me was NO PETS, I am not willing to give up my dog Let me know if I can be of any help. Good Luck. Gina

Deb

Check out "cottage industries" for your area. My daughter is a chocolatier (working from home) and sells at the farmers markets. There are women there who sell jams/jellies, baked goods and bread is always in demand. In today's world, many working women do not have the time or inclination for these things.

Good luck

I know a man who makes great salsa. He puts it in jars, takes it to outdoor fairs, rents a sellers table and sells it for $4 a jar.

My daughter was into crafting and she used to go to craft fairs. She told me that there were people there that made up jams, jellies, spiced nuts, baking mixes, that did well. Problem would be traveling unless there were enough venues in your area. Many church halls are willing to rent their commercial kitchens. When I ran my business, we had church groups that would come around to sell prepared foods, like tamales, cakes, etc. They would take orders one day and deliver the next. That always went over well as working women appreciate a relief from cooking sometimes. I don't know what the requirements are but each locale has its own regulations. I think there is a big demand for homemade foods and specialty foods. Good luck to you.

Deb, this website Etsy will give you a good idea of what is out there for sale in the crafts and design cottage industry. It's also good for seeing what the going rate for items is like.

If you can, look for a short (prob one day) course at your local CommColl for home based businesses, and even the ebay courses a lot of places have. That will help you with paypal and such items.

I do agree about looking for a venue to rent for a kitchen. That is what my catering friend in Portland does. She has a client base of a couple of law firms, steady and dependable. She was able to go about a year or so w/o hired help but it was daunting. If this is the direction you are interested in, start thinking now of who you might be able to hire on a p/t basis...a dependable!! person which can be the downfall of a lot of small businesses. You are willing to work your bippy off but your employee might decide to Paaar-tee! and not show up.

I'm sure the right thing will come to you..best wishes in your future of abundance. Keep telling yourself...There are no shortages! Maureen

lisacdm wrote: I know this might sound strange but dog & cat treats sell very well, low cal - organic; some people spend more on their pets than they do on themselves.

That's a great idea, and worth investigating...perhaps the health regulations regarding kitchens would be less stringent than for human food? Then you wouldn't have to deal with renting kitchen space.

You've gotten some good suggestions here. I'd add to go by the county health department and ask them for the latest handbook and ask them what the guidelines are. In full disclosure, I'll admit that when I had a retail store, we never would even consider buying anything made in anyone's home. If a small business wanted to seel us any product -- be it edible or soaps, etc - we required proof that they had a business license, health inspections (if apllicatble) or separate facility for prodicing the product, and liability insurnce. Obviously, some people don't care or prefer to gamble that they won't get caught. I've learned over the years that I can't get away with yesterday's newspaper, so I tend to play strictly by the rules.

I like everyones suggestions...but like Linda said you need a board certified kitchen in 90% of states in order to sell food...In my area Long Island the outdoor markets do not let you sell unless you are liscened and have a board of health certificate...Being in the "business" I can tell you it is WORK!! Profits are ok..but getting the catering jobs is also WORK!! Unless you have a store front in a busy area I wouldnt recommed it. I am right now looking into opening a Main street storefront and the rents are high and you have to have $$$ to start up the banks arent to keen on these ventures in this area. Sorry just speaking from experience.