A bakery is one of those few businesses where manufacturing and retailing measures are performed by the same people.

You have to be an extraordinary baker and business person producing and selling distinguishing goods. Have experience in both areas before starting, including areas such as organizing and accounting.

If you decided to buy an existing bakery, cautiously evaluate the opportunity. Study the reasons for selling and assess possible profits, sales, operating cost, assets and liabilities. Discuss with an expert about the situation of the bakery equipment.

If possible, try to ask a lawyer to review any agreement. If you start a new bakery, do the same kind of alert assessments and consult with an accountant and a lawyer. Also, refer to the service business plan books. Above all, expect early mornings, a few long days and rigid physical work. Sales vary during the year you will be busiest during special days and holidays.

Bakeries are classified in different types, you can choose in what type to invest in putting up bakery business.

• Small retail – Regularly one-store operations with two or three staff that bakes and sell the products on-site. Often specialize in fancy, baked goods. Small retails may grow into chain operations with the baking done in a central location.
• In-store - Operating out of big retail grocery chains and rising in popularity, some in-store bakeries do not make earnings – they simply offer service and build traffic. Sometimes autonomous bakeries can operate in-store as separate businesses; in these cases, profits must be made.
• Wholesale plant – These are large, mechanized operations which bake in large volumes. Wholesale plants distribute to independent grocery stores, chain stores and superstores.
• Medium – Frequently independently-owned and operated; medium-sized can focus selling through wholesale or retail outlets.
• Hot Bread/Buns – Often part of a franchise or working alongside. An example is a bakery producing sandwich buns/croissants. Usually offer a large variety of bread and buns constantly throughout operating hours.
• Cake – Specialties in wedding cakes, birthday cakes, cheesecakes and can be very beneficial. Location and product quality are serious in determining success.
• Donut – Independently-owned or franchises, often operating 24 hours per day. As in hot bread/buns bakeries, many use basic pre-made mixes available from millers and bakery suppliers.
• Other – Bakeries growing in popularity, specializing in cookies/muffins/bagels.

Lastly, monitor the use of all baking supplies and ingredients. Record incidents of spillage, spoilage and outflow during production.

The main ingredient is usually flour. Find the lowest probable purchase price for an acceptable grade.

It is also best to train staff to make products according to strict weight specifications: because overweight products result in losses. Train staff to save packaging and to open one unit at a time as needed and calculate the expenses of each prepackage unit and the packaging itself. Permit staff to taste product as a training aid but do not allow continuous nibbling.

Always remove all foodstuffs from shelves after expiry dates and monitor stock rotation.

You need also to count your customers each hour to establish traffic patterns and schedule your staff accordingly and make sure they are on time. For advance monitoring, give each cashier a separate cash drawer and constant cash float and count the cash the end of each shift.

In all business, it is best to establish procedures for managing all areas of the business. This includes recording monthly account and filling out purchase orders/receiving records.