Hello lovely readers and welcome to a brand new series for World of Wanderlust! As many of you already know, I am opening a bakery this year. This means less travel and more stability – a concept I am still getting used to! I will be opening my bakery in my home town of Launceston. It will be called Charlie’s Dessert House. Here is a recount of my experience to help you in starting your own bakery.
The one thing I love as much as travel is sweets. So it feels like a natural progression to finally put down roots and cease living out of a suitcase.
The creation of Charlie’s also gives me a chance to meet more of my readers in person. So if you find yourself ever visiting Tasmania, please be sure to stop by!
Starting your Own Bakery: Creating the Idea
So in this series of blogs (and videos) about starting your own bakery, I want to share with you the process to opening up a new business. Charlie’s is more of an all-day-all-night dessert house than anything (not just a bakery but also a late-night dessert restaurant and with smoothies galore… anything of the sweet variety!) However I chose to label the series about creating a bakery, as during the day there will be a range of baked goods in store, as well as an all day breakfast menu and all night dessert menu (all sweet stuff, of course!)
The idea behind Charlie’s was to bring something new to my home town. As someone who enjoys the occasional night out with friends rather than an all-weekend-bender, I knew there must be others like me who would like somewhere nice to go in the evenings that isn’t necessarily a bar or a fine dining restaurant.
Thus, Charlie’s was born!
Choosing the Name
Just as I have always said about creating a blog, creating the name for a new business is the most important decision you will make. Your business name is what customers and potential customers know you by first and foremost, so it is important to create name that is memorable. A business name should also tell your potential customers what you are offering – i.e. if I didn’t add “Dessert House” to the name of my business, customers might not know what I am offering them. Sweet tooths looking for a sugar fix might walk past without knowing what is lying right under their nose!
Creating the Logo
Creating a logo should also be just as important when starting up a new business. You want a logo that is memorable, reflective of your business, and not overly complicated. I chose a simple text for “CHARLIE’S” with a cupcake logo, which immediately shows potential customers what we’re about – cupcakes and all kinda sweets!!
Creating the Menu
Of course with any food business, the menu is the most important, determining factor as to whether your customers enjoy your business (or not!) Thus we knew early on that “sweets only” was a safe bet for someone like me, who has tried, tasted and triple tasted almost every dessert on the planet.
Sticking to the “something for everyone” idea, I wanted a menu that focused on a handful of classic desserts from around the world, each with a distinct flavour. If you like fruity flavours, there’s a raspberry meringue smash. If you like rich chocolate flavours, the choc lava pudding. If you’re a fan of caramel, look no further than the banoffee pie. And so on and so forth!
Buy now: My Desserts Around the World Cook Book!
Creating the Space
The next part of the series (on my Youtube channel and follow up on the blog) will be about creating the space. Now you know a little more about the idea process, I can’t wait to share with you the construction zone as we piece it all together in time for opening day!
If you have any questions about starting a bakery/business you’d like answered, please comment below. I am really looking forward to sharing this next chapter with you!
Brooke Saward founded World of Wanderlust as a place to share inspiration from her travels and to inspire others to see our world. She now divides her time between adventures abroad and adventures in the kitchen, with a particular weakness for French pastries.
