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Eric & Denise Steilberger with Fudge De Fûge

Eric & Denise Steilberger of Ocala, FL sell their homemade fudge all year long and share how the lessons they learned from running a cafe in Alaska helped them build a successful cottage food business

Episode 100: Where Are They Now?

In this very special 100th episode, previous guests come back on to share an update of what’s changed since they were last on the show, what’s surprised them, and what they’ve learned along the way

Get Passionate About Sales with Amanda Schonberg

Amanda Schonberg of Baton Rouge, LA shares tons of business tips for generating more sales, building a following, managing mindset, improving time, growing an email list, and scaling up a bakery

Find Work That Fulfills You with Jenny Berg

Jenny Berg of Bend, OR started baking sourdough bread during the pandemic and shares how she turned her new hobby into a home business that has finally given her a sense of fulfillment in her work.

The Burnt Out Baker with Jenni Reher

Jenni Reher of Mead, CO shares the rise and fall of her vegan donut bakery, how she grew it to 20 wholesale accounts, and why she decided to sell her business when it was doing better than ever.

A Little Bit of Joy with Tracy Mancuso

Tracy Mancuso near Medford, OR shares how she built her successful custom cake business from home while raising young kids by leveraging social media and embracing her local community.

Turning Up The Heat with Nathan & Nicole Parchman

Nathan & Nicole Parchman of O’Fallon, IL share how they produce and sell over 200 jars of salsa and pickles each week, and have grown from farmers market to wholesale to brick-and-mortar storefront.

Starting A Cottage Food Business – Limitations

If you want to start a home food business, there are a number of potential limitations that you should be aware of. Learn about the different limitations that states may include in their cottage food laws.

Selling at Market: Tips to Return Home “Sold Out”

Many states’ cottage food laws may limit sales to public events like farmers’ markets, fairs or other community gatherings. Rather than seeing your sales venue potential as half empty, view it as half full. This blog will offer ideas on how you can boost your sales at farmers’ markets.

Everyone Starts Somewhere

Have you thought of starting your own food business? Learn about what it takes to get started… you might need less than you think!

Do You Have An Email List?

If you are selling at a local market and are merely collecting money, then you are missing out! If you want to give your business a huge boost, try this.

The Price Is Wrong

Let’s say you’re thinking of selling your homemade goodies at a local market this summer. How will you set the price?

The Most Important Ingredient In Your Business

Are you using the most important ingredient in your business? If you are using it, then you know how powerful it can be; and if you are not using it, then simply put, you are not leveraging your business’ most important asset!

Build For Sale, Not For Scale

I’m a dreamer. I can see my fudge business taking off… I can see it on store shelves, I can see huge batches being made, and I can see that I often get a little ahead of myself! With a new year comes renewed energy for our homemade food businesses. Maybe you’re looking forward to… [read more]

Is A Cookie Business A Good Idea?

Store-bought cookies are pathetic and everyone raves about yours. Your friends keeps saying that you need to sell them, but are they right? Why do some food businesses succeed, and others fail?

Stop Worrying About Your Sales Limit

People often wonder if the cottage food laws are too limiting. Should they use it to start their homemade food business? Is it worth their time?

Status of the Cottage Food Industry

I recently received a few questions from Sid, a student at the University of Tampa who’s doing some research on the cottage food industry. The questions are high-level enough that I realized they’d make a good blog post, so I’m sharing my answers here.