So, I am a university student living in Canada and I just would like to earn some money. I have tried to look for a job, but haven’t been able to find one after searching for like 8 months (it’s really hard to find even an entry-level job here in Canada thanks to the government - some people I know have been looking for like 2 years now!). However, I was essentially forced to stop looking due to circumstances (I’d say mostly caused by parents forcing me to focus more on university and that I just couldn’t do both university and have a job and not fail my courses), so getting a job now really isn’t an option for me.
I was thinking of starting to bake and sell cookies during reading week and winter/summer breaks, either door-to-door or on sites like Facebook marketplace, but my parents have said that it was a bad idea, because it’s something that only kids do (which I don’t think is true today), and that I would need to be really good at baking in order to get sales (which they say I’m not but I don’t really think I’m really terrible at cooking and I think I’ve found an easy recipe online which I totally could do).
I’m not really expecting to earn as much as I would get working at a job, unless I manage to do really well, but I would really like to earn some money (and have some actual “work experience” to put on a resume).
I also live near Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and I’m pretty sure that in Ontario you don’t need to have a license to sell most low-risk items such as most cookies, muffins, and brownies (with some exceptions though), unless I am wrong though.
Does anybody here have any actual experience doing this? Would this be a good idea?
Baking can be alot of work for the amount of product you have to sell at the end, it’s why baked good can be so expensive when not made in a factory. Try to be realistic and choose things that aren’t especially labor intensive.
I’ve helped a few people do similar, and here’s what ended up working:
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Look for local farmers markets and see if you can sell there without having to buy a license or a Booth space.
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Bake some of your most impressive stuff, and shop it around to local coffee shops for counter sales.
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Likewise, look for other small food companies with storefronts that sell dissimilar things: butchers, small grocery markets or fruit/vegetable stands, bars, ice cream shops…etc.
So if you can work out any of these things (and it’s not messing with your school), let’s say a dozen of these local partnerships can make you a tiny bit of repeating income weekly to make it worth. Get a website and some branding up, and a name or logo that is recognizable, and after you get up and running there, it may be worthwhile to start taking local or website orders.
Yup, we have a bunch of coffee shops around here that only sell baked goods from local bakers. It’s nice to be able to support multiple local businesses in one stop.
Exactly. Small businesses like to help other small businesses, especially when it helps them as well.
Things like prepackaged cookies and cakes sell big at registers no matter the business size as well. Go and look at your local small grocery stores and see what’s near the counters and registers. Baked goods. It’s a great entry point, and forging those relationships with the people who work there and run it will get you even more business.
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I perceive door-to-door sales as awkward at best, but usually shading more toward unwanted, invasive and sketchy. If you really want to launch it, you might try presenting neighbors with gift plate cookie assortments with a note or card attached advertising your wares/prices. Then they can reach out for more after sampling your product with no pressure.
Some years back, two relatives worked as sellers of sweets they made, mainly chocolate-based ones. From what I had seen, they always had work to do. However, they always had work to do. I’d just make this note, then, if you do it, people in your area do buy this sort of goods and you care for study time, be careful you don’t spend all your time with this side project.
There’ll probably loads of regulations to follow if you want to sell any kind of food. You might at least need some food safety certificate. Inform yourself thoroughly about local requirements before you start.
It’s the most important detail actually. In France, if you sell any kind of meal (whether you prepared it or not), and someone gets sick and you don’t have the bills to prove that a professional did its job and took responsibility for it, you’re fucked big time. That’s a lot of ifs but you don’t want any trouble.
I’ve known people who made bank just selling bottles of water outside the venue when there are concerts on campus
What about selling to other students? Students that are away from home love home cooking, and cookies are a solid win. Word of mouth also goes quite a long way.
Make sure this doesn’t violate policy though
I do not know anyone at my university that actually does this, but if it doesn’t go against the policy, I guess it may be worth a try.
If you’re good at cooking, you could teach cooking classes. Quick and easy meals for working folks are quite popular.
They could lay a fee, you’d get the ingredient and help them make their food. If it’s something baked, they could take it home to cook it or put it in their fridge until they want to cook it.
I don’t think I’m really even near the level where I could do cooking classes. My mom is a lot better at cooking than I am (although I don’t think she would really support what I’m planning on doing).
Give it a shot. Friends of mine made granola bars and sold them at a farmers market on Saturdays. They did well but eventually grew tired of all the work and time it took. One idea I’ve always had is making dog treats. I used to make them for my dogs when I brewed beer and used the spent grains. I mixed the grains with egg and peanut butter and baked. Microbreweries are always looking for someone to take their spent grains so free materials!
