Have you ever thought of transforming your love for gastronomical delights into a small business? Your love for cooking can open more than one avenue before you turn it into a successful home-based business that also promises of earning you financial freedom.
About this business opportunity
In recent time demand for high end cooking classes has significantly gone up amongst urban population. Enthusiasm has increased across sections that include housewives, children, working professionals, retired individuals etc. Cooking classes can be organized at your home if you have a large, spacious kitchen, state-of-art gadgets and kitchenware, you can start a business straight away. It is a great business idea for stay-at-home moms and wives as they can balance between working hours and their family priorities without sacrificing any. Ideally such classes are organized in small batches but it would be great to attend some workshops before starting your own to get an idea on how a class is organized, what infrastructure is needed and what to teach to students.
Current market trend
The recent deluge of cooking shows in Indian television is a clear indication of its growing popularity country wide. Currently several cooking programs by celebrity chefs are popular in local and national channels. One of the major trend changing events that’s taking place is renewed interest for such classes in middle class urban dwellers. The newly affluent section is the main target audience for these cooking classes.
Level of competition
This is majorly an unorganized sector and hence, it is difficult to measure level of competition in true terms. But given its increasing popularity you can come across two or three such home based culinary schools at every locality. Moreover, there is competition from expert chefs who organizes classes and workshops under their brand names. Before you start cooking class business, performing a thorough market research about competition, demand and acceptance is therefore recommended to will help you start with confidence.
The future
Keeping all the above discussions in mind one can state that future of culinary classes is very bright in India. There has been a growing interest of experimenting with food, taste new dishes and rekindle the love for Indian delicacies. There is growing interest for Chinese, continental, Indian, French and Japanese food, which has made cooking classes so popular.
Who can start this business?
If you have love for cooking then you can ideally start a cooking class business. As a business, it has low investment but high return. Whether you are a housewife, managing home and kids; retired professional looking for an engagement, working professional dreaming of starting an entrepreneurial venture, starting cooking classes are easy and fast. It needs very little infrastructural requirements to begin.
Skill set you need
Ability to cook and knowledge on world culinary is the core skill for the business. Apart from that, you’d also need the following set of abilities to manage business efficiently.
- Ability to organize and manage groups
- Team building and staff management
- Collection of recipes, especially, if you have old and forgotten recipes of your grandmother
- Perhaps enrolling to a cooking class to learn a few tricks and techniques is a good idea
- Find your specialties and offer classes on a niche. It’ll help you succeed faster.
Level of risk
Profit feasibility
Compared to initial investment, profit feasibility is high. On an average, starting a cooking business may need investment of $2000 -$3000, where profit possibilities may go up to $40,000.
Investment
10. Admin work
Infrastructure
The initial investment would include space, kitchen equipment, raw materials and fresh ingredients for cooking. If you don’t have a spacious kitchen, you can check out with local restaurants, schools or churches if you can lend cooking space there. However, then you might have to include rent of the property to your initial investment.
Add-on infra
team building/staff
Website building
Today internet has allowed small businesses to reach out to larger group of audience through digital media. Even though yours is a home-based cooking class, you can’t deny importance of managing a website and blog, showcasing your activities and services. Strategically built website can become a formidable business tool in spreading your ideas to larger audience group and help them find your services easily. SEOTP offers affordable website designing and hosting solutions to small entrepreneurs considering home-based cooking class business.
Marketing plan
Comprehensive marketing plan is essential in promoting your business to encourage more students to join your classes. It would include both online and offline marketing.
- Off line – Word of mouth advertising is perhaps the best way to promote your business. Moreover, you may also promote your business to your target audience directly, such as – schools and parks where young mothers come with their kids, local restaurants, kitty parties etc.
- Internet marketing – Internet has emerged as a powerful medium to promote a business across online platforms. Through digital marketing you can create awareness with larger crowd and create a band of loyal followers on social medial platforms. In addition, you can also use digital media to stay in touch with your client base by updating new recipes, special deals or classes that might interest them.
- Marketing kit – SEOTP offers comprehensive SEO training and small business training to entrepreneurs. They work as mentors for enthusiasts and offer them complete marketing kit to kick-start their business. The kit might include website designing and hosting solutions, content marketing, graphic designing, and digital marketing solutions.