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How To Start A Diaper Cakes Business From Home

So you are starting a diaper cakes business from home? Can you stay up all night long thinking about diaper cakes and how adorable they are? Starting a diaper cakes business is one way that you can make extra money from the comfort of your own home. Being creative and having a gift to design baby shower gifts can help you put a lot of smiles on new mom’s faces.

I started my diaper cakes business in 2010 and it all stems from my love for crafts and handmade gifts. I was working as an administrative assistant barely making enough to do anything other than pay childcare.

I would only have maybe $20 leftover and it frustrated me to have to go to work every day and listen to my co-workers complain and gossip about everything and everybody. I turned in my two weeks notice September 2010 and I became a full-time stay at home mama.

Can I be honest with you, when I started my diaper cakes business, I got taken advantage of a lot. People would order diaper cakes from me but then would cancel after I’ve already designed it.

After a few times of disappointments, I started requiring a deposit upfront of half of the cost and then the remaining balance once the cake was ready for shipment. This was one of the reasons why I was a -$3,000 in debt during my first year in business.

What Is A Diaper Cake?

What is a diaper cake? And can I eat diaper cakes? Well, first off a diaper cake is a non-edible cake made with diapers. A diaper cake is a unique baby shower gift that you give to a new or expectant mom. They can be used as centerpieces at the baby shower. You can design them for any theme of the baby shower.

How Do You Make A Diaper Cake?

The diaper cakes that I designed were the boutique spiral diaper cakes. With this method, you don’t use rubber bands, glue, or anything that will damage your gifts. You will stack your diapers on top of each other until you have the desired layer you want.

Then, you will secure the bottom later with a piece of ribbon. To determine the correct tier of your diaper cakes, you can use a 6-inch, 8-inch, or 12-inch cake pan. For the bottom, you will need around 30 diapers, middle, 12-16 diapers, and the top layer, 5-6 diapers.

Please keep in mind that you want to wear some gloves to not get any germs on the diapers. Always design your diaper cakes in a separate room from the kitchen or bathrooms. You want your diaper cakes to be fresh.

I turned my spare bedroom into my little office. Every time, I would get a diaper cakes order, I would design them and then wrap them with tulle.

How to make diaper cakes video tutorial

Where Do I Purchase Diaper Cake Supplies?

When you first start out, its best to only buy inventory as needed. At the beginning of your business, you will have orders come in sparingly. Don’t jump ahead of yourself and purchase all this inventory but your business is slow.

There will come a time when you need at least enough supplies to make 3-4 diaper cakes. I went overboard with ordering my wholesale supplies and favors.

My rule of thumb is to NOT keep a bunch of premade diaper cakes in your office. Make them fresh and as the order comes in. You can find great bargains at your local Walmart, Target & Jcpenneys.

I even found somethings at the dollar tree, but once I started getting a heavy amount of traffic to my website, I only purchased quality items.

Your diaper cakes are a reflection of you and your brand, make a big elegant statement. You want to be the talk of the town and you will when you bring one of your diaper cakes to the baby shower!

Other related diaper cakes videos

How Much Should I Charge For Diaper Cakes?

You have to calculate all of your inventory and expenses. Everything that you purchase to design your cakes, add all of it up, and then multiply that by 25%. You want to always make sure you are not shortchanging yourself.

If you have to drive to deliver the diaper cakes, you need to calculate this into your diaper cake total fee. Don’t forget about the shipping.

To ship a diaper cake is not cheap. I usually always charged a flat rate of $15. Or you can add the fee into the total price of the diaper cakes and make shipping free.

Example…

Box of Diapers $25
Receiving blanket $10
Ribbon $2
Baby bottle $3
Pacifier $3
Tulle $7
Gift Tags $5
Labor (whatever you charge an hour? please charge for your time to create the cake)
Box to ship it in (you can get them free from usps.com)

Total: $55 (total of inventory expenses) + 25% (time & labor) =$68.75 + Shipping + gas & mileage

If you are still confused about how to price your diaper cakes, this little book will definitely guide you.

Choose your merchant

You have to choose how will you get paid. I used Paypal

How Do I Ship A Diaper Cake?

Once you have your diaper cake all beautiful and wrapped in your color of tulle, it’s time to ship it to the new mommy. This is a step that you really want to take your time and place it in the box carefully.

Lay the diaper cake on the side and place bubble wrap all around it to keep it from moving. You want your diaper cake to get to its destination unbothered. Make sure you secure it and tape it all around the box.

Put on each side of the box, FRAGILE, Handle with care. This makes sure the postal service person doesn’t just throw it all in the truck.

I really enjoyed using FedEx. I also opened a business account with them so I could get savings on shipping.

Starting A Diaper Cakes Business From Your Kitchen Table?

Get your business license

You need to make your business legit from the very beginning. Depending on your state, check out what the laws are in your city. Also, make sure you get your seller’s permit so you can sell within your city limits. You can file for a DBA (Doing business as) Fictitious name.

When you become a business owner, you can get tax-exempt when shopping for supplies at places like Joann’s and Michaels or any party supply stores. Just ask them if they honor tax-exempt for small business owners.

Get at least 3 top designer diaper cakes

When you first starting out, don’t try to make every diaper cake design. You need two to three options for your potential customers. Think of it this way, you need a small one, medium and large size diaper cakes.

Take your time and perfect your craft. I can’t begin to tell you how my first few diaper cakes looked. Lord, Jesus, my cakes looked so special LOL. Purchase some cheap diapers and practice and keep practicing so you can make your diaper cakes look elegant.

Market Your Diaper Cake Business

Now is the time to get you some business cards designed. You can get 500 business cards from Vistaprint. You want to spread the word about your business everywhere you go.

Place ads in your local newspaper. Use social media to your advantage. Start a Facebook Business page and start educating people about what diaper cakes are.

Give out more value than you are asking for the sale. Build the know, like and trust factor first. Here’s my best advice, always over-deliver when it comes to your fans/followers and potential customers.

Build your list

You can’t have a successful gift business without a list of paying customers. Create a free offer, something of value to give to your audience. You want to give them something that can solve a problem for them right now.

Think about who will be buying your diaper cakes? What kind of information are they looking for? Here’s what I would suggest, create a short cheat sheet of the top 10 things you need at a baby shower.

Another one would be the top ways to plan a baby shower and why a diaper cake would be the talk of the baby shower.

Engage With Your Audience

No matter which social media platforms you decide to use, make sure you engage with your followers. When you post anything, make sure its something of value. Remember, your platforms are for you to share knowledge and get to know your fans.

When they comment on your post/tweets, please don’t ignore them. Respond back or at least like it. This lets them know that you at least see them and to know that they matter.

Diaper Cake Business Name

You can get a domain from GoDaddy for as cheap as $0.99. This is where you want to think about a name for your business. Try to think of a name that’s short and simple. You want people to be able to remember it and spell it easily.

For example, this was my first name: Baby Diaper Cakes & Beyond by LaTersa. Now, here is what I changed it to Diaper Cakes By LaTersa. That was my domain name and my business was The LaTersa Diaper Cakes™

Start your website

After you purchase your domain, set up your blog. This is where you want to have a place for people to learn more about you. Remember, you don’t own social media and if you are only relying on them to keep you in business, you are wrong.

Engage with people on social media, but always lead them back to your website. My recommendation is wordpress.org. You never want to start your blog with a free site. I host with Siteground and I’ve been with them for years now and I am very please with their services.

For hosting, I highly recommend you start your blog with Siteground

Can I Really Make Money As A Diaper Cake Business Owner?

The simple answer is yes. But, you have to be willing to put your work out there. When I first started my diaper cakes business, my family and friends laughed at me. I heard them say things like, nobody is going to pay you for some diapers.

One way to start making real money in the gift business industry is by securing corporate contracts. See, its great to get orders from your website and through your email list; But when you start getting corporate contracts, that’s where the big money comes in. That’s residual income coming in on a monthly basis will make your bank account look really good.

I had my diaper cakes in floral gift shops, women hospital gift shop, and local kids boutique. I even had some on consignments at local stores. There is no limit on how far your business can grow. The choice is up to you.

Diaper Cakes Business Conclusion:

I hope this post helps you start your diaper cakes business. Anything is possible when you set your mind to it. Starting a diaper cakes business from the comfort of your own home can be another way for you to make some extra money. If you loved this article, please be sure to share this with your friends and family. Do you love diaper cakes? Leave me a comment below:

Still, need help with starting your diaper cakes business? This little course will clarify more for you!