This episode brings you tips and resources for starting a cupcake business and the licencing requirements. We hear from John Taberner and Leanne and Alex Young about licencing a business and passing inspections of your bakery. Rich Schefren inspires us with more strategic business thinking.

1. Episode #11
Jack Finn: Hello and welcome to today's podcast of Series 1 Turn Cupcakes into Cash. Welcome to
the podcast, this is Jack Finn your host. How are you? And of course before we start off today's
podcast, I would like to bring you three major tips to start off in helping you to the finish line of
success with your cupcake business.
Three major tips: First, take your business seriously. You may have started baking for fun or just a
hobby but when you set it up for a business, you have to treat it as a business. Second, keep
spending down. Especially your first few months in operation, revenue will not match your expenses
just yet, so keep it tight. And third, never be ashamed to plug your business
anywhere, anytime. When you get the chance, let them know the great stuff you
get at your business. The info you spread is excellent mileage - let people know.
Now in today's podcast it’s all about licencing and how the experts handle it.
Listen:
John Taberner: Almost everywhere you go, you are going to need a business licence. It varies in price
from area to area and from town to town and country to country. Some countries you don't need a
business licence. Some parts of Africa, you don't need a business licence but you need planning
permission to put your business into that building. Once you get planning permission, you have to
see the fire marshal to make sure that you’ve got permission from the fire marshal.
You then have to see the Health Department, and get permission from the Health Department
because if they come along and see that you have got, for instance, a one bin sink, they might not let
you go. They might not let you have a business deal. In the one I had, I had a two bin sink. That was
wrong. She wanted a three bin sink. Well that's pretty much the same in all commercial
establishments in Canada. And not only that, once you’ve got your three bin sink, they look at the
sewerage: is the water running off going to be full of grease? If it is, then you have got to have a
grease-trap. And that has to be cleaned out every six months. And this is part and parcel of things
that the Health Inspector will look at.
Is your ceiling a porous ceiling? Is it painted, or is it porous? If it's porous, they may not let you have
your Health Certificate. And these Health Certificates only last for one year. However, they can come
in at any time at all throughout that year and close you down if your place is dirty or if you have mice
droppings or if there’s a lot of flies in the place, or
cockroaches, this sort of thing. So cleanliness is of very, very
high importance in the business. Anybody who makes a
complaint about your business health wise and the Health
Inspector can come along and close you down immediately.
They will give you so many days to rectify it and then they
will come along again. You will have to go through the whole
procedure right from scratch again and get the Health
Inspector to say, “Oh yeah, that's okay. Here's your

2. certificate, you can now reopen”.
Interviewer: Do you know anything about in-home business? Do you still have to see a Health
Inspector there?
John: It's kind of difficult, the home business. The Health Inspector is still liable to inspect your
business, but you still have to go through all the other steps. You have to get a business plan. You’d
have to get your business licence. Once you’ve got your business licence, you have to make an
application generally to the local council, for the reason why you want to do it. And then you have to
also show the business, the location, as well as what you are making things on, in the plan.
In the UK like I was saying, if you live in a council house there is no way that you will be allowed to
run a business. If you are in a private home where you own the home, then you have to comply with
their… In a private home there is a possibility that you might be able to, but the Health Inspector will
come in and inspect your kitchen. If it is like most English kitchens, a small kitchen, there isn't much
likelihood of you getting permission to do so.
However, if you have got a garage and you
completely gut the garage and put plumbing and
heating and gas or electric in there and you set it
up as a bakery, then it's possible you might get
your planning permission. It will then come down
to whether the neighbours are going to complain,
what time do you start work, what time do you
finish work? - How many people are going to visit,
how much traffic is going to be coming to and
from, how much garbage there is and all that kind
of stuff. It is not a done deal, just because you have
a home business.
There are many people though who do have a home business, that are unlicensed. That is a problem
in many regards because if, say for instance you sell a product that has nuts in to somebody who has
a nut allergy, then there is really not a lot the Health Department can do for you because the person
has a non-licenced business. Not a good thing.
Interviewer: So they are at a greater risk?
John: They are at a greater risk. It is like some unions try to say that only union people should be
bricklayers, or only union people should be scaffolders. I'm not against unions I've been a member.
Jack: Ah yes, you're listening to Series 1 of Turn Cupcakes into Cash. Magnificent information from
some of the industry's most amazing people and to be honest, they really helped me a lot over time,
like Dan Kennedy, another Stuart Ross. But for today's episode though, I recommend you to hear
Rich Schefren.
Rich: Hi Rich Schefren here. Your business is really the biggest financial bet of your life because how
your business does is going to be the biggest indicator of whether you are going to be rich or poor,
whether you’re going to be financially free or continuously struggling. It's important you realise the

3. stakes you are playing for because your business success will be the single biggest factor in the
money you make and your overall level of wealth. It’s also going to determine whether ultimately
you are free to enjoy your life or you are shackled on the side lines, constantly having to work.
It is going to determine the amount of time you get to spend with your family, in addition to all the
things you can provide for them. Think about how proud you'd be to give your family all the finer
things in life and be able to spend the time with them, to watch them enjoy it. So for all those
reasons, your destiny hinges on the success or failure of your business.
Jack: Just speaking of Rich Schefren's magic. Of course you could have more of that, about how you
can change your mind set in your business, and that includes licencing and other topics online. That
is why I want to give you a free gift - a free audio that will help you think about strategically growing
your cupcake business online, off-line or both, or in fact any business for that matter as the
principles are the same.
So when you go to www.turncupcakesintocash.com/rich, give your name and your email address
and you will get access to our free training as mentioned on thinking strategically for your business.
But if you listen to the three hour video that Rich offers, and you really absorb it, I'd love to reward
you with another free gift worth $97. This will take your cupcake business or any business as
mentioned, to the next level. Simply answer three multiple choice, easy-to-answer questions that
Rich talks about in his video and you will get this special audio training that will take your business to
the next level, I’m telling you. So visit www.turncupcakesintocash.com/rich.
***
Jack: Do you need a business licence?
Leanne: Not in Australia. It’s rarely you get a business licence.
Alex: I can go on there now, and just start my own company just by entering in the ABN Lookup and
pretty much just putting my name down and a few security details and you get your ABN.
Leanne: As long as someone hasn't got the same name – there’s a way of checking that. As far as
registering the business it was very easy. Then you pay a fee. I think it was $165 for three years and
that registers the business' name so that no-one else can use it. And you will get a certificate.
Alex: And the logo as well – the logo is protected.
Leanne: That's right. Well, we’ve protected our logo. But you get a certificate to say that the
business is registered and you have to display that in your shop. And then every three years you
have to pay that fee again. I can't remember the exact cost.
Alex: It’s about $190 I think, yeah.
Leanne: Yeah, around there. Between $160 and $190 I can’t remember the exact amount. That was
long ago for us.
Jack: Alex mentioned, where can you apply for the licence again? You mentioned something earlier.

4. Alex: Online, you can just go online to ABR Australian Business Register on
https://abr.business.gov.au, something along those lines and you pretty much say I want to register
a new ABN, an Australian Business Number. And with that ABN you can shop at certain places, that
doesn't allow the public to shop there. So pretty much anybody can have an ABN as long as you’re
over the age of 18 and you have a fairly solid business that you want to start up. I've got a business
name for my graphic design, which is 'Alley Cat Creations'. I've got an ABN for that and yeah, I don't
have a shop or anything, but at least I can make money from that as well because I do have a
business number.
Jack : And that's it for today's podcast. Getting shut down is not the best way to run your business.
So get that licence today. And just to add, do you own a restaurant or are you planning on opening
one? Well, operating a restaurant and building a thriving business requires totally different skills and
expertise. Join thousands of independent restaurant operators for learning new skills, new tools,
making better decisions and improving results, on
www.turncupcakesintocash.com/restaurantowner to access special audio when you check it out.
This has been Jack Finn. Thank you for joining me for Series 1 Turn Cupcakes into Cash. Until the next
episode, once again don't forget, if you've got what it takes, then go for it!