How to organize a perfect birthday party for your child

Start early

Give yourself at least a month to plan the party. An early start helps in finding venues that suit your requirements, organizing fun activities such as magic, and avoiding the last minute rushes.

Fix the budget

You might not want to keep any limits for this special day, but fixing a budget is critical for perfect planning. A budget will enable you to identify the venue, draw an invitee list, fix a menu, identify activities, and organize gifts. But remember, there is a party possible in any budget! Even if you want to save for the next birthday, you can still organize a good party in smallest of the budgets. Just ask us how.

Book a venue

If your guest list fits in your house, nothing beats a party at home! Just beware of the post party cleaning, it is quite a task! Also, make sure you have enough helping hands to reorganize your furniture and organize space.

For the ones who want to hire a place, our city has a whole bouquet of options to choose from. You can host a party at one of your child’s favorite eating joints such as McDonalds, in your community centre, in a nearby banquet hall or party lawns.

·        Choose a location that ensures maximum participation. For example, if your guest list includes your child’s friends from your housing society, a community centre might be a better option

·        Choose a location that suits your planned activities. For example, if you plan to organize jumping bags, sack races, et al, you need a place with lots of open spaces

Remember that you will need the location for at least 3-4 hours prior to the party time to organize decorations and activities.

Plan activities

This is where you need to let your imagination loose. Trust us you can almost bring a carnival home or replicate games in

Takeshi’s Castle! There are activities available for everybody. For the little ones you can put together a small play area with bouncies and slides, for the bigger ones you can organize magic shows, puppet shows et al.

Our experience also suggests that boys and girls typically have different tastes for fun activities. Girls prefer activities with creative bend such as pottery making, origami et al. Boys need competitive games and outdoor activities such as sack races, dart boards, et al. The secret recipe to make any activity participative is to keep a lot of goody bags as prizes!

However, if you are seeking external help for any of the activities, our suggestion would be to book as early as possible

Mix food with fun

Let us share our secret recipe on food- make it healthy, make it fun. As food is central to your party, try and mix it up with the overall theme of the party. So why call lemonade as lemonade, why not call it the magic potion if your theme is Harry Potter? Why children have pick food from simple bowls, why not decorate them as chests straight out of the Pirates world.

Although children love to the eat burgers, fries, pizzas, you can always trick them into eating some healthy food! Our experience suggests that you can easily replace aerated drinks with juices and shakes, and have fruit salads instead of icecreams.

And you don’t need to sweat on organizing all of this. Just call up any restaurant you like eating in and they will be happy to serve.

Order a cake

Birthday cake remains the focal point of the party. It is the best way to announce your party theme. Imagine having a cake in shape of Barbie doll and the table decorated in all Barbie colors. You can add a bit of fun to the activity with magic candles and bursting balloons. But make sure you book the cake well in advance.

Decorate in style

Decorations can be the magic touch to your child’s birthday. You can create some of the best crafts with balloons and ribbons- a fairy gate, cartoon characters, et al. Mix and match colors to liven it up. And add some customized posters of your child to make it really special!

And if you are organizing a theme party, decoration will be your secret mantra to get it right. A Pirates World theme may be emphasized by organizing pirate caps, pirate tattoos, eye patches, cut-outs of some of the characters, dummy ships and some barrels!

Organize return gifts

The children love return gifts- so you if you get it right, you are sure to hear from your guests on how good your party was! Our secret tip is to add some sweets and a handwritten thank you note to your return gift. We have also found that a single item is more appreciated than an assortment of small little things. In case you have arranged for any hand-craft activity, make sure to arrange some carry bags for children to take away their creation. You can also add some memorabilia from your theme party- stickers, tattoos, sketch pens et al.

How to Make Your Cake Decorating Business More Efficient and Profitable

Like any creative or artistic enterprise, cake decorating is very labour intensive, and it can be difficult to receive remuneration that properly reflects the time put in. There are, however, a number of things you can do to streamline the process and maximise your productivity. Remember that greater efficiency leads to greater profitability. Here are a few tips to help you decorate more cakes in less time.

Make bulk lots of frequently used decorations

There are a lot of decorative items that you will use repeatedly on cakes. Flowers, hearts, teddy bears - whatever is appropriate for your niche - can be made in advance so they are ready to use whenever you need them, and it is always useful to have a supply on hand for emergency repair jobs, or an urgent request. Be careful though - some things will keep well for months, while others should not even be made the night before, so you will need to research which items and ingredients are suitable for bulk production and which ones are likely to create problems with food safety and product quality.

Exploit your niche

When working a particular niche - children's birthday parties, for instance - you will find a lot of recurring themes. Exploit this by keeping all templates, patterns, and designs for re-use on other cakes.

There is nothing wrong with repeating yourself - really, it is essential in this business - you can always individualise a standard design. The important thing is - if the kid wants a Spongebob Squarepants cake, then that is what he shall have, and since he won't be the only one, you will find yourself with plenty of opportunity to maximise your skill and efficiency through repeated use of a base design and structure. (Thomas the Tank Engine, and Elmo are also very popular cakes at the moment). If you keep a record of every cake with full details of its creation, and take step by step progress photos, you will find the planning and design phase of subsequent projects a lot quicker (and therefore more profitable!).

Communicate with your clients

Obtain written details from clients as to their requirements (this should be part of the contract) and make sure that you have times, dates, and delivery addresses clearly spelled out.

Delivering to the wrong function at the wrong time, or (heaven forbid!) on the wrong day, is not only a waste of your time, but also a sure way of making you and your cake decorating business look unprofessional and incompetent. Keep them posted as to your progress - this way they will be confident that you are doing the job in a professional and timely manner, and it will avoid them constantly interrupting you. E-mail is a good way of doing this - you can do it at any time that is convenient for you and avoids interrupting the client. You could attach progress photos to your e-mail if you think it appropriate - this is not essential but may help to placate the more nervous or less trusting client.

Experiment with cake storage It is a good idea to test freeze cakes - most of them freeze well, but some don't - and it is very handy to be able to take a cake from the freezer for a rush job (just make sure you allow enough time for it to thaw!). Many of the rich fruit cakes used at weddings can be stored without freezing for months if packaged properly, and in fact for certain types this will improve their quality. Of course good cakes can be bought fairly readily if you are in a hurry, or don't want to make them at all, although price will be an issue here, but it is a good idea to get to know local bakeries and groceries to find out exactly what will be available at any given time. And there's nothing wrong with using a packet of cake mix if you are in a hurry! Some really good books of children's birthday cake designs even specify the use of a certain brand or type of cake mix, so check out a variety of them and find the ones you like, then keep a few on hand for whipping up a quick cake.

Be prepared for emergencies!

Always have a "plan B" for when things gowrong. Part of this is maintaining your supplies of materials and equipment, but you also need to be able to respond quickly and effectively to any problems that arise. Have everything readily accessible so you don't have to search for, or clean equipment before you can use it. As you gain more experience you will learn effective ways to make emergency repairs, and you can then decide whether or not you will make yourself available to clients in the event of disaster - drunken Uncle Albert stubs his cigarette out on the middle tier of the wedding cake half an hour before the cutting ceremony - that sort of thing.

Cake decorating, like any creative endeavour, is labour intensive, which means it can be difficult to maintain the level of profit needed to make your business viable, but with a bit of forethought and planning, there are a variety of ways in which the process can be made more efficient and productive, and therefore more profitable.

Team up with someone who has the skills that you don't

If you are a great cake decorator and make really good sugar sculptures, but aren't very good at lettering, or you are a great decorating all rounder, but not much of a baker, then why not consider teaming up with someone who has the skills you lack? This means the cake will be of good quality, and you can focus on what you're best at while not wasting your time on producing an inferior product. You may wish to contract another person to do this, or you may wish to go into partnership with someone - either way make sure the contractual and legal issues are clearly laid out in writing before you start.

Business partnerships are great destroyers of friendships if they go wrong, so be clear about everything.

Consider buying cakes, or some decorative elements

 If you are better at decorating cakes than baking them, it may be worth your while to buy them from a good bakery. This can save you a lot of time, and leaves you free to do what you are really good at, as well as guaranteeing the quality of your cake. Check out a few bakeries until you find one that makes the range and quality of cakes that you need, and make sure that they can reliably supply the quantities you need. If you get to know them you may be able to negotiate a good price for ongoing business, and don't forget that they may be a good source of referrals for you as well.

The same applies to certain decorative elements - perhaps sugar sculptures - that you find are just too time consuming. Some people specialize in these and it may be best to purchase from them so your profits are not eroded by spending more time than is necessary on a project.

Stick to a plan

This really goes without saying for any business, but planning your day, your week, and your year is vital in achieving the immediate and long term goals you have set for yourself and your cake decorating business. Keep a detailed diary (wall planners are ideal) of upcoming engagements so you can be well prepared and knows what you have to achieve each day. Having a well organized plan also helps to avoid the last minute rush where mistakes are more likely to happen, and leaves you in a better position with more time to cope when something does go wrong.

Maintain Supplies

If you keep a well managed inventory of all the supplies and equipment you need for your cake decorating business, then you will save a lot of time by not having to run out to various shops or suppliers all the time. Over time you will get to know how much of each item you should keep on hand at any given time, and this will ensure not only more efficient use of your time, but also of your money.

Keep up with the paperwork

Do the books regularly - weekly is good. This will give you a much clearer picture of where you are at with your business and what you need to keep an eye on or improve. It also means you won't lose valuable production time or even customers by having to shut everything down so you can do a rushed, panic job on a whole year's worth of tax returns or bill payments. As you clean your kitchen regularly and thoroughly, so too should you keep clean and tidy books.

How to promote your cake decorating business

Now that you have perfected your cake decorating skills and are ready to offer your creations for sale, you will need to let the market know that you are available and what you are capable of. It is now time to think about various ways in which you can promote your business. Here are some suggestions.

Word of mouth - Without doubt, this is the best means of promotion for your cake decorating business. Always make sure people know who made the cake at the function they are attending, and make sure they have the means of contacting you easily. This is like highly targeted, and very effective advertising, and best of all - it's free, apart from the relatively inexpensive cost of getting business cards made. You get paid to make and decorate a cake for a special occasion, and the guests at the function provide you with a captive market for promoting your business for free.

Make a calendar - A wall chart is good for this, or if you are comfortable with computers you could use the variety of calendar, diary, and reminder programmes that are available. Note dates of all special occasions, local civic anniversaries, graduation days, or any other widely celebrated occasions and work out a plan to supply these markets. Keep a database of individual people's birthdays and anniversaries and contact them each year to congratulate them and enquire after any cake requirements they may have.

Participate in bridal expos, local business forums, and trade shows -

Work out which ones are appropriate for you and establish a presence with well displayed examples of your best cakes (and bite size pieces of cake for people to sample), plenty of promotional material - business cards,brochures etc, and maybe even a demonstration of your craft. The end result of cake decorating is a beautiful, artistic creation, and people are always interested to watch the creative process in action. Give them an opportunity to admire your talent and to get an understanding of how much time, effort, and skill goes into the design and decoration of a cake.

Photograph your cakes - The advent of digital photography means that keeping a pictorial record of your creations is now not only really easy, but also very low cost. (and the cost of a digital camera is tax deductible if it is for your business). As well as enabling you to maintain a diary record of all the cakes you make and the methods you used on each of them, digital photographs are especially good to use in your promotional efforts and even just your basic business communications. Most e-mail programmes allow the use of a digital photograph as part of your signature - use a picture of your best cake. You can also attach photographic samples of your work in any communication with prospective clients.

And remember - you won't be the only one photographing the cake, it's the most photographed part of the ceremony. We've all got photos of cake cutting and candle blowing out in the family album, and every day hundreds of people ask "who made the cake?", no matter how long ago the photo was taken. This works like a visual version of word of mouth. If your cake is good, people will see it, remember it, and talk about it, your reputation will grow and spread, and your business will become better known and more profitable.

There is no point in spending time and money in developing your cake decorating skills to a professional standard if nobody knows about it. You are creating spectacular or charming cakes that will be very popular, but not if you are the only person who knows about it. In part 2 of this series, we look at some more ideas for promoting your cake decorating business and building your reputation.

Deliver a top quality product every time This is perhaps a bit obvious - it applies to all businesses, not just a cake decorating business - but there are few businesses where first impressions are more important than a cake decorating business. The chief appeal of a well decorated cake is visual, and it is how the cake looked that will be remembered for the longest time, especially now due to the enormous proliferation of digital photography and the easy ability of anyone to transmit photographs instantly to anywhere in the world. In a visual medium like this, the cake is by far its own best advertising.

Use all your networks Everyone you know knows a lot of other people that have various celebrations coming up. Weddings, birthdays, anniversaries - the list is endless. Make it known in all circles in which you move that you are a professional cake decorator and available for business.

Keep a supply of business cards with you at all times, give handfuls of them to people you know that have a lot of contacts, and never miss an opportunity to mention in conversation what you do for a living (people usually ask anyway). You'll be surprised how often someone will say "Oh, that's handy. My mother⁄sister⁄husband⁄friend⁄colleague etc is having a birthday⁄anniversary⁄graduation. Would you be interested in making a cake for that?" Of course you will immediately say yes and give them your card, but you must also get their contact details. People often forget what they said at parties, or don't bother following up on things, but if you have their details you can call them yourself and secure the business.

Get a website This is great for promotion of your cake decorating business, excellent for showing your portfolio of photographs, really easy to do, and can be done completely free on sites like Squidoo and many others.

Look for co-promotional opportunities within your niche Most niche markets - weddings are a good example - are supplied by a variety of businesses that focus on one aspect of the occasion. Wedding dress makers, for example, or wedding planners. And don't forget – every wedding has a photographer, and these can be a good source not only of high quality photographs of your cakes for your portfolio, but also of informal co-promotional arrangements. You recommend him to your clients, he recommends you to his - you are both in different niches of the same industry, so you are not competing against each other - and in fact recommending other quality professionals to a client can only add value to the service you are providing.

You've baked the cake - it's delicious. You have practised and developed your decorating skills to the point where even you are impressed by your spectacular creation. Now all you need is to let everyone else know what you are capable of, and that you are available for their weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and any other occasion that needs a professional quality cake as a centrepiece. Here are some more promotional ideas for your cake decorating business.

Get to know local cafe and restaurant managers Many of these do catering for special occasions and celebrations - either as in-house functions, or as outside catering arrangements - and are always on the lookout for people to createcakes for them. Show them some good photos,

or even samples of your work, and ask them to keep in touch with you regarding opportunities they may have. Become their "go to person" for cakes.

Enter competitions Showing your cakes in local agricultural shows or baking competitions is a very good way of getting your name and abilities known, and also gives you a chance to compare your skills and product with others in the field. If you win prizes, this gives added impact when mentioned in your advertising material, and can even get a mention in the local paper. Don't underestimate this avenue of promotion - there is a lot of opportunity here.

Do a few "freebies" It doesn't hurt to make and decorate the odd cake for free - perhaps family functions, or maybe the anniversary of a society or club you are a member of - this is another good promotional opportunity, especially if you are just starting out. Make sure everyone knows who made the cake - you are likely to be attending these functions as a guest, so don't be shy of doing a bit of self promotion. If the MC or person cutting the cake thanks you publicly, make sure you are seen so everyone knows who you are. This will lead to conversation and give you further opportunity to promote yourself and hand out your card. Remember that everyone attending these functions has their own networks independently of this, so word of mouth can spread exponentially. (And don't forget that the costs of freebies are a legitimate tax deduction as a promotional expense!)

Use a follow up letter to secure repeat business A few weeks after you have decorated a cake for a client, send them a follow up letter thanking them for their custom and enquiring as to their satisfaction with your service. A brief questionnaire may be useful here. Include a business card and a brochure, and invite them to contact you with any future requirements they may have. Repeat business is the lifeblood of any commercial enterprise, and the cake decorating business is in a unique position to take full advantage of this. Everyone has a birthday each year, every company has people retiring at some stage, and even though weddings are a one off, they generate an anniversary each year that many people like to celebrate formally. The opportunities are endless.

Monitor engagement announcements in your local newspaper If you are working in the wedding niche, this is a great source of clients for your cake decorating business. Most people announce their engagement a considerable time before the wedding, so they may not have started their planning yet. Now is the time to strike - find contact details by using the telephone directory and get your name and your business details to them.