Weeks 9–10: Your First-Customer Playbook

Do not rely only on social media for your first orders. Social media takes months to build meaningful reach. Your first 10 orders will almost certainly come from somewhere else.

Where Your First Orders Actually Come From

1. Direct personal outreach. Text — not post — text 10 specific people: “I’m launching a home bakery next month and looking for my first few customers. Would you be interested in an order, or do you know someone who would?” This converts at a high rate because it’s personal and specific. A post to 50 followers gets 2 views. A text to 10 people gets 10 reads.
2. Local Facebook groups. Join your city’s local buy/sell group, neighborhood group, and any food-specific local groups before you need to sell. Introduce yourself: “I’m a home baker launching soon — happy to answer questions about cottage food in [your city].” When you launch, you’re a known person, not a stranger.
3. Schools and offices. Teachers, office managers, team leads — these people order for birthdays and events regularly and order more than once if you’re reliable. One good connection can be 6 orders a year. Bring samples. Let the product do the selling.
4. The soft launch strategy. Before you announce publicly, offer your first 5–10 orders to your close network at your full price. This gives you real orders to practice on, real photos of real orders, and word-of-mouth referrals that start before your public launch post.

Customer Policies — Write These Before Your First Order

This is the piece most bakers skip and deeply regret when a customer cancels the night before pickup, disputes a design, or requests a refund because they “just didn’t like the taste.”

Your policies are not rude. They are what every professional business has. And having them written before your first order means you never make a hard call on the fly.

Every Policy You Need

• Deposit policy: 50% non-refundable at booking. Order is not confirmed until deposit is received.
• Final payment: Remaining balance due at or before pickup. No order released without payment in full.
• Minimum lead time: At least 2 weeks notice for all orders. Rush orders at your discretion with a rush fee.
• Order changes: Flavor and size changes accepted up to 7 days before pickup. No changes after baking begins.
• Cancellation by customer: Deposit forfeited. If cancelled within 72 hours of pickup, full amount owed.
• Cancellation by you: 100% refund within 3 business days. You are not liable for consequential damages.
• Allergen disclosure: “Our products are made in a home kitchen that also processes [list allergens]. It is the customer’s responsibility to disclose all allergies at time of ordering.”
• Design approval: You send a concept for approval before baking. Once approved, the design is confirmed. No changes after approval.
• Photo rights: You may photograph all orders for portfolio and social media purposes.
• Taste guarantee: “Custom baked goods are made to order and cannot be resold. Contact me within 24 hours of pickup for any quality concern. Refunds based on personal taste preference are not offered.”
• Acceptance of terms: “By placing an order and submitting a deposit, you agree to these policies.”

Write your policies in Appendix H of your binder. Then copy-paste them into your order form, your website, and your social media link-in-bio page. See them everywhere — every customer who places an order has agreed to them.