Most times, we are trained to believe that cooking is for the female folk. While this may not be true in its real sense, the truth is that women are more comfortable with food preparation than men.
Now, if you have heard those admonitions that you cannot do excel in something you hate, then you will realize that one of the best home businesses that women can embrace and succeed in may be related to cooking.
Glamour has become the second nature of man, in that while quality is being looked for, beauty and elegance are never relegated to the background. That is why you will see people falling in love with some foods because of their look and charm, instead of their real taste.
One of the best home businesses that women can actually get involved in is the business of making food to look so good and yummy when the need arises.
So, food styling for menus, advertisement, cookbooks and other uses could be a wonderful home business for women who seek to establish one. This culminates in the total act of arranging and decorating food in such a way that it looks so tasty, fresh, charming and alluring.
So, because many women are in love with cooking and food, food styling could be that effortless home business that makes them happy and puts some good money in their pockets.
How to Succeed with a Home Business in The Food Industry
Succeeding in whichever home business you choose as a woman will depend on some factors. The most important of those are listed below. You need to assimilate these and follow them religiously if you wish to hit the Golden Fleece in any home business you get into.
1. Talent
Now, you don’t have to jump into any business because you feel it is profitable or because others are going into it. If you do, that will be your number one recipe for failure.
If you intend to go into food styling, you have to first of all access your talent in the field.
What are you actually good at? What can you accomplish effortlessly in the kitchen and dining hall?
The talents you have are the foundation for any success in any business. If you do not have aesthetic value, have no knack for the best color combination, cannot cook well, and does not have eyes for details, then this is not for you.
Read also: How Samantha Successfully Monetized a Brand New Food Blog
2. Skills
When you have considered how talented you are in the field, then you should look at your skills. These are the traits you have acquired or learned over time, and the art of cooking and decoration is part of this.
Your talent comes with you from birth, but your skills are developed.
So, what have you learned over the years that will help you in your food styling business? Is it customer service, marketing, accounting or design?
3. Determine Whether Your Home Based Business is Well Suited
Of course, whenever you are starting any home based business, you have to be sure the area where the business is located is proper.
If your home is in the suburbs, you will be a little bit difficult to access to the buyers. The magazines and cookbooks you will be advertising for will be in touch with you, and they will want you to live close by. Though a lot of business transactions are done online these days, proximity still matters.
4. Ascertaining The Profit Angle
Your food styling home business is not a charitable endeavor, so you have to look at the profit angle before you start.
People must be willing to buy what you are producing as a home business. So before you delve in, you have to run a detailed market research and even get in touch with some clients.
5. Business Plan
This is where you get to lay out all the details of your proposed food styling business. A business plan is good not only to access loans but to make sure your business will be properly guided.
Everything about what it takes, the market outlook, the staff strength, the clientele, and proposed earnings must be listed properly here.
6. Funding
Of course, your home business is something you do with your hand. But a lot of funds will also be involved.
If you are food styling for a cookbook, for instance, you have to get the food and do the cooking and styling before you get paid. These will involve good money.
The Core of Food Styling As a Business
When you start this business, your natural cooking talent and conventional cooking skills alone will not do it for you. There are tips and tricks you will need to learn for you to be able to churn out those mouth-watering food images.
For instance, when you cook meat completely, it loses mass and moisture and become very small. So, cooking it to look just done is the best way.
To make some dishes like pancakes and hamburgers look inviting, things like toothpicks, wooden skewers, and others may be shoved through them.
To make sure that the food is in place, food stylists make use of potty and wax. This will hold the food firmly on a hard surface so that it won’t roll over or tip.
For dishes like shrimp cocktail and even drinks, the clear acrylic ice cubes are better used than the normal ice cubes. These ones will be intact in a warm atmosphere and they do not mess the place easily.
Food items are given that charming color with dye and paints. In the bid to get the best photographs, pancake syrup is jettisoned and motor oil used. There are also cases where milk is replaced with white glue for the thickness and consistency.
Food Styling Home Business Rudiments
Qualification
Now, there is no educational qualification for food stylists and home business owners. Though some people may have some certificates in catering and other related courses, it’s not a must.
The most important thing is for you to be passionate about cooking and food.
Once you have the aesthetic value and the eyes for subtle details, and you are in love with food, you are good to go.
Work Environment
To bring out the best images of foods, you may need editors, chefs and photographers. That is if you don’t want to be all these.
Now, you have to know that the attire of the food stylist, the plates on which the food is served, the placemats, tablecloths and the room decor also count in making people fall in love with the food. So, you need to factor all these in, if you need an amazing food styling career.
Salary Outlook
The amount earned by home business food stylists vary based on a lot of things. But the average income was around $40,890 in 2010.
About The Author
This is a guest post by Eva Henderson.
