Starting home-based cheesecake business? Home bakery laws?

[wendlesora]

I'm a freshman in college and having a really hard time finding a job. I make cheesecakes all the time when my family gets together for holidays. I made a Pumpkin Cheesecake last Thanksgiving and a White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake last weekend for Easter.

Anyways, everyone always love them and one of my family members recommended to me that I start a little cheesecake business. Take people's orders and deliver them, etc. I thought it was a neat idea and a fun way to make some extra cash.
Keep in mind, I'm a college student so I don't have a ton of start up capital and I would have to do this out of my home, and I wouldn't be able to register my business, etc. I just can't afford it. It'd be like a big kid lemonade stand. Maybe 5 cheesecakes per week.

Well, come to find out in California it's illegal to sell baked goods out of your home.

So, there goes that idea.
It really annoys me, I'm a college student, broke as it is, have a decent idea to make some extra cash...but nooooo. Government has to come and ruin everything.
They make small business so hard, it's ridiculous.

What happened to the days where you could do this thing?

I'm so ticked off and probably just going to try doing this anyways.

CA Public Health Dept, FDA; if you're reading this come and arrest. IDGAF.
Unemployment is ridiculous especially amongst us students, maybe if you'd stop making it so damn hard to start businesses we could do something for ourselves.
My kitchen is clean, I'm very sanitary, and I'm a freak about cooking clean.

I give up.

[aviya]

do some more research
in your area from commercial
kitchens rental. where u rent
the kitchen for 4 hours to do your
cheesecakes that u have and order
and 1/2 deposit for.
Don't take regulations personal
it is for 'idiots' who harm the public.
as for jobs, yes it is hard , u may not
have been taught how to hunt for
a job or u setting sight to high.
Plenty of books to help u find
a cash flowing job u can do around
college.

[winwood]

even here you have to have a commercial kitchen to be able to make food for sale, and you'd need that kitchen to be inspected, and you'd need a license. How you start a business is by doing your 5-year business plan, determine how much money you have and how much you can afford to spend. Most businesses fail within the first five years and so that's why you need to prepare the plan. It takes 5 years to make a profit so it's not a job...I mean, you can't expect money to just be pouring in because you'd need to use the money that comes in for the rental of that commercial kitchen, for the electricity, for your phone, transportation (gas, insurance, etc), you'd need a business license, and a lot of other things, for another person to answer your phones and you'd need to pay them. I guess you didn't know having a business is not a way to make extra cash. And even little kids lemonade stands get fined if they don't have a business license.
Now that you said you plan to be illegal, even if you don't get fined you'll soon find out you won't have any spending money from doing that, if you do the budgeting properly.

[bedyw25]

you need to read the statue very carefully because here in SC as long as it doesn't have to be refrigerated after it is baked you can sell them .In some states you can sell them as long as it is by word of mouth or if the customer request it,You just cant advertise in the phone book or the paper.Then you need to contact your congressman and puss for them to pass the cottage food bill which would mean you could do baked goods in your home w/o having to undergo inspections so long as it doesn't have to be refrigerated but in your case cheese cake does I think.Another option is to find a kitchen in a restaurant that will let you make them in their kitchen and you will provide them the cheese cake for free in exchange to use their kitchen a few nights a week.