Home | Recipes for Success

Turn Your Artistic Passion Into A Business

Are you a home-based artist, maker, or craftsperson interested in turning your passion into a business?

Join us for a 2-part FREE WEBINAR on February 25th (part 1) and March 4th (part 2)

You will learn:

Basic components of a Business Plan
Licenses needed to start your business
Local resources available to help you

To sign up, fill out both pages of the below sign up form and email to Gavin Bruce at

Webinar Sign-Up Form

COVID-19 Update

Due to the ever-changing situation regarding COVID-19, all in-person classes are postponed until further notice.

For the time being, we will only be providing webinars.

For information on upcoming webinars and how to sign up, please view the "Classes and Sign-Ups" page below.

Our staff can still be reached for general inquiries regarding our program or cottage food businesses in general.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

If you currently own a small business and are looking for resources related to COVID-19 and small business relief, visit by clicking the button below.

www.cabizrelief.org

A Bit of Background

In 2013, the California State Legislature passed the "California Homemade Food Act," which permits residents in the state to produce low-risk, nonperishable foods in their home kitchens and sell their products to the general public. These are known as "Cottage Food Operations" or CFOs.

Recipes For Success is a cottage food microenterprise program started by Opportunity Stanislaus to teach aspiring entrepreneurs in Stanislaus County how to start a small food business out of their home kitchen.

The program consists of four classes that cover regulations and guidelines; permitting requirements; food safety training; and the basics of managing and promoting a small business. At the end of the classes, each participant will receive a ServSafe certificate, which is required in order to obtain a cottage food license. Follow-up assistance will be provided to help program participants navigate the permitting process and access local resources for small businesses. In total the four courses consist of 12 classroom hours.

To find out more about the regulations, licenses, and requirements for starting a cottage food business in Stanislaus County, click on the button below.

Licenses, Permits, and Regulations

Recipes for Success: Program Components

Classes

Classes through the Recipes for Success program offer instruction covering:

Guidelines and requirements for cottage food businesses in California
Licensing and permitting requirements
Fundamentals of managing and promoting a small business
All Stanislaus County residents who participate in the webinars and/or the physical classes are entitled to follow-up assistance after the last webinar.
All Stanislaus County residents enrolled in the physical, in-person classes are eligible for a reimbursement for the cost of their cottage food license. For webinars, only Modesto residents are eligible for this reimbursement

Follow-Up Assistance

After the four cottage food classes have been completed and the ServSafe certificate has been obtained, staff will contact participants to assist in navigating the permitting and licensing process, answer any follow up questions, connect participants with local resources available to small businesses and start-ups, and help them access markets and vendors. All enrollees in the class will have access to the webinars and class follow up materials. Participants who reside in Stanislaus County will have access to free follow up assistance from our staff. Participants who reside in the City of Modesto may be eligible to have the fees for their Cottage Food License application covered by the program. All participants will be responsible for covering all other costs associated with starting their business.