Where to Begin?

Hi, I'm Jessica. I have always loved to bake. I have memories all the way back to Elementary school of me in the kitchen - always making a mess! I remember making sugar cookies with runny icing dyed a million colors while my Mom wasn't home and taking them to my piano recital reception. In high school, I got a little better. My best friend and I baked Christmas cookies and delivered them to friends every year. They were a hit! When I was 16, I entered chocolate zucchini bread and pumpkin muffins in our county's youth show with my Home Economics class. The chocolate zucchini bread won first prize and my muffins won the "Rosette" grand prize, over all of the other baked goods at the show. I began to think that I could be good at baking!
I went to college to become a nurse. I still don't know why, but it never crossed my mind to pursue training in Culinary Arts or Pastry.
In 2006, I gave my first child her first birthday party. My best friend came from out of town and we worked for hours on her birthday cake. It was perfect. Amateur, but perfect. And I was hooked. I started asking for baking supplies and equipment for my birthday and Christmas. That year, my mom and mother-in-law both gave me a ton of cake and cookie decorating supplies. I've thrown birthday parties for my kids every year since, and my sister has always helped me- or if I had a newborn, she just did the cake for me.
In January 2010, I held my first cake tasting for a wedding in my home. The clients were friends and it was a lot of fun. Over the last 13 months, I have done many birthday cakes, showers, and 3 weddings. I have also experimented and brought goodies to my co-workers to taste, and sent some to work with my husband.
At my husband's company Christmas party a couple of months ago, I talked with a friend who works with my husband, casually, about how I would love to have my own bakery. She also, as it turned out, wanted to be a business owner.
A couple of weeks later, she emailed me and basically said, "let's open a bakery!"
I will let her introduce herself!