Cottage food small business owners - is it worth it for a side hustle?

Hi everyone! Looking for some opinions as I’m interested in starting a small custom cakes & pastries side gig, but don’t really know where to start (or whether to start at all).

I’m a former restaurant pastry chef and current confectionery product developer, so I’m not as worried about the production or regulatory side. However, I’ve never started an actual business before and while I obviously love baking, I went away from it being my career for a few reasons such as the pay and hours being terrible lol. But I still love to make beautiful custom cakes and cookies for friends and family (but do so on my own dime right now), and I’m interested in turning it into a bit of a side hustle. Definitely not another full time job though.

As I have quite a bit of experience and pretty strong artistic ability, I’m assuming I’d be able to charge at a slightly higher cost compared to someone starting as a home baker. It would just be me, not planning to hire anyone for this. I’m also in one of the largest cities in the US with Cottage Food laws (IL) that seem like I’d be in compliance without an issue, I’d just need to get the Food Protection Manager certificate. My main concern is actually getting the clientele, as well as if there is even enough of a profit margin to justify taking this on. We have a few farmers markets around the city from spring-fall every year, but I’m not sure that’s the best place to advertise or sell in this case.

So does anyone have any experience starting a small cottage food business, especially for those making custom items like cakes and cookies? Is it worth it? Is there anything to watch out for or know in advance? Where do you try to get clientele? Social media?