Hi, that is the million $ question. We all go through growing pains when it comes to knowing how much to charge!
There are many factors involved in the process. The first thing you need to know is the cost of producing the goods – try your best to figure out how much it costs you to make a cake, cupcakes, cookies or whatever you’d like to sell – don’t forget to include the time you spend baking and decorating and the supplies you use like fondant. You must charge enough to cover your costs and make a profit – otherwise, you are working for free.
I also suggest you call around the different bakeries to see how much they charge for similar products – this should give you a basic idea of what people are willing to pay. Remember that you are creating custom cakes, which is a different product from the cakes your clients may find at Costco, Publix or Wall-Mart. If they give you a hard time about your prices – these are not the clients you want!
As we start a cake business, we are very eager to sell and yes, for the most part we are unsure of our ability, so we under-price our work. Once you get into the habit of charging less than the going pork, it will be very difficult to bring your prices up.
To make it easier on yourself, you can either price your cake by its size (8", 10", 12") or by the number of servings, which is what most bakers do. Either way, have a price list ready. Best of luck and hope this helped out some.
DJ - Fun Fiesta Cakes
