Hi everyone! I think this is the hardest issue when it comes to decorating. We all decorate cause we love doing it and a lot of us want to make it into a successful business. Sadly alot of us have done the “cheaper” cakes and it isn’t really much help. I rather donate a cake than do it for cheap cause that can spread like wildfire and than everyone will come to you cause you do awesome cakes for hardly anything. Here are a few tips I have learned some most the hard way and some from others who learned it the hard way….
1) Figure out how much your cake is actually costing you to make it. That number is usually alot higher than we think it is.
2) Don’t worry about scaring off the customer with your price. Ask them what they want, give them a quote, ask them their budget than tell them what you can do for their budget. You shouldn’t cut your profit in order to make them happy but you can try and work with their budget. I think of it this way, do I really want to cut into time with my family to stay up late working on a cake that I charged 50 bucks for but spent 30 in supplies….no and neither should you.
3) If they are really fighting for a cheap price and being difficult about the design, flavors, price etc…do you really want to do a cake for them? Some times you get someone you know will never be pleased with your work no matter how hard you try and it’s best to tell them sorry you can’t do their cake. Better than you being in tears and them being mad.
4) Ignore grocery store bakery prices! You can not compete with them and if you got someone that wants a cake for their prices that person is not a client for you.
5) Remember why you started decorating, it’s a labor of love but try not to make it into another chore.
6) If your doing cakes for free be careful, it becomes hard when you do them free for a friend and than a acquaintance, before you know it your doing it for free for everyone cause everyone is your friend when you do it for free. My teacher told me, never do cakes for free, not even for family and I understand that better now. If I really don’t want to charge them I still make them trade me something, they feel better and so do I, . Babysit my kids one night, make me some cake stands, teach me something. I know this one may not apply to you funfetti but I thought someone might find it useful :)
I’m sure I can think of more but it’s late and my brain went to bed a hr ago. Get practice dummies for play, make your own MMF (marshamallow fondant) it’s cheap and works great. I also take extra batter from cake orders and bake all sorts of different shaped cakes to practice on later. That way I dont waste anything and later I can make a cake I wanted to do.
This is just from my personally experience, I knew the guidelines and I still broke them, sometimes you have to learn the hard way for things to stick. Last year was one of my busiest, most fun decorating year ever, but I made hardly anything and pretty much all my time into the decorating. This year I will do it again but stick to my prices, when no one comes work on projects I wanted to make and most importantly enjoy my free time with my family and my long lost friend name Sleep.
I’m happy they lifted that law funfetti! I live in AK and they are going to lift it I think. We are a military family so chances will be next time we move we will get put into a state that it’s not allowed again. Best of luck to all of you and keep us posted :)
Jessica, Kodiak Alaska http://www.facebook.com/ConceptualConfections
