This is probably one of the hardest parts of this business – as “newbies” we all make the mistake of charging less because we are not 100% confident of our work – but even if you are new – price your goods right from the very first day – trust me, you’ll be glad you did.
Figure out how much it costs to make your cakes – ingredients, time to bake & decorate, time to design cake, equipment, etc. Bakers always forget to pay themselves for their time – assign a per hour rate and add this to the cost of the cake.
Once you have a basic idea of YOUR out-of-pocket cost, then you can decide how much of a profit you’d like to make. I suggest you call around to find out what other bakers/bakeries are charging for their cakes and try to price your product(s) accordingly.
For me, the easiest way is to charge clients a “per serving” charge for buttercream and for fondant cakes – for example if you charge $3.50/serving for fondant cakes – simply multiply this amount by the # of servings the client wants – some bakers prefer to charge a flat fee for the different size cakes – at the end, it’s really up to you, but make sure that you not only cover your costs, but that you make a profit – even if it’s a small one while you are making a name for yourself – hope this helps!
DJ - Fun Fiesta Cakes
