Word Of Caution To Those Thinking Of Starting Up From Home.
Business By cara1982 Updated 8 Dec 2014 , 8:49pm by Pastrybaglady
I've been addicted to this site for nearly 4 years now and I just do not get the
"giving customers discounts because I felt sorry for their financial situations " thing.
I have seen this mentioned 1,000's of times.
Why on earth would anyone feel sorry for someone's financial situation as it relates to CAKE ???
Reasons I can understand to "feel sorry" for a stranger's financial situation to the point where I will donate money or cake or time:
Icing Smiles and similar organizations
Charity (example: Ronald McDonald House--which is NOT supported by McDonald's, by the way!, families who have lost their homes/belongings to fire/fire/earthquake, etc.)
Medical emergencies
Family with kids needs new brakes on their car
Kids from elementary school who need new shoes or coats or books
Homeless people
People who need respite or a night out after intensive care-giving
...the list can go on and on
but....CAKE??? Seriously?
just don't get it
ASomewhere along the way....people began to think that they are entitled to full out custom cakes. When in actuality custom cakes is a luxury item! Good for you if you can get it. But if you can't then grocery store it is!
I do charity work with icing smiles. That's the only thing free
AOh it's a real thing... I once had a customer who made enquiries about the 3 tier marvel superhero cake that's been going round for ages. She said her son was having a joint b'day party with a cousin and her cake was a big castle so wanted something that would be equally as awesome. I got excited planning it all then she came back saying that it was just too much money and could only afford £40 So I compromised and ended up giving her as much as I could for her budget… [IMG]http://www.cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3293950/width/200/height/400[/IMG] This was the point where I said to myself "oh I don't need the money, I'd like to make this cake, she said thank you twice so she must be grateful" I need to be a cake fairy instead....
AWhat? Wait! Ronald Mcdonald Houses are NOT supported by McDonalds??!! I buy my son Happy Meals because i thought they do!
A
Original message sent by Apti
I've been addicted to this site for nearly 4 years now and I just do not get the "[I]giving customers discounts because I felt sorry for their financial situations[/I] " thing.
I have seen this mentioned 1,000's of times.
Why on earth would anyone feel sorry for someone's financial situation as it relates to [U][I]CAKE[/I][/U] ???
Reasons I can understand to "feel sorry" for a stranger's financial situation to the point where I will donate money or cake or time: Icing Smiles and similar organizations Charity (example: Ronald McDonald House--which is NOT supported by McDonald's, by the way!, families who have lost their homes/belongings to fire/fire/earthquake, etc.) Medical emergencies Family with kids needs new brakes on their car Kids from elementary school who need new shoes or coats or books Homeless people People who need respite or a night out after intensive care-giving ...the list can go on and on
but....CAKE??? Seriously?
just don't get it
Preach! Yes, yes, yes.
ANobody has EVER felt sorry for me because I can't afford their premium product. Either I can afford their price or I can't, it's done. Same with me, cake is a non-essential (unfortunately!) so either you can afford it or you can't. Why should I work for free or next to nothing to help you out? Are you going to return the favour? I can't see them all lining up at my door with that offer on the table...yes please, clean my house and do my garden and then we'll talk cake.....
That said, yes you will get free cake IF I want to give it out. Some special people (mostly kids) do get a free cake from me. It's my decision though, not yours!
Quote:
"Nobody has EVER felt sorry for me because I can't afford their premium product. Either I can afford their price or I can't, .............."
Not so true about McDonalds:
Ronald McDonald houses might not exist today without the wife of Ray Kroc, founder of McDonalds. She established an endowment of $500,000 for each RM house that opened in the US, using her McDonald's shareholder status/income. So McDonald's did indeed play a huge role in those RM houses as she chose to allocate all of that seed money to them.
Ronald McDonald houses were founded in honor of Ray Kroc, as he was a children's advocate.
No one company funds RMH, as is is a 501c3 charity. They accept money from multiple corporate sources and volunteers. However, several hundred million dollars have been collected in the boxes at the McDonald's checkout counter.
Mcdonalds Corporation has everything to do with RMH, so eat those Big Macs!
research, research, research….
What an honest and supportive group here. So good to see. Take all of their advises, it's loaded with great information. Apply the points they've made in relation to your issues and follow through. Consider this a lesson learned and a stripe you've earned. Keep going with your business and do well!
example: Ronald McDonald House--which is NOT supported by McDonald's, by the way!
Not so true about McDonalds:
Ronald McDonald houses might not exist today without the wife of Ray Kroc, founder of McDonalds. She established an endowment of $500,000 for each RM house that opened in the US, using her McDonald's shareholder status/income. So McDonald's did indeed play a huge role in those RM houses as she chose to allocate all of that seed money to them.
Ronald McDonald houses were founded in honor of Ray Kroc, as he was a children's advocate.
No one company funds RMH, as is is a 501c3 charity. They accept money from multiple corporate sources and volunteers. However, several hundred million dollars have been collected in the boxes at the McDonald's checkout counter.
Mcdonalds Corporation has everything to do with RMH, so eat those Big Macs!
research, research, research….
Norasmom~~I owe you and the other reader's of this thread an apology. My apologies everyone. I let my personal disdain show when I typed the statement above, and did not provide sufficient information. (Maybe I can blame my lapse on all the political mail with half-truth's I've been getting in the mail?) No. I was wrong. "example: Ronald McDonald House--which is NOT supported by McDonald's, by the way!"
I should have been more precise and stated: "example: Ronald McDonald House--which is NOT wholly supported, only about 20% overall, by McDonald's by the way!"
McDonald's does not provide 100% of the revenue necessary for the Ronald McDonald Houses (various news sources cite from 10% to 20%), while benefiting from 100% of the PR associated with the charity. I personally find this reprehensible.
Until I began working with the local RMH in my city, I, and every single person I've had a conversation with since, thought that this marvelous, outstanding charity (which is given honors every year for use of the funds and transparency) was funded primarily by the McDonald corporation. I was shocked to my toes to learn that only about 10%-12% of my city's RMH is provided by McDonalds. I was further shocked to discover that most of those $$ were provided by the franchisees and the customers of the franchisees who choose to help, not the corporate ownership.
I came home from that tour of my local RMH and did indeed do my research.
What you have stated above is true. However, the current corporate stance on providing funds to Ronald McDonald House(s), is, I feel, shockingly low. I also, personally feel that the corporate entity of McDonald's receives a huge PR benefit from the association with the Ronald McDonald Houses, with an inappropriately low (in my opinion) contribution to the actual day-to-day operations.
I apologize for hi-jacking the thread, but if you wish to read further, you are welcome to google these terms which I used to do a quick search:
what percentage does McDonald's provide for ronald mcdonald houses?
Here are two articles that came up on the search, one from Forbes, and one from the website of the Albany Ronald McDonald House. There are many, many more articles.
November 2013 article by Forbes:
"Report Finds McDonald's Skimps on Charity Donations"
How is RMHC of the Capital Region, Inc. funded?
http://www.rmhcofalbany.org/what-we-do/ronald-mcdonald-house/faq.cfm
I appreciate very much the advice given by everyone. Especially the advice related to starting or running a cake decorating business! So much great advice and a few laughs as well. :)
I started baking simply as a creative outlet. My hobby has grown and now I have people wanting to pay me to make cakes, cookies, etc for them. (Great, now I will not have any expenses!) Not too long after that, my hobby started to take on a life of it's own and people were likewise giving me that famous statement "you should go into business". I was not charging much for my creations in part because I learn as I go when working on sculpted cakes, etc. No pressure if they are not perfect was the idea I had in mind. I also felt that since I am not a professional with a real business, I had no business asking a fair price for my work. Um, wrong. I now understand this only devalues my work.
Even though I am not a professional decorator/baker, and only take on a few projects a month, I also have had run-ins with some of the same sort of people who expect the moon for a few pennies. I used to think this was just what I had to do as a hobby baker. Not any more! One of these people is related to one of my in-laws. She actually tried to duck out on paying me for my materials! When I told her she forgot to pay me for my expenses, she claimed she left her checkbook in her car. She just looked at me for a few minutes before figuring out that she was not going to get one hand on her cake unless she payed me for my materials. She trudged out to her car for her check book and took the longest time writing her check. Geeze!!! The next time I heard from her I told her she was going to have to pay more as the price of groceries had gone through the roof. She gulped and then I guess she figured she was going to ask for the moon since she was going to have to pony up a bit more and started to request all kinds of add-ons to her original request. Needless to say, I chose not to make this or any other cakes for her ever again. It seems that some people really do not appreciate anything someone does for them. Oh, and she also wanted my recipe for fondant so she could make it herself. Yeah, when pigs fly.
I also require two weeks advance notice because I usually need to adjust my schedule to accommodate a baking project. At first, I felt like I was letting someone down because they called on short notice. I have since learned the importance of creating boundaries and it has become easy to say "I am sorry but I require two weeks notice".
If you do not respect your work, no one else is going to either! If someone wants something for nothing, the Walmart is right down the road.
Thanks everyone for the valuable advice! You are all great teachers for the rest of us! :)
You are right in some aspects. I have started from home and like you said family and friends either expect free baked goods or baked goods at a discounted price. Most of the individuals I know do not want to pay for the homemade products because they can go to the local grocer and obtain them cheaper. I had to come up with a strategy in order to acquire my customer base, but it is definitely not easy. Slowly but surely I am acquiring more customers by word of mouth and by attending various vending events.
A
Original message sent by costumeczar
Oh, and no matter what you do, if you do it well, people will say "you should start a business." It's easy for people to say, but not necessarily what should really happen. It's like the people in the audience at game shows screaming at the contestant to choose curtain #1...They can yell all the advice they want to, they have nothing to lose.
Aint this the truth! People will say "you should start a business", you open one from home. Next comes "You should open a store!", "You should be on Cupcake Wars!"... oh whatever.
Quote:
Aint this the truth! People will say "you should start a business", you open one from home. Next comes "You should open a store!", "You should be on Cupcake Wars!"... oh whatever.
And doesn't it then follow with..."You want HOW much for a 10" round? But it's only $20 at Sams Club!" and "You should give me the "friend's" discount."
I got that line ("you should start a business") from a friend that I made a three tier (maybe 4", 6", 8", or larger- I don't remember) custom design cake with fondant decorations and figures for Iranian New Years (her friends RAVED!). They ALL wanted one. MY answer? "Yup, they all want one for $50, and would think they were doing me a favor and try to get it down to $30. And I would be hesitant to do it for $300." My friend agreed. HA!
EVERYONE loves you and your cake....when it is free. Whose gonna bite the hand that feeds them (literally)? Ask that same person if they would pay $X for it, with the custom design, custom flavors, etc. THAT's the real question.
Quote:
Aint this the truth! People will say "you should start a business", you open one from home. Next comes "You should open a store!", "You should be on Cupcake Wars!"... oh whatever.
Okay, this just happened...My daughter is 16 and I've had a wedding cake business since she was a baby. I've had an Etsy shop for the last three years or so, so she has no illusions about what I do for work.
So she said that she was thinking to herself..."Mama makes some really cool stuff. She should start a business." Then she realized what she was thinking and gave herself a mental dope slap. She told me about it and I just about died laughing. It just proves that regardless of the situation, the first thing that people think is "you should start a business!"
Quote:
Okay, this just happened...My daughter is 16 and I've had a wedding cake business since she was a baby. I've had an Etsy shop for the last three years or so, so she has no illusions about what I do for work.
So she said that she was thinking to herself..."Mama makes some really cool stuff. She should start a business." Then she realized what she was thinking and gave herself a mental dope slap. She told me about it and I just about died laughing. It just proves that regardless of the situation, the first thing that people think is "you should start a business!"
How funny is that?!! I have a friend that not only told me I NEED to get a store front, but that she knew just the place where it should be and there was an available space. Of course what I said was, "Thank you for thinking of me, but that's not my goal right now." What I thought in my head was: Okay, first of all, NO FREAKING WAY! and second of all, that's not near where I live, that's near where YOU live, and thirdly why don't YOU buy the space and HIRE me? 
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