I have been making cakes for freinds and family for fun for about 2 years and now I am starting to get request from friends. I make it and tell them what it cost me in materials and then they pay what they want. Which has been totally fine so I could practice and have fun.

Now everyone is saying I should do this for real! I have NO buisness or math skill and have no idea where to begin pricing. I have heard per slice cost is most common, but how do you make that when each cake is different. I have had some of the same serving size, but one took 2 hours decoration time and one 5-6 hours.

I have made cakes both from packages and from scratch (it usually depended on time frame and schedule) I have been starting to make my own swiss buttercream I like it better and I have been testing recipes because if I do this I would want to make everything from scratch. I usually make custom cake to match invataions or themes. I get info and draw sketches and make the cake from there. And then I am thinking how do I do tasting?

My church has a big craft and buisness fair in Oct and I thought that would be a good time to "start". Any information would be Greatly appreciated.

Thanks for Reading and possibly returning some great information!

You first need to find out if it is legal for you to sell home-baked goods in your state. Many do not allow it. You must do all your work in a licensed commercial kitchen. Even for the cost of materials, it is not legal.

As for pricing, you have to look around in your area as a place to start. Everyone develops a pricing structure that works for them and the kind of work they do.

I am still pretty new to cake decorating, but I am working out of my home to make cakes. It is legal in OH so please don't anyone yell at me about not being legal. I just wanted to say that you mention you don't have business or math skills. I think that anyone on here will tell you that is the majority of running a cake business, not the actual cake decorating. I managed a restaurant for 8 years and I'm still struggling with some of the business aspects of it. Luckily I have a friend who is an accountant and a boyfriend who already runs his own business so I can ask them a lot of questions. My advice to you would be to come up with a business plan and make sure that part of it is something you can actually handle. JMO

I wouldn't let your lack of business or math skills stop you. As long as you're willing to learn these skills as you go along, you should be OK. Do you have any friends who have recently started their own business or do you know someone who has owned their own business for some time? These people may be willing and able to help you get started by refering you to reputable lawyers, accountants, etc.. and by giving you practical advice on owning/running your own business. It would probably be preferable if they were in a non-cake related field so that they don't perceive you as competition though. Good luck to you.