Just before leaving work yesterday, I checked my emails and opened one from a friend entitled "cake". She wanted to know if I could make her a cake for today. And I would have to bring it to work so she could pick it up at 7:00 am. I laughed to myself as I answered "Nope." Then I actually felt a bit guilty, because I wasn't doing anything so important last night that I couldn't have made the cake. Except for that feeling of being taken advantage of. And darn it, if it was so important to have a cake for today, she should've thought about it sooner!

So....what is the shortest deadline you would consider for doing a cake?Without feeling totally put-upon?

for a good friend, if i was doing nothing, and was wanting to do something other than slump and watch tv, i would do it in an evening. if i felt like it. but if i had plans to be watching tv, id be saying no!
xx

Wow. Well, probably 3 days notice at the latest, to allow for full payment (cash only) up front, and that's only if I hadn't planned anything at all for the time. Friends or random customer. I'd have to be really hard up or seriously liking the design though!

Probably about a week if I was desperate for work, which rarely happens. Maybe two weeks normally.

For customers... I request a minimum of 3 weeks, notice, but I will make some rare exceptions with 2 weeks notice if they really beg and I'm in a good mood. Less than 2 week they're out of luck.

For family & friends, generally even then I don't do anything with less than 2 weeks notice unless I'm feeling really generous lol.

In both cases, it's not because I can't, but #1 I don't want to set a precedent for being the one to go to for "last minute" cakes and #2 Cakes are my job, but not my life. I make my personal plans at least 2 weeks out based on whether or not I have cakes on the books, and I'm not EVER going to cancel personal stuff for work... ever.

Oh I would never cancel anything either, ya got that right. I'd have to be realllllly in love with a design to do it on such short notice.

The first wedding cake I ever did, began as a small three-tier "cutting cake" and 150 cupcakes for a reception at the same small church.

Me, not knowing much about servings or the business or anything, got a call from a friend of the bride's aunt the night before. 7 PM, they were worried there wouldn't be enough cake...didn't understand the size of the "cutting cake"...

So at 7 PM I ran out to get more ingredients for a larger wedding cake due at noon the next day. I totally didn't know what I was doing. I bet they had a ton of cake left over and I lost a night of sleep too.

"NEVUH AGIN".