okay i get asked to decorate alllll the time. i never know how to properly charge customers without being overpriced or underpriced. i want credit for making the cakes but i dont want them to have to pay that much for food. any suggestions?
.... but i dont want them to have to pay that much for food. any suggestions?
Yes. Get over that idea fast. If you decide to do this as a business, you have to run it like a business, not your own private welfare dept or charity organization.
A specially made, custom designed, towering creation of sugary art is not your basic "food" requirement. It's a luxury. As much as we want everyone to have one, people do not HAVE to have a cake like you see here on CC for a celebration event.
As long as you (the generic you) are standing there wringing hands, looking worried and asking "is that too much?" then you might as well just donate the whole thing from the git-go. It saves a lot of time and you feel used and abused all at once and you get it over with.
Otherwise ..... run it like a business.
To answer your original question on how much to charge, none of us on here can really give you a dollar figure. There are just too many factors involved, such as the recipe you use, what part of the country you're in, what kind of suppliers you have near you (buying from an expensive grocery store? a walmart? a sam's club?) and even down to how big is your oven and how many cake pans can you get in there at one time?
If you browse the Business FOrum, there is a gold mine of articles on price and pricing. That is the best starting point for someone getting started in the pricing issue.
ANd the "it's always a given but we say it anyway" stmt: Check your local state laws to find out what's involved in getting legal before you accept one dime.
"If you decide to do this as a business, you have to run it like a business, not your own private welfare dept or charity organization."
- Indydebi: That is the best advice I have heard on here. Thank you.
As per usual, Indydebi's right on target! Remember: they aren't paying for food, they're paing for a piece of original artwork! The fact that it's a temporary medium doesn't reduce that value (in a LOT of ways it INCREASES it because of the limited time frame for creating said piece of art).
Definately a good question mandygirlxoxo...I feel the same way. I like the answer...i am going to print out what Indydebi wrote and paste it on my decorating table...I need to remember this when asked to do a cake. I like what prterrell said about it being art...that is my bakery slogan, "we make edible art", I need to remember this when giving prices 
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%