I have had several ask if they can come by and "watch".. When I'm in my "cake zone" I don't like anyone in my space! I usually laugh it off. I actually did tell one of my friends that while I was doing cakes for other people I don't allow anyone in my kitchen due to insurance/liability reasons. Seemed to work although she knew I was full of it I'm sure!

Usually when someone asks me how to prepare something, it's someone who doesn't really cook. My respons is generally, "Oh! It's easy you just ....." and then I rattle off a list of ingredients and use lots of technical terms. Generally I get about a quarter of the way in and their eyes glaze over and they've lost interest.

Lmao I'm sorry for laughin but I agree with a lot of yous on sharing. A few of my friends have asked how do I do this and that so I explain. Then I tell them if u know how to pick a book then you too can become a cake decorator.they look @ me and scan a few books and say nah u good for it ill just order my cake from u instead. Lol but seriously just tell them to get a starter kit and practice just like u did. @ this time u can't share or teach because u have some orders to attend too.

I don't have a problem sharing my recipes.

Reason being......just because you give someone a recipe (especially a scratch one) it doesn't mean they'll pull it off successfully. In fact chances are they'll fail miserable.

It's taken me years to perfect my scratch recipes and I guarantee you the average "baker" just starting out would not be able to bake them successfully. (Not to mention I've converted them to weights so when I DO give them out they look at the measurements as if they're written in Chinese) lol!

No matter what WE may think.....baking is NOT something that everyone can do successfully.

I LOVE this thread!!!! I've had a similar experience as some of the earlier posters. I've been making cakes for about 7 years off and on. I've taken cake decorating levels 1, 2, 3 and an advanced decorating class in my city so I put a lot of time and money into this.

I finally decided this summer that I wanted to seriously wanted to pursue this as a business and 2 months later my SIL "decides" she wants to start a cake decorating business too!!!!! She had taken only level one at that point and her cakes looked like she had dropped them on the floor and scooped them back up and slapped them on to a cake board.

I offered to make her daughter's first birthday cake and she said that she wanted to make it herself. Fine. Then closer to the date she asked me for my buttercreme recipe, fine. Then she asked me to help her mix colour into fondant, borrow my tools, help her put the fondant on the cake. Fine. I helped her because she was family and I did it for my niece.

Two weeks after this she decided she had the skills to open her own decorating business. At no point in the process of teaching her did she mention that she wanted to open her own business. I heard it through other family members! I have hardly spoken to her since. I have learned my lesson.

Some people want to take advantage and make a fool of others. There will not be a third time in my case! I wouldn't give any pointers to anyone, just pass them your business card!

You know Mechanics and carpenters DO NOT lend their tools to each other. It is very taboo to even ask. There is no way I'm letting some amatuer use my tools. You are a saint.

There's a reason that you write "trade secret" on your recipes when you turn them in to the health department.

I don't like having people talking to me or watching me when I work, either, it's too distracting, so there's no way I'd invite someone over when I was actually working.

If you want to teach classes you could start by telling your friends "sure, I'll help you out with that. I charge $25 an hour, two hour minimum, and you need to supply the icing, cake, etc."

I have been at both ends of this topic. I got into cake decorating because a co-worker of mine makes cakes sparingly and her mom owns a business. I have always liked making cakes. I remember baking my own birthday cakes since I was about 12. When she came along my interest was rekindled. She gave me lots of pointers as far as where I could buy some of my supplies and other great stuff. In the few months that I have been making cakes I have come a long way from cake 1. Her mom has even asked to hire me but I already work full time, so that 's out of the question. I have helped her make fondant figures and share any new tips I learn. But my friend and her mom are truly awesome people! They never brush off my skills, instead they give me great compliments on my creations. I guess there are some that are willing to give and get help and then there are others that just TAKE ADVANTAGE.
Oh, and every time I make a cake I would usually send my neighbor a piece but I stopped because everytime I did, she'd say "give me the recipe, give me the recipe". I did, on a few but I stopped because she never wanted to share HER cheesecake recipe, so no more cake for her! HA!

And now, because I can't help but hop back up on my soapbox (please forgive me, my fingers won't stop...)

If it was a case of two housewives swapping recipes then that would be a totally different story. When you are a business it really changes the situation. Unless it's a hobby business, then those recipes pay your bills. Think of it this way: Say there's a really small town with only one seamstress. She is the only one who can make wedding dresses and she's darn good at it. Now many women can sew at some level, and say some of them come to her asking tips on dressmaking, perhaps for something simpler such as a daughter's Easter dress or a christening gown. If she teaches everyone her skills and expertise then she opens up the possibility that she will lose a lot of business to people who decide to sew for their own families or even to someone who decides they are good enough to open a business making wedding dresses. What is the seamstress to do? Anyone who truly wants to can purchase the materials to make a dress. The only ace in her pocket is her skill that she has earned from long years of practice and devotion to her craft. She doesn't have a monopoly on special fabrics so with enough practice someone can do exactly what she does. It comes down to the question, "how much business can I afford to lose?" Certainly she can teach someone the basics of sewing, but there are things she must hold on to, the things that make her unique. It is not bad to have competition, but it will be a real detriment to your business if there is nothing that sets you apart from them.

Bakers, unlike the seamstress, have one more ace up our sleeves. We have our skill earned through long hard work, and we have our recipes that we have either been given by others or tweaked to our liking. I think we need to decide which ace we want to hold on to. Many people give out recipes on demand but will be secretive about how they achieve their results. Others will give all the technique help in the world but hide the results of their efforts. Either way we need to ask ourselves "how much business can I afford to lose?" and not give an ounce more. Famous restaurants share recipes every once in a while as a form of advertising (think FoodNetwork specials) but they sell many other things and it is rarely their most famous food that is shared. They know what is bringing in the money and they are careful to protect it. It is not out of selfishness or greed, it is out of survival. There is no way to know everyones motivation when they ask for help. All we can do is offer as much help as it is safe for us to offer. If they want to grow beyond what they have been shown then there are places to learn and they are welcome to them, but there is just no good reason they should learn EVERYTHING from you.

Ok, stepping down now, I just had to get that out of my system. I promise to try and keep my mouth shut now. (emphasis on try)

SO, the cake club sounds fun. You mean to tell me you get together w/ your competitors and share how to's? Wow.

CookieMakinMomma - I really love the idea of watching them do a cake at their place. That way they can have the cakes baked, frosting made, and I can leave whenever I feel like it. I can just imagine some young bird hangin around my kitchen till the wee hours of the morn. Not that I dont stay up like that on my own terms anyway! I just dont want to have someone in my space for hours on end. Now, If they are paying, thats a different story!

My mama & I have hashed this out over & over & come to the same conclusion. When I get to where I am well known for my cakes, and that could be a few years, and I have established my business and really made a name for myself, maybe then classes would be safe. For now there are some not too far behind me & if I start sharing what I know, they may catch up and It could make for a rough start.

LOL. If my fingers were quick to type, I might have a good bit more to say as well!

Boy, does this bring back memories of last winter.
I had a regular customer who loved my Cake Truffles.
She'd buy about 3 dozen and make them last two weeks. Well, it turns out she'd been sharing them with her hair dresser, neighbors, ladies at the church and so they all decided to buy a huge bunch of them from me.
Well, I had a three month old ( along with eight other children so my time was limited) and the prices had gone up on everything I was using to bake with so I told her that her I was now $7 a dozen. This was only up one dollar since I give them to her in ziplock bags...no pretty packages. She proceeded to get all bent out of shape. Said she'll have to call me back after she talks it over with the other ladies. No sweat off my back, I wasn't in the mood to get in the kitchen anyway.
Well, she did call back to ...get this...ask me if I'll consider selling them for less?!!
Ah,no. Butter costs what it costs and so does premium chocolate so I can't take less than that for them. So, she says that she'll have to make them herself with the recipe I gave a long time ago.
Bye bye.
I got a call from her the next weekend. She can't figure out why the cake is so sticky. You all know that you have to eye the dough..too much coffee creamer and you make slop. I tell her to add more cake crumbs. An hour later..." I have chocolate up to my elbows! How do you get them into nice little balls on the cookies sheet. Mine are sticking."
She didn't put wax paper down even thought it says so on the recipe. She'd used cheap almond bark that she bought at the dollar store.
I can tell she is just angling for me to have pity on her and offer to make them. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!

I give her as much advise as I can but I'm still getting that 'poor pitiful me' approach.
Not sure how she got the chocolate on the ceiling but I'm really glad I haven't heard from her again.
Just because you have the recipe doesn't mean you can make the dessert.
People think it's so easy.

mommachris

My SIL asked me to help her make a cake once. What it really amounted to was that she didn't so much want ME there as much as my tools. I didn't want to leave my stuff there, so I stayed until it was done.. which ended up being around 3 am. It really just turned into me decorating cupcakes while she used my stuff and did the cake.

About a week later she asked to use my stuff again, as she had told a coworker she'd make a cake for their birthday. I didn't want to keep up the trend of her promising something and just assuming she'd be able to use my equipment, so I told her no. I told her exactly which aisle she could go to and get a Wilton starter kit and told her that Joann always has a 40% coupon she could use.

If you know someone is taking advantage of you, its your job to put an end to it. I always think its part of the "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me" thing. I'm not saying to never share anything, but that does NOT mean you have to share everything!

Defy, I agree with you 100% I am a hobby baker and I DO NOT share my tools. for me is not about being mean and not sharing is actually a question of how the tools will be used/cleaned, etc. I know I'm a little crazy, but you never know. LOL

I belong to a wonderful cake club. Canadian Cake Decorators Guild. We meet once a month. Each meeting has a different topic ... insurance, photography, fun stuff. Last month, we had a "What is the white powder?" game, where there were over 40 different white (or white-ish) powders in small bags - everything from PS to scouring powder. Very interesting.

We also have a blog where leads are posted (if I can't do a cake, maybe someone else can), as well as articles and tidbits of info. Also, many supply places offer our guild members a discount (usually 10%) off their orders.

A cake club, or guild, if run properly, can be a wonderful place to be. If not, it's a bunch of people trying to one-up each other and take away business.

Thats the thing. Get the right people, it could be wonderful. Get the wrong ones, it could the beginning of a nightmare. I plan to hold off on the big / extra stuff since I am new to this biz. A little time to feel everyone out will do.
mommachris - She was dying inside to ask for help! She probably learned her lesson as well. That you should be charging even more than you do!

I agree with margie, that what i tell everyone that ask me if i tell u i will have to kill you and i really like u alot and just laugh and smile and change subject if they are your friend and a christrin in there heart they will understand if not they will be fine and you will do great in your business.. good luck it will be fine

Amberkw
I know that she wanted help, but I was struck by her lack of comprehension of my situation. She'd ask "how is the baby?" Ignore my honest answer that I was having difficulty getting him to put on weight etc. and move right into "I want you to make me some truffles." She was being very disrespectful of a woman with a very young baby, self-absorbed.
After the first call, when my husband heard what she wanted (8-10 dozen truffles= over 3 hours on my feet in the kitchen) he forbid me to do it. He's my hero!

Yep, I think she knows they are worth more than $7 a dozen but she still hasn't asked me to make more and it's been over a year.

mommachris

Sounds like you got a good man! I hate it when people try to pretend to care, but don't. Sincerely - How is the baby?

I've had some trouble with my last three...healthy size at birth and then 4-6 months of stress due to being slow to gain. Then suddenly they start to grow and by a year they are the same size as everyone else's kids. Those three children as supper fast metabolisms. My little girl actually lost weight when she nursed! ( we weighted her before..I nursed at the dr's office and she'd gone down. Incredible!)
I'm tenacious and know what is right. I ended up expressing milk for her and gave it in a bottle. She's three now, perfectly healthy, too.
My son, Tobin, is 14 months.
He's beautiful, busy, got a little tummy on himself and would raid the pantry if we didn't have safety locks.
Thanks for asking. They are all wonderful blessings. I'd rather be snuggled up on the couch reading a book to them then in the kitchen right now. I pick my projects carefully. Time is passing too fast.
My daughter begins the nursing program next fall. I blinked and she was grown.

mommachris

I am happy to hear they are healthy. I have a a 4 year old daughter, a son that will be 3 in March, and a 16 month old son, Jarom. He has an adrenal disease, so I know stress, as well. I absolutely love doing cakes, but I love my babies more. I don't do more that one cake a week, so its not unfair to them. Although they love to "help" me. I am actually looking up an edible playdough recipe now. Real playdough doesnt work anymore. Its not the same as "Mama's cake"

I thought she gave up! My hubby's friend's wife wants to learn to make cakes (overnight) because she's going to open a business. Oh and yes she tells me this to my face. Well she calls me the week of New Years eve. That she wants me to make a cake for about 100 people. And she wants to know what I need so she can just buy me the supplies (uh huh) since she is going to help me. I hate to say no, so instead I lie and make up excuses. She then goes on that she knows alot of people that would like my cakes and we can work together (half and half she says). If I can't she wants me to point her into the right direction so she can do it on her own. Well, I did. I just never called her back! It irritates me that people think I need all this business. I have enough on my own and I don't need to be sharing profits with anyone. Especially someone that has never made a decorated cake. It also irritates me that she thinks she's doing me a favor. I work full time and I have been waiting to get some much needed rest. I am not about to waste a day of lifetime movies to make a cake (especially a free one).