I have some questions. I have been making cakes, but I have only had 1 or 2 orders per weekend. Business has picked up though and now I am looking at 5-6 orders per weekend, and I need some help with the time-line. I make cakes part-time, so I work on them in the evenings. Usually, I bake the cakes & dirty ice them on Friday nights and decorate them Saturday morning. However, there is no way I can decorate 6 wedding cakes in 1 morning. So, how do you do it? I know I can make all the flowers and such throughout the week because they will stay good, but what about the rest? Can you let me know what/when you do the different steps of cake decorating like this:

Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:
Saturday:

I am just curious. I think that if we all give out our ideas and opinions, then we might find that "our way" isn't the best and it might help everyone tweak their own time-management.

..moving from Business forum.

I'm a home based decorator too and like you this is my second job.

Wow 6 wedding cakes in one weekend is definitely more then I take on.

I will do 2 wedding cakes maximum per week, because A) I don't want to have to freeze and B) I honestly can't handle more then 2 and work full time at my salon too.

I think the question to ask yourself is "Do I need to limit my orders?" or "Am I willing to change my procedures in order to take on more orders?", which would probably include having to bake ahead on Monday or Tuesday and freeze the layers until Thurs/Fri.

One thing I do on Mondays (my day off) is I make all of my fondant, icings, fillings and fondant/gumpaste figures/flowers.

That frees up a lot of time for me when I actually begin decorating and assembling. I also get my boards ready ahead of time.

I think the more you get made ahead of time the easier your weekend will be.

Good luck and congratulations on the success of your business!

EDIT to add.....I bake on Thursday for a Saturday wedding and wrap the layers well in plastic wrap. I torte, fill, and ice on Friday and finishing touches Saturday morning or late Friday night.

My schedule is exactly the same as Deb's as far as the baking. I bake Thursdays, decorate Fridays.

Monday: Prep boards, boxes, etc. Finish gumpaste etc
Tuesday: Finish gumpaste I didn't finish the day before , prep paperwork for delivery, shop for ingredients
Wednesday: REALLY finish gumpaste this time, prep icings and fillings
Thursday: Bake
Friday: Decorate cakes
Saturday: deliveries and tasting appointments
Sunday: Paperwork