Do you have one?? I have a $50 minimum right now. After dealing with a certain type of client I am moving mine up to $100. I know my smaller cakes will drop off and I may lose repeaters but after this last couple of weeks I have to figure something else out. I've had to deal with several frustrating PITA people who have that grocery store mentality. I have had several repeaters complain about my price increase as well. Just about everyone in my area has at least $100.
Well..I guess that depends if your area can support that amount for a minimum..and if it can..I say go for it...Me...that wouldn't work.Almost all my cakes are kids birthday cakes etc and most Mom's don't want to spend minimum of $100.00 on a cake so mine is $40.00.I haven't had any problems with that..I just tell them I don't make cakes for under 20 people so you either choose a cake for $40.00 minimum or I can't do it....They rarely say no...I wish I could ask $100.00 minimum...You go girl!
I have a $100 minimum. I got tired of turning away the big orders because I had little ones. I'd rather work less for more money than more for less money...
It isn't cost effective for me to do it for less than that because they come to me for my detail work. You can't get the kind of detail work they want and pay much less than that so... I get to focus on taking the cakes I enjoy doing and taking fewer of them. It's a process... NO DOUBT! When my minimum was $50, it was out of control. I'm much less stressed now.
I raise as I go. If I'm getting too busy... I raise... this seems to be working for me.
Yes, I have a $150.00 minimum. I don't feel bad to lose business on small orders. They're almost as much work as the larger ones, and I want my time to be worth it. Also, since it's just me, I don't want to get into a "burnout" situation by doing a bunch of small orders. So far, it's worked great and I really am getting the orders I want to do because I'm making the money I want to on them.
Wow! Ok then.. I don't feel bad for raising it! If it helps with my sanity its definitely worth doing. 
Like I said, just about every custom home baker in my area does have a $100 min or up. Kiddiekakes, I totally get where you are coming from. If that is working for you then you go girl! I really need to drop smaller orders so when its time for a larger one to book I have the space/drive to do it! And when it does not become fun anymore and you dread going in the kitchen to start on a cake you know its time for a change. 
thanks for posting this. I have been contemplating going to a minimum....just trying to work out the tweeks. I feel bad not being able to offer small cakes for those repeat customers who just want something small for a family dinner!
You shouldn't feel bad. I'm assuming you're not a retail bakery who has a large variety of cakes just sitting around for the walk-in client who might maybe sorta someday want a cake on a whim. It costs you the same amount of time and electricity to mix up and bake a 6" cake as it does a 12" cake.....and the return is not as great.
When I worked for the wire mfg'r, we had the same thing and I had one customer who was always complaining that he only wanted 25 cords and our minimum was 1000. He FINALLY understood that "we're not set up that way. We are a custom mfg'r who operates on high volume and it just doesn't pay us to set the equipment to run just 25 cords."
We were not a retail shop like Radio Shack where you can pick up a couple of dozen power cords.
Neither are you.
Just went from the $50 cake to the $100 cake no more small orders and Im booked for the next few weeks and Im still recieving calls I might have to get to the $150 cakes how nice that would be. So far all my orders are over $150+ so it just might work raising $ again. Its weeding out the grocery store shoppers and Im not exausted.
Cakesondemand~That was my point!! $100 is no where in that grocery store range!
My order is currently $150, and I do not have a shop (I work out of shared commercial space on an as-needed basis). Anything less just isn't worth my time. When I get my shop (If, lol... everything is up in the air) my minimum will be likely be more like $250 (I will be a by appointment only cake shop--no retail biz).
I live in northern NJ, about 20 minutes from NYC, for reference.
Well..I guess that depends if your area can support that amount for a minimum..and if it can..I say go for it...Me...that wouldn't work.Almost all my cakes are kids birthday cakes etc and most Mom's don't want to spend minimum of $100.00 on a cake so mine is $40.00.I haven't had any problems with that..I just tell them I don't make cakes for under 20 people so you either choose a cake for $40.00 minimum or I can't do it....They rarely say no...I wish I could ask $100.00 minimum...You go girl!
Wow Kiddiekakes.. I really like your work. I love doing b'day cakes too and would love to have a portfolio like yours 
BTW, did you have to get licensing or permission to use the character pans for the cakes you have on your site? I think I read that we need permission to use those pans to sell cakes?
Please correct me if I am wrong.
I'm inching up to $50. However, right now I'm still at $45 which is better than the $30 I used to take.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%