Hi,

I went to pick up some cupcakes at a new local cake/cookie/cupcake shop. I have to order cupcakes as my son's school has a strict peanut-free policy and they only accept goods from certified peanut-free sellers. The owner happened to be there and we were chit-chatting and I showed her a picture of the farm cake I made for my son's birthday Thursday (pic in profile - I tried to post it to this thread but it wouldn't work for some reason). She took one look and offered me a job.

Now, I'm a stay-at-home mom and I told her that I am not interested in full-time work. She said that I would have to speak to her partner because he does the hiring, but she didn't think that part-time would be a problem (I left him a voicemail message).

I'm very intrigued at the possibility of getting paid for decorating, and also a little scared because I have never decorated cookies before.

So, I am looking for some advice: firstly, what do you think of my skills? I'm relatively new (all my cakes are in my profile and there are not a ton). I think I've come a long way, but I have no formal training.

Second, what questions should I ask when he calls me back? What if he asks me what my salary expectations are? I have no clue what the going rate is. Anyone with experience who can give me some pointers?

my computer is being glitchy so I wasn't able to look at your photos, but I've learned that if you're presented with an opportunity that you want take it! She thought your skills were good enough to want to hire you on the spot-thats saying something! Don't doubt yourself. As for salary I have no idea because its dependant on the area-it would be doubly nice if they had some sort of benefits package for pt empolyees! As for the cookies I love to decorate them with royal icing and simple dragees or the pens-or even edible images. There are so many possibilities with cookies-I would google decorated cookie and see what you find

I looked at their cookies and they do some beautiful work! They do hockey-team logos, lots of the usual stuff for showers, etc.

The lady I buy my fondant from has employees - would it be weird if I called her and ask her what she pays them?

Your pictures are beautiful, you do very nice work and I think that you'd do fine! If you can decorate cakes, you can decorate cookies I wish I could find a job at a bakery here! As for salery, I don't know either, but if you know your fondant salesperson really well, I don't think it'd be a problem asking them. good luck!

You can find salary information in your area by looking up salary surveys such as salary.com or payscale.com.

Thanks for the sites - I will check them out .

Your cakes are beautiful and I am sure that can decorate cookies. Sometimes I think that decorating cookies is a little more fun.

I'm thinking I might take the job just to learn! I'll get to see how a successful bakery runs and I'll be able to practice my skills and learn new ones.

I'm looking forward to speaking to the other owner.