Ok..so my daughter was invited by our neighbour for a pool party next weekend. I'm not really close to this neighbor, we say hi every now and then but our daughters are great playmates. I've been itching to make a cake but don't have the occassion to do so and I so want to make a pool or beach theme cake or a girly-girl cake ... OK ANY CAKE!! As of the moment I don't get a lot of orders, they don't know that I make cakes and I want to get the word out there that I make them. Now how do I tactfully approach them on this? And should I give them a special neighbourly discount? Actually I wouldn't mind giving it to them for FREE!
Thanks!
Hmmm. that's a tough one... I guess maybe call her up and maybe begin by mentioning how excited your DD is about the party and maybe ask a question about the party (if you can think of one, lol). Then maybe say "I hope you don't mind me asking, but have where do you usually get your cakes?"
If she says she makes them.. ask if she's planing on making the cake for this party... if she is you're out of luck and just leave it at that. If she's not, mention that you make cakes, and would love to make the cake for the party for a wiht a good neighbour discount(or free... maybe as a birthday gift?).
If she says she always goes to this one bakery again, you're out of luck.
If she says she hasn't decided where to get the cake, or that she doesn't have any place she usually gets cakes, you have an opening to mention like I said above.
I don't know... it's a hard situation. If you jsut go in with "I make cakes, and I want to make the cake for the party" it sounds like you're soliciting. If she says she goes to a particular bakery, you can't go in with "Really? I hate their cakes" or anyother bad mouthing, becaues if you say you make cakes after that it will sound even worse. I don't know if I'm much help. Honestly, you might be better off jsut giving this one up. HTH!
~Kelsie
If you approach her about a cake for the party, I don't think it would be a good thing to charge her. You'd have to be willing to do this one for free, I would think. Is it a birthday party? You could still offer to do the cake...but I wouldn't make it her gift. Just an 'extra'...or as people in Lousiana (and other places in the South) call it: a Langiappe (pronounced - Lan-Yap). I just think it would be in bad taste to bring up the cake thing and then offer to make one but charge her for it, with or without a discount. Now...if you ask if she's planning on having a cake and she says something like 'I hadn't thought of it' you could say something like 'Well - I bake and decorate cakes and would love to make one for the occasion!' Or she could be planning on having one anyway, but not making it herself or having a specific place to buy it from...then you could tell her that you're a cake decorator and ask if she'd like to get the cake from you?! Then start talking with her just like you would anyone else ordering a cake. But even if she doesn't place an actual 'order' for a cake, but takes you up on your offer to do it on your own.....it still gives you the opportunity to make it known to your other neighbors and people at the party. Just make sure to have some cards on hand to pass out.
I would play up the kids being friends, state that you and your daughter would like to give her the cake as part of her birthday gift....
If you are doing it for free, make sure you tape a business card to the cake box, so you can hopefully get more orders....
Ok--here's a sly way to do it. Have your daughter ask the girl. They are always talking about stuff like that especially when it comes to parties. And then try the above approaches.
I wouldn't charge, especially since she didn't approach you about making the cake!!! I would just simply call her up and say... I don't know what your plans for the birthday cake are, but... I decorate cakes and since my daughter will be attending....I thought maybe I could make one to send with her??? Then tell her she wouldn't have to use it as the "Birthday cake" but you thought it might be fun to try and make a pool/beach themed cake and wondered if she'd mind your daughter bringing it??? I'm sure she would say....of course, send it !!! Afterall you're not pressuring her to make it her daughter's cake!! Then I would chalk up the cost of making it to advertisement!!! When the kids are talking about that pool/beach cake at so and so's party to their parents and how they want one.....your neighbor will have no choice but to pass along your name LOL
How old are your daughters? I like onebigdogmama's idea of letting your daughter ask the birthday girl about it, provided she's old enough so it doesn't sound like you prompted her. Especially if your daughter loves your cakes [which of course she would!!! 
], then she could tell her friend, oh your mom should call my mom about your cake! She makes the coolest cakes and they are so delicious! I think that would work best. Otherwise, if you choose to approach her, I think you should not charge, and I would also bring a gift as well. I don't think it would be fair to the girl that her gift was the cake, you know what I mean? Good luck!
If this was a chance for exposure to lots of other folks, I'd probably do it for free. I think I would tell the mom what I was up to, though. Otherwise, she might think you were ALWAYS going to supply her parties with free cakes! Just tell her you need the advertising and would appreciate the opportunity to supply her party with the cake. I might go armed with pix of some of my best cakes so she'd know I was capable of providing a good product.
Thanks for the great advice you guys! Ok so I was also kinda thinking of "using" my daughter and her friend too. Thanks for bringing that up. I'm sort of shy when it comes to these things so I think I'm taking the passive route. My daughter is 8 yrs. old and her friend is turning 10. I think what I'll do is if I see my daughter's friend this weekend ( sometimes she comes over or better yet I'll ask my daughter to bring her here.. 
.) I'll be like "Do you already have a cake? I'll be making my daughter a Hello Kitty cake on her birthday (next month). I f you haven't maybe you can tell your mom that I make cakes". Then maybe show her some cakes here on CC just to whet her appetite. Then come Monday when I call her mom for RSVP, hopefully her mom will ask me! If not, well that's fine too. I would rather that she make the inquiries, so we all know that there are no freebies! Like crimsicle pointed out, I don't want her to think that I would always supply her cakes for free! Anyway, next month, my daughter is having her b-day and I'll take pictures of the kids(her daughter included...we always invited her ever since we moved here) with the cake and give them a copy. And I'll make sure her daughter knows that I made it ..lol!
That sounds great! But I think you should actually ask the mother yourself. I think you should approach her like, ask her if she needs any help with the birthday party, and then work your way in to asking her if she has a cake, if not tell her that your a cake decorator. And, if you are willing to give for free (maybe you will get orders then also), then say something to the nature that you will make her a cake as her birthday present. That would be nice and you can also get to know your neighbor in the process. Who knows, maybe other Mom's will be there and they will want your business. Good Luck!
oops I may have sounded like I'm so seriously asking or commanding this little girl to order from me. Of course it will all be said in an easy light manner. When she comes here we always have a small talk, joking or playing around. I guess I'm just more comfortable with talking to her since I see her more often than her mom!
Here's my idea. Since you are itching to bake anyway- Make some cupcakes. Take some to the neighbors house and say "I am a cake decorator so I was playing around with these cupcakes I have too many so please take these extra ones"
I don't know its 1:30 am here and that seems like a good idea now, but I might not be thinking right!
Hmmm Im not sure I would go the child route. This kind of advertisement might make both your daughter and the birthday girl feel very awkward. Children often have problems saying no and well u get my drift. I like the cupcakes idea, how about just making some fancy cupcakes for when the girl comes in. You can even ask her and ur daughter to help u decorate. This way, you show you decorate cakes and the whole helping u with the decorations might seem exciting enough for the girl to naturally mention the adventure to mom. Also, send her home with some of them so she can sort of show mom what you guys did and so mom gets a taste of ur cakes.
Hope this helps.
I've offered to make a cake for occasional people who we attend their birthday parties...I make it for free, as part of the birthday gift. I've never had anyone expect freebies on a regular basis after that.
What I would do is call and ask if they have a cake for the birthday. If not just say you decorate cakes and wondered if she'd like a really special one as the birthday gift from you for the party.
You could speak to the birthday girl's mom and ask her if she's ordered the Cake already. If she has not, tell her you would be willing to make the cake free of charge for her. Just say it's my daughter's gift to your daughter.
I think it's a bit tacky to just approach her now and offer to make the cake and charge her seeing that you are not really close to her. It's also inexcusable using the daughter to plant ideas in her mother's head inorder to get a cake order.
Also, I don't suggest that all of sudden you just show up with cupcakes now that your daughter is invited to the party. That's sort of tacky. I mean you have had the opportunity to do those sort of neighbourly things in the past And you didn't.
Just call her up as I said and ask if she already has the cake. If she does ask if there is anything she would like you to contribute. Perhaps cookies or something else.
Grrrrrr I gotta run... I will finish this up in a bit.
Editted to finish up the post...
Now, in the future if you can bake cupcakes for your daughter and her friend and perhaps send some home with the little girl. This way her mother will possibly keep you in mind for future orders. But is really is kind of tacky to be doing that sort of stuff now.
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