i have an order for a baby shower cake in may and i told them it would be a 10" round with a teddy bear 3D on top (the full size one)... I kinda want to do something bigger... they're only paying me $30 but as long as it covers my ingredients, I really don't care... has anyone ever done this and what did people say when you brought the cake?
i'm kinda thinking of doing a 2 tier somehow with the bear on it...
So, you were already going to do a 3D stand up bear on top of a 10 in?? $30 seems really low for that already!
I do a lot of times go above and beyond, but that's typically on cakes that I'm already getting $100 or more.
If you do decide to do it, then maybe let the customer know what the real price would have been. Good luck!
Courtney
I agree with Courtney...Tell them what the price would have been. I do it all the time. Being a new business I feel I am only as good as my last cake and really want it to be the best to my abilty. I am sure I will learn my lesson when I go broke doind it. 
If you are thinking 2 tier....how about a 10" and 6" with Teddy on top? I don't have the 3D Teddy Cake will it fit on a 6"? If not, do a 10" and 8" that kind of gives a little dimension to the base for a 3D Teddy.
I go above and beyond all the time, trust me! LOL I don't do this as a business so no profit is involved. If you WANT to do it...DO IT! It kinda gives me a warm fuzzy when I do.
Beth in KY
I go above and beyond every now and then, but it's really a let down. I had a customer that wanted a cake and he didn't know what he was really asking for. So he was not too happy with what he got (it was what he asked for ) but he was expecting something else. He got my info from a good friend, so she called and told me he was not happy , he never said anything. So my friend asked me to do her a favor and bake him the cake he thought he was asking for (free of charge). She said do it for her. So I did, he told my friend that he loved the cake. He never even told me thank you.
If the people didn't ask for something specific and it's a new design I wanted to try, or for someone that was special, then I have gone above & beyond. Lately I've just been doing the minimum... doing cakes for free really gets old!!!
There are times I go above and beyond, because I really want my customer to be happy with the cake/cheesecake/cookies, etc. I did cut out sugar cookies with vanilla frosting for a gal my husband works with. I charged her the min., and made colored icing, did sprinkles, glitter, etc. But I know she wants me to do her daughters 1st b-day cake next month too. So I really wanted her to be happy with them, and she was! It is a good feeling. I have a lot of customers say, this is what the theme is, go ahead and do what you want.
I agree that doing "extra" for free does get old, but I still find myself doing it depending on the circumstances. I want to do designs to challenge myself more and if I know the cake will be in a public venue where potential customers will be, I'll do it. However, I always make sure that I tell them..."hope you don't mind, but I added or did this for free" to help complete the design. I practically GIVE cake away to friends (like my Cheetah purse and Scooby Doo) because they agree to hand out my business cards.
If you are really trying to generate more business then I say you should do it. Just make sure the customer tells everyone what they SHOULD HAVE paid for the cake. They seem to LOVE to say...."it's a $125 cake" when they only paid $50 for it.
Good luck and make sure you post those pics when you're done!
-Michelle
I just had this dilemma this week and I decided NOT to go above and beyond on this particular cake. Sometimes I do, but I think the person you are making it for needs to KNOW that you went out of your way. Otherwise that it the calibur of cake they may be expecting from now on for the money.
Like I said, I had this same situation earlier this week. Even though I really wanted to do a 3D cake, she didnt want to pay for that and I just really didnt have the time or energy anyway. It would have caused me some extra stress and like someone told me "I wouldnt want to be up until 1 in the morning for a discounted cake"
Obviously if it is for good friends or family you might consider it partly a gift.
this is for a friend... if it were for a stranger i don't think i would go above and beyond... i've just been itching to do a big baby shower cake and i thought this would be a great opportunity... i'm not talking like it's going to be crazy but just an extra cake or something... i know the $30 is really low but i only gave them that price because they're my friends and i know this will get me a lot of orders from other people. thanks!
Our biggest 'above and beyond' was a small catering that was put together inside a 3-week window for a couple in which the groom was shipping out to IRaq in the next few days. After the event was over, we told the parents there would be no charge for the catering. We told them to give the $500 to the bride and groom as I'm sure they didn't have a really big honeymoon.
It was the greatest "Feel Good" of my life. 
I have found that when I go above and beyond, it usually gets more attention and I get more business from it. I think people get tired of seeing sheet cakes all the time, but may not know what to ask for instead. It's usually a nice surprise to get that little something special.
If the large 3D bear doesn't work out, there is a small one that will fit on top of a 6" tier.
good luck
I do often (of course only when I feel like and feel it will appreciated) I ALWAYS do it for family/friends because it gives me a chance to do something I never would have been able to - a good example would be the Hockey Player in my photos I did for my son's hockey team. No one knew it was coming and they loved and it did feel great. If I do it for a paying customer I give them a printed invoice with the ACTUAL cost and discount it down with a "Portfolio Discount" and explained I wanted to go the extra mile for them and to have the experience of doing the cake. Thay way if someone asks them how much they paid, they can give the "actual reatail price" LOL!
Go for it!
Almost always! is for my portafolio, and for other clients to see. When I don't go extra? when the client has been cheap and try to save money and not wanting to pay for anything.
Thouse client get exacly what they paid for
) that's just it... i don't want to go over what they're paying me for ingredients but if i make $0 for my time, i really don't mind as long as i have a beautiful cake to add to my portfolio and possible more orders. i can't be giving everyone something for free and i darn near do since i barely charge anything for my cakes but i figure, i'm just starting out and once i get a bunch of experience i can start charging more then make my money...
The first person who ever started paying me for cakes was my neighbor. I didnt know how much to charge so I told her to just pay me what she thought was fair. I got $15. At first it was okay because I enjoyed having the chance to practice. But then she started buying a lot of cakes from me and I started to resent all the time I was putting into for $5 in profit. So finally I had to tell her I had to charge her more. It just wasnt worth it to me since I wasnt having fun and neglecting my family for it. But then her son's birthday rolled around and she wanted a cake. I really went out of my way (without her knowledge) and I knew this would have been a cake I would have charged $60 for. Of course I wouldnt have charged her that much since I took it upon myself to do it. But still I kept thinking about how much time I was putting into the cake and I decided I would actually feel better about just giving it to her as a gift. Then I didnt have to even worry about it. But when she saw it she insisted on paying me for it anyway. I felt good that I had made peace with it and planned to give it to her for free. I felt generous instead of ripped off.
I enjoy challenges and if given the opportunity to try something I want, I'll do it.
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