Ok, my mother says I under charge for anything I make. I live in a small town and I am afraid to charge too much, I don't want to seem like I am over pricing things. But I do need some help.....what do I charge for cakes? I have somone that wants me to do a Bratz lip cake to feed 30.....how much? The baby shower cake I did I charged 50, it was 4 9x13's, the army cake same price, it was 2 11x14's. I did a 2 tiered cars cake and charged 60. Ya'll are probably reading this thinking I am nuts........I have seen some prices and yea, I am low, but I am trying to get my name out there and business going.....what do I do? HELP 
Why do people think if they live in a small town, then everything HAS to cheaper? I grew up in small towns ... most had 2 stop signs. One even had a stop light! One was a real one-horse town until the horse died!
People who live in small towns have good jobs, good incomes and access to the internet and newspapers and catalogs to know what things cost.
Ok...your cakes. You charged $50 for four 9x13's. That's $12.50 each. A 9x13, if cut into 2x3" pieces yields about 16 servings ... that's less than $1.00 per serving! $12.50 is probably more than they can get a cake at walmart but YOU AIN'T WALMART!!!!!!! (Yes, I DO have my mom finger out waiving at you! 
) You probably spent at leaset $4-5 - conservatively - on ingredients for the cake and the cardboard and box, leaving you $7-8 dollars to cover your electricity, paper towels, soap for clean up, and your time. Shall we assume 3 hours?
So....did you enjoy making that cake for about two bucks an hour?
Why are we "afraid" to charge what we are worth?
Listen to yo' mama!!!!
my question is, is this your REAL business? do you want to eventually do it full time, all day, and have no other income? or is it just something you do to make some extra bucks? if you fall into category A (real business, at least will be eventually) then set firm prices and charge enough to cover costs (everything including electricity, phone, etc) and to make fair wages for your time. then stick to them! don't back down. honestly, most people assume that a higher price is associated with professional and quality work. the only people who won't pay for qualtiy are cheapskates and you don't want their business because they will be a pain in the 
trying to cut corners and get deals. on the other hand, if you're category B and just want to have fun and make a little money, i think just charge what you're comfortable with!
Yes, I would like to go into this full time. SO, how do I figure what I should charge? How much per serving?
I am having the same problem!!! A neighbor/friend of mine asked me to make a cake for a baby shower, and I was too intimidated to tell her to her face, so I told her in an email that it would be $50. I think she was thinking about $20 for a cake like the one in the picture attachment, and she hasn't written back yet. My DH said that was undercharging, and it should be about $60 or more. My mom says to have set prices, and just to say "this is what I charge" and let them know that upfront so they can decide if it is worth it to them.
So, I am thinking that indydebi is right-we are afraid to charge what we are worth!
$20 for that cake... wow, I guess some people don't understand the time and talent to make gorgeous cakes like that. For me $50 would be low!
I think the best idea is to work out your ingredient and supply cost and then what you want to make out per hour and go from there.
On the Cake Business thread, there are great price matrices at the top of the thread. A definitely eye opener!
i dont do much work with fodant but i know its more money than buttercrm. so i would say for the work alone you should charge about 15 - 20 and hour plus supplies. i do some cakes and make about 30 and hour.
Are you? YES YOU ARE! Don't short yourself or you will end up hating your job.. Yes, I would like to go into this full time. SO, how do I figure what I should charge? How much per serving?
as someone mentioned there are price matrices in the business forum, or you could make your own. it will take some patience with math in the beginning, but then you will have an easy cake pricing tool to use on all your cakes. usually $2 per serving is a good starting price for buttercream cakes. add more for fondant accents. and $3 per serving for fondant covered cakes. obviously the more detail, the more accents the more special designs on the cake.... the more you need to charge. and be aware that many people successfully charge a lot more. its not uncommon to see prices at $3-4 per buttercream serving and $5-6 per fondant serving.
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