What kind of orders do you refuse?
Today I got a lady inquiring about SMALL (she kept saying small) cakes she wanted to get as gifts, and she wanted them special flavors. Which is fine, but she didn't sound like she wanted as much decoration as just the gourmet flavors.
I just told her that while I can do any flavor she likes, my specialty is with decoration and sculptured cakes, not just small gourmet flavored cakes. I told her about another bakery in the next town over that has really yummy stuff. Then she asked me about a local grocery store...yep that made me really glad! She wouldn't have wanted to pay my prices anyway. I just told her I was not familiar with the grocery store cakes.
I've gotten to where I'm starting to discourge really small orders. I don't get a whole lot of them but when I do, I either discourage them or tell them a minimum serving size...esp when I get people asking for a 3D cake to serve 8-10 people. Ummmm that's not worth it! I just tell them the price would be the same to feed 10 as to feed 25 and usually they just forget about it.
I refuse orders fairly regularly as I only do about two cakes a month (I work full time) I turn away anything smal or uninteresting - recommend a local baker usually. Sometimes I just quote them a high price knowing they won't pay it - sometimes this kind of backfires and they agree, but at least it makes it worthwhile!
I turn down order all the time - anything I don't like making and anything that I think would adversely affect my reputation.
I turn down anything that is copyrighted or any small order that is more than 30 minutes from me.
I waqs wondering about this subject myself as well.... I was thinking more along the lines if it is a cake I just feel VERY incapable of producing,.......I don;t want to say,"Uh, I can't do that"... 
maybe just,"sorry my schedule is full???????????" I don;t know...
My DH works with a man whose wife refuses to turn on her over for less than $1500... I'd LOVE to get to THAT stage one day!!! 
I dont' do sheet cakes smaller than 11x15. I don't do cookie orders for under 3 or 4 dozen. I don't do small round birthday cakes unless it's for family or a very good commercial customer. I stopped doing little kid birthday cakes for 10-15 years ago.
I can spend 4 hours on a cake that will get me $40. Or I can spend 6 hours on a wedding cake that will get me $250. Do the math.
It is not a bad thing to turn down business. Being booked that far in advance adds to your credibility. It tells your customers you are in demand, you are specialized, (like the hairdresser you have to book 6 months in advance!). If you want to tell them you're booked .... do it. If you want to flat out tell them "I'm not set up to do small orders like that ... you'd be better off to call blah blah blah".... do it.
I dont' do sheet cakes smaller than 11x15. I don't do cookie orders for under 3 or 4 dozen. I don't do small round birthday cakes unless it's for family or a very good commercial customer. I stopped doing little kid birthday cakes for 10-15 years ago.
I can spend 4 hours on a cake that will get me $40. Or I can spend 6 hours on a wedding cake that will get me $250. Do the math.
It is not a bad thing to turn down business. Being booked that far in advance adds to your credibility. It tells your customers you are in demand, you are specialized, (like the hairdresser you have to book 6 months in advance!). If you want to tell them you're booked .... do it. If you want to flat out tell them "I'm not set up to do small orders like that ... you'd be better off to call blah blah blah".... do it.
I just did my first 8" round in forever, but it was for a customer who is thinking about ordering a birthday cake this fall and wanted to order a small Mothers Day cake in order to taste my work. I charged $25. I agree, its not worth making smaller cakes. I'm not busy enough to totally get out of doing smaller cakes, but working on it. Right now its like I'm either totally booked (like this weekend) or not really busy, depending on the weekend.
My minimum for any cake is $50, and I can make them while I'm getting paid at work. Do the kind of work you like to do and that is worth your time. Only you can decide how much that is.
Oh my goodness, I can't tell you how timely this subject is. I have 15 cakes in the next 12 days AND I work full time and some over time b/c May is my busiest month at work, then I am off for two months. Its graduation time in the small town I live. Most of my orders so far have been in the city I work in, all sculptured/fondant cakes. Well the lady in the town I live that decorated cakes (all sheets!!) for 29 years retired and she has been telling people to call me for their graduation cakes. The high school here is made up of 7 towns! Graduation is the 24t for 8th grade and the 25th for high school. I hate sheets, especially since they are used to piping the same emblem on every one. Most just want one 11X 15!! They all want the cakes the lady before me made, the same design and everything. No change, year after year. Its freaking me out. I have told them all that I don't normally do sheets unless its with a big order i.e. wedding or a sculptured cake. We have one grocery store bakery in town, but their cakes are pretty dry. The closest place after that is 20 miles away, so I am getting bombarded. I have tried steering them to my website to see the 'kind' of cakes I do, but they always call back, scared to break tradition or try something new and want sheets. This is the last year! I am not even putting any of the sheets on my website for fear it will encourage more single sheets. I have finally told the latest people, I am just booked. And I am! This will be a rough two weeks! My husband is now calling me the cake nazi! NO CAKE FOR YOU! 
graduation.... last year when my nephew graduated, my sister called me to help her with his party. But she was adament about NOT having a cake "....because everyone is caked out at these things!" We set up my chocolate fountains and I made NFSC's shaped in the letters of his high school, iced in his school colors. It was a nice change for everyone!
My other sister's son is graduating this year and we're doing the same thing.
I'm not advocating 'no cakes' (aaauuggghhh!) but having cookies instead is a great change of pace.
If only your customers could be convinced that just changing the design is OK and a nice change of pace! Maybe they just don't want their friends to decry, "Radical, man radical!"
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%