I've only been decorating cakes for about 9 months or so, so I'm very new at this! I've volunteered to bring cakes to different events for family and close friends so I could get some "practice". Now the problem is, they want me to "practice" on them all the time! Everytime I turn around someone is asking me to bring a cake to some party or other... I'm glad they're such a hit, but my bank account is starting to take a hit too!!
How do I know when to start charging for cakes? I'm not sure I'm really good enough at this yet to ask money for cakes, but I also can't keep bringing freebies everywhere I go. Any advice?

It's the hardest barrier to get over. WHen I first started, I was doing all the cakes for office pitch-ins. (We were a bldg of 300 women so we had LOTS of pitch-ins!). Same deal .... getting expensive. Overheard one person say, "I have no idea what to bring!" so I said, "Why don't you give me some money toward the cake and then "WE" will bring the cake?" She LUV'd the idea! Pretty soon I was collecting "chip-in" money from 2 or 3 people who thought it was a great deal to just go-in on the cake and have debi do the work. It ended up not costing me anything and sometimes, I came out money ahead.

For family events, I always make the deal of "You buy the stuff, I'll do the work".

But in reality, at some point, you have to take that deep breath and when they ask you bring a cake, you reply, "Sure! How many were you planning on spending?"

You're right, you can't do freebies all the time. I started out the same with coworkers and they began to expect them. Taking your leftover or practice cakes to work or to friend's houses is one thing. If people are asking you, you need to be compensated, even if it's just the cost of your ingredients. Debi has a good idea about asking them to chip in for costs.

"Hey guys, thanks for letting me practice on you. If you'd like to order, just let me know!'

Don't underestimate yourself, you do good work!

Thanks for the advice... I've been trying to think of a way to gracefully ask for at least some contribution toward the cost of making the cake. I'm glad to donate my time toward it, especially for family, it's the cost of the rest of it that starts to add up! I'm normally not that assertive of a person, and have a hard time saying no to things, so I'll have to take your advice, bite the bullet, and just say it... I hope they don't think I'm kidding! Lol...

How about sending out an email to friends and family with "I'm now in the cake decorating business" and maybe listing your basic prices to let everyone know that you are now selling your cakes. You could even attach some pictures of some of your cakes. That way everyone knows before they ask for a cake that you expect to get paid and the approximate amount. I think that might help ease some of the awkwardness.