Hello everybody. I'm new to cake central but not new to decorating. I am also new to running this as a business. I just registered in July with my county and things are going alright. I wish I had more business as I am a mother of 2 young children and going through a divorce. I'm already advertising with word of mouth, but to be honest I don't know that many people. I've got business cards that I leave EVERYWHERE!!! And I've also got a website. I have a lot of cake tastings but few orders. Man it is so easy to get discouraged when you have 4+ cake tastings a week but none of them order a cake. Any tips or ideas you could share with me? I'd greatly apreciate it.
I hope you are charging for your tastings! When I do a tasting, I make 3-4" cakes in different flavors iced in BC usually & unfilled, and 3 different fillings (served in little cups). I charge $25 for this. If they place the order for a cake after that, the $25 is put towards the cost of their order. That way, I am not losing money on ingredients if they don't place an order.
Tell me more about how you conduct your tastings, maybe we can figure out a way to get more sales out of it for you.
Oh, and WELCOME to CC!! We're always happy to have a new addition to our little cake family! 
Ok so far I haven't been charging for my tastings. I always ask the customer when we set up the appointment what flavor cake they are interested in and make those flavors. I'm seriously starting to consider charging for this because it is getting to be a drain on my pocketbook which I can ill afford these days. I know I have been undercharging for my cake orders that I do get as well, enough of that. Another problem I am running into is that everyone wants to see a portfollio which I only have about 15 photos and they aren't all wedding cakes. I can always see the disappointment on their faces at my lack of photos. I've been decorating cakes for 8 years but until recently I haven't been taking photos. I planned on starting this as a business 7 years ago but my then hubby decided to join the army and I was stuck moving from North Dakota to Georgia with only what I could fit in my vehicle. I sold or got rid of all my supplies and lost heart in doing this until this past February. I started working in a bakery as a cake decorator which I loved the experience but hated the lack of time for imagination. So I gave that up to do this from home and be able to be with my kids.
When people come to your house for a tasting, are you serving them on paper plates or nice dishes? Are your kids running amok and interrupting? (Not trying to say anything negative about your kids! I have 2 little ones, and if I don't have someone here to keep them busy, they are in with me showing my customers their silly tricks and what-not.) Do you have an area of your home that you use for tastings that is clutter-free? All of these things make a huge difference in how the customer will perceive you.
There are a few great threads on here with info on bridal consultations. I won't spend the time to re-type what someone else has done quite nicely, here's a link to one of them: http://www.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopic-14134-0.html Make sure that you exude professionalism. This cake is a huge part of one of the most important days in someone's life. They want to know you know what you're doing.
About the portfolio, I don't have that many wedding cakes under my belt yet either. I have my own pictures in my portfolio, then I also have an idea book for people to look through that is pictures of cakes from magazines and what not, of cakes that I am confident are equal to my skill level. I think what people are really looking for is ideas once they feel confident that you can do the job, and the extra pics provide that.
Step one definitely has to be to start charging for your tastings though!! 
Ok the first thing prospective clients see when they walk into my house is my "cake room". In this room I have a few tables set up displaying dummy cakes, or quite possibly the cake that I have made for the tasting. It is also decorated with center piece ideas and floral arrangements that I offer for table decorations. I decorate the cake table free of charge in an attempt to try and win them over from another baker. This is a very nice room and the brides adore it. It also has a fireplace in it. It should be the living room but we have our living room upstairs out of everyones sight. When my babies aren't in school, they spend their time upstairs when I have a client over and they are under orders to not bother mom. As for what I serve them on, I went out and bought a new set of china and silverware in an attempt to impress them and give them the feel of me being a professional. We do the tasting at my huge oak kitchen table which can be seen through a cut out window connecting my cake room. At times I get more comments about how nice the house looks than I do on my cakes.
After they have tasted the cake and are happy with it, we look through idea books and I get a feel of what they are looking for and how I can accomodate what they want. I have a contract that we fill out and make sure everything is clear and there are no disagreements. They read it and sign it. I even give them a copy of it.
Of course I dress the part as well. My boyfriend got a good laugh at me one day baking cakes in a dress, heels, and an apron. After he got done doubling over at me, he told me Betty Crocker would be proud. 
But now I'm starting to ramble and I need to check out this link you posted. And thank you for helping out! 
I love the tips about professionalism, and I'd like to add to that. I'm also a separated mom of 2, but mine are teens. If you are doing your consultations in your home, the kids should not be around, nor should any pets. Television off, etc, and the home spotless and simple. Clean is everything if people are buying from someone who has a home business.
As for your portfolio, with all of your past experience is there any way to track down some of the brides? Surely, they would have pictures.
I want to wish you all the best as I know what a huge adjustment you are going through, financially and otherwise. It really does get easier.
Carolyn
what kind of follow-up do you do? After my brides leave, I email them the proposal we discussed, with their details and I thank them for spending time with me to discuss their wedding plans. On my proposal I include the phrase "PROPOSAL ONLY until confirmed by bride via email". I would be more than happy to share the forms and the follow up email with you ..... hop over to my website and send me an email there if you're interested.
I don't charge for my tastings and I book 98% of brides that come to see me. I see an average of 3 brides a week. (I'm also a caterer, so my tastings include not only the cake, but hot foods as well.) I've also been a single mom so I absolutely understand the financial crunch.
I make a single layer 6" square white cake with white icing. If they request another flavor or filling (which is SO RARE!!! I think I've had 2 in the last 2 years) I cut the 6" in half (2 rectangle cakes 3x6) and I tort them, filling one with (for example) white icing and the other with raspberry filling.
I find they are basically looking to see if the cakes are basically good tasting. During our tasting I ask them what flavor they want in their wedding cake and if they want any fillings. I can say it's never come up as "Gosh, I don't know, since you didn't sample any of those".
Photos: Do you also have other photos of cakes (from Wilton books? from the internet?) that you can show them? I have 2 books .... one is photos of cakes I've done and one is other photos I've collected. I tell them selecting a cake is a cut-n-paste decision......this set-up, that border, these flowers, etc. I explain that it's like any craft. For example, if you can sew, then you can pick up a pattern and make any outfit. The photos of the work I've done is to show them I can sew .... other photos are patterns they can select. That explanation works very well with my brides. Also, when you set the sampling date, invite them to bring any photos of cakes they've seen that they like, as this will help you see what they are looking for. You've set the expectation that you can make a cake from THEIR design or pic and they are not going to be limited just to the photos you might have on file.
Gosh, I didn't mean to go on so long 
. Good luck in getting this going! Once it starts to roll, you'll be amazed how fast they come in!
I want to give all of you a big hug for sharing your information! Its easy to get frustraited and upset but I'm still a baby in this game and I know I've got a lot to learn yet. Keep the tips coming! They are GREAT
The most economical way I have come up with to do tastings: I make mini- cupcakes of my 6 most requested flavors (yellow, white, chocolate, lemon, carrot, red velvet) they get a sample of each with Italian Meringue Buttercream (my standard frosting) I have a portion cup with a sample of my two most popular fillings and then I also have a sample of fondant....I do not charge for tastings - can't remember when I didn't book someone I 've done a tasting for....I do keep the mini-cupcakes frozen until the night before the tasting - I also explain to the client that the samples have been frozen - but that I do not freeze cakes....maybe something like this will work for you...
pics - it may be worth investing in a couple of cake dummies and some frosting to do up a couple of fake cakes for photos...
Hang in there - it'll come
I do not do tastings. Most of my brides come from referrals. They do not ask to taste cake since I am assuming whoever recommended has already told them the cake was good. I guess that was good enough for them. That being said, those that have come to me from the phone book or saw my sign, have never asked and I don't offer. Just alot of work. I show them my portfolio which I have on a portable slide show, and that seems to be sufficient. I f I did have to do a tasting, I would definitely charge for it. It sounds like you have a nice set-up in your home.
I just looked at your website and your cakes are very beautiful. However, to spruce up the look of your website and draw attention specifically to your cakes maybe you could try photographing them in front of a back drop. All the background stuff in the pictures is kind of distracting the attention from your beautiful cakes. Also, be sure to add your website to different search engines so people can find it.
I know you mention that you have taste testings but have you ever thought about donating one of your cakes to a school or a hospital or some place like that? You could leave a handfull of your business cards along with the cake. I work in a hospital and I make one cake and share just a tiny bit with each department here. That way it leaves them wanting more. I've gotten quite a bit of business this way.
Hope this helps,
Lazy_Susan
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