I have noticed for quite some time that most of my friends & family weren't asking me to do cakes for their parties because they didn't want to put me out. So, I decided to become more official and have started my own "business" out of my home. I announced it to all of my friends & family so they do know. My son was just invited to two birthday parties for our friends and they have not asked me to do their cakes. I don't know if they have just forgotten or if they still do not want to put me out. They always compliment my cakes so I'm pretty sure that's not the problem. Is there any way for me to approach them and ask to do their cake without offering to do it for free? Is that being too pushy? What am I doing wrong here?

Oh, and then there's my MIL who thinks that every cake I do for family should be free.

Congrats on the new business!!!! It may be just strange for them to ask, I've noticed some people don't ask me to do there cakes and I don't bother asking why only to find out they just didn't know how to approach me to ask in the first place. I don't have a business or sell my cakes yet so may be this is why for me but it could be the answer for you too.

I have found that to be true as well. I have them telling people that I am not doing cakes but all my families have been freebies. I don't think they know how much work I put into them. I have made 3 in the past couple weeks and it does end up costing a lot in time and money since I do everything from scratch.

You cakes are beautiful. Don't let it get to you.

BTW noticed your ID it was funny, my brother is JL Freeman. LOL

They might not want to pay you! LOL I think all home bakers should charge more than supermarkets for our time, right? I mean, it is valuable! And yes, family does have a tendency to think they are entitled to free cakes.

Your friends might think the same. Perhaps they are waiting for you to offer a free cake, or they just don't want to pay what you are worth. Your cakes look wonderful (peeked at the site lol)....so perhaps they would rather just pay less at the supermarket?

I agree....friend and family are business that I am not going to beg for. I think they don't think anything about paying the baker or Wal-Mart but maybe they feel weird paying you....so many people think I should make the cakes for nothing since I am just a home baker.......

It might be helpful to do a brochure to hand out to people. I noticed the cakes on your website. Have you firmed up your pricing? If they see your pricing on your brochure, they will know what you expect for your work. Have they asked you about your prices? If so and you seemed unsure...that carries over. You have to take the lead here and be more (dare I say it..) ...pushy.

When I started as an official businesses, I expected friends and family to come running to me with orders. Not the case. I had to do what other business do. Get myself out there with business cards, mailers, brochures and spruce up my web page. The funny thing is when my friends and family knew about my outside sales...they started to order from me. (I guess I seemed more legitimate!)

So don't be discouraged!!! Just look beyond family for your business. (they tend to want to negotiate prices too much anyway).

Sorry this was so long, but I hope it helped a bit.

-Rezzy

I think sometimes, even if it is going to be much more simple, people sometimes like making cakes for their kids themselves. Even if it is just "from a box and can of frosting".

I know with the 'to do' with everything; planners, parties with huge gift bags for the attendants complete with IPODS and the like , we must all have tiered cakes for our kids 5 year old party.

But it seems that sometimes, people want to do it themselves. That is how I started, because I DIDN"T want to get something from the bakery. I wanted it to be from me. Mommy made this for you (even if it was lame, and it was, cause they are in my pics and you can see them).

But then again....I don't plan $1,000 birthday parties for my kids either. We don't rent the $250 bounce house for ONE day...we can't afford that kind of thing. My kids get normal, old fashioned, birthday parties.

So, long story short, don't be offended. They may want to do it themself (and don't want to hurt your feelings). They may not think that you would need that much advance notice. They may tell you the day before!

My DH favorite cake is a cheesecake, and there is an AWESOME cheesecake bakery that we always get it from. So, his mom bought him cheesecake for his birthday. I had to feel okay about that. There is NO WAY on God's green earth that I will EVER make cheesecake as well as them!!

I have no experience in this yet, I just wanted to tell you that I think your cakes are wonderful. I especially love the family around the Thanksgiving table. Sooo cute!!!

I agree....friend and family are business that I am not going to beg for. I think they don't think anything about paying the baker or Wal-Mart but maybe they feel weird paying you....so many people think I should make the cakes for nothing since I am just a home baker.......

I often make a conscious choice NOT to hire people I know to do jobs. I think I would feel uncomfortable if I wanted someone to build a deck, do plumbing, make a cake, etc and find out that it was over my budget. How do you tell a friend that you can't afford them. I also am concerned about if a project doesn't turn out as expected. I wouldn't take it as a snub or that someone wanted free cake (why does this always come up?), maybe they are on a budget like so many of us are.

I know of no decorator who's friends and family are actually willing to BUY cakes from them. Mine won't- they go with thier own boxed cake or the grocery store. I do the special occasion cakes (baptism, first communion, graduation, wedding) for my nieces and nephews for free and my mom and dad are always free. All my business comes from strangers!!!

I had just the opposite experience. I was by no means 'in the business'. But one of my friends used to tell everyone about me and being who she was, everyone would call me. I hated it! Loved the money. I wanted them to be strangers because if they didn't like it, I didn't want it to hurt my friend. I don't think there is a way around it until someone breaks out and orders from you! Then others will follow.
Best of luck with the business! have fun!

I guess I'm lucky in that aspect. The guys and their wives are always coming up and saying, "I need a cake for...(blah, blah)...and how much would you charge for that?"

It seems like when I started, I got slammed with orders FAST! Seems like people always say the same thing to me: "I just really didn't want to get one of those grocery store cakes..."

There are things you can do to "help things along," though. Print up your business cards, and give a couple of them to all your friends. Tell them to "pass it on, and pass it out." Then, you can always offer to make their children's cakes, shower cakes, etc.

If you don't want to be "pushy" about it, just say something like, "I won't be booked the week of Taylor's birthday, if you'd like me to make the cake, I can do it for like $50. That way you'd have that part taken care of, and I'll even deliver it for you!" You know--something like that.

HTH,
--Knox--

I think you can also help by making your pricing very clear as friends are less likely to be able to say 'no' once they've asked for a quote - which might put them off even asking in the first place. So if you tell them - x size cake costs this much, on the back of a business card or something, then they don't need to worry about being obliged to buy a cake from you once they've enquired. I hope this makes sense and may be of some help to you.