It's so good to be in like company! I've told family in the past "this is your price vs. everyone elses price". Someone in my family ordered some cakes for work and I told her if you are buying them yourself, this is your price .... if everyone is chipping in or your office is buying them, it's my full price. Of course, everyone is chipping in and she's paying me her price, not full price .... oh, well ... maybe some customers from her work will come of it (but I hope they don't expect the family price!). She's also planning a party and I told her I'd do the cake and it would be my gift - I'm thinking I'll need cake for about 50 for the family. She came to pick up the cakes for her work and told me she's up to 125 for the party now ... gulp! ... "Are you almost done with the guest list?" It's more than I had in my budget for a gift, but we'll make it work. I've just got to muster up some more joy in giving first. It'll be good practice, right?

On the other hand, I give my best friends (who are also my best referrals) my "family" price and they always give me more and say even that isn't enough. They make me feel so much better.

I used to have this problem when I started making cakes, of course you HAVE TO give some cakes free to your relatives in order to get your name out there and for practice also, but in my case it got to the point where EVERYONE just expected a cake on their birthday, they would not ask if I can do it or even ask me ( to make sure there was going to be cake at the party). I felt so much pressure that I started to freak out when a birthday was coming and I had no money to buy the ingredients (I was not working at that time), so I just decided to to stop making cakes for them (unless they wanted to pay at least for the ingredients, of course they did not like the idea) and I also told them I was busy making paid cakes for friends, I felt so bad but I stick to my guns. Now my bussines comes from my dear friends because my relatives buy their cakes from the store!!!! oh well........