I've seen anywhere from 2.00-5.00 a serving in this area. What do you recommend be a good price per serving for someone just starting out? Right now I'm making a few just for price of materials just to get my name out there, but I don't want to do too many of those. I want to start charging with my next orders, but I don't want to overcharge yet I want to be able to make some extra for me.

well, first you need to figure out how much it COSTS you to make a serving of cake before you start CHARGING for a serving of cake. I priced myself right where everyone in my area is (I'm home-based and they have storefronts) and I wasn't making ANY money...they were able to buy things in bulk and tax free and I cannot so it cost me more to produce my product than it does them.

You need to sit down and figure out how much money it takes you to produce, let's say an 8" round cake

Figure in gas going to and from the stores for your ingredients, all of them, even stuff for the cake board, box, colors, etc. (take the mileage, and see how many miles/gallon your vehicle gets and figure it with the cost of gas)

Then take receipts from all of your ingredients and add them up ( you would be surprised how quickly they add up)

Then add in the box and the board

Then figure how long it takes to bake, decorate, and clean up after the cake
X's that by how much you want to make / hour

Then you'll have a total

For me, it costs me around $6.00 total to produce an 8" round, I charge $20.00 for the cake. I can live with that. Some places here charge $6.99 for an 8" round....I can't compete with that, so I don't! I don't have a shortage of customers.

If you find that you can afford to be in the middle ground, say at $3.50/serv. than I think based on your price ranges that would be a good place to start.

I've increased my prices every year (2 yrs. now) to slow down the amount of orders I get and it really hasn't mattered much, the same people keep coming back and don't mind paying more every year (they know expenses go up every year too)

Also check to see how much the license and business insurance costs, plus the increased cost if any for the additional car insurance for business use.

Utilities, advertising and cost of your time that you have to spend dealing with customers should also be factored in. And I'm sure there are a lot more things that I've forgotten!

Thank you all! There is a lot more to consider than I thought. And yes it adds up fast. Since I haven't really made cakes I haven't gotten down how much it takes to make what. I have a cake to take to a friend tomorrow where she paid me for ingredients and materials (boards, etc). I gave her the receipt after I bought everything, and it ended up that I needed more because I underestimated how much it would take for a larger cake. So I was out a little, but that's okay. You learn LOL