How Much Do I Need To Charge For This??
Decorating By BecuzImAGurl Updated 3 Dec 2009 , 9:28pm by BecuzImAGurl
[quote="BecuzImAGurl"]thanks...maybe it's just the people around here, they go for "more for cheap = a good deal" I have no real experience since I'm just starting out...quote]
Trust me, when I sold my first cake I had a hard time telling the person $35 or $40. And we said the same thing, people won't spend more than that for a cake, we live in a less affluent area. We found out very quickly that it wasn't worth the time to make cakes for that unless we just wanted to give it away. NOW - if we tell someone $100, their typical reaction is, "that's cheap". And that's for a simple cake. We get shocked everytime by how much more we can charge and still know we aren't charging enough, yet. And the cakes are worth every bit and more. It's all in how confident you sound when you give them the price. And don't be afraid to tell them how much work it is and that they will not find anyone else who will deliver this type of talent in a cake, that they are getting a very special, one of a kind cake. If you look at my photo's, the largemouth bass cake was done for $300.
I wouldn't go any cheaper than $60 for a 6 inch with that much detail. That is an awesomely cute cake. I have to do one similar to that for a babyshower in February and I WILL be looking at yours for inspiration. $60 is a steal, because it's really worth $75-$100. Don't do anything to your recipe to cheapen it. This cake is much more than the WASC inside of it. It's a beautiful cake that took time and skill to make.
Wow you have TALENT! I would do that cake for $75 as well. The lady bug cake in my photos I did that one for $40 and it's just the lady bug...plus she is a friend of mine so I gave her a nice little deal for it. Didnt take that much time but from start to finish I'd say about 4 hrs. I'm okay with $10 an hour. Doesnt bother me...But like other poster's have said DONT SELL YOURSELF SHORT!!!
crownsj - how long did it take for customers to come to you? you advertise? I dont know much people because I'm home all the time with the baby I hardly socialize...thats great you making so much for your cakes!
DeeDelightful - Thanks, well, good luck on your cake, bet you can do better than me...hehehe
Beautiful cake. I'd say $100 bucks because your not comfortable asking for more. Once you spend hours upon hours, and $$ upon $$ for fondant, cakeboard, colors, ingredients and realize how little you get for it, you'll be more comfortable raising your prices.
alvarezmom - your little lady bug was cute! how big was it?
IN ALL CAPS: IF YOU SELL THAT CAKE CHEAP, YOU WILL HAVE THE HARDEST TIME EVER SELLING A CAKE FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH...DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!! If the person decides they don't want to pay $80 for that cake, make them a 9 x 13 sheet cake with a 1 dimensional fondant ladybug on top of green buttercream, $50!!
IN ALL CAPS: IF YOU SELL THAT CAKE CHEAP, YOU WILL HAVE THE HARDEST TIME EVER SELLING A CAKE FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH...DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!! If the person decides they don't want to pay $80 for that cake, make them a 9 x 13 sheet cake with a 1 dimensional fondant ladybug on top of green buttercream, $50!!
IN ALL CAPS: IF YOU SELL THAT CAKE CHEAP, YOU WILL HAVE THE HARDEST TIME EVER SELLING A CAKE FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH...DON'T DO IT!!!!!!!! If the person decides they don't want to pay $80 for that cake, make them a 9 x 13 sheet cake with a 1 dimensional fondant ladybug on top of green buttercream, $50!!
TOO!!! I'm having more confidence now! I'm sure I can definitely find SOMEONE that is willing to pay the price for it!
alvarezmom - your little lady bug was cute! how big was it?
I think is was around 7'' or 8''. wasnt that big..no filling.
crownsj - how long did it take for customers to come to you?
Never have advertised. This is still a sideline, but hoping one day to make it my permanent career. Anyway, it's been totally word of mouth. We do post pictures on photobucket and let everyone we know and everyone who gets a cake from us that they can view the pictures there. And of course people who get their cakes just love to see and show off their own cake from there. We also tell people that if they refer anyone to us that we will take 10% from that new order and make it a discount on their next cake. People seem to like that alot, and to date only one person has accepted the discount, everyone else just pays us the full amount saying they want us to have it. We probably do a couple cakes a week on average.
What has helped tremendously too, is that I do freelance work for some bakeries and candy shops in the area. I get to use their facilities to do my cakes, and when they sell something from their shops we each make money on those. They don't have to pay someone to be there all the time for the specialty cakes, but they bring in the extra money when they do make a sale, plus they are getting their own name out there for doing these cakes. Some places bake their own cake recipes and have them stacked and ready for me, other places I bake in my own name using my own recipes. It's been a win-win situation all around.
I think I could probably move into doing it full time anytime I'm ready, but my regular job has such good benefits right now, I'd hate to give them up.
You'll be surprised how quickly your name and cakes will get around and you'll be getting calls for them.
wow...sorry for the questions...but how long have you been baking and decorating cakes? I've only been doing that for errr...less than 4 months...gosh I'm so embarrassed to say. Once I developed my own list of cake recipes and find the ones I like to use for my cakes then I probably do what you do and see if bakeries will hire me...or do I need a license before they allow me to use their kitchen? I'm sure they wont want to get in trouble...
wow...sorry for the questions...but how long have you been baking and decorating cakes? I've only been doing that for errr...less than 4 months...gosh I'm so embarrassed to say. Once I developed my own list of cake recipes and find the ones I like to use for my cakes then I probably do what you do and see if bakeries will hire me...or do I need a license before they allow me to use their kitchen? I'm sure they wont want to get in trouble...
I baked my very first cake EVER on Valentine's Day, 2008. The places I work from are licensed and have their health inspection, etc. They are legal businesses. Keep in mind, they didn't "hire" me. I work freelance and for some do their cakes as people order them. Others I work from and can make cakes anytime, whether the order is mine entirely, or they get an order. I give them a cut of the money, which varies by the place and the setup, whether it's my ingredients and baking, or if they use their recipe and bake the cakes first themselves. Most of my orders though are cakes that come directly to me. I also developed a good relationship with a woman who owns her own shop but works exclusively in buttercream. If someone comes in wanting a fondant cake, she just refers them to me. She has also become a mentor to me. Wonderful woman. That's how I got the order for the bass cake. And it was funny, because my wife had been in the shop one day showing photos of the latest of the cakes and a woman stopped and asked for a card. She lost the card, her daughter was doing all the wedding arrangements and just happened to go into the same place inquiring about getting that cake done and they sent her to me.
That cake is frickin' adorable. If someone asks for lots of fiddly work? More money. Simpler cake? Less money. (Isn't the real reason for cake competitions so you can have fun doing the stuff that no one wants to pay for? 
) Please, listen to what everyone's saying and don't sell your work short. You can benefit from the many voices of experience now, or kick yourself later when you're burnt out from doing this type of work for next to nothing. 'nuff said. 
KHalstead
Would $30 dollars really cover the cost of making the cake? Seriously!
Actually I priced it out and it costs me about $8.00 to make that entire cake....and probably a good hour, maybe 2 to decorate........so I'm making about $11.00/hr. for my time after expenses.........i'm ok with that!
Did you add in the cost of your cake board, any dowels or things like that you might you? Your cost for fondant. The cost to use the stove? Cleanup? A Cake Box? Remember to include all those little things you don't normally think of right off the bat, but they are expenses that do add up quickly.
KHalstead
Would $30 dollars really cover the cost of making the cake? Seriously!
Actually I priced it out and it costs me about $8.00 to make that entire cake....and probably a good hour, maybe 2 to decorate........so I'm making about $11.00/hr. for my time after expenses.........i'm ok with that!
I'm with you! I'm a slow decorator. I take my time. I havent gotten my "flow" of icing cakes, making fondant....I really just take my time. I guess that's why it takes me 4,5,6 hours to make a little ole cake...but in the end I'm still okay with leaving around $10 an hour.
Did you add in the cost of your cake board, any dowels or things like that you might you? Your cost for fondant. The cost to use the stove? Cleanup? A Cake Box? Remember to include all those little things you don't normally think of right off the bat, but they are expenses that do add up quickly.
I didn't include the cost for running the oven, but that is all subtracted with our taxes and I got the HOOK UP for cake boards! lol
I have this friend who's husband makes cardboard boxes for a living, and their factory cuts out PERFECT circles of cardboard and puts them in the dumpster!!! (edited to say: She gives them to me BEFORE they hit the dumpster.......don't wanna open up a can of worms if people think I go dumpster diving for cake circles LOL) She brings me literally 1,000s of cardboard circles in varying sizes.......from 3" rounds all the way up to 18" rounds. I put together a couple and cover with wrapping paper and contact paper so my cake boards costs are almost ALWAYS less than $1.00 MAX for the paper.....so yes I figured that cost in.
I love the cardboard circles too, I use them when I roll out small bits of fondant and don't want to mess up the counter, so awesome. They're thinner than regular corrugated cake circles but stronger! They are corrugated, but it's a tighter corrugation, they rock!
As for dowels, I'd probably use a couple drinking straws for a rkt ladybug that size...so we're talking $.04 maybe!
When I first started I was "afraid" to charge $3-$5 a serving, and also wanted to give them a deal to get referrals and to keep the clients. But I soon learned after reading many posts and also realizing that my cakes were good and worth much more. I felt a little uneasy the first time I quoted a price for a 3 tier cake for 80 people at $250.00. (it was covered in fondant with a few flowers) No questions asked, they loved it the next day I got call: they said they were at the paty and wanted a baby shower cake. I charged them $4.00 a serving (the whale cake in my photos). The day after that cake, I got a call for a wedding cake for 200... DONT UNDERESTIMATE what people will pay or what your skills are worth.. I learned the hard way...I could kick myseld in the butt for what I used to charge....
KHalstead...until you learn to stop selling yourself out for pennies, I forbid you to give pricing advice...LOL! (just kidding) But you are hurting yourself and our industry by severely underselling your product. And 2 hours really. What, do you have your cake already prebaked for you? I can see $30 in fondant and gumpaste alone in that cake, and someone who is a newbie probably took several hours to make that amazing cake. $5 a serving for that intricacy and detail is too cheap... I say $7 minimum per serving so $84. Actually my price for a cake serving under 100 rolled fondant level 3 design (which in my definition it is a level 3 design) is $12 per serving so I would sell that cake for $144.
Someone on here has a wonderful quote....
Quality Cakes Aren't Cheap ~ Cheap Cakes Aren't Quality!
Quit being the Cheap cake lady...she helps no one except ignorant cheapo cake muggles. Said out of love, you are a gifted decorator! Now Charge what you are worth woman!...
To the OP (original poster) - Since you have mentioned this as a concern...you need to check with your local Health Department on if it is even legal to sell cakes from your home kitchen. Most States it is illegal, I have no idea about Illinois. They will tell you what you have to have and do to sell your cakes legally. It doesn't cost you a dime to contact them, and get the answers you need. 
750.00
You (sic) so funny!!!
I forgot to mention its only a 6" cake...wow...I would love to earn a $75.00 for a cake but to many people in my area...they will think it's a bit expensive...what should I substitute in my cake to make it cheaper?
Substitute another league of clients. You need a new gene pool with pockets to market to.
IT'S ONLY A 6" ROUND, I'm sure it wouldn't take more than 1 lb. of fondant MAX so I figured that to be like $3.00 worth (i get a 20 lb. bucket for just under $60 w/ shipping), it costs me just under $5.00 to make one batch of cake batter, with leftovers since this is only a 6" round...hey I'd have enough to do the ladybug out of cake as well if I felt like it lol, less than $1.00 worth of gumpaste for the leaves and ladybugs, and $1.00 for the rkt ladybug.........ok, so $10.00 but I'm highballing everything......cake takes about 35 min. in oven, and that gives me 1 1/2 hrs. to decorate...no sweat.
I just decorated my DD birthday cake in less than an hr. That's filling, icing, covering in fondant and airbrushing, adding ribbon....to 3 tiers! I actually amazed myself with how fast I did that one!
What about the icing under the fondant?
And truth to tell you know you're not pricing right because you already said, 'You guys don't kill me.'
We/I don't have to kill you --you're doing a pretty good job all by yourself.
You know your investment to make the rkt alone was much more than one dollar. You have to buy the whole bag of marshmellows, butter and rice krispies--you have that entire investment to make the one bug--you don't necessarily charge that one client for all of it but that's part of the investment plus dish soap and paper towels, boxes--you know the drill.
You need to find a new gene pool too with pockets that jingle from which to market your wares.
it's not that I don't count all of that stuff, it's just too difficult to figure how many drops of icing color I used.......I do figure out my inventory though every month I enter my receipts and figure out my bottom line and my icing is included so i guess it's just in me to not figure out the .50 of icing I used (my icing is approx. .25/cup and I figure 2 cups of icing would be plenty to stick the fondant to.
My point in the calculation is this though, I'm not saying SHE couldn't get $50.00+ she's in Chicago.......she could probably get $75 pretty easily. She asked what would YOU charge? and in my case, it's $30.00. Although, I might raise that cost if I deemed it to be an excessively time consuming cake.......but just looking at it and knowing the speed I work comfortably at...I'd price it at $30.
That doesn't sell the other cake decorators in my area short...because I'm twice the cost that they are, so if anything...I'm a help to them......they can always say "I'm cheaper THAN HER!" lol
You left out buttercream and cost for colors, icing colors or dust. You see it does add up higher.
Yeah plus you have to roll out more than one pound of fondant to be able to apply it--there's tons of costs you're ignoring.
'Fess up.
Not to say I'm not jealous of your source for cardboard circles but just saying...
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