Another "am I Undercharging?" Thread From A Newbie
Decorating By sugarrush74 Updated 16 Nov 2010 , 10:08pm by ChunkkeeMunkkee
Hi Everyone,
I think one of the reasons there are lots of questions like this is because many women tend to undervalue their work, and I speak for myself when I say that I often doubt that my work is worth the big bucks!
I charge $50-100 for my cakes. Generally, a single tier is $50, 2 tiers is $75, etc. None of my cakes take less than 4 hours of my time. I get about 2 to 3 orders a week and have started to become resentful of all the time I put into my cakes with so little profit. It seems I may have to raise my prices or give up on something that I really enjoy. Any advice is greatly appreciated
Figure out how much your cakes cost per serving, including ingredient costs, the cost of your time (anywhere from $10-30/hour depending on your skill) and overhead costs such as insurance and license fees. Add 20-30% to this number to come up with your price.
4 hours? You can get your supplies together, bake the cakes, torte fill, ice, cover in fondant, make the figurines, keep your work area tidy while you work, cut out the details and deliver the cake all within 4 hours total?
4 hours? You can get your supplies together, bake the cakes, torte fill, ice, cover in fondant, make the figurines, keep your work area tidy while you work, cut out the details and deliver the cake all within 4 hours total?
As long as the decorations aren't too detailed, that sounds perfectly reasonable for a single tier fondant cake.
None of my cakes take less than 4 hours of my time.
Which means most of her cakes probably take considerably longer than 4 hours to make.
Sorry Jason, I was reading that as more than 4 hours. My bad!
Then yes, you're most likely undercharging (not knowing your costs).
Hey don't feel bad... I had looked into local bakeries and their pricing and slightly under charged to be competitive. yeah ok.... that didn't work. No one will pay more than $60 for ANYTHING out of my kitchen, tiered, fondant, nothing!!. Don't get me wrong, I get rave reviews on taste, I have nothing but repeat customers (who are now sending their friends my way). But folks are cheap in my area although they will shell out twice what I pay at a bakery. AND I even deliver and do table scapes for some. What I do is not really respected since it's done from home, yet every one wants my "look & style". I don't get it.... You are not alone. I am way too busy and not seeing a profit. I too have played with the idea of jumping ship back into an office or something.
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