Are Your Customers On Cake Central?
Decorating By Katiebelle74 Updated 10 Apr 2011 , 11:00pm by scp1127
Like for instance right now I have a particular client who is emailing me to death. I'm tempted to ask the advice of my peers here on CC but I am double thinking even that. While I would not begin to name names or say overly negative stuff by any means, I just now do not even feel comfortable explaining enough of the situation to get advice here like I usually would have. I guess I could create another user account that is not linked to any of my photos or web site or anything and pick a really random name, then ask away like I used to. I know one of the other decorators did that, perhaps for such a reason.
I did that! Actually, I did not want clients or even a couple of decorators in my town to know who I was! (I have tried to talk to this one fellow decorator.....in my town, and she clearly wanted nothing to do with another decorator!)
Edited to say that I changed my username and took away all my photos and other info. I did not create another account.
This is one of the reasons I don't give the link to my website or post pictures on here. Like my mom always said, "People don't need to know your business!" Well, they don't know it's my business if I'm anonymous. 
I know some people on here question your talent and knowledge if you don't post pictures to "prove" you know what you're talking about, but I'm OK with that. 
tryingcake, the HD rep said that the illegal bakers give them a hard time. When they don't comply, the police have to get involved. They also deal with illegal tatoo parlors in homes. They are tired of it. They have been working with people, trying to help them get legal, but when they come back, nothing is done. The IRS is an easier avenue than police involvement, but that is still an option. In the other state, where my main market is, not one illegal baker was found on the web. Maryland is tough on illegals.
So, if the person is already paying taxes, as I was, then they really don't have that avenue. The IRS won't care.
Now, the difference is I was actively and obviously working on becoming legal. So don't know if there would have been an issue or not.
Anyway, I thought the health dept could shut you down without the aid of other entities. But I guess they can't follow you around in the middle of night to see what you are doing.
Anyway, I thought the health dept could shut you down without the aid of other entities. But I guess they can't follow you around in the middle of night to see what you are doing.
Usually the only stick the health dept has is levying fines (and potentially the legal system), enforcement comes down to the police department.
The IRS, on the other hand, has its own police force and is much more aggressive about enforcement. The easiest way to bring down illegal enterprises is often by charging them with tax evasion, since you are required to report income from illegal activities on your tax return, and if you don't the tax evasion is usually pretty easy to prove.
More on-topic, this might be an opportunity for CC to earn a little extra revenue. Not by constructing a pay wall around the entire forum, but perhaps creating an additional "premium" forum that was accessible only to paying members.
Another option would be to create a premium level paid CC membership that includes a number of additional features, one of which would be the ability to post anonymously on regular forums without breaking the rules and creating a separate account.
One thing to note for those creating multiple accounts -- it is surprisingly easy to identify someone based solely on their posting style (choice of words, sentence structure, paragraph structure, etc.) if they post frequently enough. CC staff can also find out your true identity by tracing your IP address to your ISP...I doubt it would ever come to that here, but on other forums I've participated in (mostly dealing with finance) the forum operators have been contacted by federal law enforcement to find the true identity of specific posters, which is a trivial task with the cooperation of the ISP.
I think it would be healthy for customers to see how decorators talk to each other about situations and clients. If they see someone like themselves in a vent post, then hey...maybe they'll get a clue. As long as you keep it generic, then why bother worrying about cake muggles who are generally there to look at cake pictures.
I think it would be healthy for customers to see how decorators talk to each other about situations and clients. If they see someone like themselves in a vent post, then hey...maybe they'll get a clue. As long as you keep it generic, then why bother worrying about cake muggles who are generally there to look at cake pictures.
People rarely see themselves when this happens. The people who do, know they are being ugly to begin with. Bridezillas and such think they are correct all the time and everyone else is an idiot.
More on-topic, this might be an opportunity for CC to earn a little extra revenue. Not by constructing a pay wall around the entire forum, but perhaps creating an additional "premium" forum that was accessible only to paying members.
Another option would be to create a premium level paid CC membership that includes a number of additional features, one of which would be the ability to post anonymously on regular forums without breaking the rules and creating a separate account.
This issue has been brought up numerous times over the years and the owners of this site have been adamant that it will always remain free. Not gonna happen.
I prefer paid sites. Unfortunately, I'm rare, so they don't last.
More on-topic, this might be an opportunity for CC to earn a little extra revenue. Not by constructing a pay wall around the entire forum, but perhaps creating an additional "premium" forum that was accessible only to paying members.
Another option would be to create a premium level paid CC membership that includes a number of additional features, one of which would be the ability to post anonymously on regular forums without breaking the rules and creating a separate account.
This issue has been brought up numerous times over the years and the owners of this site have been adamant that it will always remain free. Not gonna happen.
With my proposals everything currently on the site would still be free for everyone, the only difference would be that additional features would be available to those willing to pay.
This is one of the reasons I don't give the link to my website or post pictures on here. Like my mom always said, "People don't need to know your business!" Well, they don't know it's my business if I'm anonymous.
I know some people on here question your talent and knowledge if you don't post pictures to "prove" you know what you're talking about, but I'm OK with that.
I agree completely with JohnnyCakes1966. Experience has taught me avoid giving links or sharing photos. I've learned to be protective of my privacy.
For the illegal bakers in my area, shutting them down requires law enforcement and the HD would like it to be more peaceful. That's why the IRS is a better way to go. When the IRS starts an investigation, they colect all data before you know it is being done. When they start asking you questions, they already know the answers. When I was a witness in the tax evasion case, they had my bank accounts before they seized my books. My books proved the tax evasion of the other business because I recorded every penny of cash. By the way, tax evasion becomes tax fraud the moment you sign and send a tax return with unreported income for any year.
So if you are an unlicensed baker claiming the revenue, then the HD has no choice but to seek the aid of law enforcement.
So then, what you are saying is those who pay their taxes are harder to close down?
Like I said, I paid taxes from day one, legal or not. In fact, I claimed my income and NO deductions since I wasn't 100% yet. So, they really would have owed me......
It's much "easier" being legal ... as in more peaceful. (wink)
They aren't harder to close down. It's just that the HD people here are trying to be nice and avoid the police issue. But they can do it on a moment's notice without warning. All have been contacted, so it wouldn't be a surprise. The HD in Maryland must be pretty harsh because there are no unlicensed bakers advertising. I always try to warn the MD bakers who are unaware of the law when they post on CC. They may think I'm just trying to scare them, but it's the truth. I can't imagine Maryland ever passing a cottage indusry law with the way MD health departments conduct business. They are very knowledgeable and unbending. They do a great job.
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