Like I said, I was wondering what is the going rate in Arizona for these types of cakes. Both pictures are of cakes I made (didn't charge for either one). I am currenty thinking about doing one and charging. My Mom, love her, thinks I am undervalueing my time so I need your imput. Thanks a bunch cake central members for ALL your help!

http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1927775

http://cakecentral.com/gallery/1810215

Ok it won't let me attatch the pics, so in my pics it is the white wedding with the writing on it and the zebra cake.

(anybody have info on how to get pics in posts, would love that too!)

How much were the ingredients for each cake, and how long did it take you to make each one (baking, decorating, assembling, etc.)?

Ingredients are a little hard to figure since I did them so long ago, for the wedding cake I would guess around $45 not counting roses, for the zebra I would say more like $35.

Time/labor is a little harder because I don't want to charge them for extra hours because I am not as experienced as someone else. That is why I wanted to know about what others would charge. I just want to be fair with myself as well as the customer.

There's nothing wrong with charging for your time...if it takes you a little longer because you are newer you would just use a lower hourly wage.

What part of Arizona are you in?

I live in Northern Arizona, the cake is for a friend but I have to stop doing them for free. Getting pretty crazy. Cake will be for Phoenix party.

well, I'm not in your area, but I live in a VERY small town in SE Arizona and I tend to charge $2-$3 per serving. This covers my expenses and gives me some labor cost as well, and still stays within what people will pay down here. Hope this helps!

Hi,
Minimum of $3 per serving, $4 would be better especially for fondant. And for topsy turvy even more. Nobody I know in the Phoenix area charges less. Most are more.

Nice cakes!

KimAZ

Hello!
I am in Northern AZ as well! I do $3.50 a serving for a tiered round cake. It works out really well with all of my expenses and such. As I get better I might move up a bit but right now this seems to be working. I wonder if I know you. lol! Its pretty small up here!

Oh p.s. thats for fondant.

Thanks for all the great information. I am in the Payson area. This definitely helps me out. I kind of got myself into a sticky situation. I did two previous cakes for these friends for free (ugh big mistake) Now they want me to do this one and they have said they would pay me to do it. I just am having a hard time asking them to pay what I should. I am afraid, because they are friends, that they will be upset and think I am charging them too much but if I don't make it realistic, I will just be undercutting myself constantly. Ug, I wish this wasn't part of cakes. I just wanna make them =)

Oh okay I am further up north. Don't be afraid to price what you need to price!! I am exactly like you in that sense. People don't understand the time and money that go into it and I am so scared to ask for the money. Just be confident because your time is worth it! You will get people who look at you and think your crazy but stand your ground. Those cakes are wonderful and totally worth what you need to charge. Good luck!!