heres my problem...I've just started making cakes for money like a few weeks ago. mostly Ive only ever done them for family because I was to afraid I wouldnt be good enough to sell them. my first sale I did was to my work place (first mistake was i way under charged). now I have three graduation cakes to make next month. I've been doing alot of research on pricing and serving sizes and all of that. heres my question, ive read different servings sizes for the same size cake on just about every place ive looked. like a 12x18 cake...some say 40 servings some say 30...heck some say 57. wiltons serving chart says a sheet 12x18 should serve 36 if you cut it into 2x3 servings. i cut out a 2x3 paper just to have an idea of how big that is....thats small. i need grad cakes for 40 pple. so do i plan on them cutting the cake bigger and make them a bigger cake or just make a cake according to wiltons serving guid and if they cut it wrong to bad for them?? i know layered cakes they cut the pieces smaller bc its thicker but what about just standard sheets?
I run into this problem quite a bit, too. People want 'normal' serving sizes, not the smallish ones that are used in guides to calculate servings for weddings & parties. I've started letting people know what a servings size is (1x2, 2x2 etc..) and ask them if those are the sizes they're planning to serve. If they want bigger, they need a bigger cake. BUT be sure to charge at a higher rate. Just because they're cutting off bigger pieces (thus a smaller amount of total servings) they're still technically getting a cake that serves more people.
You really don't want to short yourself in the end. Your time is worth money, too.
My hypoglycemic hubby could EAT. "One" serving was three "normal" pieces of cheesecake. Just because he could, doesn't mean I only got charged for one.
Leah explained it well. A "serving" is determined by industry standard. How the host plans to serve is up to them.
that helps alot. thank you :) its hard just starting out. lots of questions and not many pple around here who have done it for a business. :)
I like the recommendation that others had about wood blocks cut and pained to resemble "cake". I would show "wedding" serving, "party" serving, and maybe for fun, a "Jethro" serving.
For the consumer, I may label them "industry standard serving" (like Leah, said 8 cubic inches) , "hearty teenager serving" (10 cubic inches) and "Jethro serving" (20 cubic inches?). (I HATE calling it "wedding" and "party" because people think you are ripping them off) But the math should stay the same...
industry standard $3/serving
hearty teenager is 20% larger, so that is $3.60/serving
Jethro is 250% sized, so $7.50 a serving.
Think of it like a pizza--- I order one that says it serves 4-6, but we like pizza, eat too much of it, and it barely serves 3. ;) But if a hostess served it to 6 people, we would all just have the one slice, right? The hostess decides when she orders the pizza if she is serving one slice (serves 6 style) or orders 5 times as much and offers a "pig out" pizza eating contest. Same with your customers--- but the visual helps them understand it (WITH a provided cutting chart!).
thanks so much guys. that really helps alot. im glad i signed up for this website, its really nice to get input from people who have experience.
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