Just curious as to how you knew your cakes were good enough to sell to people? Also did you do any formal cake decorating training? How would you advise a newbie as to what to charge for simple character cakes for b-days. Any other general advice. This would be more of a hobby for me. Thanks!

Try taking your cakes to others and see how they react. However, most character cakes are protected by copyright and you cannot sell them.

Not everyone has "training". Many decorators are self taught. Before you decide to sell cakes, check with your local health department or the state department of agriculture for licensing information.

I knew it was time for me to start selling cakes on my own when I was running someone else's shop and doing all of the baking and making all the fillings and the buttercream and he was getting all of the rave reviews and I realized it was my work that was being praised! I'm not a very bold person and I tend to doubt my talent, but that made me realize that I was good enough to do it on my own. As for figuring prices I called bakeries that were in the area I would be selling in and were doing the types of cakes that I would be doing and I charged similar prices. Don't undervalue yourself and don't try to undercut your competition-your work is at least as good as theirs, if not better, because you'll be producing in small batches. Good luck!