I went through that with a bride in the beginning of the week. She wanted a dummy cake nicely decorated and then sheet cakes (plain) to feed guests. I basically told her that sheet cakes don't take any less cake than a round or square cake does. Cake is cake no matter what shape it comes in. So, in essence, it would actually be MORE for her to do the dummy cake because she still has to pay for my art, time and work....plus the same amount of sheet cakes to feed however many people...the minimal decoration that would have to go on the sheet cakes...plus the added cost of the dummies for the tiered (which is VERY minimal, I know).
I don't think *most* customers are trying to get over on us....I just don't think they understand. They get the idea that a sheet cake is so inexpensive because of these damn grocery stores pumping out a brick of crap.....urgh.....I just can't even talk about it anymore. lol
YOU DON'T HAVE TO COMPETE WITH WALMART -
PERSONAL CONTACT IS GETTING TO BE A LOST ART IN A BUSY WORLD....AS CAKE DECORATORS WE ALL HAVE OUR UNIQUE TALENTS, AND WE CAN OFFER OUR CLIENTS THE PERSONAL TOUCH, ACCUALLY TALKING TO A REAL PERSON......MAKING THEIR CAKE A "ONE OF A KIND" ...., ESPECIALLY FOR THEM......
I ENJOY...AS I'M SURE A LOT OF US DO.....WORKING WITH MY CLIENTS FOR WEDDINGS OR ANY OTHER CELEBTATIONS.....
I have become a real brat about the personal contact thing, people tell me that I should put business cards out by my cakes (when i donate or do them for friends) or they have offered to put up fliers for me to advertise and I say "no, I don't have business cards and I don't want them because I bake out of my home and don't want to invite the board of health, I only do this on a hobby level for the people who seek me out and only when I am available" Now that drives them crazy and then they REALLY want me to do their cake! lol So I work strictly on word of mouth and have more business than I need (I also work full time so its not alot but takes up what free time i have)
"Did Time" thats hilarious 
I did time in the Winn Dixie bakery back in the mid 90''s know exactly what you mean. I did have a "nice" manager and she recognized my artistic talent and gave me some wiggle room to create (as far as you can with a frozen sheet cake or a frozen 8 inch round cake and a 25 pound bucket of something that was called icing)! I worked there about a year. We couldn't keep the cakes on the shelves but it was because I went the extra mile. Don't compromise your talents we deserve to be paid top dollar!
I've heard about the sheet cake issue. I was talking to someone just recently who had been on tastings with his niece for her wedding cake (he is paying). He said that they were told that it would be cheaper to do sheet cakes and dummy cakes. My thoughts were the same as everyone else - why? You still have to decorate the dummy cake. Unless they wanted the look of a 5 tier, but only needed 100 servings?
In reading KellyAnne1284's comment, I have to repeat what read somewhere else on this site: Can you go to a decent restaurant anywhere in America and pay less than $3-4 a person for dessert? What makes a bride/MOB think that they can get a quality dessert for less than what they would pay at Applebee's or Outback? I'm sure they are still paying $8-10 per person for the buffet they are serving at the reception hall, and that's what they would probably pay elsewhere. Why should cake be any cheaper?
My biggest problem here is that this poor bride will probably have to buy her wedding cake from a supermarket because of her budget and it just breaks my heart. Call me a sucker...because that's what I am. 
I read in the bride magazines that you should get a small wedding cake and if you need more to feed more, get a sheet cake to suppliment it. That would actually be cheaper. But his dummy cake idea is crazy!
"I don't think me asking for $5 per serving would be too high,"
Local in FL, I've heard $5-$8 per serving for a fondant covered cake.
$2.50-$3.00 for BC if that helps.
if you dont think that $5 pp is too high, then you should quote that, and NOT FEEL BAD. i think going out to dinner at a nice restaurant and paying $75 for dinner and $50 for a babysitter is "too much" too, but if i want it, i pay it, respect it... and enjoy it
"Did Time" thats hilarious
I did time in the Winn Dixie bakery back in the mid 90''s know exactly what you mean. I did have a "nice" manager and she recognized my artistic talent and gave me some wiggle room to create (as far as you can with a frozen sheet cake or a frozen 8 inch round cake and a 25 pound bucket of something that was called icing)! I worked there about a year. We couldn't keep the cakes on the shelves but it was because I went the extra mile. Don't compromise your talents we deserve to be paid top dollar!
Well what was funny was the manager who hired me recognized my talent and gave me carte blanche to decorate whatever I thought would sell but the one who replaced her didnt know cakes from her butt and she and I always tied up. I once airbrushed a cake camoflage and bordered it in bright orange during hunting season. She said to me "that is one ugly cake" I said "i know it is" then she said you know you are wasting walmart's money" I said "nope, this is picayune MS, the official uniform around here is cammo, it'll sell" Sure enough that cake wasn't in the case for 15 minutes before someone bought it. I loved it! and every time she said something about one of my cakes that I "took a risk" in doing something different, they always flew off the shelf. I dont think she liked that all the orders had in the corner "rose will do" either...I was a lil TOO popular for my own good there! (more requests meant more work but not more money)
rosiecakes......
I too work out of my home.....all by word of mouth........ most of my cakes are for friends, family and family friends.......I do it as a hobby but I do enjoy getting involved with the people.....
I think "word of mouth" is our best "advertising"..... and I agree.. we don't want to draw attention to our "business". That has been a concern of mine also....Keep it small and keep it fun......
The only way to compete with wal-mart is:
4) Only allow your decorators about 2 hrs to decorate a cake (if you have a nice manager)
I did time in the WM bakery (defrostery) this was more like 20-30 minutes to do a wedding cake. Sheet cakes I would complete in under 7 minutes (icing and decorating). It was shortly after my divorce and I just needed ANY job that would feed my family so i comprimised my artistic integrity as long as I could stand it (9months was my limit) and I worked there. To their credit I did pick up speed and improve my writing, but I have since slowed back down somewhat, faster is not always better, but it helps when you are down to the wire.
I was one that worked in a WM bakery also. I ended up working for a total of 4 different managers (two differnet stores) Two were great and allowed us to put out a good product, as long as the time allowed. The other two were like you said 20-30 mins and that thing should be done....
In one of the stores we had an AWESOME store manager that allowed us a lot of free reign beyond what WM normally does. We sold a ton of cakes b/c of what we offered for decorating. Once he left it went downhill... production production production....
Also you refered to the "ugly cakes" lol I loved working there for one reason. Mainly was I could try anything I wanted (even the camo with orange, which we did sell quite a few of too) and most of the time it sold, it would have to be a pretty ugly cake not to sell. But it allowed us to be a little creative and man some of the things we came up with never should have sold, but the did.
What's with the "i'm on a budget crap". I am on a budget to run my household. I am married and still we have a budget. Kellyanne1284 if it's in your budget to help this bride I think you should offer to do her cake for the price of a walmart cake-since that is her budget --and your budget ( i'm assuming) probably can be stretched to accommodate your potential customer.
I say make her happy on HER day!!!
Recently my cousin got married, wanted me to do the cake for 300 people-she was on a budget-wanted me to do it for $100, I just said NO!! So she paid $900 at a bakery. Not only did 300 not show up, cake was left all over the place, complaints about it not tasting good. I was asked by my aunt how come I didn't make the cake, so I told her. She said I don't blame you. She said the cake would have been gone if I had made it and not left over...money wasted. So I don't compromise my work any more. I would have been way into my budget to make her cake.
What's with the "i'm on a budget crap". I am on a budget to run my household. I am married and still we have a budget. Kellyanne1284 if it's in your budget to help this bride I think you should offer to do her cake for the price of a walmart cake-since that is her budget --and your budget ( i'm assuming) probably can be stretched to accommodate your potential customer.
I say make her happy on HER day!!!
Maybe I'm just cold-hearted, but I disagree. Since word-of-mouth tends to lead to most business, it's almost inevitable that this person would then tell her friends what she paid and that if they push the "poor me, I'm on a budget and too broke to pay that price.." idea...they'll get what they want. I'm sorry, but people's money problems aren't your problem. If they want a wedding and cannot afford what they "want" then they get what they can afford.....otherwise, they should wait until they can afford what they want. Too many people in this country think that they somehow "desserve" more than they can personally afford...and expect that everyone else should put themselves out for them because of whatever their personal financial circumstances...
Seriously...not my problem. A wedding is NOT a necessity. If she can't afford it...she can't afford it. This is the price....if you cannot pay it, sorry. Big difference in "helping someone out" when it's a necessity (food, clothing, etc...) and giving away a wedding cake....IMO. Again, maybe I'm just mean....
captrick wrote:
Seriously...not my problem. A wedding is NOT a necessity. If she can't afford it...she can't afford it. This is the price....if you cannot pay it, sorry. Big difference in "helping someone out" when it's a necessity (food, clothing, etc...) and giving away a wedding cake....IMO. Again, maybe I'm just mean....
I'm getting "cold-hearted" too. I keep thinking about the new refrigerator I had to buy a couple of weeks ago. I had never bought a refrigerator so I had no idea what they cost so I got online and was somewhat surprised. Now, I would have liked to have had the $1500 model but my budget just wouldn't allow it. So I got what I could afford, a "plain jane" model and was thrilled to find one in my budget with an ice maker. The point being----there was NO way any store was going to give me a $1500 refrigerator for 1/3 the price because I was on a budget!
As Indydebi has pointed out many times, bridal sites & magazines as well as wedding planners tell all brides to tell the cake decorator that they "are on a budget" so we will come down on our prices.
Now that is not to say that there are brides who really do have a small budget but they do need to be realistic about it all.
Well, I'm a wedding planner also (trying to make all my side hustles into one big business 
) and I tell my brides NOT to tell people they are on a budget! I don't know where in the world that piece of advice comes from. I do that because I know that when somebody tells me that, for whatever service they may be requesting, I shut down. Most people are on a budget for events like weddings and stuff. But that doesn't mean that you try to beat your vendors out of there deserved fees. Everything is a negotiation though so we as vendors need to be willing to work with people WITHIN REASON! Believe me, I learned that within reason thing the hard way!
I think another thing that makes people think that home bakers will have lower prices is that they feel that our overhead is low. They look at somewhere like Walmart and think, oh they're paying for space and employees, blah blah blah. So ultimately, they probably think that it costs us less to bake at home so the savings should be passed on to them. But as everybody else has said, they don't think about our time and talent and the unlimited choices they have when working with us.
What's with the "i'm on a budget crap". I am on a budget to run my household. I am married and still we have a budget. Kellyanne1284 if it's in your budget to help this bride I think you should offer to do her cake for the price of a walmart cake-since that is her budget --and your budget ( i'm assuming) probably can be stretched to accommodate your potential customer.
I say make her happy on HER day!!!
Recently my cousin got married, wanted me to do the cake for 300 people-she was on a budget-wanted me to do it for $100, I just said NO!! So she paid $900 at a bakery. Not only did 300 not show up, cake was left all over the place, complaints about it not tasting good. I was asked by my aunt how come I didn't make the cake, so I told her. She said I don't blame you. She said the cake would have been gone if I had made it and not left over...money wasted. So I don't compromise my work any more. I would have been way into my budget to make her cake.
The problem with this is that I would love to bring my budget down to make this bride's day - but I would literally come very close to LOSING money on this cake if I were to do it. I feel horrible about it, but I don't think it will be possible.
My biggest problem here is that this poor bride will probably have to buy her wedding cake from a supermarket because of her budget and it just breaks my heart. Call me a sucker...because that's what I am.
Kelly, I'm a sucker too, that's why I'm willing to work with people "WITHIN REASON". If her requests are reasonable for the price she's willing to pay, then I say do it if you feel in your heart that you should. If you feel that it would be fair compensation for the work that you are going to put into it, that's all that matters. If you feel you would be losing money or that you would kick yourself for it later because you feel you did more work than you were paid for, don't do it.
What's with the "i'm on a budget crap". I am on a budget to run my household. I am married and still we have a budget. Kellyanne1284 if it's in your budget to help this bride I think you should offer to do her cake for the price of a walmart cake-since that is her budget --and your budget ( i'm assuming) probably can be stretched to accommodate your potential customer.
I say make her happy on HER day!!!
Maybe I'm just cold-hearted, but I disagree...
I am *pretty* sure she was being VERY sarcastic.. 
I say screw 'em.. you can't afford my cake.. please move on. You can't compete with Wal*Mart.. and frankly I don't want to.
i won't compromise either..anymore
we are not in competition with walmart, sam's club etc.
those who won bakeries aren't even in competition with them they do custom work as well.
there is a place for everyone in this business
ive referred customers to walmart when they say wow that much for a cake? i tell them walmart or local supermarket might be in your budget
Always stress: CUSTOM and FRESH!
Thanks ladies. I don't know what I would do without all of you. At this point, I've offered to come down to $4 per serving (she says her budget was $2-$3)...so if I'm willing to compromise, she should be too. If she can't meet me half way, then I can't agonize over her cake. I have other customers, a full time job and a fmaily to take care of. I have to learn to stop being such a sucker.
Hello Fellow CC'ers!! I have been on both sides of this coin. Granted decorating is something I do in addition to my "regular" job but I take pride in my products. I've had the customers that want that $100 baby shower cake for $25 and I have several people who will only eat cake prepared by me. I've even had a co-worker tell the coordinator of a suprise party that if the cake was purchased from a store he wouldn't eat it!! Needless to say I made that cake!!
I'm still learning as I'm sure all of us are, even the professional decorators. When people have had the REAL THING you can see the disappointment in their faces when they get store bought cake!!
Boxes and cake boards: $15-$30
Flour, sugar, vanilla: $50-$100
Dedicated Cake Heads: PRICELESS!!!!!
Yes Jkalman, I was being facetious. I work with people within reason, but don't come on me with this "i'm on a budget". Tell me what you want and lets work from there. Everytime I go shopping I am conscious of "my budget" and work within that. If I want to go overboard then that's my choice.
People make you cold-hearted when they always want to get something for nothing.
If you can't afford champagne then you have to drink the beer and be happy about it.
If you can't afford champagne then you have to drink the beer and be happy about it.
This is totally right. There are times when I'll go to the grocery store to pick up dinner thinking, "man, money's a bit tight this week so we should probably eat spaghetti"...but then i decide I want filet mignon. And you know what, if I want it bad enough, I'll buy the steak. It's all relitive.
My feelings mirror a lot already said here.
I will not compromise my prices for my work. It takes time to make a beautiful creation of art for a wedding cake.
I set my prices at what is fair in my area, and if you don't want to pay them, then don't come and see me!!!
If you want cheap, go to Walmart, or the grocery store!!! I'm tired of hearing that is too expensive.
I do say YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!! want delcicious, fresh, pretty, see me!! Want frozen, cheap, plain, see Walmart/Grocery stores!!!! I'm stickin to my prices. and my cake!!!!!
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%