Who makes a true living at this? I'm interested in a business just because I adore this to no end, but is it something where you can make a true living?? I know it depends on where you live, what you charge, etc., I'm just wondering if the time and effort into starting a business is financially worth it??

mmm... would love to hear about this too!!

I'm a SAHB, and only do about 4 (or so) cakes a week. So, definately not me, but I think RisqueBusiness would be a good one to ask...I know she works outside the home and has commented in other threads about rent, advertising, etc. (And she has awesome cakes...really detailed work...a lot of them in the Naughty Gallery). Maybe you can PM her if she doesn't see this thread.

-Michelle

I still am just working out of my home. Working on going legit. I have been decorating for about 3 years. Mostly just family and friends to start. I am actually at the point that I am limiting orders and turning people away. I have turned out as many as 13-15 cakes by myself on a Friday and Saturday and it was NOT pleasant. That being said, if you charge a fair price (mine are TOO low and I know it but I am a whimp) you can make some money. 40.00 per cake on a 10 cake weekend is 400.00 and I have no overhead for rent or advertising etc.... I have made as much as 1100.00 in a weekend when I had a small wedding cake and then worked 50 hours straight through with no sleep. If I had a little minimum wage help it would make a tremendous difference! Just someone to keep the frosting mixed and the dishwasher going. Anyway, it is a good second income for us, but I would have to go legit and hire help to make it a primary income!

I do make a living at this, but not an extravagant one. (Some months I BARELY squeek by.) It's also part of a group of related businesses I own and not my sole source of income. I work very, very hard to keep the whole thing profitable and to keep it fun. Is it worth it? Absolutely. I love what I do and feel very privileged to be where I am right now.

"Is it worth it?" is such a hard thing to answer for someone else, ya know? Are you prepared for long hours baking and decorating? Crabby/impossible customers? Financial loss? Problem solving? Sacrificing your weekends/ nights/family time to finish and deliver projects? Sales, marketing, accounting tasks? Those are the hard questions to ask yourself. Can you handle that -- and more? (Sometimes all on the same day!)

What do you get out of that? You get to be your own boss and the burden/freedom of being totally, 100% responsible for your daily actions and your success. You get to work in a creative, artistic field. You get the satisfaction of learning new things and growing personally and professionally every single day. Those things, to me, are absolutely priceless and why I keep going.

Gack! That turned into a much longer post than I expected. Sorry about that.

Oh forgot to add... please please charge more than $40 for you cakes!!!!

I dont do this full time...I would love to graduate to that one day. I have only been decorating for a little over a year...and I love it. So I can imagine how great it would be to do something you love. As for now...its only a dream...and what ever orders I get the little extra income (which is really not much) goes towards more supplies.

Gabby! Thank you. I LOVE doing this and, unfortunately, I am not fast at all so NO I don't sleep. I think I went a full 66 hours once on my feet in the kitchen back to back. I will never do that again! I was tired and kept making mistakes. My husband turned the oven to broil half way through a cake, my 5 year old knocked one off the table etc...!!! I hate dealing with the price stuff though. I am not good at that at all. I try to charge a fair amount and I do KNOW that they can't get it anywhere else for near that price (our grocery cakes are 39.99 at Harris Teeter) but they all want something for nothing and the SOB stories!!!! Then they show up to pick it up in their Lexus SUV and you want to scream and do the banana cream pie trick in the face with it!!

What size cake is the $40.

I charge $15 for a 10" round everyday cake.

But wedding cakes I charge $1.50 per person. I am waiting for a bride to notice and ask why they pay so much more for the 10". I don't know what to say.

I think my prices are low but I've been doing this a year and I'm still trying to get off the ground. I have been making free cakes for friends hoping it would draw people in, but it didn't work. I have had enough of free cakes.

I live outside of the Detroit area and the economy is really bad. Just today a friend called to say he lost his job this morning. Sorry, off the subject.

I have to wonder if this might be part of the problem. My daughter is a wedding decorator and she is in a real slump right now.

I LOVE cake decorating. And this web-site is addictive. I've learned a lot.

Hi, you are funny, I laughed with the whole banana cream pie trick... and I agree with you, people just don't appreciate all the work that goes into this cakes and want to pay walmart prices for something costume made... anyway, good luck with your prices as I assure you, they are worth waaay more than the $39.99 so please feel confident on your work! And OMG, what a weekend that must have been, one of those days were everything that can go wrong GOES wrong! Anyway, again, LOVE your cakes!

Ahhh sorry for going off topic here!!!

Hi Janette, wow, that is really cheap... you are giving your work away for close to nothing, do you even cover your cost? Sorry to hear about your friend and the economy in your area I bet that is a big influence in what you can charge...

You guys are all great. I guess my question as to the "worth" of doing this as a living is that I definitely get the emotional aspect, that I love to do it, that it makes me feel good when it's accomplished and I love trying new things - so for me to figure out if it's financially worth it, if you can make money doing it is what I'm looking for.

You are so right about people showing up in a Lexus to pick up their cakes and they want to spend no money! That's hysterical!

You are right it barely covers the cost. If I can ever get going I will slowly raise the prices. I've even tried to put an ad in the local paper for 6 weeks and not one call.

Is it worth it? For me I love it so much. I figure the more I practice the better I'll get and more conifdent I'll be.

I'm in the process of turning one of my unused bedrooms into an office where I will have tables to display dummy cakes for the Brides to see. I really want to do this and I'm not ready to give up yet. The grocery store sells their cakes so cheap. But, I spend more time and my cakes have more detailed.

If I can I would like to share a story.

I had my first meeting with a couple and the groom was asking a lot of detailed questions about my cake decorating how this was done and how that was done. Like a dummy I answered. In talking to the Bride and I asked her if she had already picked a wedding decorator (I had my daughter in mind) she said that she was doing the decorating herself. A couple of days later I was talking to my daughter and told her the story. The same woman had made an appointment with her and looked at her displays and asked questions. Bottom line - this Bride must be doing her own wedding and made the appointments to learn how.

You bet if I am asked questions again I will just say us decorators have our own little secrets and change the subject.

I'm at the same point in my "career". I'm a stay at home mom of three, two are in school and one ISN'T!!! (AHHHHHH!) This started as a hobby, but now is much, much more! I live in Marrero, LA which is a suburb of New Orleans. Once we came home from the storm and got settled in, it only took one client to call and find out I was back and then phone started ringing off the hook. Now I have to turn down orders. We suffered very little flooding here on the westbank of NOLA, and it has grown so much and gotten very busy. But I was STILL not charging for the cakes. Then I finally got that ONE client, driving the Acura MDX with her brand new enormous house. And she was completely blown away by the twins shower cake I did for her...along with all of her Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes driving friends...and they want what they want and don't care what they pay to get it! And that's been the gravy for me. I definitly put the hours in, especially fridays and saturdays. And I've had to explain to DH that I am a working mom now and I need help. I do miss the time that I've lost with the kids and family and friends....but when someone hugs me when they pick up or I drop off their cake, or some little girl or boy leaps with excitement...I realize I really do love this. I still have the ones that want something for nothing...but I have learned #1 if the first thing they ask is price...it matters and #2 my time that I sacrafice is worth top dollar...so if they want a $25-30 cake to feed 50...they get plain, and I tell them that, or walmart makes extremely affordable cakes. I don't make enough for us to primarily live off of, but I could. And what I do make sure adds up and makes those extras affordable. I appreciate that I can do something that makes me smile, and still be home when my kids get out of school.

No wonder your phone is ringing off the hook, your work is amazing.