Hi all,

I am doing a Birthday cake for a neighbors soon to be 1 yr old. I gave her two options

1. Basic cake with buttercream transfer

2. 3D cake

She choose the cheaper option which I have no problem with. (I would choose the same myself) My issue is I want to use her daughters Birthday as a exposure opportunity. There will be about 50 people there.

Should I go ahead and suck up the cost and time of making a spectacular cake?

I just started this business in June and I do have a full-time job already. I can't take so many jobs at once and now I've only started getting some customers via my website.

I know establishing a customer base takes some time, however I want my platform to be "couture" ,"funky"...anything but rectangular. I don't want people really contacting me to make sheet cakes.

Is that silly????

What would any of you normally do?

Hmmm...I would do what she ordered from me and then, as a freebie/bonus do a really cool, sculpted or fancy or couture smash cake to match. I think those smaller cakes are easier to work with, anyway, and it would take less "free" time and materials.

kitty and I are on the same wavelength.
Give the customer what she ordered and throw in a really special smash cake that shows your talents.



For example if she wants curious george...make a banana shaped mini for the child.

Good luck.
mommachris

Oh, I would DEFINITELY do an awesome cake that gets noticed! Just saying you're doing it as a favor because you know she's on a budget, but you still wanted it to be nice for her....then she'll be so appreciative, she'll definitely recommend you to all of her friends! And leave some cards near the cake.

Danger danger! The flip side of making a spectacular cake and giving it away for a song is the multitude of threads I've read about your future customers then expecting free/cheap/discounted/etc. cakes, and in general the perceived "lowered value" of your most artistic work when you offer it at a bargain (even if the customer didn't ask for a bargain). Also I surely wouldn't get crazy without your neighbor's ok - on the one hand who wouldn't want their cake totally beautified, on the other hand, some people actually prefer the "plain n simple".

Ooh, I like the cool smash cake idea as a special gift to your neighbor...

I have to agree with ceshell on this one.

I wouldn't make it without permission. For instance, I knew a bride who was on a tight budget but I wanted to make her cake in white chocolate like the pic she showed me. I had never done that before and wanted to try it. So I asked the bride if she would let me make her cake out of white chocolate for no additional charge and if it didn't work out I would go back to the original plans. She was absolutely thrilled and so was I. It's turned out to be one of my favorite cakes.

I have had this come up too with my friends where they will choose the cheaper option ... and I only do this for my good friends/neighbors ... and yes contrary to what others say I DO give friend discounts. HOWEVER I do tell them that I am doing it as a favor to them and that I would prefer they not speak of the price I charged them for the cake. i tell them what the cake is worth and if the topic of price comes up with others I let them know i would appreciate it if they did not let others know I gave them a discount. I have never had an issue with the expected cheap price from others and my friends have understood and respected my wishes with not discussing the "real" price they actually paid for the cake.

I agree with ceshell on this one.

I'd love to do the higher end style cakes..more fondant, carvings, etc,. but I'v finally decided that what I'm really after is $$$$$ , so if a sheet cake with buttercream and roses is what they want to pay for, that's what they'll get.

I have one customer that I have a special agreement with. I charge him for a basic cake in whatever size he needs and I do with it whatever I choose. It works well for both of us. He gets a great cake for a great price, I get to be as creative as I want, try new techniques and never have to worry about whether the customer likes it or not. My receipts always show what the cake would have cost and he always uses that price when someone asks him what he was charged.

He knows the first time he ever tells what he was actually charged is the last time he gets the deal!

Otherwise, I just won't cut my prices or do more than what the customer is willing to pay for. I don't want to be known as the decorator to go to for a bargain cake.

I give my neighbors/friends a discount. A lot of them help my family out when needed. One friend is an accountant and handles my family and business taxes for next to nothing. One of our other friends runs a heating and A/C business and helps us out. He just replaced our A/C last year, got us a HUGE one for a fraction of what it would cost. I think it's a give and take relationship. We all still charge each other for our services and give discounts. And we all ask that no one say what we charged to public or outside referrals.

I think if I was in your shoes, I'd do a really nice cake, not charge your friend any more then she can pay. And just make sure the cake is awesome. Baked great. Icing great! And try to sell people on taste as well. I've had a lot of cakes that look great but taste horrible. It happens.

GL!

All of you gave really great options. Kitty & momma The small cake idea is pretty great. Personally if I was doing justa sheet cake I would not put it on my website.

Ceshell I totally see your reasoning. And thus far I don't see any shadyness or greedyness coming from her. I made a baby shower cake for her friend and she wanted to pay full price, I forced her to take a small discount.

I live in an area that is not a posh rich kind of area so I don't think there are many cake decorators here that do the really $$$ stuff. However I think it's developing more here. The only cake decorators I see do the sheet cakes and wilton type wedding cakes.

I will have to see how long making two cakes will take me. The only good thing is I have two days off from work before the event.

As far as pricing I too Amanda tell her to keep it secret


Thank you everybody for your help again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have some thinking to do.

Just curious...what kind of theme are you working with? I think you could showcase your work better on a bigger cake rather than a little 4 or 6"...and so I would just talk to the mom again & explain that you'd like to do something a little more fabulous . Even a tiered cake would be really cute if she's not into 3-D. (By the way, I love your fondant people!)

With 50 people...you could really drum up some business and so to me, it would be worth it to make it stand out.

Good luck!

i've done this several times. when i know that my cake is going to be eaten by a lot of people i usually go out of my way and add the extras at no cost. i've only done this a few times, but i've gotten tons of business from it!

Thanks again for all your replies.

I think I will email her tonight after I have some dinner in my tummy. I plan on baking these things tommorow. I think i will do the tiered cake. It's due this Saterday so I will show you guys what I came up with....

I think it's time I started sketching stuff

If she's paying for the cake, give her what she ordered, unless you clear the total design with her.

I am not a fondant person. If I order a sheet cake with buttercream and what is delivered is a tiered, mulit-colored, fondant striped thing, I am going to be totally Pi$$ed!!

If you clear it with her and she's fine with it, then it's something between the two of you.

I wouldn't just do it and surprise her with it, though.

I think you should make the sheet cake and really Jazz it up. It will speak volume to your creativity. To take a blank canvas and create a masterpiece is what an artist does. Whats more blank than a sheet cake?

You mentioned that you were just starting out. You may have to pay some dues. When I started decorating cakes everyone wanted cakes from those Wilton Yearbooks. And I did them but with my own flair. Now ?? years later no one even brings pictures anymore they just call and say I need a cake.

My clients come from every income bracket. My motto is everyone deserves a pretty cake. On Dec 1 I have a wedding. The bride is nurse and owns 7 state funded group homes. The groom is a plastic surgeon. With 300 guests in attendance the cakes they chose will cost them close will cost a fortune. On Dec. 2nd I have a client who has 4 children, husband, parents, grandparents, sis,bros, inlaws etc and she buys cakes for each one of them. I must make 3 cake a month for her every year. Shes been coming for about 10 years. Some of her cakes are sheet cakes. Some are sculpted. They are all pretty.

I looked at your photos and you do great work. Challenge yourself to come up with great sheet cake design and a knock out smash cake.

You can do it

I agree with Indydebi here. The question is, did she pick the FBCT because it was cheaper or becasue that is what she wanted? If you want to do the 3D cake I would get her permission and tell her that you will only charge her for the cheaper one in exchange for having artistic freedom.

When I get a sheet cake order from a friend or neighbor, I upgrade as our "gift" to the birthday person. This is nice because if you are in business, you can write it off as free advertising.

I have a deal with a couple of people that they pay $25, but I get to do whatever I want and they have to use the value price if people ask.

Run it by her to see if she would let you upgrade as your gift, and seriously don't get anything else!!!

Well, I would give the customer what she wants, but if you have a portfolio take that with you, and if you get questions, you can show people some examples of what you have done.

Thank you everybody for your input. It was much appreciated and it really guided me as to how to proceed. I ended up doing just 1 nice cake. I made the topper and decided to opt for buttrcream cake rather then fondant.

It got rave reviews and hopefully I will start getting business in my town rather then 1+ hrs away. This was my easiest delivey, across the street only if everything could be that simple.

It's really exciting starting this business thing. It's funny how you can just fall into the unexpected.

Your cake turned out great! Thanks for posting-- I'm sure everyone must have loved it--and WAY better than a fbct sheet cake!!

I too made the mistake of undercharging initially, and now that I know I am worth more it is harder to increase the prices I charge - word does get out that you're the cheap cake lady!!! Especially when I sell some of my cakes online and I recive a feedback like this, where any potential buyer can see it... 'GREAT TRADER TO ALL THIS CAKE IS AWESUM I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING THIS GOOD IRECOMMEND TO ALL AND SHE IS CHEAP TO DO I WILL BE GOING BACK TO THIS LADY IF I EVER NEED ANOTHER CAKE'

When I started out I would have been stoked to get something like this, now it actually makes me cringe!!

It might pay for you to shop around yourself. Take the photo (of your fantastic cake!!!) into a few local bakers and get some quotes. It might help you to charge more realistically. Don't fall into the same trap I did!