Don't Be Afraid To Charge For Wedding Cakes?

Business By mypastrychef Updated 22 Mar 2008 , 10:01pm by loriana

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FromScratch Posted 18 Mar 2008 , 3:15pm
post #61 of 77

Oh I do understand your frustration believe me. And I don't look down on you for having to do things on the down-low right now. And the part that frustrates me the most is that the one being hurt by all of it is you. You are far away from me so your pricing doesn't effect me personally so that's not it at all. You are not getting what you are worth and that stinks. But I do understand not being at the point where you want to jump in head first. I know that I wouldn't be doing this at all right now if I couldn't do it from home.. it just wouldn't be worth it with the childcare and the bills.. I'd be too stressed. It's hard.. you can't do this without having a commercial kitchen.. yet to get the small business loans you need you need to have proven you have a base for your business.. how do they expect you to be able to get business if you can START business unless you have the facility you are trying to fund with the loans??? It's frustrating to say the least. Does your state have cottage industry? Just brainstorming.. I just want you to know that I do understand your frustrations. I have 2 kids and if it wasn't a possibility for me to do this from home right now.. I'd be hanging up my apron for a while.. or looking for a rich sugar daddy on the side.. icon_wink.gif (kidding of course)

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MichelleM77 Posted 18 Mar 2008 , 3:15pm
post #62 of 77

I hope you understand that even charging $1 per serving and not being legal may get you into lots of trouble. I've read on here that taking any amount of money for a service/product is considered a business transaction, even if it's just to cover costs. Just be careful!

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FromScratch Posted 18 Mar 2008 , 3:18pm
post #63 of 77

You are completely right Michelle.. even if they drop off the supplies and you make the cake.. or if you make the cake in exchange for them fixing yoru sink.. it's a business transaction and you can and will get fined if you get caught. It really stinks.. but Uncle Sam is greeeeeeeeeeeeedy and wants his cut of everything.

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Mizuki Posted 18 Mar 2008 , 3:36pm
post #64 of 77

Alright ladies, you'd be proud of me!! Even though I'm not sure my stuff is good enough, I sucked it up and emailed the one and only local caterer and asked if they would be willing to let me trade or rent. thumbs_up.gif
Wish me luck, say prayers, send good thoughts...
Ohhh, this is nerve wracking...

icon_cry.gif

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FromScratch Posted 18 Mar 2008 , 4:20pm
post #65 of 77

I will definitely being thinking of you!! Good luck. This could be a great thing to persue though even if they say no.. I couldn't see any caterer not loving the idea that they could be all inclusive with a cake decorator.. you could get a lot of business from this. Crossing fingers!!

(and your stuff is good enough.. stop hating on yourself)

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Mac Posted 18 Mar 2008 , 5:20pm
post #66 of 77

Jam7--
There are small businesses out there that are open to you letting you use their kitchen in return for baked goods for their store/business. That was what I started doing. You just have to find them.

It was a small upscale restaurant (of course, as I said, it went belly-up b/c the owner was not a good businessman). I offered him so many cakes/cookies for his market in exchange for running my cake business. I met many higher end customers there so it was a good "marriage" for the short time I was there (approximately 7 months).

And it is scary when you start looking. But I wish you all the luck in the world and know that you can do it...your cakes speak for themselves, you have wonderful cake talent.

And as stated in an earlier post, start looking for 2nd-hand equipment. Some people may let you pay things out if they know you are serious about it. I just inquired about a triple-sink for a closed business and they are willing to let me pay it out as they have had the equipment for a couple of years and the business has been closed that long. They are just getting around to selling it.

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Mac Posted 18 Mar 2008 , 5:25pm
post #67 of 77

As for getting caught...I did! It cost me $350.00 for the 1st offense. If caught a 2nd time, it doubles. A third offense it doubles again and possible jail time. Don't want to scare anybody but that it what it costs here in East Texas.

It made me get off my duff and find a place. Jump and pray the chute opens.

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Mizuki Posted 18 Mar 2008 , 5:49pm
post #68 of 77

Thanks guys. I really appreciate the nice things you've said about my cakes. I will try to be more confident about them...icon_redface.gif
Maybe this thread was the kick in the butt I needed to get going. I've been tossing this around for a while now. I suppose it's time to go or get off the pot. icon_wink.gif If it doesn't work out with this guy, I'll bet I can find something else.

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Mac Posted 18 Mar 2008 , 6:04pm
post #69 of 77

That's the attitude.

Always project confidence. If you show confidence, others will have confidence in you.

YOU GO!!!!!

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kelleym Posted 20 Mar 2008 , 3:51am
post #70 of 77

This CNN article today relates to the original post in this topic. Now is the time to be hyper-aware of your costs.

Rising wheat prices inflate prices of baked goods

Note that everyone in this business is having to raise their prices. Don't be afraid you'll be the only one.

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apclassicwed Posted 20 Mar 2008 , 3:37pm
post #71 of 77

Thanks for the link, Kelley. Everyone has to raise prices due to rising costs and those are just the facts of the times. Like the end of the article, you pay 2.00 for a muffin today, and tomorrow that same muffin is going to cost you 2.50. There will be some upset people, but if you want that muffin, you pay....

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indydebi Posted 20 Mar 2008 , 3:53pm
post #72 of 77

My 50-lb bag of flour went up $6 in 3 weeks. That's a 38% increase. Can you imagine the cost if the trend continues? $6 a month increase for a year????? icon_surprised.gif

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maryjsgirl Posted 20 Mar 2008 , 11:16pm
post #73 of 77

Jam, in my city we have a couple of restaurants that only serve breakfast and lunch or just breakfast. So they close early in the day. I had thought about calling them to see if I could rent their kitchens. Just another option to think about.

Last year we had also looked into buying a rental home that was on our "Main Street". We planned on renting the upstairs and running the cake shop from the downstairs. The upstairs rental would have paid the mortgage. The kitchen wouldn't have needed much work to get it up to code with the department of health. We would have followed through, but the foundation ended up being a disaster.

Just some more thinking out of the box.
icon_wink.gif

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Mizuki Posted 21 Mar 2008 , 10:54am
post #74 of 77

Thanks, those are great ideas! I appreciate you giving me some more options to think about!
I'm still waiting to hear back from the caterer, so I'm guessing that's a no. icon_cry.gif My next stop is my church. I guess I'll just have to wait and see..... icon_rolleyes.gif

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Mac Posted 21 Mar 2008 , 1:10pm
post #75 of 77

Jam7--
Don't get discouraged...it took me 2 weeks before I got my answer.
After not hearing anything, I sent an email thanking the school for taking the time to consider my proposal (just as a friendly wave that I was still interested). Got an email back 2 days later telling me that he had actually forgot to get back with me and Yes, my proposal would work.

So follow up with a thank-you for your time letter--Pam

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Erdica Posted 21 Mar 2008 , 1:33pm
post #76 of 77

This was a GREAT topic. I think everyone struggles with prices as well as growing and the cost of doing all that. Sometimes it does feel overwhelming. And I think all of us at one time or another have wondered how to make a living and pay the bills doing cakes.

There has been some great discussions going back and forth in this post as well as a lot of others. I've personally learned a lot.....some times the hard way.

Thanks for that link Kelly....great information. Gas prices and the price of flour is getting out of control. I hope something is done....and SOON.

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loriana Posted 22 Mar 2008 , 10:01pm
post #77 of 77

Wow, question for some of you knowledgable folks about "business transactions".... if I am baking a cake or cookies for work, (as a legal, hired employee and not a contractor) and work reimburses me for the ingredients only, wouldnt this be equivalent to reimbursing me for eating out on a business lunch, or paying for the gas in my car when attending a seminar?

It's payment for the cost associated with out-of-pocket-expenses for work only.... right? LOL I'd love to hear your opinions on this.

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