Concerned about all these pricing threads.... - Page 14

DITTO! DITTO! AND EXCLAMATION POINT AFTER ALL OF THEM!!

I had a walmart and a Kroger within 3 minutes of my shop. And I sent a lot of folks over to them. But I also had plenty who wrote their checks out to me.

dkelly got it in one!

As a Home Baker, these are the questions/priorities I go list through before I consider selling a cake, pretty much in order of importance:

- How well do I think I can execute the design they want (aka: difficulty level for my current skills)
- How much time will this take
- What does my calendar during the requested time frame look like and if there is something I would need to pass on in order to do the cake, and is it worth tabling/rescheduling it
- How much the initial ingredients and supplies will run me

I stopped factoring in local bakery prices long ago. I did do research to figure out what the going rates for premium cakes are in my area, but I found it to be very inconsistent and not a good way to base my pricing on. Some shops sell for less than I'm willing to work for, and frankly, they can afford to! Matching or undercutting the cheaper shops is counter-productive.

I don't get offended or feel bad anymore if someone chooses to go to a grocery store OR a specialty bakery than pay my price. I've started to think ahead in that if someday I do decide to open my own shop, I will do it on my terms and my pricing. In the meantime, I won't cheapen myself to do work for substandard pay under the table just to 'get my name out there', because that's not the name I want to spread. I don't want people to buy my cakes because I'm cheap, I want them to buy my cakes because they are My Cakes and My Cakes are Awesome and they Must Have one. If that means I don't make as many cakes for now, that's fine with me. I'm willing to wait till I'm Legal to make a profit.

Unfortunately, I had to learn that lesson the hard way. (I think I could write a post on how a cake newbie should NOT to price cakes rather than how to figure out a price! )

Came across another article. It touches on some of the stuff in this thread.

How to Find the Pricing Sweet Spot
Tune in to customer needs and offer the right product at the right price point

http://www.entrepreneur.com/money/moneymanagement/moneymanagementcolumnistjosephbenoit/article204732.html

I love Earlenes website : http://www.earlenescakes.com/Index2.html

it was amazingly helpful to me when I transitioned from Pastry Chef to having my own small cake biz. Of course being a pastry chef and knowing other local pastry chefs helps too! But there is a wealth of info for the newbie who just started daydreaming their way into this process in my opinion EVERY new wanna be cake person should go read ALL of her business of cake articles before they do ANYTHING.