I'm reading doubt instead of amazement in your 2 posts. Why would anyone make something like that up?
You said "Your explanation makes it even more amazine to me." (I agree with you and said "yes, it does sound even more amazing...")
Why would you read doubt into my post when I agreed and used your exact words? Why would you read anything into anyone's post other than the honest and sincere question that is asked?
I never asked if it was true, or used the word "unbelieveable" like you and others have. I simply asked "How?" and if others would share their production experiences. Perhaps the OP will answer my questions. I would think that I'm not the only one interested and intrigued in finding out how many people, and how much space is required to accomplish this daily production schedule.
Why would you read doubt into my post when I agreed and used your exact words? Why would you read anything into anyone's post other than the honest and sincere question that is asked?
Probably because you just joined yesterday just to post on this thread. Just seems "fishy" to me.
If you're innocent and a true contributing member of the Cake Central family then I guess the future will tell by how much you post and contribute here on a daily basis. If you're not then this will most likely be the only thread we ever see you in.
See, this is why I have been a lot lizzard on here up until recently. Some people are so catty on here. I came out to read and give advice, but frankly, its not worth the trouble, with all the cattiness on this site, the know it alls, the wanna bees,the Ive done thats, the I'm legal's,the experienced ones who every one expects the newbies to bow down to them, makes it bad for the possible few who actually want to learn. I will just do my cakes and return to being a lot lizzard, just lurking on here, reading all the "wonderful" posts, and "learning". LOL
....with all the cattiness on this site, the know it alls, the wanna bees,the Ive done thats, the I'm legal's,the experienced ones who every one expects the newbies to bow down to them,....
"All" the cattiness? 
It gets snarky once in awhile, but I wouldn't say it's "ALL" cattiness. I describe this site as my cake family. And like siblings in a family, we snipe and bicker and tease each other; we offer our shoulder to cry on, and we tell each other when they just need to suck it up and move on .... and at the end of the day, we're all friends and family and brothers/sisters again. We're no different than most families across America.
If you eliminate everyone who might fall into your descriptions ..... I mean the "wannabees" would be the new ones who want to learn, right? And the "experienced ones" and the "I've done that's" would be the ones who the new ones need to learn from, right? If you eliminate all of these folks, wouldn't this be a pretty empty site?
So I'm just a bit confused on who you'd like to see "left" on here so you could "read and learn" from?
Sounds like there are some issues we're just not aware of.
....with all the cattiness on this site, the know it alls, the wanna bees,the Ive done thats, the I'm legal's,the experienced ones who every one expects the newbies to bow down to them,....
If you eliminate everyone who might fall into your descriptions ..... I mean the "wannabees" would be the new ones who want to learn, right? And the "experienced ones" and the "I've done that's" would be the ones who the new ones need to learn from, right? If you eliminate all of these folks, wouldn't this be a pretty empty site?
So I'm just a bit confused on who you'd like to see "left" on here so you could "read and learn" from?
Sounds like there are some issues we're just not aware of.
LOL 
you're right as usual Debi.
I just wanted to say Bravo to the OP.
To everyone else I think we sometimes read too much into a mere sentence. We can't see the facial expressions a person displays while they are typing.
This is a wonderful place where so many talented people are able to share and yes we are a family! I will say I like a lot of you more than some of my blood relatives lol. Anyone wanna trade? I got a very grouchy Aunt, 3 worthless cousins (probably a lot more) and others? Takers? Takers? Anyone?
Why would you read doubt into my post when I agreed and used your exact words? Why would you read anything into anyone's post other than the honest and sincere question that is asked?
Probably because you just joined yesterday just to post on this thread. Just seems "fishy" to me.
If you're innocent and a true contributing member of the Cake Central family then I guess the future will tell by how much you post and contribute here on a daily basis. If you're not then this will most likely be the only thread we ever see you in.
Whoa! Nice to meet you too, Deb_.
I wasnt aware that I had to be a true contributing member of the Cake Central family BEFORE posting or to ask a question, and for that matter, Im not aware there are rules/requirements as to how much I post and that I needed to contribute anything at all on a daily basis. If Ive done something wrong, its because I didnt get the memo on that.
If I had something to contribute, and was willing to offer itsounds like it wouldnt be well-received anyway. (Youd probably think it was too unbelievable.) Ive already learned that YOUR contribution must be to keep others from contributing. Ill never understand why some people wish to be known as the ones responsible for the useful information NOT being shared. Who would want to share, where its obviously not appreciated? I realize there are always a few that tend to ruin it for the majority, so Ill overlook your rude comments to me. (You must be my mother, because when I agree with her 100%, Im still wrong!)
Mom always says, If you cant say anything nice... Your comment slamming surgery2 to lay off the caffeine, wasnt necessary. Did they say something so wrong (or so truthful) for you to get defensive? (I guess the truth hurts, and it struck a nerve with you. You should own it.)
If your accusations are correct, wouldnt I have asked my question on the same day that the thread began? If you feel a need to continue to try to intimidate me, Ill continue to defend myself, and choose to stick up for others as well. Hopefully, if I ever ask another question, Ill receive a businesslike answer from a sincere person, rather than unsolicited drama.
Hey, ClassicCake! Congrats on the numbers! Whoa! I am sitting here wondering how the heck I'm gonna get through the 50 wedding cakes I have scheduled (so far) this coming year! This will be my biggest year yet and well...that would be a BAAAAAAD year for you, wouldn't it? LOL!!! 
Love your work too...I took a peek at your gallery...some really cool wedding cake set ups. Nice!
OP, this is amazing. It is so nice to hear that you and your employee's are doing so well in this economy. I love to hear the stories of success! Your cakes are amazing and most importantly, sounds like you are happy! Congratulations and best to you...
Wow, somehow I did not get notice of all these posts....amazing discussion! I guess I missed an e-mail and got booted off the response notification.
I usually hop on here every two to three weeks now, not as often as I used to.
So, to answer some questions....
We operate in 2,000 sq feet of space. About 1/6th of that space is for decorating. (We are short on decorating space.)
I have 3 full time decorators, one full time baker/decorator, 5 part time decorators, 1 office manager/customer service, one Saturday helper. We don't have much turnover. Three employees have been with me over 10 years.
One part time will go full time in April. In June we get two more part timers every summer...a college student and a teacher. We also have a couple of guys that help us with deliveries on Saturdays when the weddings pick up.
We have several people that work 3 evenings a week, because our decorating space is so limited.
I have a cleaning service and an accountant service. I do some decorating, but not nearly what I used to because it takes so much time to run the business.
We do over 500 weddings a year. We do around 60 custom party cakes a week. We sell 80 - 100 cakes over the counter each week.
We have a very organized systematic way of doing things....certain things get done certain days. The decorators know exactly what their responsibilities are. The decorators also answer the phone and take orders. We have countless lists to keep us on track daily. Everyone works together and helps each other. The decorators are assigned their orders each week and know exactly what needs to be done by Friday night.
We have an extremely talented staff. I could post 100's of photos on here, but I try to only post ones I do or help do. I checked and there are only 4 cakes on my gallery that I did not do and I give credit to the employee.
I do post alot of other photos on my Facebook page.
Any other questions?
yep, can you take a few and come down to my shop and show me how to be just as successful? (like you haven't been a big enough help already? 
)
Seriously guys, if you get a chance, stop by her place, it runs like a well oiled machine.
I have been wanting to add a pos in our bakery. There always seems to be something that comes up and spends my new toy money first. I would love to be able to see the stats they give you! I heart numbers!!
We have had a few quotes for a system and of course having a custom one for us programmed makes it a little more pricey.
Congrats on your great year and cheers to the next
WOW, classiccake! Amazing I get stressed over one cake per week (although I AM a beginner and do it out of my home with a 9 mo old and a 5 yr old).
Can I ask you a question out of curiosity? Is it still fun and enjoyable for you, or does the stress from operating an obviously very successful bakery outweigh the enjoyment? How long has it taken you to get this far in your business? Again, congrats on those numbers!!
We do over 500 weddings a year. We do around 60 custom party cakes a week. We sell 80 - 100 cakes over the counter each week.
I didnt get the alert either. Thanks for your response. It sounds like you are bursting at the seams, in the workspace department. Now I better understand why you dont need storage space for 200 finished cakes per day... because its fewer than 170 cakes per week. (100 otc, 60 party cakes, 10 wedding cakes = 170 per week/14 otc, 8.5 party cakes, 1 wedding cake = 23.5 per day.)
Perhaps the problem lies in your POS system, because the numbers dont add up. (79,416 tier cakes/layer cakes per year divided by 365 days = 219 cakes per day.) Maybe thats why everybodys saying wow, they cant imagine over 200 cakes per day! because it does sound unbelievable.
Im aware you didnt specify that many individual layers, but even if that was a miscommunication, it would still amount to over 100 cakes per day. Do you think the decimal is off? (If you dont wish to reply online, thats fine if youd rather send a PM, but I believe others would also like to be able to wrap their mind around an answer that adds up.) Thanks for the information on your shop experiences, it truly is interesting.
(For others, who wish to hate me for asking, oh well, but please dont ruin it for the rest of us. No, Im not an accountant, but I dont think Im a complete idiot either.)
Wow. Just wow.
Thanks for letting us know how you do it. I was wondering too, not in a doubting way, more in a 'pick my jaw up off the floor' kinda way.
I don't think we turn over that many cakes in the whole of the frickin North Island!Lol.
Good for you. Awesome.
WOW!!!!! That is so amazing. WTG with all your super caking powers. You're my hero. I have finally decided that when I get all growed up I want to be just like you.
It is a Point of Sale computerized way to ring up sales...instead of the cash register. Anytime you shop and they do not have to manually ring up the price, it is POS.
So we had to get a system written that has every size of cake, flavor, filling, custom cakes, etc written specific to our business. Everything that we charge the customer for has to be scripted into the computer.
Since it is computerized, it captures lot of information. We even have our most popular delivery sites included with the cost of deliveries. We can see where we deliver the most, etc. We also have a referral button, so I can check and see where are customers heard about us with just a few touches of buttons.
It also is our time clock, so it calculates the total hours worked in whatever time frame you ask. I had to pull 6 months records of hours for an employee, and it took me about 30 seconds to pull it off the computer.
They are nice, but you have to learn alot about computers, and because it is a computer, it is only as smart as the operators!! Also, to get it customized, they are expensive.
CWR41- I see where you are coming from. Based on the numbers that's a little over 1500 individual cake layers per week. It's certainly possible considering that each cake varies in # of tiers.
The numbers are impressive, that's for sure. I get stressed out just doing 1 cake. I couldn't even think about 10 weddings, and 60 party cakes.... I'd be a sobbing, stressed out mess. This last weekend I had 4 cakes, including my own son's, to do and I will NEVER commit myself to doing that many again. My husband would probably have me committed if I did. LOL
I haven't had time to analyze the numbers, because we certainly do not do 200 cakes a day! I apolgize...I should have done more research before posting.
One thing I realize, it that I did not qualify the dates, so it also included the orders we have taken for 2010. Also, I am not sure how it counts cupcakes. Anyway, the previous post about the numbers we do each week gives an accurate view of activity here. I did not mean to set of a firestorm by any means!!
Regardless of that fact, your shop is impressive! You all do some awesome work, and you have every reason to be proud of it.
CWR41- I see where you are coming from. Based on the numbers that's a little over 1500 individual cake layers per week. It's certainly possible considering that each cake varies in # of tiers.
The numbers are impressive, that's for sure. I get stressed out just doing 1 cake. I couldn't even think about 10 weddings, and 60 party cakes.... I'd be a sobbing, stressed out mess. This last weekend I had 4 cakes, including my own son's, to do and I will NEVER commit myself to doing that many again. My husband would probably have me committed if I did. LOL
Erinalicia - Thats my point... its not 1500 layers per week. As the OP stated, its not even 200 cakes per week, its between 150-170 cakes per week. If you baked 219 cakes per day and only sold 22.5 cakes per day, the extra 196.50 leftover cakes would be used in the 1.36 wedding cakes per day making each wedding cake 144.49 tiers tall apiece!
Ive never seen a wedding cake that tall, much less had an order for one every weekend. As a business owner, Im certain one would be aware if the baker baked 219 or 24 cakes a day, (or 1500 or 150 cakes a week).
Thanks to the OP for putting this into perspective.
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