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Getting out of the business

post #1 of 13
2/1/11 at 8:47am
Thread Starter 
I am looking to pull out of the market. I've basically just had enough of the stress and sleepness night and all of the work that goes into this without having much reward or profit. My question is how to safely pull out of the market. I have a couple weddings scheduled in May, June, July, August, Septemeber. Not that many but a couple. Do I tell these brides to find someone else or how do I handle that? I've just had enough and wish I wouldn't have gone into this business in the first place.
"I know God won't give me anything I can't handle, I just wish he didn't trust me so much." ~ Mama T
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"I know God won't give me anything I can't handle, I just wish he didn't trust me so much." ~ Mama T
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post #2 of 13
2/1/11 at 8:50am
If your booked to do those cakes, I would do them. There is enough time between now and then to have a cake break and maybe feel rejuvinated to get excited about them.

If your serious about getting out of the business, then don't take on any more orders. Just fulfill the ones you already have.

Good Luck
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post #3 of 13
2/1/11 at 9:00am
I agree - if you really don't want to do this anymore, stop taking orders. But you should fulfill the cake orders that have already been placed. Those brides will have a hard time finding someone else to make their cakes as a lot of cake businesses insist that you book a wedding cake 9 months to a year before the wedding. May is 3 months away!
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post #4 of 13
2/1/11 at 9:02am
Agree with MnSnow, stop taking orders rtight away and make only the cakes already booked, seem there's enough time in between cakes to let you fulfill without too much stress.

Sound to m,e you're burned out and your experience doing the business has been bad, but why not take the chance to enjoy the making of these last cakes and then, when you're totally out, at least have good memories?

Good luck with whatever your decide icon_smile.gif
Being brilliant is no great feat if you respect nothing -- Goethe
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Being brilliant is no great feat if you respect nothing -- Goethe
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post #5 of 13
2/1/11 at 9:21am
i agree with the above comments. if u absolutely can not do the cakes u have scheduled, maybe call the bride and ask if u can have another bakery do it. and then if they dont mind u should call and make all the arrangements. that would be my guess
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post #6 of 13
2/1/11 at 10:27am
I'm in the same position you are. I'm so ready to quit. I've stopped taking orders but I have to fulfill the orders I already have because I still have to pay rent on my shop until my lease is up in Oct. But if I were baking from home then I would call today and cancel all the orders I have and not feel a bit of guilt. It's up to you if you want to finish up your orders but you have my permission to cancel them all. icon_smile.gif Just do it soon. They have plenty of time to find another cake.
Stop prescription drug abuse-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYygjK9A5CM
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Stop prescription drug abuse-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYygjK9A5CM
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post #7 of 13
2/1/11 at 10:46am
If you can phase it out slowly, then complete the orders you have and just don't take anymore. If you have to stop now, find another baker who will take the orders and THEN tell the bride you are closing and that so-and-so is taking over your existing orders.

For new inquiries, you might just say "I'm not accepting any bookings at this time." I would have a concern that if you tell them "I'm out of business" that the word will get back to the brides whose cakes you ARE going to do and they will go into a panic, thinking you're bailing on them and haven't told them.

Cake Cutting Guide: http://cateritsimple.blogspot.com/search/label/cake%20comb
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55969028@N00/
www.cateritsimple.blogspot.com
http://thimblefulsofhistory.blogspot.com/

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Cake Cutting Guide: http://cateritsimple.blogspot.com/search/label/cake%20comb
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55969028@N00/
www.cateritsimple.blogspot.com
http://thimblefulsofhistory.blogspot.com/

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post #8 of 13
2/1/11 at 11:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jsmith

I'm in the same position you are. I'm so ready to quit. I've stopped taking orders but I have to fulfill the orders I already have because I still have to pay rent on my shop until my lease is up in Oct. But if I were baking from home then I would call today and cancel all the orders I have and not feel a bit of guilt. It's up to you if you want to finish up your orders but you have my permission to cancel them all. icon_smile.gif Just do it soon. They have plenty of time to find another cake.



Wow Jsmith! You're cakes are amazing!
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post #9 of 13
2/1/11 at 12:54pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks everyone, I really appreciate all of your feedback and agree with you. I am very burned out and everyone is really pushing me to grow my business, get a storefront, hire someone, etc etc and I'm just not ready to do that. I've only been in business for 6 months and I think its all going way too fast. And on top of all day John Deere contacted me about doing a lot of their desserts, cakes, events etc for them (which is a great opportunity) and I did a dessert table for them last Friday, even though I was already slammed for the weekend (how can you say no to John Deere?) and they loved it! So they ordered cookies for today and I delivered them, they liked them, all is fine and dandy. Then she calls and says the logos on the footballs are bleeding and I probably don't want my name attached to that so she wants me to redo them for Thursday. The extra cookies I had at home were fine and the logos were not bleeding so I have no idea what happened but I feel terrible and I basically charged nothing for the cookies anyways. I just think that no amount of money is worth my piece of mind. Especially not $1.50/cookie for custom decorated 4in ones.
"I know God won't give me anything I can't handle, I just wish he didn't trust me so much." ~ Mama T
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"I know God won't give me anything I can't handle, I just wish he didn't trust me so much." ~ Mama T
Reply
post #10 of 13
2/1/11 at 1:58pm
Perhaps you should think about restructuring your business, instead of stopping altogether. By you mentioning what happened with the cookies, maybe you're feeling overwhelmed from that experience. It's the worst thing to have something go wrong with an order; I know first hand. Maybe it would help if you limit your orders, too. Turn a deaf ear to those pushing you too hard, because they're not doing all the work. But at the same time, use their encouragement to push you in the direction that works best for you.
One thing's for sure, charging $1.50 for decorated 4-inch sugar cookies is NOT the way to go. You have to charge for what your product is worth, and before getting to that point you have to KNOW and BELIEVE what that worth is. When you start charging the proper amount for your products, you might not have to do much work, because people might back off on their own. This is a good thing, because then you'll know that the ones paying for your orders are worth your time and effort.

Good luck with whatever you do!
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post #11 of 13
2/1/11 at 2:17pm
Thank you Cylstrial. icon_smile.gif
Stop prescription drug abuse-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYygjK9A5CM
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Stop prescription drug abuse-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYygjK9A5CM
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post #12 of 13
2/1/11 at 2:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stephy42088

Especially not $1.50/cookie for custom decorated 4in ones.



All i can say, is raise your prices!!! Since i'm not that far from you i know that there isn't much competition around here for custom logo cookies (expecially since i'm working on focusing on this in this area too) If they had gone to cookies by design they would have paid $6-8 per cookie.
It's better to be Hated for who you Are,
Than Loved for who you're Not.
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It's better to be Hated for who you Are,
Than Loved for who you're Not.
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post #13 of 13
2/1/11 at 3:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by leily

Quote:
Originally Posted by Stephy42088

Especially not $1.50/cookie for custom decorated 4in ones.



All i can say, is raise your prices!!! Since i'm not that far from you i know that there isn't much competition around here for custom logo cookies (expecially since i'm working on focusing on this in this area too) If they had gone to cookies by design they would have paid $6-8 per cookie.



Yes - raise your prices! Then that will immediately help cut down on the orders that you have. And then you'll be getting paid what you deserve to get paid for the orders that you do take. And you won't feel burnt out! And don't let anyone rush you into a store front. This is your business! Run it the way you want to! And another way to start is to have a minimum order. You can make it $50, or $100. Or whatever you want...but again, that will discourage people who aren't serious about buying goodies from you.
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