I am a very very small business... well I would call it more of a hobby. I operate under the CFL in my state....As I am really just starting out ( I have only been decoration for about 4 months now....) I get REALLY excited when someone contacts me to do a cake... especially if it is a large order. Even more exciting when it comes upon the day they will pay the retainer. However twice now I have gotten cancellations right before they pay Is this normal? Happen often? The giddy feeling quickly dashed is really no fun!

Very normal.

No, this never happens with me. I don't get excited until they're in front of me and it's pretty much understood if we are meeting, there's a deposit being paid. Maybe a couple of emails and a phone call or two...and any work after that, it's show me the money time. How much time are you allowing from "initial contact" to "time to pay?" Hope that makes sense.

Yeah, I either got $ at the consult or generally we weren't gong to do business. Occasionally someone would email a week or so later asking if the date was still available, but they still understood that they need to bring cash or PayPal me the money right away, or we weren't doing business.

Inquiries are not contracts.

That makes sense. In this latest instance, she contacted me Wed afternoon, we chatted back and forth through Facebook messages about what she wanted... talked about price flavor etc etc I told her 50% retainer fee was needed in order to ensure her day booked, she signed off with something along the lines of how excited she was for me to be making her cake and shed pay me the amount Friday (today) to book her day. I run around all excited do my giddy dance etc etc then this morning I message her to finalize meeting time and place to get the fee and she says "oh hey, sorry my brother in law will make the cake"

Guess I just need to hold the enthusiasm until I get the green in my hands!

Eh, it's understandable. I'll admit, it's hard not to get excited and assume it's going to play out with a paid order.

I've learned to curb my enthusiasm until after the wedding date actually. But specifically in terms of the initial consult and deposit, I pretty much put that ball in my potential customer's court. We talk, I explain what it is I can do, discuss my flavor profiles, decor, might even send a few pictures to them. I will make a tasting appointment - which is ONLY free if a signed contract with a deposit is paid that moment; otherwise there is a charge that is disclosed over the phone or through e-mail.

I don't ask whether or not the potential customer wants to set an appointment, for tasting or for paying. I politely end the call with an invitation to call me back to set an appointment but I very often say that dates are filling up fast (which is entirely true - between my personal life schedule and my customers). I am probably a strange person in that I don't do followup calls/emails after I've talked with a potential customer. One and done type of thing - don't want to seem as if I'm pressuring them.

Back to my first sentence, I've had people cancel while I was on my way to deliver. Sad but true. I'm never happy when the entire event is cancelled and it has happened twice.

when there is a delay between their 'ordering' and the paying it is normal for some to find someone cheaper to do their cake
Maybe not the same way it happened to you but often 'something come up' to make them change their mind. Simply put she didn't want to OR was talked out of spending 'that much money'.

When someone contacts me the very first thing I ask is What is your Date? The second thing I ask is What kind of budget are you working with? Those 2 questions all by themselves weed out a lot of potential time wasters. The very next statement from me is that I require 1/2 down with a signed contract to secure their date on my calendar. I have no wiggle room with this one, they either want the date or they don't. I don't chase people down, I don't call looking for their order, I am not wishy-washy with my prices. If they no-show me they are officially off my list of people I will bake for.

So far this has worked very well for me to find serious customers and eliminate the time wasters. Up until the deposit money is in my hand I do not consider them anything except a casual inquiry and I don't put any time or effort into thinking about their order.

Good questions! I struggle with those who want to know the entire cost up front (like I know what the hell they are going to order ) before they even set up an appointment. I give them the "my prices start at..." etc. speech and sometimes they book and sometimes they don't.

Richmond specials wouldn't excite me either.

This past week it was Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and today! Wedding season has started so I'm going to be slammed for the next two months, then just generally busy until October. Booooooo....

I saw some little cartoon that said "They say that your work should be something that you love...I I need to find someone who's willing to pay me to drink wine and look at pinterest."[/quote]

Me TOO!!!!!!

Maybe for some of us the love and excitement is because we are just starting. I once sent emails to enquire on cake prices to cakers in my city just to have an idea how much they are charging. They are not willing to tell. Most of them asked me to go over and discuss. I on the other hand reply to every email and give all the information wanted. For wedding cakes, things have been very slow. I wonder if there is an advantage to talking to someone directly. Say stuff to entice potential customer over coffee and cake. (At least one of the emails I received from a caker said so.) Then again I think of wasting all that time and resources and still not get what I will be looking for. I am also torn between exhbiting in an upcoming mid July event or not to. Thinking of the pressure whilst coping with work, birthday cakes and preps for two wedding cakes, mid August and early September. What to do, what to do.