AHi! I am an at home baker who truly enjoys baking. I have recently begun to do cakes, cupcakes, etc for money and so I am attempting to start my own business. I am working off of referrals now but hope to continue we new business. I was asked to make 75 mini Tiffany cake boxes and a big Tiffany cake box cake to feed 75 people. I did some research and actually called around for quotes from full blown bakeries and the lowest cogs I got was $700. Everything is to be covered in fondant and the mini cakes were to be 2 x 2. I asked the prospective clients if they had received any other quotes and they told me they had been quoted $250-275. I couldn't believe it since it is such a labor intensive job.

What would you charge?

Thank you![ATTACHMENT=1448][ATTACHMENT=1449]image.jpg (41k. jpg file)[/ATTACHMENT][/ATTACHMENT]

AI dont know who they called for $250 but let me be the first to tell you "no way". I assume the next few people who answer this post will have a field day and so im gonna let them have at it lol.

I'd charge $1500 to do 75 of those in fondant.  They have lids and bows, for pete's sake. That doesn't include the cake or a stand. If I was in a really good mood, I might do them for $1125.

You should call your customer and tell them to contract with the $250 baker ASAP!  $700 is not enough  - even if you ONLY charged $10 per mini cake, that would be $750 without the large cake!

Of course what they get for $250 will not be remotely close to the photos you have posted. :)

Liz

AMaybe the clients told you a low number because that what they want to pay. That's a crap ton of work for $250!

AHeck, find out who offered them at $250, buy them yourself and resell them. Ok well maybe not.

My price would be $976899653568976457.

I am going to let you in on a little secret...Clients lie.  They lie about "other quotes" from bakers in order to get you down to the price they want to pay.  It's a negotiation tactic.  No one offered to do 75 fondant covered tiffany boxes and a cake to feed 75 for $250...That is 150 servings of cake for $1.67 per serving.  You would end up losing money.

Mini cakes are a PAIN in the ass, they are just as labor intensive as large cakes.

Word of advice, don't sell yourself short just because you want the business and want to get your name out there, everyone will come running to you expecting to get dirt cheap cakes, you will get burned out and resentful.

The Tiffany box cake to feed 75, should cost no less than $350, ALONE, not including the 75 mini cakes.  The mini cakes alone, should be $15-$20 each...So, $1475 total, seems reasonable.

Yep, it is probably a big fat lie. Or they contacted someone who has no idea what they are doing, and has no idea how muhch work those monsters are.
If I were to take the order, which I would not do, I would be $2100, not a penny less.

I would never ask my clients what I should charge...

A

ADon't ever ask a customer what their "price expectations" are. Same as asking them what they want to pay. You can ask them their budget, and you can advise on if they are being realistic or if they are in la la land.

Liz

What Liz said...When you ask them what their expectations are, it sounds like you don't know what to charge and are willing to negotiate with them...Instead ask, "What is your budget?"   Then go from there, if their budget is $250, say, "well for $250 I could do something similar to this that serves XXX." then maybe show them an example.

Thank you so much for all the responses.  I felt bad at first for coming up with a high figure but the more I think about it the better I feel.  My time and energy is worth money too and this would have been a ridiculous amount of work.  I just get really aggravated with people who think they can get things for "free" just because I am an at home/part time baker.

Thanks again!  This site is amazing and all the people are so helpful!

A

Thank you very much! I value your comments, opinions, and advice!