How to Stop Guessing at what to Charge for your Cakes

Does this happen in your cake business?

A potential client wants a cake designed by you. You are soo excited to make more money in your cake business but soo confused on what to quote your customer.

So you play the good ole guessing game.

You pull a number out the clear blue sky, you just aren’t too sure if this is the right pricing for the cake. You hope it isn’t too low but you hope it isn’t too high.

Or, you are thinking of posting the photo in a Facebook Group and asking other cake designers what they should charge for the cake.

Okay, let’s pump the breaks here!

Running a successful and profitable cake business isn’t a guessing game. There isn’t guessing your way to the top!

One thing I struggled with month after month with my cake business was, “How much does this cake cost?” I would mentally scratch my head and think, “How the hell do I know what to charge?”

And in those same months, I’ve barely made enough money in my cake business to financially support myself.

When the bills started coming in, I said enough! I am going to STOP GUESSING and know how to confidently quote my cakes.

Here’s how you can STOP guessing at what to charge for your cakes:

1. Getting clear on every single expense to create one cake.

I had a general idea at how much my cakes were costing me but I just wasn’t confident I was charging enough. That’s when I got a piece of paper, pen, calculator, Microsoft Excel, and I got intimate with every single cost it takes to build one cake.

When I got clear on every expense I saw how much I initially left out!

In fact, I created this awesome freebie: Price your Cakes Checklist you can grab below!

When you truly know all the costs associated with creating one cake, you begin to confidently charge what the cake is truly worth.

2. Time how long it takes you to make your cakes.

Most cake designers greatly underestimate how long it takes them to create their cakes. And with all cakes, time to design is the bulk of the expense.

The next orders you have coming up, time yourself while doing everything in your cake business. From baking, cleaning, consultations, designing, delivering the cake, stacking, covering, layering…everything!

Once you know about how long it will take you to make your cakes, you will confidently know how long to make each cake.

3. I created a cake minimum.

A great place to start with charging for your cakes is to charge a minimum for your cakes. That way, you have a benchmark and a pricing standard to keep.

All cake businesses need a minimum dollar amount to book a cake. This is also very helpful when you need to set financially goals each month. If you have a minimum, you are clear on how many cakes you need to sell to reach your income goal.

Whether it’s $250, $500, or $700 - pick a number and stick to it!!

Pricing your cakes for Profits is something you can easily do in your cake business, it takes time to properly know how to price your cakes.

Guessing at what to charge for your cake orders? Still confused if you are charging enough for your cakes? Do you know you aren’t charging enough for your cakes?

No worries!

I have a Free Cake Pricing Checklist that you can download right now and learn everything you need to learn how to price your cakes for Profits.

If you are guessing, you probably aren’t charging enough for your cakes. You can’t guess your way to success!

I hope this post gave you more clarity for how to STOP guessing and start to accurately quote your Cakes!

SUGGESSTED ARTICLES 

How to Tell you are Undercharging for your Cakes

Every cake designer goes through this stage in their cake business.

You want to book more cake orders so you can grow your cake business.

But, you are spending SO much time on you cakes that you feel you aren’t charging enough.

Especially when you look at your bank account and see not that much is there at the end of the month.

If you aren’t sure you are undercharging for you cakes, here are 4 ways to uncover if you are:

1. You ask yourself if you undercharged or ask other cake designers in Facebook groups.

If you start to question if you undercharge for a cake, 100% of the time, you did undercharge. When you charge for a cake you know is worth exactly what you charge, you just know it.

Your intuition is usually always right and if you have to get confirmation from others or asking yourself if you charged enough, chances are you didn’t charge enough.

2. You begin to resent the cake order.

Have you ever worked on a cake order and it was taking twice as long as you imagined?

Deep down, you know you didn’t charge enough because it’s taking a long time to complete the order and you are getting aggravated at how long it’s taking.

If you start to become annoyed at the cake order you are working on and knowing it’s taking you twice as long, chances are you know you didn’t charge enough.

And when you do the actual math, you’ve made $5.00 per hour on the cake after expenses.

3. You are B.R.O.K.E. at the end of the month.

Ever wonder in your cake business, “Where’s all my money I’ve made?!”

After you see you spent it all on personal expenses, some cake things here and there, you are BROKE at the end of the money.

Trust me, I’ve had so many BROKE stories and how I’ve overcome them: Read that post here.

No matter what kind of business you own, you need to have a surplus of money at the end of the month. That helps you to know you are making money in your business.

If you ever wonder why your cake business income isn’t growing, chances are you just aren’t charging enough. 

4. You let your customers quote your cakes.

A customer comes to you and they only have $150 for a 3 tiered cake with all the bells, whistles and glitter.

And she tells you her budget. You desperately need the money so you agree to charge what she has.

Deep down, you know the cake is probably double what you just charged.

Don’t let customers dictate your prices. Do you go into Walmart and say, “I only have $2.00 for this $15.00 shirt.”

The cashier will look at you like you have a third eye and graciously tell you sorry.

You have to treat your cake business in the same manner.

If the customer can’t pay your prices, she will happily find someone who will. Let that cake designer spend 10 hours on a $150 cake.

There’s always someone who will do it for cheaper. Don’t let that be you!

Guessing at what to charge for your cake orders?

Still confused if you are charging enough for your cakes?

Do you know you aren’t charging enough for your cakes?

No worries!

I have a Free Cake Pricing Checklist that you can download right now and learn everything you need to learn how to price your cakes for Profits.

If you are guessing, you probably aren’t charging enough for your cakes.

You can’t guess your way to success!

I hope these 4 steps gave you a confidence boost to know you aren’t charging enough and it’s time to raise your prices!

Is there a time you undercharged for a cake and regretted it later on? I’d love to hear! Please share below in the comments!

SUGGESSTED ARTICLES