MAKE MONEY FROM YOUR CAKES! Is YOUR Price Per Serving Profiting You? Cake Biz Video Series
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- Опубликовано: 16 апр 2017
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WE LOVE AND APPRECIATE YOU ALL! Arnie and I hope this video series is encouraging you and helping you, our fellow Cake Artists! We want to see you ALL succeed and have the cake business of your dreams! It IS possible! You CAN have a PROSPEROUS, stress free, and anxiety free business! If WE'RE DOING IT, YOU can do it too! We're here for you all along the way! Post all your questions and comments in the section below. Feel free to share your specific "situations" so we can get a good understanding of what YOU are going through so that we can help you the BEST way we can!
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thanks to you guy I am able to make what I am really worth had a customer whose Daughter is. friends with mine so she wanted it for freeeee so I told her no she wanted to provided the ingredients I told her sorry I do not work like that she then said after I gave her my price for a closed book cake serving 20 people:-$ 250 she said she would go to the supermarket she came back the next day to get the cake for her kid so I did this all thanks to you 2🎊🎉🎉🎉🎉I also take a 60% deposit which is non refundable from all my clients bass on pass experiences they get to keep what I have started on their project.
That is so AWESOME!!! Glad you stuck to your guns!! You are PROOF that there ARE clients who WILL pay what your work is worth!!! AND that if you'll just take a stand, it does pay off! GOOD FOR YOU!!!! So PROUD of you! God bless you and your business! :)
If I cannot say it enough, please, please, please take Laura and Arnie's pricing webinar. It is well worth signing up for; it will remove all of the guess work in charging for your cakes. I took the webinar months ago and I am so happy I did. Just two days ago, a co-worker asked me if I would do her daughter's birthday cake, if she (the co-worker) purchased the ingredients. I happily, with no regret, told her no way and did not even ask what type of cake she wanted. I did tell her, to call me if she wanted a quote in the event she later decided that she wanted to pay for my work. Clients really have no idea how much time we put into our work. Love you Laura and Arnie. And, these Cake Biz Video Series are awesome and very valuable. xoxo
You are so AWESOME Trish! Thank you so much for leaving this comment! I hope LOTS of Cake Artists read it! Thank you for always being so generous with your input and feedback. I really appreciate it! We love you too my friend!
Arnie and Laura, I appreciate you two SOOOOO MUCH!!! I think you two are the BEST! Every time I watch one of your videos, I thank God for the talents that He gave each of you! THANK YOU for sharing with the rest of us!
Thank you so much Cheryl! You're so kind! God bless you!!!! :)
Hi Guys!! Thanks so much for the videos. I recently downloaded the True Earnings guide and I literally had to stop myself because I hit a point when I realized, not only did I not make a profit, but I paid my client instead of paying myself. I was totally in the red and I didn't even finish calculating my time!! It was a real eye opener. I am just starting out and really want to get down to the nitty gritty, especially with pricing. Thank you so much for helping me see the light!! Clients do not always appreciate the work that goes into make a cake, and it is especially hard trying to balance work, mom life, wife life, and be a successful cake artist. I will definitely be more conscientious when I am pricing my cakes from now on! I've learned my lesson - it's gotta be worth my time too!!
Hi! You're very welcome! Thank you for watching our videos. This is the story for many of us so don't feel bad ok? This is how we learn. You're right, clients don't always appreciate the work, which is why we have to be VERY PICKY as to who we allow to be our clients. You WILL be successful! Just take what you've learned and run with it! I hope to have you in a webinar soon! :)
Omg!!!! What an eye opener. I buy most of my ingredients and decorating supplies at El Paso, but living in Juarez I charge in pesos. With the exchange rate and at the prices I charge, I'm selling the same 35 serving cake for less than $50 dollars. Plus I rent a small house to work in and pay utilities... No wonder I've been struggling.... Thanks so much for the insight...
Glad you thought so Sol! You live in Juarez!!!?? You're my neighbor! Did you know we are having a class THIS Saturday in El Paso? Would LOVE for you to register! If you'd like to check out the class, please visit the top post in our FB page. Email me if you'd like to attend! :) Yes, no wonder you've been struggling my friend. Time to raise your prices BIG TIME! :)
Yes, I saw you're having a great class, but this weekend I'm busy. Actually we have had steady work, but we are not earning enough. I thought that by having a lot of customers we could keep up, but I'm realizing that's not the case. You have been a great help to me, actually I got out of my home and rented a small place because I felt encouraged by your notes on Facebook. It was a big step for me and the timing was right because my daughter was able to come and work with me. And though we are not earning enough, we have been able to pay rent and utilities, and we've got a lot new customers. It's been a slow journey but we are getting there. Thanks again.
Yes, it sounds like the situation a lot of Cake Artists find themselves in when they decide to open up business in another location other than their home. I'm sorry that you felt my notes on Facebook encouraged you to do that, because I always try and encourage people NOT to rent a place (away from home) because it really is unnecessary (most of the time). Now you've incurred more expenses like you say, rent, utilities, etc., and just more bills in general. Staying in your home allows you to not have to spend all of that money and you can keep it for your business and for you personally. Raising your prices will help you "get there" as you put it, but you'll still be spending A LOT more money compared to just working out of your home.
Oh no, I meant to say thank to you I got the encouragement I needed, I wanted to get out of my home because the space was so limited, and I always felt that by being at home I was always the cake lady, and I wanted people to see me like a real business. And I feel it was the best decition for us, it's just that I didn't accounted the extra expenses, and to be honest I was afraid and insecure about my work. Your notes on Facebook and your videos are helping me to get my business where I want it to be. I've learn so much and I really appreciate you take time to teach us. Thanks so much!! 😀
Oh no, I meant to say thank to you I got the encouragement I needed, I wanted to get out of my home because the space was so limited, and I always felt that by being at home I was always the cake lady, and I wanted people to see me like a real business. And I feel it was the best decition for us, it's just that I didn't accounted the extra expenses, and to be honest I was afraid and insecure about my work. Your notes on Facebook and your videos are helping me to get my business where I want it to be. I've learn so much and I really appreciate you take time to teach us. Thanks so much!! 😀
There really aren't words that are thanks enough for these videos. They are so incredibly helpful for those of us who love doing this and want to make a living at it. Changing lives and touching hearts is what you offer here. I humbly can only say "Thank You".
It's our absolute pleasure Terri! We enjoy making these. Our goal is to help as many Cake Artists as possible. God has blessed us Cake Artists with an AMAZING talent and we have to use it to the FULLEST! God bless you and thank you for such wonderful feedback. We appreciate it! :)
Thank you so much!!! This has been the most helpful video I've ever seen, and I appreciate it so much!! So happy to "see" you two!!
You're VERY welcome Teresa! So glad you enjoyed it! :)
You guys could not have come out with this series at a better time! I'm transitioning from my current career to focus more on my baking, and have been in such a rut with my pricing. I hope to own a bakery someday soon and you guys are beyond inspirational and are SO incredibly helpful! Thank you!
So glad to hear that Vicky! Good for you! Arnie and I wish you much success in your cake business! You can do it! I'd like to encourage you to sign up for our April 30th Cake Pricing Webinar. It will help you A LOT and get you and your business off on the right foot! There are a few spots left! You can find the link in the "show more" section under this video. Thank you for watching! :)
I never thought to price for the full price of an ingredient before but it makes so much sense. Since I have a home-based business I often don't make enough cakes back to back to use all ingredients at one time and they go to waste which means I am basically discounting the cake by the unused portion of those ingredients. This has completely changed my vision of pricing. I never priced per serving before but this way actually makes sense which makes it easier to give a minimum quote on the spot rather than spending more time trying to quote individually. Thank you!
I'm glad you feel the video has helped Tanishia! You're very welcome! God bless you! :)
Thank you so much for these amazing videos! Like many others, I too struggle with my prices. I have been selling cakes for 4 years and somehow I am charging the same amount for my cakes as I did 3 years ago. I can't seem to get myself to where I need to be charging what I should, and now I am put into a situation where I make 8+ cakes a week, working 12-18 hours a day, and no proffit. Honestly I am ready to throw in the towel. Hopefully with your advice I can get to a place where I feel comfortable and confident with charging what I need to charge.
HI Melissa! it's difficult I know, to admit that you've put yourself in that situation. But, the good news is, it's very EASY to get yourself out of that situation. It just takes ONE DECISION. Decide to no longer short change yourself. Now you know what you need to do. Just do it quickly. Like ripping off a band aid. The sooner you start taking less orders and only taking the orders that will benefit you, the sooner you'll start making a profit. Don't throw in the towel. Just change the way you're doing things. You can do it. I know you can. We support you 100%. God bless you. :)
off topic..but it just cost me 500 dollars for a guy to come out and snake my sink...he was here an hour plus a few minutes....... (that few minutes was an extra hour) inflation is crazy....so charging 10 plus dollars.. a slice.. for a 35 serving cake seems cheap... Artists are their own worst critics.. great videos...thanks for posting!
Hi Brenda! Thanks for watching! I don't know what "snaking a sink" is, but I'm sure it's some sort of plumbing procedure? LOL. :) I agree with you Brenda! Artists are their own worst critics! We need to start believing in ourselves and our God-given talent, a bit more. :)
I love you guys so much! Always so much great information here. You hit the nail on the head when you said they ask for a simple cake but it turns out to be something complicated! It happens to me all the time. Even when I sew/alter garments. On the phone they say "just a hem" and when they get here, it's the hem, re-working the entire bodice and, oh yes, the sleeves need fixing. It turns out to be a whole new dress for what they expect to be the price of a hem. It's important to ask many questions on the phone!
Awwww! Thank you Betsy! We love you too! :) Yup! Simple = intricate. LOL! :)
Can't wait for Mondays video! You guys are amazing! Thank you so much for doing this, you are helping so many people. This is very selfless of you to share all of this knowledge. May God return it to you in many blessings 🎂❤️
Thank yo so much! We appreciate you watching! It's our pleasure to make these videos! We want to see all of you succeed! God bless you! :)
OMG! This was very enlightening. Thank you so much for sharing!
I'm glad you thought so Erica! You're very welcome! :)
Thank you for great advice on pricing. it was extremely helpful and i look forward to seeing more of them ☺
You're very welcome Angela! :) Thank you for watching! :)
Omg Mrs Laura and Mr Arnie! This video is Sooo good! I'm learning so so much and I keep having to rewind. I'm almost finished with this video and I'm going to have to REwatch this again bc there is so much good stuff I'm learning! I have so many questions still though. I'm trying to write them down and wait to ask bc it night get answered, bc some have been answered already, lol. Thanks again and again :)
Thank you so much! Glad you think so! :) You're very welcome and look forward to your comments! :)
so eye opening, so true, helpful!!!! THANK YOU!!!
You're very welcome Svetlana! Thank you for watching! :)
Hey guys! Im falling out of my chair, I just booked a 2 tier wedding cake for $125. Smh I wish i saw this earlier! Thank you for this information. My work is definitely worth more :(
You're very welcome Terri! YES your work is DEFINITELY worth more! :)
I know, right? We gotta start following that saying, "work smart, not hard". I'd much rather make one $500 cake than five $100 cakes.
Terri Hicks I did that too last month! It was my second sale ever and I hadn’t seen anything about pric no other than a couple per serving charts (and I figured since I was new I should’ve charged less than I should have). I’m sick about it, but I can’t change it now. Going forward I hope people don’t stop buying from me (most of the people ordering from me are from a hospital I used to work and at my current job so those people all know each other). I don’t want to go from having a nearly booked month to not having anything at all 😂 Fingers crossed.
I am so excited for these videos ❤ Thank you!
Thank you Nataly! I'm so glad! :)
I just finished watching this video. AWESOME! AWESOME! AWESOME! As I watch each new video in this series, I am more and more absolutely FILLED with excitement and hope and motivation and determination and energy and confidence that I will ABSOLUTELY be prepared to be successful and PROFITABLE in business as I stick with you guys and your "training" videos! GOD BLESS YOU BOTH...and your business!! I am off to the next video... :-D
Thank you so much Cheryl! We're so glad you enjoyed it! I have a HUGE smile right now having read your comment! THAT EXCITEMENT is EXACTLY what we are trying to bring across! Having your own Cake Business is SO EXCITING and you can take it wherever you want!!! You can MAKE as much as you want!!! It's all up to US, the Cake Artist! God bless you too Cheryl!!! :)
Desde la clase enterior hubo un cambio en mi actitud. ya no me siento mal al decir el precio. de mis pasteles. siento que me valoro mas como profesional. Soy chef, estudié para hacerlo, le pongo todo mi cariño. Gracias Laura y Arnie.
Que bueno Karla! Me da MUCHO gusto!!! Adelante amiga!!! :) De nada!
Hey guys
Since watching these videos I have learned for much. I have since increased my prices to be what I feel I should be getting paid I have had several people try to get me to lower my prices and tell me they don't know why it cost so much to make a cake. But I know my worth and that my work is worth more.
I knew I would lose people's business but I honestly feel so much better when I give quotes.
I wanted to thank you and I can't wait for the next video.
Hi Mercedes! I'm so glad you feel these videos are helping. We're so proud of you for increasing your prices! The people that "don't know why" or "don't get" why your prices are what they are, those people are not your clients. LOL. No amount of explaining will get them to understand nor will it make them order. So glad you know your work is worth it! You'll see the right clients come your way who have no problem paying your price, and you'll be so thankful you made the right decision. :)
Great information! Thank you.
Thank you for watching Yvette! You're VERY welcome! God bless you! :)
you guys are great! 😉👍👍👍
So kind of you Norma! Thank you! :)
This was a real eye opener.. thank you! ❤
You're very welcome Lulu! :)
Excellent, excellent series! Of course I'm now bruised from kicking myself so hard in the patootie for charging a friend only $500 for a 3 tier wedding cake with a cascade of hand made roses. Just ordered your guide.
Thank you so much! Glad you're enjoying these videos! Don't kick yourself too hard! LOL. The only way we can learn how to do things right, is by first doing them wrong. Just chalk it up as a lesson learned. Now you know what NOT to do, right? I hope the guide helps you learn all the things you have to consider when valuing your time. God bless! :)
Great video again Laura & Arnie, It also takes gas or electricity use for baking & mixing & car gas to shop, so there is a lot of things to consider when charging for your art for sure! ;]
Thank you Adriana! You're right. That's exactly why you need to charge more than you bare minimum per serving to offset all of those expenses and to make a profit. :)
Thank you so much for your videos!!! I just purchased the Cake Artist Guide. I'm sure I'm going to fall short on my pricing of my cakes. :( But not anymore!!! You have been very helpful and I enjoy watching your videos. Thank you Thank you Thank you!
You're very welcome Elaine! So happy you purchased your guide! That's awesome! I hope it really helps you! :) Perhaps you will fall short, but look at it as a "good thing". Like you said "not anymore"! I'm so proud of you! Thank you for watching and enjoying the videos and I hope to hear from you again! :)
Thank you for opening up my eyes love watching your videos have learned a lot an maybe need to charge more since I'm the only one doing it by myself you have help I've been doing the buying the backing extra omg wow still so embarrassed
Hi Hortensia! It's our pleasure to help. :) I'm so glad you enjoy watching our videos. That means A LOT. Make sure you are paying yourself for your time and all the work you are doing. I did it all by myself for MANY years so I know exactly what you're going through. :)
Doesn't matter where i am at, use to worry about location location, i see i just needed that confidence to move forward another awesome message many thanks.
Good for you Lisa! Thank you and God bless you. :)
And I thought I was doing better than when I started but nop, still undercharging T^T. After I watched these last 2 videos you guys posted I almost fell off my chair, and just yesterday I received a payment for an order that I gave a price 2 months earlier... If only I knew back then! Oh man! I'm literally giving that work away, but that better be the last. You don't know how much I thank you guys for these videos. My attitude has changed!! Keep up the great work and God bless you always!
I'm sure it'll be the last order like that now that you know how to fix it. I know you can do it! Thank you for watching and God bless you too my friend! :)
Hi Arnie & Nonie, love, love this information. I'm one of the artist being under paid 😱. I always ? myself if I'm charging too much especially comparing SAMS with cake it's a "discount" store for bulk items I loss clients due to that
Hi Rae! So glad you enjoyed it! You definitely don't want the types of clients that "prefer" to go to Sam's. THOSE are not your clients. You want the kind of clients that expect MORE and require MORE from a cake. That is a Cake Artist LIKE YOU. Don't question yourself. Just KNOW that you DESERVE to make what your work is TRULY WORTH. Remember that WE are the ones that set our prices, so don't underpay yourself any longer. I'd LOVE to have you in this month's webinar Rae! I hope you can make it! :)
my gosh you guys are so awesome. thank you so much for these videos. I am bad at charging :( ... here in the Valley (McAllen, Tex) they are cheap skates... no one wants to pay $180 for a 2 tier plain cake so can you imagine really calculating and charging what you just mentioned on video... they will flip. lol I will be called crazy woman lol o well... go to walmart/HEB they are super cheap there. I am sure God will provide with good paying , appreciative clients. thank you
Thank you very much Dora! That is very kind of you! It's our pleasure to make these videos! Bad at charging? Well, GET GOOD at charging! LOL. You can charge what your work is truly worth NO MATTER where you are. Not everyone there is cheap. There's no way... That is just a perception. You're right Dora. God WILL. :) Ask Him to send you the RIGHT clients, and He will! He does it for us ALL THE TIME. And if He's doing it for us, He'll do it for you. Thank you for watching! :)
these videos are so helpful
...i will do my homework
Thank you Virginia! Can't wait to meet you in person in our Cake Pricing Webinar! :)
Hi Arnie & Nonie, love, love this information. I'm one of the artist being under paid 😱. I always ? myself if I'm charging too much especially comparing SAMS prices on their 2 tier cake or novelty cakes, it's a "discount" store for bulk items. I loss clients due to that.
Hi Rae! So glad you enjoyed it! You definitely don't want the types of clients that "prefer" to go to Sam's. THOSE are not your clients. You want the kind of clients that expect MORE and require MORE from a cake. That is a Cake Artist LIKE YOU. Don't question yourself. Just KNOW that you DESERVE to make what your work is TRULY WORTH. Remember that WE are the ones that set our prices, so don't underpay yourself any longer. I'd LOVE to have you in this month's webinar Rae! I hope you can make it! :)
Thank you for this video! Here in AZ, the area that I live in, most "home bakers" charge between $100-120 for a 2 tier 8"+6" cake 😬. I have have been told off by people calling for a quote because my prices are over that and I usually get told that they'll just go with someone else. I will admit I've brought my prices down to $150 for a 2 tier cake like that, and always end up disappointed in myself because I know my work is not worth that ☹️ But I'm definitely not interested in working for free
You are very welcome! Yes I believe it! I have lots of friends who live in AZ who are Cake Artists and I know for a fact they are undercharging, BIG TIME! Those who are "telling you off" are doing you a favor by not being your clients. LOL. Those are the EXACT kind of people you don't want. I say, LET THEM go with someone else! Good riddins! Don't disappoint yourself anymore. Just charge what you know you should charge. :)
Yep. Jaw hitting the floor here after doing some of this basic math! I know that I am not even charging the price and hours per serving cost that you are talking about here for a fully decorated cake not just one that's frosted. I don't see myself charging quite the way you do but I will definitely be respecting myself and charging more for my cakes in the future. I'm guessing you will talk about this more next week (and I can't wait!) but how do you go about estimating how many hours it's going to take you to decorate? For the past few cakes I have done, I have ran a stopwatch app on my phone and make a note of the total time when I'm finished. I realized I am quite frequently under estimating how long things will take which means I'm giving a quote that is by far too small. Once I have given a quote I don't feel that I can tell them a price that is 30% greater when they come to pick up the cake. Do you just get better estimating decorating time? Thank you SO MUCH for the series! I am looking forward to making what I'm worth in the future!
Hi Amanda! Thanks for watching! Glad you did the math and happy that now you can figure out exactly what your cakes are worth. You said it perfectly! Now, you'll be "respecting yourself'. THAT'S what it's all about my friend! We incorporate the amount of time a cake will take to decorate within the price per serving for the different degrees of intricacy. Yes, this is something we will cover next week. We often underestimate how long things take. We Cake Artists are prone to do that. When we look back at cakes, we somehow trick ourselves into thinking it took less time, when it reality, it probably takes much longer than we recall. I come across that A LOT in my webinars. LOL. Yes, with time, you get better at "guesstimating" the amount of time something will take you, even if it's something you've never done before. it's all a big learning process and we all get better at it with time. You're very welcome Amanda! Glad you're enjoying the series! :)
Can you please do a serving chart for the different sizes of cakes? I’m trying to come up with a standardized chart and there are SO many different options (sometimes the same cake will range from 15-25 servings!).
I'm glad you did see our tutorial on how to make your own cake serving chart. :)
Thank you for taking the time to spell out all the practical business side of caking. I can tell you right now, I have been paying my customers to purchase cakes (*hanging head in shame*). Is there merit to charging less (not as little as I have been, of course) to gain experience and practice my skills? Such as $10/hour for my time... just until I get better? The first cake I sold was a two-tier cake covered in fondant with three figurines and other decorations, all for $75. I've improved since then (there were obvious mistakes on that one), but my husband keeps saying I'm being too perfectionist... though, I think I'm being an honest critique. Some mistakes are better hidden than others and I'm building my skill toward successfully hiding my errors.
You're very welcome! There is no shame when you just didn't know. We learn how to do things the right way by first doing them the wrong way, so please don't feel bad. I did it the wrong way for so many years. Now I've learned! :) There is no merit in charging less than what you know your time is worth. Never. No matter how new you are or how inexperienced you feel you are. Your time will be worth what it's worth all along the way. Don't ever sell yourself short. Never. It's dangerous to do that. Why? Because once you begin justifying charging a little less for any reason, you'll find it easier and easier to compromise your work as time goes on. It's a very dangerous trap to put yourself in. Decide to charge correctly since day one. Until you get better? What does that mean? You'll always get better. The "getting better" will never end. You're right, we become experts at hiding our errors. LOL. Like Duff from Ace of Cakes says, "cake decorating is nothing but smoke and mirrors baby, smoke and mirrors". LOL! :)
Smoke and mirrors... that's funny. Thank you for your response. I'll be changing my price list directly (though I haven't had any customers to charge, anyway). Btw... I madeand sent you ba picturr of your pumpkin cake for Thanksgiving. That was one of the first cakes I was truly proud of and gave some much-needed confidence to aim higher as well. Right now I'm in the copying phase.... and then I experiment with my ideas afterward. I enjoy hearing you both work together... it gives marriage a good name. Many blessings to you both!
You're welcome! You WILL have customers! :) Trust God and ask Him to send you the right clients and He will. I did see your pumpkin cake! On my FB wall right? Yes, it was beautiful! You did AWESOME! So glad you enjoy the videos. Thank you! :)
Hi Arnie and Laura, Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge and experience. I don't make cakes, however, I make sugar cookies and cakepops. How would you use this method when charging per cookie vs. per serving? Thanks for your help!
Hi! It's our pleasure! Sugar cookies and cake pops would be charged for (minimum) exactly the same. Factor in your cost as far as out of pocket for a dozen for example, and then factor in your time (what you feel one hour of your time is worth). This would give you the "starting price" or "base price" for simple/plain cookies or cake pops. Then from there (as we'll discuss in the next video), you increase your price per serving (in your case per dozen) depending on how the intricacy of the cookie or cake pop increases. I hope that makes sense and hope it helps. The days of $24 or $36 per dozen for beautifully decorated royal iced cookies are gone ok? Make sure you're charging well for your work. :)
Thank you! I look forward to your next video. I have started increasing my prices, I definitely spends lots of time decorating to put a product that looks awesome. Now I see how I am not making a profit with my current prices.
You're very welcome! We're so happy for you that you've decided to raise your prices! Good for you and God bless you and your business! :)
I watched the first video and shared it with a couple of friends that loved it. I was looking at the was comments and a viewer mentioned the true earnings guide, where do I get that from? thank you for all of the information you are sharing.
Hi LeAndra! We appreciate you sharing the video with your friends. Thank you for that! :) The link is under the video, but, I am posting it here for you: krazykoolcakedesigns.ecwid.com I hope you find it very helpful and I hope to have you in one of our webinars one of these days. :)
Hey Y'all jaime from all2scrumptious cakes...I already took your pricing webinar and yes it has helped so much with my pricing...my problem seems to be having too many inquiries...I spend like 3 days working thru emails, quoting, invoicing and creating order forms. Also keeping up with all the different social media outlets is another thing I seem to have a hard time keeping up with. I try to direct all inquiries thru email to keep things straight. so I guess could you go thru a typical day going thru cake requests..best ways to declining request due to nonpayments of deposits or when clients don't respond back after getting quote or invoice...
Hi Jaime! I hope you're doing well! :) Lots of inquiries is great! Just need to weed through them a bit quicker. Is your "invoicing" different and separate from "order forms"? My question would be, why are you "making" order forms? What are the purpose of those? Make sure when you are creating invoices, that you are only doing that when people are actually ordering. Not just when they're "thinking about it". Do you make invoices specifically for clients who are ready to pay? We have about the same amount of phone inquiries as we do email inquiries. The phone calls seem to go faster of course. I get through the communication with clients via email fairly quick as I make it a point to quote them a "minimum price" for the serving amount they need (as mentioned in the video). If I never hear back from them, then I know they couldn't even handle that. I'm a little confused as to what you mean by "declining request due to nonpayments of deposits"? If they have not paid, there is no order. The order does not exist... I think you would eliminate wasting a lot of time if you were more clear with the client. Ask them if they are READY to order. "If I send you the invoice NOW, are you prepared to pay for your order/deposit today?". If the answer is "no", then you won't waste your time creating invoices. Does that make sense? Then there is no "non-payment" to deal with. If they don't respond back after receiving the quote, just delete the email. LOL. That means they're not ordering. Be sure not to be wasting your time emailing people back and asking them if they're ordering or not. Also, if you DO send and invoice, let them know they only have a few "hours" to pay it. Let them know it must be paid before the end of your business day or it will be cancelled. But again, make sure you ONLY send invoices if you know for a fact they are ready to order. Asking straight up questions of your potential clients and getting straight answers will eliminate A LOT of time being wasted. We don't use order forms at all. I find it unnecessary. Just include in the invoice all of the details of the cake. This is DEFINITELY a topic we'll cover in a future video. How to deal with clients. :)
Hi Laura and Arnie. These videos are AMAZING! I've been decorating cakes for years as a hobby/for family and friends and am just now taking the plunge to actually selling them. The last thing in my way from "going live" has been setting my prices, so I discovered your video series at just the right time! Side note: I never understood the purpose of charging per serving until this video - LIGHT BULB! I do have a question for you about ingredients. Let's say that my basic cake is a vanilla cake, but I also offer a champagne cake flavor. The ingredients for a champagne cake are definitely going to be higher than for a standard vanilla cake, since the cost of a bottle of bubbly adds a minimum of $8 to your cost at the store. Would you calculate your base price on your champagne recipe, or would you calculate it on your vanilla recipe and then call your champagne cake a "premium flavor" and add $X per serving (or per cake) for that flavor? Thank you in advance!
Mandy
Hi Mandy! So glad you are enjoying them! Thank you! I would definitely do the latter. You've got the RIGHT IDEA! So your vanilla is your basic flavor and your champagne flavor is your "premium" and just add $ per serving to that flavor. You SEE! You ARE business savvy! Good going Mandy! I wish you the absolute best in your cake business! God bless you! :)
I love you guys and am starting to know my worth so much in life bc of what God says about me but now bc of you guys! Thank you!!
So I have a few questions! How tall are your cake tiers? And how do you determine how many servings each pan size makes? What pans do you recommend?
Barbara Cline There are serving guides on the internet. I personally use the Wilton serving chart.
Barbara Cline Krazy Kool Cakes alsonhas a tutorial on how to make your own serving chart.
Thank you so much Barbara! I'm so sorry that I'm just now seeing this (4 years later). Amen my friend! You are worth so much and the talent you have to make cakes was given to you by God! Use it to bless your life and the life of others. :) My cake tiers are usually 5.5" - 6" in height. I usually use 2" in height pans. Both the Wilton and Fat Daddios are good. Please be sure to check out my tutorial on how to make your own cake serving chart and there are also lots of online cake serving charts you can compare your self-made chart to just to make sure you're not way off. I hope that helps and I hope your cake business is going well. God bless you! :)
This is very hard for me. I just calculated that the last cake I made cost $19 per slice. Yes it was a very elaborate cake, but it was small. I know I'm worth it, but it still seem really high. I only charged $10 per slice. Now that seem really low just looking at it now. Thanks for opening my eyes.
I know how hard it can be Lauretta... Trust me, I've been right where you are. But we have to face the truth in order to do things differently. We always want to make sure that we are being paid for our time, that our out of pocket expenses are totally covered, AND that we're making a profit on top of that. The more intricate, the more expensive. If the client can't afford the intricate cake THEY are requesting, then you just have to burst their bubble and have them simplify their cake. That's just the way it has to be. God bless you Lauretta and we hope to hear from you again soon! :)
Great video. You covered tiered cakes....How do you charge for sheet cakes ? Per serving as well ?
Thank you Fhoua! Sheet cakes would be charged for exactly the same. :)
Hey Laura and Arnie! I am so overwhelmed with happiness after watching your videos. Thank you SO much for sharing your wealth of knowledge! I wondered if you may correct some confusion I’m having. From my understanding, you are explaining that this math only needs to be done one time and not for every quote. However, say you did an 8” cake yielding 20 servings - the math would be slightly different. For example, instead of a $1.66 per serving for ingredients it would be $2.90 per serving for ingredients. This new number now would slightly change the base amount per serving for the cake. So do you mean you do this method only once for each cake tier size? Also, would you do this math again for different types of cakes? As your ingredients would change/cost different for chocolate, red velvet, etc. Please help I’m so confused. I’ve tried for the last couple of days to figure this out on my own but I think I’m complicating things even more. Also, this method you’ve done with cost of ingredients and cost of time, can it be used to find the pricing for cupcakes, cake pops, cookies, etc? Instead of servings sizes you’d calculate the number of cookies or cupcakes?
Hi Kathleen! I'm so glad you're happy after watching them! Sorry this reply has taken forever! It's our absolute pleasure to share our experience and knowledge. Correct, this math only needs to be done once if you make basic cakes that don't require a lot of hoopla. Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, etc. I do however suggest you do the math once a year because prices of ingredients change AND what you pay yourself per hour should also increase every year. I hope that makes sense. If a 6" cake for example costs you $1.66 in ingredients to make, the price of the ingredients for an 8" cake should also be $1.66. The cost of the ingredients doesn't change, just the amount of ingredients you use. You only do the math for a cake tier size you're accustomed to making a lot of. For example, the majority of the cakes we make are 8" cake tiers and 6" cake tiers. That's why in the video I think I did the math for an 8". If you don't mind me saying so, it does sound like you are overcomplicating things a bit. This pricing method is meant to be as simple as it gets really. But don't worry, I totally understand. I know that when we're first doing this it's not simple by any means. I wish I could do a one on one consultation with you so I could explain it and help you step by step. Yes, you can use this same method for coming up with the cost of all of those other treats as well. Yes, you would calculate as you said, by the # of cookies, cupcakes, etc. To simplify your life, try to always sell by the dozen. If you're ever interested in having a one on one Cake Artist consult with me, please feel free to email me: krazykoolcakes@gmail.com I do charge a consultation fee. I hope I helped a little. God bless you! :)
I don't know if you'll touch upon this in the next video, what about things like electricity, water, etc? Also, what about things like plastic wrap or parchment paper? Do you count these things or are these part of the group of miniscule amounts like salt, that you don't count because they are captured in the profit? Love these videos!
Thank you so much! Glad you're enjoying them! You said it perfectly! Yes, they are captured in the profit. Things like parchment paper, plastic wrap, etc., are more than taken care of by charging well for your work. Those are things that last a long time, like salt. Utilities for example are also captured by the profit. Remember that when you are charging correctly and well for you work, your profit more than covers all of those expenses and allows you to put some of that profit back into your own personal pocket, and back into the business. :)
thank you♡
Thank you for watching Cortney! :)
Do you add in fondant covered boards, boxes etc? I had figured it out awhile ago (I've always used Cake Boss Software) and build that in. It always showed me the base price for everything but never realized exactly how to calculate it all out to make a profit.
HI Colleen, We don't use boxes so don't factor that in. Foam core boards for us here are very inexpensive so don't factor that into our price either. The profit more than takes care of that. But, if you find that you are spending a good chunk of $ on boxes, boards, and such, then you definitely want to factor that into your base price for your cakes.
omg..gracias por compartir sus conocimientos , me he dado cuenta que he regalado mi trabajo,. necesito empezar a creer en mi y en lo que hago, gracias.
De nada Evelia! Ojala su negocio esta prosperando. Dios la bendiga! :)
so um I took your advice on this and it makes sense to me, but unfortunately no one wants to order cakes from me, I think some people do it out of pity now. I think I need to look for new clients.
"So um"? LOL. Glad it makes sense to YOU. It NEEDS to make sense to YOU, and not necessarily the people who SHOULDN'T be your clients. I have a feeling that IF people are ordering from you "out of pity", you're probably STILL not charging correctly for your work. You definitely need to get ready for new clients. You don't necessarily have to "look" for them, just know WHO they are when they come to you. Remember, YOU choose your clients. Not the other way around.
omg!! I been making cakes for free..this is incredible! I just hope the now pay my new prices because...no more cakes for free, and I been making cakes for 6 years...😢 and people talk that I charge a lot...some lady just ask me for a two tier cake for 35 people with cars and details, I ask her 180.00 and she said " why so much?? 🤔 really!!
That's crazy! I'm sure just the cake decorations alone should have cost that much. I hope your cake business is going well Jeannette! God bless you! :)
Hey laura and arnie...i have another question....i deliver my cakes which is great for my customers because they r always saying omg thank u soo much now i don't have to worry about picking it up. I'm never sure how much to charge for that so how do i figure that out?
Hi! You can charge for delivery according to your time as well. Figure out what your time is worth, then figure out how long the round trip will take you to deliver. You can do it this way, or just charge a flat fee within the city limits (but make sure the fee more than covers your time). On top of that you can also add $ to cover the wear and tear on your car, and gas. But, having said all that, if you charge WELL for your work, you may consider not charging for delivery. Within the city limits, we don't charge for delivery. That's our way of saying thank you to our clients, it helps me make sure our cakes arrive in perfect condition, AND it keeps people from coming here. LOL. If it's outside the city limits, we charge according to the amount of time it will take Arnie to deliver.
You are really a Wonderful.
Thank you Esi! God bless you! :)
When you say "cost of ingredients", are you including things like cake boards and dowels etc...?
Hi Sharon, When I say cost of ingredients I'm only talking about the stuff they will chew and swallow. :)
What do you count as an hours work? Mixing and putting a cake in the oven can take 30minutes but then it's a couple of hours of baking do you count this time?
Hi Catherine! As we mentioned in the video, all of the things you mentioned need to be taken into consideration. :)
how do I know if I'm over charging my cakes? I had a lady ask for a certain cake I gave her and my price, she instead went to a local cake shop here for her cake.. it made me feel like I was charging to much..
As a Cake Artist you will have that happen ALL THE TIME.. People (who are NOT supposed to be your clients) will tell you they can get it cheaper somewhere else. LOL. That's just the way it is.Who cares if they go to a grocery store? LOL. That wasn't your client. Why would you let a situation like that make you "feel" anything? Let me ask you this then, so, if she would've ordered from you, you WOULDN'T have felt like you were charging "too much"? It's not about too much or too little.... Have you actually sat down and taken the time to do the math? If not, then you need to. That's how you'll get rid of the "feeling" of charging "too much". Feelings are fickle. Don't BASE your business on your "feelings". Base it on common sense. Do the math. Look at your numbers and then ask yourself if you're charging "too much". As business owners we have to have a THICK SKIN and strong backbone and you can't be letting potential clients sway your feelings back and forth. We always say "Toughen up buttercup!". Love 'ya! :)
How would I calculate my time if I am not the only one working? I have an assistant that I pay $10per hour and I don't charge for my time. Do I add her per hour rate to what I want to make? Also where do I add the overhead of running a storefront and for my office managers salary?
You don't add your per hour rate TO what you want to make. You calculate the amount of hours they are working times what YOU would be paying yourself if you were doing the work. The overhead is all calculated into your profit. You have to spend money to make money so part of your profit does and should go into administrative costs. Your profit is in your mark up in your price per serving and in the mark up of the decorations.
Should I also include the cost of cake drums (boards) and dowling in the calculation?
We don't, only because the cost is so minimal and our profit more than covers that, but if you want to you certainly can. Or, you can just add the cost of those extras to each cake (depending on how much you'll use for that specific cake).
thanks, I appreciate your response.
Sorry to ask again, but I have just made two bottom tiers of a 5 tier wedding cake with traditional fruit cake which has brandy in it, I will also add brandy to the baked cakes for the next few weeks to really infuse them. I will probably use about a quater of a bottle of brandy in total - should I charge for a full bottle or just the quater of it. I understand that you would charge for a full bag of flour or sugar as it is a relitively inexpensive ingredient, however a full bottle of brandy will add a considerable amount to the cost of the cake.
We use Brandy in some of our cake recipes as well. We can purchase an entire bottle of brandy for around $17. We don't consider that a "considerable amount", but if you feel better only including the partial cost, feel free. But again, please think about that the entire purpose of how we charge is to AVOID having to figure out cost of "partial amounts" of ingredients. The "calculating of ingredients" should realistically only be done once a year to figure out your BASE PRICE per serving for your cakes. When you do all the match and quote correctly for a cake (with decorations and all) you'll realize that the cost of the brandy whether partial or full, is a minuscule amount. I hope that helps Vikki! God bless you. :)
hi may I know how to determine the size of cake per serving,thanks
Hi Cristy! There are lots of cake serving charts online that you can use as "reference", but ultimately, I would recommend you make your own that way you know exactly how many servings your particular cakes provide. Please check out my tutorial on "How To Make Your Own Cake Serving Chart". It'll help. :)
Ok I understand everything, but I do not understand where the hourly rate is factored in. Are you saying to add your hourly rate to the say 7$ per slice to come to a total price?
Hi Sher! When we figure out our "base price", it includes all of the time we spent acquiring ingredients, making the cake itself, icing, etc.. Once we calculate all of that time involved, you multiply by your hourly rate. Your base price includes your hourly rate. It may help to go back and watch the video again if needed. Thanks for watching! :)
Krazy Kool Cakes & Designs yes I think I need to watch it again. lol thank you for all your videos. I've been a fan form the beginning. :)
Answer please!
I calculated how much per serving it would cost for a regular basic 8” round cake 3” deep pans
It costs me 50$ roughly to make two pans of 8”rounds x3” deep
So given my rate I charge myself per hour and the ingredients price per serving I got like 2.50.... so if I even double that to around 5$ one cake that size would be 200$ ? It doesn’t make sense to me I can’t visualize how big the cake you’re talking about in your video is compared to mine because the cake serves 40 people that I make
Why WOULDN'T I answer??? LOL. I'm sure you're a very nice person, but please reconsider the way you "start" your comments. We are BIG on manners on our channel... Okay, so to get to your question... Is the $50 INCLUDING what you pay yourself for your TIME to shop, bake, and ice the cakes AS WELL as the ingredients? How many servings DO YOU SAY an 8" round cake tier provides? Our cake tiers always have 3 layers of cake, not 2, so a cake with only 2 layers will provide less servings than an 8" cake tier with 3 layers. Our 8" cake tiers provide a minimum of 20 servings. If you say YOUR two layer 8" cake provided 40 servings, then your serving amounts are way off. I would like to invite you to check out our tutorial on how to make your own serving chart. I hope that helps! :)
hi Laura and Arnie i hope i spelt your names correctly.
when you say 35 servings what sizes cakes are they please..
HI Angela, Our two tiered cakes consisting of 3 layers of cake in each provides approximately 35 servings. This is a 6" and 8". :)
thank you for your reply ☺
hi guys I decided that I would "charge more" for my cakes.. still less than 3 per serving.. and still at that super cheap price, people don't seem to want to pay that.. when I tell them $120 for 2 tier cake for 40 servings.. they freak out and don't even reply.. :(
I should mention that I KNOW my time is worth more.. But I don't think I would sell any cakes if I charge what I think I should :/
Zaira Cabrera I feel the same way.
Zaira Cabrera That's how I feel, I end up feeling bad for charging alot. But after I spend 10-15 hours in a cake, I deliver it and in the way home I am regreting it, because I realize that I charge so little, making no profit.
Hi Zaira! If you know your time is worth more... .then WHY continue charging less than $3/serving. I don't get it? If you KNOW for a fact you are short-changing yourself, why keep doing that to yourself? You gotta start BELIEVING in yourself and in your God-given talent. God GAVE YOU this talent so you can be BLESSED and prosper financially. NOT so that you can be giving your work away for FREE. Remember that if you're charging that little, not only are you working for free, you are literally paying the client to LET YOU make the cake for them. If YOU "don't think" you'll sell cakes if you charge what you SHOULD, then you won't Zaira. That's a fact. What YOU believe will happen is what WILL happen. By believing that will happen, you'll actually CAUSE it to happen. You need to have FAITH, and trust God that He will bring you the RIGHT clients. By being "negative" and "doubting", then you are actually having FAITH in the negative, and it will work. Why not have faith in the OPPOSITE direction, and BELIEVE that you CAN charge that much and that people WILL order. I DARE you to do it, and I PROMISE you it WILL HAPPEN. If God is doing it FOR US, He WILL do it for you. You, and fallingfeetfirst, and Gabriela, need to start BELIEVING. Why not doubt your doubts! Your doubts and fear are stopping you from having the cake businesses you're supposed to have. Remember, WE control the future of our businesses. I can't "make" you girls believe. I can't "make" you be confident. This is something you have to do for yourselves and the ONLY way that this will happen is by you guys finally getting sick and tired of giving your work away. Start respecting yourself, your work, your artistry, and your time. By you guys constantly undercharging, do you REALIZE that every time you under quote a cake you are BASICALLY saying you don't believe people will pay? You don't even give your clients a chance to say they can't afford that because you keep low-balling them in order to GET the order. If they can't afford it, they're NOT your clients. Why would you want to continue doing cakes for cheap people? I don't get it. I love you girls! PLEASE start believing in YOURSELF and TRUST GOD!!! :)
Hi fallingfeetfirst! Please read the reply I wrote to Zaira. This is for you too! :)
OMG!!!! What a rude awakening this video is. My prices are about to changes.
Good for you! :)
do you post to Trinidad
Yes we sure do. :)
Thank you
hi laura.. i live also in el paso tx i sell my cakes under my business HappykakepopsBakeShop.. so sad to face reality thatim in the red numbers.. i always thought that i never will be able to charge $6 per serving since we are on the border many people go to juarez and pay less but like u said if you guys did it i can too.. thanks for all your woderfull advices i would love to meet you guys in person..
HI Paola! That's awesome! Did you know we are having a class THIS Saturday (April 22nd) in El Paso? Would love to have you join! If you are, please visit my FB page and check out the top post on our class! Email me if you'd like to register. :) OF COURSE you can charge MORE than $6 per serving. If you value your time anything like we do ours, if you're ONLY charging $6 per serving you are selling yourself short. The fact that we are on the border means nothing. There is plenty of money in our border town. Tons of clients who are more than willing to pay for a quality cake. Lots of cheap people too... Like anywhere. LOL. But, remember, those are NOT your clients. You CAN do it! Would love to meet you Paola! Hope you can register for our class this Saturday! :)
I've been making like $5 an hour
Not good.... :( I'd love to offer you a one on one consult. If you're interested in booking with me please email me to krazykoolcakes @gmail.com . Thanks! :)
wow I'm shocked that I have been under charging for the cakes some have been with detail awhile back someone wanted a baby shower cake with detail I had given a price but they didn't like it well I she said she didn't want to spend that much she only wanted to spend x amount for 70 people well I didn't make it that was good I would have gave it for free I even told her that 70 was a lot of people I don't know if I want to continue as much as I like making well maybe it's a good thing I don't do as much as I was making omg I'm so embarrassed maybe those people need to see an hear your videos
HI Hortensia! The clients don't need to watch these videos. LOL. It's US, the Cake Artists that need to learn to charge and stand up for ourselves. You CAN have a profitable cake business. We just need to do things a little differently. Thanks for watching! :)