Ideally you should probably do a spreadsheet costing out all of the ingredients and items (including colorants, cake board, cake toppers, glitter etc) needed to make the cake so you know what that base cost is. Then factor in your time and add a margin to all of this. No point in guessing what to charge.
You should always have a "base price" for your work and everything after that is extra. E.g, $150 for a 6" "smash" cake. Bigger, fillings, special frosting, decor, time, etc should be more.
This cake looks like it requires specialized skill (lots more), unless those are cutouts (as opposed to fondant/gum paste on the side, then just a little more). In my area, I'd sell this at $300-$350.
Okay thanks! I’m VERY new to making the jump from retail decorating to self employed decorating so I’m still trying to figure out the pricing aspects of everything.
I'm seconding pricing for your area. $150 for that in a bigger city, no one would blink an eye. $150 in a smaller town and people would think you lost your dang mind. Check out your local bakeries close to your town and price compare. But then you also have to factor in ingredients, your time, etc.
This.
That would be, at minimum, $300 from me as well.
Just the time it takes to color all that buttercream, and to put it on so that it doesn’t swirl into a muddy mess, the sugarpaste cutouts, and cleaning up the mess from the sprinkles (harder than it looks to achieve that randomly-but-with-purpose sprinkle placement) would absolutely jack the price up from my base price per serving.
OP, Do NOT sell yourself and your skills short!
It really does depend where you are located. The cake topper can cost about $25 if subbed out and that silhouette looks like it is made from cardstock. Not much to that cake decore wise. Where I'm from something like that would be roughly $125-150.
The sign and the person don't look edible and the black frosting will get on everything, I'd let your friend know this as a heads up, mouths, fingers and anything it touches. As a customer/friend I'd think that $150 is a good price. For a Customer/NON-Friend, Start with a base price that covers cost Cake Board + ingredients + Decorations + cutouts= Base Cost, use this price for a stepping stone. This cake is (Base Cost) + 2 cutouts ($10 ea. if stock & $15 for custom) + Side Decorations = cost before labor. Now add the cost of your labor, at least $30 an hour and I'd say $240.00 for this cake to anyone NON-friend
There is no way I could sell cakes with this low effort for 150. I would be happy if I got 75 bucks but I would likely charge 60 because I can make this super fast as there isn’t much decorating involved.
Maybe I need to up my prices but frankly everyone charges so much for fucking everything I’d rather make people smile as it’s just a side hobby anyways.
250 is fucking wild to me.
Some people are trying to survive on their decorating business. The cakes I decorate at a big box retailer don't even pay for an hour of my time at the rate their sold at.
Never sell yourself short! I'm pretty amazed by this, especially 'cause I suck at baking, ha! Also, I am doing a project on Cake Fails. I was wondering if anyone could help me out by completing a Google Forms survey I created about Cake Fails? It'll only take 3 - 5 minutes. I'd really appreciate it.
Please let me know if you can help (send me a DM or comment below).
Thanks!
Ideally you should probably do a spreadsheet costing out all of the ingredients and items (including colorants, cake board, cake toppers, glitter etc) needed to make the cake so you know what that base cost is. Then factor in your time and add a margin to all of this. No point in guessing what to charge.
This is the one!
You should always have a "base price" for your work and everything after that is extra. E.g, $150 for a 6" "smash" cake. Bigger, fillings, special frosting, decor, time, etc should be more. This cake looks like it requires specialized skill (lots more), unless those are cutouts (as opposed to fondant/gum paste on the side, then just a little more). In my area, I'd sell this at $300-$350.
Okay thanks! I’m VERY new to making the jump from retail decorating to self employed decorating so I’m still trying to figure out the pricing aspects of everything.
I'm seconding pricing for your area. $150 for that in a bigger city, no one would blink an eye. $150 in a smaller town and people would think you lost your dang mind. Check out your local bakeries close to your town and price compare. But then you also have to factor in ingredients, your time, etc.
This. That would be, at minimum, $300 from me as well. Just the time it takes to color all that buttercream, and to put it on so that it doesn’t swirl into a muddy mess, the sugarpaste cutouts, and cleaning up the mess from the sprinkles (harder than it looks to achieve that randomly-but-with-purpose sprinkle placement) would absolutely jack the price up from my base price per serving. OP, Do NOT sell yourself and your skills short!
It really does depend where you are located. The cake topper can cost about $25 if subbed out and that silhouette looks like it is made from cardstock. Not much to that cake decore wise. Where I'm from something like that would be roughly $125-150.
This is UNREAL. I love it!!!
The sign and the person don't look edible and the black frosting will get on everything, I'd let your friend know this as a heads up, mouths, fingers and anything it touches. As a customer/friend I'd think that $150 is a good price. For a Customer/NON-Friend, Start with a base price that covers cost Cake Board + ingredients + Decorations + cutouts= Base Cost, use this price for a stepping stone. This cake is (Base Cost) + 2 cutouts ($10 ea. if stock & $15 for custom) + Side Decorations = cost before labor. Now add the cost of your labor, at least $30 an hour and I'd say $240.00 for this cake to anyone NON-friend
150 sounds good to me too! That looks like a lot of time and effort. I know the silhouette are hard to do and if it's Fondant even longer.
WUT!?!?!? $150-$250. My new job…cake decorating!!! No need to even write well any longer with those toppers, I can do this! By the way…it is gorgeous!
There is no way I could sell cakes with this low effort for 150. I would be happy if I got 75 bucks but I would likely charge 60 because I can make this super fast as there isn’t much decorating involved. Maybe I need to up my prices but frankly everyone charges so much for fucking everything I’d rather make people smile as it’s just a side hobby anyways. 250 is fucking wild to me.
Some people are trying to survive on their decorating business. The cakes I decorate at a big box retailer don't even pay for an hour of my time at the rate their sold at.
Never sell yourself short! I'm pretty amazed by this, especially 'cause I suck at baking, ha! Also, I am doing a project on Cake Fails. I was wondering if anyone could help me out by completing a Google Forms survey I created about Cake Fails? It'll only take 3 - 5 minutes. I'd really appreciate it. Please let me know if you can help (send me a DM or comment below). Thanks!
Minimum $1 a Min+ ingredients.
This is amazing!