Should I give my cake business up?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Titi Onajin on October 15, 2011 at 2:25am

Hello Wendy,

I do feel for you but if you love baking, then don't give it up. I bake, quilt, knit and sew and I always manage to fit it all in. I have found that decorating cakes get easier the more we do it. There was a time it would take me a whole day, even two sometimes to decorate just one cake. Now I finish it in a couple of hours.

I would wake up early and bake, go off and do other things then return to ice. Depending on how many cakes you need to bake, see how many you can fit into your oven at once to make things easier. I can fit 4 trays of cupcakes in my oven so I always aim for that with cupcakes and with regualar cakes, at most 3 depending in sizes.

It is a big no no in my books to have someone else bake my cakes. I have a certain standard I would not want anyone to destroy. Pace yourself. See if you can work part-time and bake part-time. The thing here is time management and I am sure with the help of God you are more than able to make it.

Time yourself and see what takes the most time and look for ways to reduce the time spent.

Hope this helps and hope to hear you will carry on baking. It is so much fun.

 

Regards,

Titi 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by June Kowalczyk on October 15, 2011 at 9:29am

Well Wendy

In the end, only you what is best for you & your family.  Always trust your "gut feelings", it is usually right. I call it the voice of the Holy Spirit, others call it intuition, others a sixth sense, but whatever it you want to call it, you get that feeling that you just know that you know when the decision is right. 

Wendy Wegener said:

Hi Ladies, Thank you for your valuable advice and wisdom.

You really made me feel better and is always good know others are going through the same thing.

Unfortunately, for financial reasons, I do have to continue with my cake business. BUT I have deleted all my adverts and promotions and have decided to scale down by only making for existing clients and refferals. As advised by only doing 2 orders a week and thanks Jen, will mainly accept cakes that are profitable. Lynn, I have been working my tail off for peanuts.

I was making wedding cakes which are much more profitable, but I just couldn't do them because they were causing me to neglect my child, so I stopped and only make the small simple wedding cakes every now and again. Also do really get a kick out of making a child so happy with their birthday cakes.

I do bake and prepare beforehand, but the reason for starting so late is that I try to spend time with my toddler in the afternoons, and undertake my wife duties, so my husband does not feel out either. Essentially I am pleasing everyone else and not myself. I tend to suffer from insomnia, so working late is easier for me than others, but physically and emotionally exhausting.

I have been praying very hard, and everytime I do, more and more orders stream in. All in His time, will trust what He has planned for me. 

Did try find someone to mentor and train, but they all flaked on me. I am not the type of person to give up so easily, so I will continue to pray and know that God will send the right person to me at the right time.

In the meantime, I have slowed down drastically and also making quite a few figurines instead while I site with my husband watching movies, which is our favourite way of relaxing. 

Wendy

 

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Stacey Leroy-Dyson on March 13, 2012 at 12:50am

I would think for someone that had been making wedding cakes before would  know how to measure ingredients. If I am unsure in measurements, I use an online converter.

• ▶ Reply

▶ Reply to Discussion

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page