Gumpaste Briar rose on Vanilla cake

Comment

Comment by naheed ullah on November 15, 2011 at 8:34am

Thank you Diana, for your valuable feedback :)

Comment by diana nishimoto on November 14, 2011 at 4:07pm

Hi Naheed,

Your cake looks great!!  Your border is so consistent.   As far as cost of cake, it can be a personal thing when you do it for a friend.  My prices are higher than typical grocery stores and Costco.  My basic cake starts at $40 and goes up, depending on flowers and things.  If I want to try something new and the people let me do whatever I want, I give them a better price.  It just depends.  Sometimes the experience is worth taking a lower price.

Comment by Tracy Deadman on November 13, 2011 at 11:55am

June - great article. Thanks for posting the info. I read the one of Staceys sweetshop site regularly - kind of use it as a mantra when I'm feeling I'm overcharging.
I've copied this one on my computer too - a back up pep talk :) x

Comment by naheed ullah on November 13, 2011 at 11:30am

Thanks a lot June. Will check out the link, so that I don't make the same mistake of underpricing :(

Comment by June Kowalczyk on November 13, 2011 at 11:13am

• Hey Naheed
• go to cakeboss.com
• read he article:
• How much should I charge?
• My friend Linda from this site sent this to me.  I printed it out, & I read it frequently. It will answer ALL your questions.

 

Comment by naheed ullah on November 13, 2011 at 9:40am

Thanks, Tracy for your valuable advice and for appreciating the briar rose, coming from a pro means a lot to me, as I'm still learning. 

Yes, after reading what June had said I sat back and thought about how low I had gone as I was totally a newbie, but now after what you and June have said I am definitely not making this mistake again of charging so low. But since it was my first order and hopefully the last with a low price. One always learns from their own mistakes , and I surely have. Yeah, if I were to compare the overall quality of the cake in terms of decoration and vice versa than what is soId in the supermarkets, it's definitely much better. 

I will be looking forward to your mail. 

Comment by Tracy Deadman on November 13, 2011 at 2:29am

Beautiful cake Naheed, your briar roses are extremely pretty.
I've just done a conversion to GBP £ and it works out at £18.84 !!!
Don't sell it that cheap - you are undervaluing your work & as June said, everyone will be hammering at your door to make cake as such a giveaway price. If someone asks me for a cake at this kind of price I direct them to the local supermarket where they can pick up a nice chocolate birthday cake for about £8.99 ($15).
At the end of the day it's up to you - but you owe it to yourself and your time to charge properly. I once charged a very low price for a cake that took me many hours. It was at the start of my cake business and she promoted me whenever she could (not letting on how much I charged her) - I still felt a bit cheated though as I was embarrassed to charge more. I'm going to email you something that might her you gain confidence in charging more.
I would certainly agree with June over the price $60/$70 (maybe more).
Good luck, Tracy x

Comment by naheed ullah on November 12, 2011 at 9:01pm

Thanks, June for your valuable advice, truly appreciate it:)

Believe me this was the 1st butter cream cake which had such good results, that even I was amazed at myself : ) This was the first time I had attempted at making a gum paste flower and yes, it took time and effort at getting the right results. I guess we all learn by mistakes and this mistake of low balling of the price will definitely be not happening again. 

Am so glad to be a part of this wonderful community :)

 

Comment by June Kowalczyk on November 12, 2011 at 5:50pm

Absolutely NOT!!!!!!!

If you sell this cake to your "friend" for $30....you are going down a slippery slope.  Yes, you are new, but I can see, you have talent.  I struggle with buttercream, better at fondant, and this icing job looks flawless.  It takes time, supplies & talent to make a cake.  You wouldn't charge as much as a pro, or a seasoned hobby baker, but below $30 is really low balling. A REAL friend recognizes your work & time. I have made a couple of cakes for my neighbour & friend, and she has always paid me well with a tip included because she respects the time & effort it took to produce the cake.

I wouldn't charge any less than$60-$70 for this. I am sure you will get a wealth of comments from others on this site. And hopefully from them, you can get a sense of what to charge.  Once you low ball your price, it is hard to go back.  Then your friend & others will expect the same type of "deal"everytime.

Thats my 2 cents.