It's difficult turning your beloved hobby into a business. Since it is not easy separating doing the things that feels good from the more practical thing which makes a business operates profitable and become prosperous. For me one of the challenge is answering the tasting question when potential clients call. There is a big difference between a custom cake shop and a bakery...I bake cakes to order, therefore I consider my business a custom cake shop. Cakes are not bake daily and placed in a glass case awaiting customers. My service is customized and personalized for my clients.
Being the owner of a very small custom cake shop I receive call and emails daily requesting quotes for cake and cake tasting. It's exciting getting calls and emails with the potential of getting new business, but the cost of cake tasting, when I was doing it FREE was killing my bottom line. I found I was baking more tasting cakes than I was baking cake for serious business. I was offering a delicious cake at a price reflecting the work that goes into my product, however, those requesting tasting would rather pay less for good work. When I have done that I found I was working twice as hard for far less doing more work which was not appreciated, not even with a "thank you" email later. For a while it was a turnoff because there was no way I could justify to my husband that I could make my business profitable if I ran it the way I was doing it. After getting tips from other decorators and planners I changed my operations.
First I realize I was not competing with the local supermarkets for cake business because my cakes are made from scratch. Next, I am offering my services to those wanting a special type of cake at their event because they have certain preferences, relishes the fine taste of a cake baked from scratch with their own personalized decorations. Plus they are willing to pay the cost for this type of service. In the process of marketing my business, it became clear to me last December that I was really under valuing my work. I took my album with pictures of some of my cakes to an event planner and he was very impress with my work (especially the sculptured cakes) and asked what my prices were. He was shocked when compared with cakes other baker created for some of his events how I was giving mine away!
Now I'm charging for tasting appointments and offering the purchase of tasting cakes if they want a specific flavor. The result, serious clients who are not wasting my time wanting five different flavors, sketches and loads of other stuff then later gives the business to someone else. I am getting more clients who book their weddings and parties after the tasting and consultation because they love what they tasted and would love to have more. That's how I see it.
In essence it is looking at the value I place on my work and less about the cost of tasting. What are your thoughts?
Inserted from:
Dreamers Into Doers--Martha Stewart.com
Copyright by Jeanette Jackson of Blue Ivy, LLC. If you would like to post any of my photographs, please contact me. Thank you!
