Cake Prices, Sick kids, and Gratitude!

Hellllo my loves. It’s been awhile…as per usual 😳

I was woken up at 4 this morning by whimpering and a tiny little ‘mommy’ you just KNOW that it’s not going to be good. I should’ve known when I went up to bed and checked on my babies that my eldest wasn’t feeling so hot… not literally because she was roasting! But also she has a tendency to bundle up even when the weather is warm. I touched her little brother’s skin and he was cool…mostly because he was in nothing but his underwear and no covers on. So I went to bed HOPING it was just a case of too many clothes and bedcovers. I was wrong. It’s a tummy bug. So now I’m in a slight frenzy. I’m trying to organise childcare and or shift changes.

It’s good! It’s covered, and panic is over! Kyle unfortunately is on training shifts for work this week too so trying to get out of that wouldn’t have been too easy either. So now I’m crazy cleaning the house, using bleach on every door handle, crevice, and every other surface that can and will be bleached! I’ve hoovered the entire house, sterilised the kitchen and bathroom..and when I’m in the cleaning frenzy…I just want EVERYTHING done! I even got my workout in. Leg day. I’m feeling it now.

I managed to swap shifts so I took the close, which I do love to do, and on days like today, a constant supply of coffee is a wonderful and much needed bonus of the job😜 And on a plus! I only have 2 cakes this week…until I face the storm of the next 3 weeks of cakes after that 😳😬

Anyway…pricing!

Right my guys, I know I don’t have to justify my prices. I know. And for the most part I have pretty cool customers who actually do realise the extent of what goes in to making a cake. But for those of you who cheekily, yes cheekily! tell me that they not paying ‘HOW MUCH?! It’s just CAKE!’ This one’s for you…and also to those new bakers that don’t think they’re charging enough. YOU’RE NOT…know your worth my loves!

And maybe it IS just cake….but it’s also so much more than that.

Absolutely my cakes aren’t affordable for everyone. That’s just life. Some people don’t think a birthday cake is a justifiable expense. And that’s okay too. I get it. I do! I know how hard we all work for our money. Im lucky enough to be able to create cakes for my kids that I don’t have to shell out my hard earned money for..But I would absolutely buy art work from my favourite artists. And I always pay that little bit extra to support local businesses where I can. Because I can appreciate that it’s taken years to hone their skills. (Or not..some people seem just naturally talented 🙄) Art supplies, like cake supplies aren’t cheap. Groceries aren’t cheap. So let’s give y’all an idea of a standard cake…

8 inch is my most popular. I always try to keep my costs down…don’t we all?

Butter has gone up…like a crazy amount, eggs, sugar, electricity for the ovens….doesn’t come cheap. We all know this. Sooo let’s say I make an 8 inch cake. The ingredients alone cost me £10, then adding on fondant, cake boards, ribbon, boxes, electricity. That’s another £10.00. This is all before I even start physically making the cake. And I charge for my time…I now pay myself £10 an hour. 5years ago…it was about £2. And sometimes, I still only make about £5 an hour. I can guarantee 99% of people wouldn’t get out of bed for that kinda wage. Am I right?!

I have to go shopping for all these groceries and wash all the dishes and clean the kitchen…and bake the cake…so I give myself an hour for that alone. So now we’re at £30. I haven’t even STARTED decorating at this point. I don’t even charge for the research, the back and forth conversations between myself and my customer. And sometimes…that takes a VERY long time.

Decorating can take anywhere from 1 hour, to 8 hours and beyond. And that’s just for a birthday cake! Even a drip cake that can take just an hour to decorate…will cost more because once you load it with sweets and chocolates, the cost of the sweets alone will bring the price of the cake up quite substantially.

So let’s say I spend 5 hours on a cake. Average for a bespoke cake. That includes filling, and covering the cake in fondant. Making the decorations etc. That’s another £40 of my time. Now we’re at £70

Also, I’m a business. Shouldn’t I make a profit as well? So I give myself 30% profit. 70+21=91…

And I’m laughing already because for a standard 8inch cake I generally charge £65!

So your average 8inch cake is looking like £90.00 And guess what?! I usually still don’t charge that. Generally quite a bit less. So I try really hard for my ego not to get in the way. And I tell myself that the people that complain and are rude…They’re not my customers. But I’m tired of not realising my worth. I don’t haggle anymore. I respect myself and my business enough to know when to let things go, and lately I’ve learned that a LOT in my personal life too. And if a cake is not meant for me, that’s cool. I move on. With grace, and always a kind word. Because I’m above that. I don’t let someone else’s opinions demean my work. At the end of the day. I’m an artist. And isn’t beauty always in the eye of the beholder? We can’t please everyone. And that’s ok. Because I think I’m pretty damn good most of the time anyway 🤷🏻‍♀️😏🥰

So before you knock someone’s prices, please think about what goes in to them. Ask yourself if you’d work for any less. And more importantly, if you don’t agree, move on, keep your opinions to yourself. Because really, what good comes of it. And I URGE everyone to make at least one celebration cake yourself, to the best of your ability. So you can see just how much love, effort, and work goes in to each order. It’s not as glamorous a job as you’d think 🙈😏

And on a more pleasant note… I’ve been feeling so incredibly grateful and humbled for all the orders that I have been receiving lately. I was worried when I moved down from Thurso that the work wouldn’t come. But word of mouth is a wonderful thing. And I put my trust in the universe and just knew that if I put everything in her hands, All would be well. And as always. It is. Because letting go, giving in, and having faith is the best thing you can do. Always.

** All the cakes pictured above where from fantastic clients who had no issues with the prices of their cakes 🥰