I’m gonna say something that will probably make you uncomfortable.

You're not mad at hobby bakers.

You're mad they're winning.

And I get it. I really do.

You’ve done the WORK. You’ve put in the years building this business into what it is today. You've got the commercial kitchen, the LLC, the social media followers, the business insurance, the licensed tax filings, and the clients. You've EARNED the title of professional baker.

Meanwhile, someone with a KitchenAid and an Instagram account is charging $80 for a cake you'd charge $250 for - and the customer is choosing HER.

It's infuriating.

BUT it also isn't her fault.

Stay with me.

The Defensive Narrative Nobody's Calling Out

Walk into any baker's Facebook group right now, and you'll hear the same conversation on a loop:

• "Hobbyists are ruining this industry."
• "COVID created a million backyard bakers."
• "Everyone has an Instagram and a price list now."
• "You can't compete with someone who isn't paying rent."

While MOST of this is true. It’s not all relevant.

Because here's what we’re missing:

Hobbyists aren't taking your customers. Your pricing is.

That's the conversation nobody in this industry wants to have. So I'm gonna have it.

Why Hobbyists Can Charge Less (The Math)

Let's be honest about the math for a second. Here's WHY a hobbyist can charge $80 for a cake without "losing money":

• No commercial kitchen rent
• No employees, no payroll taxes
• No business insurance, no business license fees
• No marketing budget
• No software subscriptions
• No overhead, period.

But most importantly… she's not running a business. She's running a hobby that makes her some extra cash.

If she charges $80 and her ingredients cost $20? She "made" $60.

That's not profit. That's the illusion of profit. But for HER, it works - because she's not trying to live off it.

For YOU? $80 minus your real costs (ingredients + overhead + labor + insurance + taxes + reinvestment) is a LOSS.

You're not competing in the same race.

You never were.

Here's the Trap You're Falling Into

When you see a hobby baker charge $80 for a cake, you've got two voices in your head.

Voice 1: "I should drop my price to compete."

Voice 2: "I'm worth more than this and I refuse."

And what most pros are doing right now? They're listening to Voice 1.

They're shaving prices to "stay competitive." Cutting corners. Working harder for less. Justifying it with "well, at least I'm staying booked."

You're not staying booked.

You're slowly bleeding out.

The Truth About Why You CAN'T Win a Price War

You can’t outprice a hobby baker. Period.

Because the moment you race her to the bottom, you're playing her game on her field with her rules - and she has lower expenses than you.

She wins by default.

The math doesn't care about your talent. The math doesn't care about your 10 years of experience. The math doesn't care that you "should" cost more. The math doesn’t care about your feelings. (And that’s exactly why I started building Costli. Because too many bakers are making emotional pricing decisions in a mathematical business.)

If you compete on price, the operator with the lowest overhead wins. Period.

So stop trying to win a race you were never meant to compete in in the first place.

What the REAL BUSINESS OWNERS Actually Need to Do (The CEO Move)

You don't beat a hobbyist on price. You beat her by REFUSING to compete on price.

The business owners who survive this saturated market aren't the ones who price-match.

They're the ones who:

1. Know their numbers down to the PENNY
2. Price for PROFIT, not popularity
3. Position themselves as the premium choice (and back it up)
4. Refuse to apologize for charging what their business actually needs
5. Curate their customer instead of begging for one

When YOU know your real cost - ingredients, packaging, labor, overhead, taxes, profit - you stop caring what the hobby baker down the street charges.

You stop tracking her and start TRACKING yourself.

That's the CEO move.

Certainty Beats Price. Every Single Time.

Something I preach to my students all the time, especially in my Power Hour community, is…

Customers don't buy products. They buy CERTAINTY.

A $250 cake isn't expensive SOLELY because of the ingredients. It's expensive because of what it MEANS to the customer who bought it.

The customer who pays $250 isn't just buying cake. She's buying:

• The peace of mind that it'll be perfect
• The bragging rights at the party
• The Instagram post that says "of course I got the good cake."
• The relief of not having to manage it
• The status of working with a true professional

Many hobby bakers compete on affordability because positioning isn’t their primary strategy.

If your customer is choosing the $80 cake over yours, the problem isn't the price.

The problem is that you didn't SHOW her the difference between the two. You priced like a professional but positioned like a peer.

What Costli Has to Do With This

Quick context, if we haven't met. I'm Janelle Copeland - I built a 7-figure bakery in Los Angeles, CA called The Cake Mamas, and NOW I mentor thousands of bakers and business owners in the food industry, and the founder of Costli.

Costli is the profit operating system I'm building specifically for bakers who want to STOP playing the hobbyist price game and start running their business like the operator they actually are.

Here's what Costli does:

• Tells you the TRUE cost of every product (overhead included - which most tools skip)
• Shows you your actual profit margin per item
• Flags products that are LOSING you money
• Gives you the math to confidently quote $250 instead of $80
• Removes the guesswork that's making you doubt your pricing every single time you send a quote

The bakers who use a tool like this don't compete with hobbyists.

They stop seeing them as their direct competitors.

How to Get on the Costli Waitlist (Founders' Pricing Closing Soon)

Costli isn't open yet - but the waitlist is.

If you join now, you get:

• First access when we open the doors
• Founders' pricing locked in for life (this WILL go up at full launch)
• Direct input on the features still being finalized

If you're tired of playing the hobbyists' game while you slowly resent your own business, this is the tool to wait for.

Click here to join the Costli waitlist

The Final Truth About Hobbyists

I'll leave you with this.

Most of the bakers complaining about hobbyists today started as hobbyists themselves.

We all did.

The difference between a hobbyist and a CEO isn't the kitchen they operate of. It isn't the LLC. It isn't even their talent.

It's the MATH.

A hobbyist guesses.

A CEO knows.

So stop blaming the hobbyist for charging $80. She's allowed to charge whatever she wants - that's her “business.”

Your job is to know YOUR numbers so well that what she charges has zero impact on your decisions.

That's the operator mindset. That's how CEOs think. That's the only way you survive a saturated market.

Lock in your Costli waitlist spot here 

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Q: How do I compete with hobby bakers who charge less than me? You don't. You compete on positioning, not price. Hobbyists have lower overhead, so they will always win a price war. The fix is to know your numbers down to the penny, price for profit, and position yourself as the premium choice so the customer is buying STATUS, not just cake.

Q: Should I lower my prices to keep up with the cheaper bakers in my market? No. The moment you race to the bottom, you're playing a game with rules that favor the operator with the lowest overhead - and that's never going to be you. Lowering your prices accelerates burnout and bleeds your margins. The answer is positioning, not price-matching.

Q: How do I figure out what to actually charge if I'm not just looking at competitors? You calculate your TRUE cost (ingredients + packaging + labor + overhead + profit margin) and price from there. That's exactly what Costli is built to do - take the guesswork out of pricing and give you a real number you can stand behind. Join the Costli waitlist here.

Q: Are hobbyist bakers actually ruining the industry? No - though I understand why it feels that way. The industry isn't being ruined by hobbyists. It's being exposed by them. Professional bakers who don’t have strong positioning, clear pricing, or a real customer experience are losing in the market. Pros who DO have those things are thriving.

Q: When does Costli launch? Costli is launching in 2026. Waitlist members get first access, founders' pricing for life, and input on final features. Join here.