Put yourself in this situation for a sec… a friend asks you to make a custom cake.

Before you’ve even calculated the order, you already feel hesitant because you aren’t sure what you should tell them. Of course, you wanna help them because they’re your friend, BUT now you have to tell them how much you charge.

So to avoid feeling awkward or uncomfortable and because you wanna be a “good friend,” you decide to knock down your price a little bit.

Then, after you’ve already discounted the order, they respond with:

“Wait… it costs THAT much?”

And suddenly, you’re mortified.

You’re embarrassed not only because a friend is questioning your prices, but now you’re second-guessing if your products are worth it, if you’re charging too much, or if you’re even good enough.

So you start over-explaining and trying to make the order work before they’ve even told you no.

Friend… we have to STOP doing this.

This is the one pricing habit I WISH every baker would STOP doing, immediately.

However, I know from experience that sharing your prices with friends and family feels uncomfortable. It feels this way because at the end of the day you still have a relationship with this person OUTSIDE of your business.

So trying to combine personal relationships with PROFESSIONAL math can be a slippery slope.

But here’s the hard truth, sis… the math is the math. And it doesn’t care that the customer is your cousin, your sister, or your boss.

Your ingredients still cost money.

Your utilities still cost money.

Your packaging still costs money.

And your BILLS still need to be paid.

You can be kind and loving while still being a TOUGH COOKIE about your numbers. (Pun intended) Here’s how you’re gonna do it:

If you don’t respect your MONEY, how can you expect others to?

You can’t say you stand ten toes down on your pricing, but then the minute someone questions you, you immediately backpedal and offer a discount. That’s not how to convince customers to take you seriously.

Customers will take cues from you:

When you say:

“Well, I normally charge $300, but I know that probably sounds like a lot…”

You have already suggested that $300 may be unreasonable.

Instead, say:

“Based on the design you want and the servings you need, the cake would be $300.”

You are not asking for permission on a price, your simply stating a fact.

Friends and family will respect your money when they see YOU respect it first.

That doesn’t mean you need to be cold and inflexible. It means generosity and discounts become an intentional decision- not a reaction out of embarrassment.

Most People Have No Idea What Custom Work Requires

Most people DON’T SPEAK CAKE. Meaning, they don’t know what all goes into creating what we do…

They think all their designs are “easy” and therefore, should be CHEAP.

Your customer sees the finished product.

They don’t see the 10 to 12 hours spent planning, shopping, baking, cooling, filling, stacking, decorating, cleaning, and communicating. They don’t see the order taking, the travel, the marketing & photography, the overhead, or your labor.

Most customers are clueless about what goes into custom edible art- not because they’re bad people, but because they’ve never done it.

It’s your responsibility as a business owner to EDUCATE your friends and family about the costs of you doing business! Whether you’re doing it as a gift or covering the costs of your ingredients, you have to educate them on your costs; otherwise, they’ll never respect your PRICE as a business owner!

You don’t need to deliver a defensive TED Talk about the price. Simply communicate what is included.

For example:

“The custom cake is $350. That includes 40 servings, two premium flavors, handmade decorations, packaging and approximately 10 hours of production.”

People cannot value what they do not understand.

Stop Pricing From Vibes

The fastest way to STOP feeling emotional about your price is to stop creating your prices BASED on your feelings.

Confidence in your prices comes from having the receipts and the data to back it up!

No more pricing based on what your competitors charge. No more pricing based on what YOU THINK is fair. No more pricing based on what Susan said in your caker Facebook group.

You need to calculate:

• Ingredients and fillings
• Decorations and packaging
• Labor
• Overhead and utilities
• Payment fees
• Profit

And yes, ALL THE PENNIES matter!

Every little thing that goes into bringing your product to life should be accounted for. Period.

One small cost may not destroy your business, but ignoring hundreds of “little” costs across hundreds of orders absolutely will.

When you know a cake costs $112 before labor and requires 10 hours of work, you stop feeling “mean” for charging $300.

You aren’t being mean. You’re simply stating a fact.

Undercharging Is Robbing Your Own Household

What most bakers take forever to understand is that when you undercharge someone, the money has to come from somewhere else. And most of the time it’s coming from YOUR POCKET.

That means undercharging a friend is not always “being nice.” Sometimes, you are robbing your own household to help pay for somebody else’s celebration.

Early in my business, I charged $40 for a custom pink castle cake that took somewhere between 15 and 24 hours to complete.

By the time I paid for ingredients and supplies, there was nothing left to pay me for my time. I wasn’t making money. I was paying to make SOMEBODY else’s cake.

Just because you collect money doesn’t automatically mean you made money.

If you do not extract your salary from the product price, you are working for free.

Ask yourself:

Is this discount worth taking money away from my household?

Would I ask my children to help pay for my cousin’s birthday cake?

Because that is essentially what happens when your household absorbs the cost of an underpriced order.

Support Doesn’t Mean Getting a Discount

Some people believe supporting your business means ordering only when they receive a special price. That’s not real support.

Real supporters want your business to survive.

They don’t expect you to lose money so they can save it.

Your friends and family will NOT always be your biggest supporters when you start a business.

Some will love you but never understand your pricing.

Some will compare your custom work to the grocery store.

Some will only call when they need a favor.

You have to pull up your big girl panties and accept that your business is not for everyone- including some of your friends.

Standing by your price is not personal. It is professional.

Show the Retail Price Before the Discount

When you choose to offer a discount, make the full value visible.

Say:

“For something like this I would normally charge $425. I’d love to gift you $75 toward the order, which brings your total to $350.”

Now they understand the product is worth $425 and that you are intentionally giving them $75.

Do not quietly say:

“I’ll do it for $350.”

If you do this, they’ll just assume this is your regular price and have this expectation going forward. (What’s worse is they may take that discounted price and use it as the standard for OTHER bakeries, creating unrealistic expectations about what custom work should cost.)

Transparency protects your pricing while showing the magnitude of the gift you are providing.

Treat Their Inquiry Like a Real Inquiry

When a friend contacts you, use the same professional process you would use with a stranger.

Respond through the business.

Ask for the date, serving size, and design.

Send the order form, require a deposit, and share your policies with them.

You can still be YOURSELF while setting a professional tone early to make the pricing conversation less awkward later.

Give Options- Not Panic Discounts

If the price is outside their budget, change the order- not the VALUE of your work.

You can offer:

• Fewer servings
• A simpler design
• Standard flavors
• Fewer handmade details
• Pickup instead of delivery
• An item from your standard menu

Say:

“The custom design is $300. If you’d like to stay closer to $225, I can create a simpler version with fewer handmade details.”

You are helping them find an appropriate option without giving away your labor or profit.

Let the Wrong Customer Leave

Not everyone will say yes, and that includes the people you love.

Their “no” doesn’t mean your product is terrible or your price is wrong.

Sometimes, they’re simply NOT your customer.

Mourn it, learn from it, and move on.

Spending three days obsessing over one person’s objection makes you unavailable to serve the customers who DO value your time.

Refusing to raise your prices won’t make people support you more. It will just keep YOU underpaid.

So calculate every expense.

Pay yourself for your labor.

Communicate the full retail value.

Make every discount visible.

And stop confusing someone’s surprise with proof that your price is wrong.

The next time someone you know asks, “How much?”

Don’t make yourself small to save a sale.

Let the math speak for itself, and if they truly want what you have to offer and wanna support you, THEY WILL.

Stop Guessing About Your Prices

Costli helps food business owners calculate ingredients, labor, packaging, overhead, and profit down to the penny- so you can stop guessing, undercharging, and changing your price based on somebody’s facial expression.

Because when you have the receipts, pricing stops feeling personal. It becomes business.

Learn more about Costli here!