Imagine this.

You just finished a custom order. Took you 6 hours to make (communication, setup, baking, cooling, filling, frosting, decorating, cleanup, boxing, photos).

You quoted the customer $200.

You feel GREAT about that order. You booked it. The customer is happy. And you got PAID. ✅

But here's what you don't know…

You probably LOST money on that order.

Not because you're bad at business.

Not because the market is oversaturated.

Not because of the economy.

You're losing money because you're guessing at your costs instead of knowing them. And those guesses? They're costing YOU every single day.

The Oreo Rule

Lemme explain… Let's say you make a cupcake. That cupcake cost you $1.50 in ingredients.

So you decide to price it at $2. So you make a profit of $.50. You feel like you're making money. But then…

You add ONE entire Oreo on top as a decoration, and that Oreo ends up costing you fifteen cents.

But you didn't update your selling price because you figured it’s just one order.

But on a $2 cupcake, that $.15 is 7.5% to 10% of your entire profit margin.

GONE.

Now multiply that by 100 orders a month.

That's $15 you're not charging for.

That's $180 a year.

That's the soccer registration fee you can't quite afford. That’s the plane ticket you can’t quite afford. That’s the money YOU’RE paying for, not profiting on.

All because you didn’t factor in the cost of one cookie.

But Here's Where It Gets Worse

That Oreo? That's just ONE leak in your business.

There are FOUR leaks you should be looking out for in your business. And each one is draining money directly out of your pocket.

Leak #1: The "Roughly" Trap

You made this recipe last month, so there’s a good chance you “roughly” know how much it costs you to make.

Butter was $4.50 a pound then. Now it's $5.20.

But you didn't update your recipe cost.

If you're not tracking the exact cost, you're guessing. And every single time you guess, you're leaving money on the table.

This is what I mean by ROUGHLY = GUESSING = MARGIN LEAK.

And that leak? Is directly impacting your business (and household).

Leak #2: Labor Math That Doesn't Match Reality

You tell yourself you need to make $25/hour.

Sounds good, right? But here's what you're actually doing:

You're calculating labor on the baking time ALONE.

You're NOT counting the 45 minutes texting the customer.

The 20-minute shopping.

The hour editing photos.

The 30-minute packaging.

That's not 3 hours. That's 5+ hours of actual work.
You quoted them based on 3 hours at $25/hour = $75 in labor.
Your REAL labor cost? Over $125.

You’re undercharging by $50 per order, and you’re EATING the difference.

Leak #3: Utilities You're Not Charging For

Your gas bill last month was $60. Okay, normal.

This month? After 10 custom orders, your gas bill jumped to $200.

That's a $140 difference for 10 orders. That's $14 per order, just in GAS.

And I'm guessing you didn’t reprice those orders.

So where did that $140 come from? Out of your own pocket.

That's why every single price you quote should already include a percentage for overhead, so when your utilities spike, YOU aren’t covering it.

Leak #4: The Invisible Consumables

Dish soap. Paper towels. Parchment paper. Plastic wrap. Aprons. Towels you're washing constantly. Trash bags. Labels. Boxes.

Because these aren't "ingredients,” it’s easier to forget to factor these essentials into your expenses.

And guess who ends up paying for it in the long run? YOU.

You’re funding your business through consumables that never make it into your pricing.

Let's Be Direct

You may be booked and busy, working 60+ hours a week, but if you aren’t accounting for ALL your numbers, YOU are also paying the price.

On a $200 order, you could be losing $60-$127. Across 80 orders a month? That's $5K-$10K YOU'RE PAYING FOR, not profiting on.

Every single month, you're telling yourself you're making money while actually subsidizing your business.

Right now, without a system that tracks these leaks, there's no way to stop them.
So it keeps happening.

The Question You Should Be Asking

What if you knew EXACTLY which products were bleeding your business?

What if you charged for utilities + consumables so you weren’t robbing your household?

What if labor were calculated accurately so you weren't discounting your own time?

What if ingredients were updated in real time so you weren't guessing and leaving money on the table?

What if you could see TODAY that a product is losing money instead of discovering it three months from now when you finally open the spreadsheet?

Here's The Hard Truth

Your business will continue to leak until you have a system that PREVENTS it.

Not a spreadsheet that relies on YOU to constantly update it.

Not a guess based on memory.

Real numbers. Real-time. Real visibility into where your money is actually going.

Because right now? You're not just losing money.

You're funding your own business.

Next Step

You've read the signs, now it’s time to STOP guessing and start KNOWING.

Check out what Costli actually does - the financial operating system that catches these leaks before they kill your business.

Because your business deserves better than spreadsheets and hope.

And your family deserves a business owner who charges for the real cost of what she creates.

Xo,

Janelle

P.S. Over 400 food entrepreneurs are waiting to get access to a system that shows them EXACTLY where their money is going (and how to stop funding their own businesses). Early waitlist members get first access + exclusive founders' pricing locked in for life. Join the waitlist - because every day you wait, you're choosing to let another $100-300+ slip out of your pocket into unprofitable orders.