The number #1 question you SHOULDN’T ask when PRICING YOUR PRODUCTS!

And what you SHOULD do instead

One of my biggest PET PEEVE is when people ask me: 

“How much do YOU think I should charge for my cakes?”

Because here’s the thing sis, HOW am I (or ANYONE) supposed to know how much YOU should be charging for YOUR cakes?

You’re the ONLY one who knows the cost of your ingredients, how much you wanna PAY yourself, the time it takes you to make a cake, and the $$$ going out of your bank account to buy equipment, cover costs, and keep your business going. 

So WHY are you giving someone else the power to decide your pricing for you?

If you really wanna start making the MONEY you deserve, you need to be  CLEAR on your EXPENSES and CREATE prices that DOUBLE your investment. 

Otherwise, you’re headed to Brokesville and your business will fail before it can even begin. 

Here’s what you need to do to start making the money you DESERVE: 

1 - Sometimes, you NEED to pay MORE upfront

Listen, just because you buy some Reynolds wrap from the Dollar Store at $0.99 a piece, DOESN’T mean you’re saving money. 

In fact, you might be LOSING it instead. 

Let me esplain…you’re at the dollar store and get a 25 square foot roll of foil for $0.99 and drive back home thinking you’ve saved some serious dough. 

BUT, when that roll ONLY has enough foil to cover 20-25 bowls it doesn’t really add up to be cost-effective. 

Instead, you can go to Walmart, buy a 225 square foot roll of foil for double the price, and have it last you MONTHS. Friend, you’re getting 10X MORE for doubling your investment. 

Not only does this work out CHEAPER in the long run, it also means that you’re spending SMARTLY and SAVING on basic ingredients.

And that’s important if you wanna charge your customers appropriately WHILE still making a profit. 

2 - KNOW your ingredients

If you wanna charge the right price for your products, you NEED to become familiar with the prices of your basic ingredients (you know, the boring stuff like eggs, butter, flour, vanilla, and sugar). 

Why?

Because these ingredients are constants in EVERYTHING you make and will affect your BASE PRICES the most. 

And remember, prices are CONSTANTLY EVOLVING (we’ve all seen INFLATION) so always compare what each ingredient costs at Costco vs Walmart vs your local cake supply store, or whatever stores are available in your area REGULARLY. This ain’t a one-and-done game. You’ve got to compare and shop intentionally. 

3 - DATA is your friend

With inflation and rising cost of food products, you need to MONITOR how  much your ingredients cost you month-to-month. Period. 

And the BEST way to do that is by creating an Excel Checklist! OR, you can check out my new FAVORITE TOOL, Bake Diary (I’ll dive deeper into this later on) 

I’ve been using MY tried-and-true Checklist format for YEARS (you can download it here!) and it’s helped me keep track of EVERY single ingredient, down to sprinkles, that I buy for my cakes, cupcakes, brownies, whatever it is you make. 

Once I log in those prices, all I need to do is check how much I’m spending, compare prices, and adjust my OWN pricing accordingly. 

Now if math (and manual data entry) isn’t your friend, you can use tools like Bake Diary to log your ingredients, convert prices to YOUR currency, and keep track of your most common recipes so you can see what ingredients you need to buy frequently and THE PRICE of each. 

Y’all, you literally have NO excuse. 

If you want a more DETAILED breakdown of how I keep track of my ingredients, check out this video where I explain everything I do when shopping for inventory in my business! (my breakdown starts at the 5:43 mark).

Remember, NO ONE can decide the price of your products for you. YOU need to be the one to take the initiative, track your ingredients, compare prices, and get clear on how much you need to charge to make a PROFIT.

Plus, WHY would you wanna copy someone else's prices when you don’t know 1) if they’re even charging PROPERLY and 2) making a PROFIT! 

So, do the math, and be the BOSS you have to be! 

But, pricing is only ONE part of the long journey to PROFITABILITY and SIX-FIGURES. If you wanna learn more about how to maximize your PROFITS, improve your STRATEGY, and keep your customers coming back for more, you need my Bake Your Way to Six Figures workshop! 

I’ve POURED all the knowledge I gained from scaling my own baking biz to SIX figures into this workshop. 

And let me tell ya, the tips in here work because I dive DEEP into STRATEGIES THAT DELIVER (and I’ve perfected these strategies for over 12+ years.) Don’t believe me… check out what students Ronnie, Rhonda, and Meggan had to say: 

This workshop is gonna help you make the money you can only dream of while SUSTAINING a business that you love! 

Save your spot here -> https://www.janellecopeland.com/bake-six-figure-workshop

And here’s a handy list of all the PRICING Resources I mentioned in this post: 

DOWNLOAD FREE PRICING TIPS!

My Pricing Checklist Template 

Bake Diary ( You can use the code ‘PASSIONTOPROFIT’ or ‘THECAKEMAMAS’ for a discount!)

My video breaking down all things pricing