The Apprentice?

This week I enjoyed a really useful and productive meeting with some other small business owners here in lovely leafy Croxley Green.

As we discussed the highs and lows of being our own boss one thing became very clear – pricing always has been, always is, and unless we do something about it, always will be an issue.

Whatever business we are in the price we appear to charge per hour is never what we earn. The cost of goods/materials or ingredients must be taken into account. Light, heat, storage. Insurance, registration, professional fees. And hidden costs particular to the business you are involved in (would anyone like to guesstimate how much soap and how many dishwasher tablets I get through every week?!)

Not to mention National Insurance and – if you reach such giddy heights – Income Tax to be paid!

I was urged and challenged to think very seriously about my pricing policy and as I did so I remembered a post I read some months back. Sadly I can’t now find it but it is stuck in my brain – it made such an impact!

In a nutshell it said that when you go to the hairdresser you can choose whether to have your hair cut by an apprentice, a staff member or a senior stylist. When we set out on the road of cake decoration we are very much the apprentice. We can choose to go to college or, as I did, we can choose to learn “on the job” whilst selling our wares at cost price to friends and family.

A year on I need to decide if I am still an apprentice, or whether my work is now of a good enough quality that I can charge “staff member” prices? In some areas could I even consider myself a “Senior Stylist” – for example this is the cupcake tower I set up for a wedding today. The bride and groom requested four flavours of cake, a chocolate finger and malteser giant cupcake, and the theme was peacock colours!

I would be interested to hear your thoughts. To help the process along I have added a new page to the website with some realistic price comparisons. This was not what was charged but what I might need to charge if this business is to continue and be a going concern. Thank you!