Cake! magazine by Australian Cake Decorating Network November 2019 Cake! Magazine | Page 76

Cake Chat Cake Chat with Amber Comadira-Smith from Commie’s Cupcakes Amber shares her design & cake expertise so that you can become the master cake decorator you’ve always wanted to be. HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THE ‘CHEAP CAKE LADY’? I GIVE PEOPLE MY PRICE AND I NEVER HEAR BACK FROM THEM...THEN WEEKS LATER I FIND OUT THAT THEY’VE BEEN GOING TO THE CHEAPER LADIES. I’VE CUT MY PRICES A FEW TIMES BUT I’VE ALWAYS REGRETTED IT. HOW DO YOU COMPETE?? - CAITLYN Well Caitlyn...you don’t. You have to travel in your own lane. Easier said than done, but you can’t be preoccupied with what other cake businesses are doing - it’ll only distract you from your own work and ultimately be a detriment to your business. When you try and undercut the cheap cake lady, you’re doing yourself a HUGE disservice. You’re teaching potential clients that you don’t value your own work and ultimately you end up attracting those difficult clients that want everything for nothing. I don’t believe that you have a better chance of getting a cake order by being “competitive” with your prices. Ultimately, people pay for what they value - it just all depends on how you market yourself (do you show your customers your value and sell them an experience?) and who your target audience is. Take the time - and I mean really take the time - to discover your target market and advertise to them like crazy. They’ll be the ones that will buy from you and fully value your talents.