From Trash to Cash: Dribbling a river

Crafty_Toots

HHH, it's a good idea, even if its just to highlight weaknesses and admit them to ourselves. Sometimes we don't even recognise we have them, so admitting a skill/knowledge gap for example might lead to looking into filling it in some way.

Toots x

jo70mo

Thats lovely NLID bet she loved every minute of it.
Jo x

Crafty_Toots

nolongerindenial wrote: »

Righ, finally caught up today

Firstly My thoughts are with Nixi and her DS!

now on to my completion of today's mini-move... which I had planned from last night ....

Today I run my DW a Bath, with candles and surprised her with a glass of wine waiting for her...

How lovely!! My idea of heaven that, I'm sure your DW will have loved it :T

Toots x

jo70mo

Right I am off to bed.
Thank you so so much for tonight everyone. still fairly shocked.
Jo x

Crafty_Toots

Night night sleep tight Jo! Speaking for the missing dribblers, you are entirely welcome, you're a special special person x

Toots x

skintbint_2

hhhonlyfan wrote: »

i have an idea for a mini move for tomorrow if anyone wants to give it a go if it isnt that good just say but just came to me

Thinking about your 10k challenge and how you are making your money towards it. Spend just 10 minutes thinking about your strengths and weaknesses. Think of how or where you can turn your weaknesses into strengths? sorry probably not that good but best i can come up with.

Skintbint - 20% sounds reasonable my oh does a giftbox business and has a personal option for it including having things engraved or embroidered with names. On that option she has a 50% deposit on those items and other 50% payable upon completion of work so 20% sounds fine to me as well maybe low. i dont have details on what your doing but make sure your covering costs in case of a pullout *touches wood*

hhh- thanks on the feedback and the idea of where i spend 10mins where i sit and focus on how to improve my weaknesses something that i really have to do.
my "business" is making "bespoke design wedding, celebration, novelty cakes and cup cakes" (according to my business cards anyway!), the deposits are causing me some issue,(my 10 min weakness tomorrow - must make a plan and stick to it whether i know the person or not) i have an order for a wedding cake and have had a 25% deposit but have said i require full payment the week before (figuring they will be too busy the day of the wedding and honeymoon etc that they might forget about me!!) other cakes are 20% and cash/cheque on collection or delivery - now have to figure out delivery costs for ordinary cakes at the moment quoting £20 for delivery and set up of wedding cake within 40 miles radius (figuring £10p/hr???) probably a bit cheap giving the cost of petrol, i am hoping to go to a wedding fair next week and will compare prices there, but i think i find it difficult as i know how much they cost to make and probably feel because its not my main job that my time is irrelevant, i'm charging for the wedding cake about 1/4 (£150) of what they were quoted in the shop (£500-£600). just wish somebody would do the pricing for me!

hhhonlyfan

skintbint - heres a tip i learned off my dad whose been in business 30 years plus now with his businesses. whatever your overheads and expensives etc are you double the price and thats what you charge someone (thats as a minimum by the way) . Never worry about being the cheapest as it can put people off thinking that you will substitute for quality. people will always use your business/service as once word spreads you'll be swamped. Actually worked on building my dads business with B2B (business to business) sales when he started up his emboirdery. I only needed to do it 4 weeks (free of charge as it was my dad) as i drove in 55 orders in that time and word spread around the town of how good and quick he was at doing it. Now hes swamped and needs employees because of me

(note to everyone here when i say my dad i dont mean my dad who took the hammer to my mum - hes my stepdad but in my eyes he will be my dad)

skintbint_2

thanks hhh, am probably making 3-4 times cost minimum before my time is included so thats not a bad mark up - roughly priced the wedding cake as cost of £35-45(use only decent ingredients) to make, reckon on spending 3-4hrs on decorating (dont count my time throwing everything into the mixer or waiting on it baking as i can get on with other things like cleaning, ironing, kids taxi) so even at the maximum of £50 for making leaving £100 and maximum 5hrs for decorating working out at £20 per hour :eek:so cake order tonight will cost about £10 all in, decorating about an hour and a half and charging just under £40 so still the £20 per hour mark. and think thats where my issues lie doesnt seem morally acceptable to charge that for a lump of sponge, then the other side of me thinks well if they dont like it they dont have to pay it ---- am sh*t at this business lark anybody want an employee baker and cake decorator

JoeyGrey

Skint - I used to think like you too. I ran a sandwich shop and if someone came in for an egg sandwich I used to look at what I was actually giving them - 1 or 2 boiled eggs, a spread of butter on a 10p breadcake. Total cost to make, 20p tops. Charge £1.00. I felt as though I was ripping everyone off and struggled to put prices up.

Now I'm on the other side of things - i.e. I go to sandwich shops to buy my lunch. I doubt there is anywhere that I'd find an egg sandwich for £1.00 but I'm happy to pay it because I am paying for much more than the ingredients. I'm paying for the convenience of not having to buy the ingredients, boil the eggs, chop them up, etc. And it is worth it to me.

The people you are selling to probably could buy the ingredients themselves. But it would possibly never look like a wedding cake at the end of it. They pay you for the convenience of having the finished product guaranteed to be there when they need it, looking just as they want it to, and without the worry of doing it themselves.

Don't sell yourself short - and don't think about the actual ingredients but about the service you are providing.

hhhonlyfan

skintbint - that really sounded like i use too but i got my mindset that if they went to a business to do it they would happily pay them. if you can undercut a business now and again its good because people will be happy. Honestly would they come to you to ask for a quote (i cant think of a better word there) if they werent happy and if they order they must be happy with your price or service. i had to get my headset as when i was selling things on ebay and they sold well id chuck a load of extra stuff in as well (not only extra postage charges coming out of my end but lost profit from adding freebies). i used to think it was bad to charge for stuff but realised that we all need to make a living, pay bill etc. These days i do haggle in loads of places (except charity shops where my OH does even though i find it embarassing and think its morally wrong to do it there). Recently got a contract phone and was supposed to be £30 a month with a free netbook but haggled them down to a 12 month £20 a month contract (with the £30 allowances of mins and texts and got the netbook as well). I would happily haggle anywhere myself and this is probably my strongest strength whereas before it was a weakness of not haggling