Undercharging is the most common — and most quietly damaging — mistake in cottage baking. The work is real, the skill is real, and the prices often are not.
The good news: raising your prices rarely costs you the customers worth keeping. Here is how to do it without the knot in your stomach.
Know your number first
You cannot raise prices with confidence if you do not know what your work actually costs. Before you change a single quote, run your real numbers — ingredients, labor, overhead, delivery — and find the price that leaves you a genuine profit. The pricing calculator is built for exactly this.
Once you can see the number, the increase stops feeling arbitrary. You are not charging more; you are charging correctly.
Raise on new quotes, not old promises
Honor the prices you have already quoted. Apply the new pricing to new inquiries from a clear date. You do not owe anyone an announcement or an apology — your quote simply reflects your current rate.
Let some customers go
A price increase naturally filters your inquiries, and that is a feature, not a bug:
- The clients who value your work will book anyway
- The ones chasing the lowest price will move on
- Your calendar fills with better-fit, better-paying orders
Losing the bottom of your market is how you make room for the top of it.
Say the number and stop talking
When you quote the new price, state it plainly and let it sit. Do not over-explain, discount preemptively, or talk yourself down. A confident, unqualified number reads as professional; a nervous, hedged one invites negotiation.
If you would like a second opinion on your pricing before you raise it, get in touch — a small, honest tool and a fair price are the whole point.