You spent three hours decorating those cookies. You used premium ingredients. You poured your heart into every detail.

And then you charged $30 a dozen.

Sound familiar?

If you’ve ever looked at your bank account after a big order and wondered where all the profit went, you’re not alone. Most home bakers are undercharging — not because they don’t value their work, but because they genuinely don’t know what their products actually cost to make.

The Real Reason You’re Undercharging

It’s not lack of confidence (though that doesn’t help). It’s not imposter syndrome (though many of us deal with that too).

The real reason? You’re guessing.

You’re eyeballing ingredient costs. You’re not tracking your time. You’re forgetting about packaging, utilities, and all those “little” expenses that add up fast. You’re looking at what other bakers charge and hoping you’re in the right ballpark.

And when someone questions your price? You panic and lower it.

What Actually Goes Into Pricing

Let’s talk about what you’re REALLY selling when someone orders a dozen custom cookies:

Ingredients: Butter, flour, sugar, food coloring, flavoring extracts — every single item has a cost, and it adds up faster than you think.

Time: Shopping for supplies, mixing dough, baking, cooling, decorating, boxing, communicating with the customer. That’s not just “a few hours” — that’s skilled labor that deserves to be compensated.

Overhead: Electricity to run your oven. Water for washing dishes. Packaging materials. Business insurance. Website hosting. These aren’t optional — they’re the cost of running a legitimate business.

Expertise: You didn’t learn to bake overnight. Your skills, your recipes, your ability to turn someone’s Pinterest dream into reality — that has VALUE.

The $45 Dozen That Actually Costs $52

Here’s a real example from my own bakery:

I was charging $45/dozen for simple decorated cookies. Seemed fair, right? Competitive with other local bakers. Customers weren’t complaining.

Then I actually calculated the costs:

• Ingredients: $18.50
• Packaging: $4.20
• Labor (3 hours at $20/hr): $60
• Overhead allocation: $6.30
• Total actual cost: $89

I was losing $44 per order. And wondering why I was always stressed about money.

Sound familiar?

Why “Competitive Pricing” Is Keeping You Broke

Here’s what I see all the time in baker Facebook groups:

“What should I charge for a dozen cookies?”

And everyone chimes in with their prices. $25. $35. $40. Maybe $50 if you’re fancy.

But here’s the problem: their costs aren’t your costs.

Maybe they buy ingredients in massive bulk. Maybe they already own professional equipment. Maybe they’re not factoring in their time because they consider baking a “hobby.”

When you price based on what others charge instead of what YOU need to charge to be profitable, you’re building a business on quicksand.

The Confidence That Comes From Knowing Your Numbers

Everything changed when I started actually tracking my costs.

Not guessing. Not estimating. Actually calculating.

Suddenly, I could look a customer in the eye and say, “That’s $72 a dozen” without flinching. Because I knew exactly where that number came from. I knew my profit margin. I knew I wasn’t losing money.

And you know what? My sales didn’t drop. In fact, they increased.

Because confidence is attractive. When you know your worth, customers trust your pricing.

You Need a System, Not Just a Spreadsheet

I tried the Excel spreadsheet thing. I really did.

But here’s what happened: I’d update one ingredient cost and forget to update it in three different tabs. I’d lose track of which version was current. I’d spend 20 minutes hunting for the right file.

What I needed was a system that:

• Calculated costs automatically
• Updated everything when I changed one number
• Was easy to access and actually USE
• Didn’t require a degree in spreadsheets

So I built one. And now I’m giving it to you.

Introducing the Sweet Start Pricing Kit

This is the exact system I use in my own bakery to price every single product.

It’s a Notion template (don’t worry, Notion is free and super easy to use) that includes:

✅ Ingredient Cost Calculator
Track every ingredient you use, what you paid for it, and how much each recipe actually costs. No more guessing. No more “close enough.”

✅ Automatic Cost Calculations
Enter your ingredient amounts once, and the template does the math for you. Update a price, and everything recalculates instantly.

✅ Customizable Database
Add your own ingredients, your own recipes, your own costs. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all template — it’s designed to work for YOUR business.

What You’ll Be Able to Do

After you set up this pricing kit (takes about 15 minutes), you’ll be able to:

• Calculate the exact cost of any recipe in seconds
• Know your minimum price before you even talk to a customer
• Adjust for ingredient price changes without panic
• See which products are actually profitable (spoiler: it might not be what you think)
• Quote prices with total confidence
• Stop leaving money on the table

This Is Your Business. Treat It Like One.

You wouldn’t walk into Target and negotiate the price of milk, right?

So why are you letting customers negotiate YOUR prices?

It’s because you’re not sure. You don’t have the numbers to back you up. You’re afraid they’ll think you’re too expensive.

But here’s the truth: Professional businesses have professional prices.

And professional prices are based on actual costs, not guesswork and fear.

Ready to Stop Guessing and Start Profiting?

The Sweet Start Pricing Kit is completely free. No credit card. No catch. Just a genuine tool to help you run a more profitable bakery.

Because I’m tired of seeing talented bakers burn out because they can’t make the numbers work. I’m tired of watching incredible artists undervalue their work. I’m tired of the “race to the bottom” pricing that keeps all of us struggling.

You deserve to make money doing what you love.

Let’s make that happen.

Get Your Free Pricing Kit Now →

What happens next: Click the button above, enter your email, and you’ll instantly receive your Sweet Start Pricing Kit. It takes about 15 minutes to set up, and then you’ll have a pricing system you can use forever. No commitment. No upsells. Just a tool to help you charge what you’re worth.

See you on the other side of undercharging,

Marcia
Founder, SweetTube Academy
Owner, Marcia’s Micro-Bakery

P.S. — Still not sure? Reply to the welcome email after you download and tell me your biggest pricing struggle. I read every message and I’ll help you figure it out.

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