Here it is, my biggest challenge from day one, and it still is today.
As I discussed in my very first blog post, It’s not business, it’s personal, the shift from baking for loved ones to charging people for it is really difficult. Although I have gotten better with this, I still struggle with it and probably always will.
The reason it’s so hard is that when you’re starting out, the people who know about your new cookie business and will be your first customers ARE your loved ones!
Although they are excited for you and want to support you, it still feels terribly awkward to accept money for something that you used to do as part of your life, and as a gift.
A compromise that I think many bakers fall back on, myself included, is “the friend price”. Charging a lower price for friends can be a way to get yourself over the hump of feeling uncomfortable. But I warn you that it’s hard to stop doing that once you start. It’s not even that your friends are expecting it, it’s you. Or least that’s the way it has been for me. I think I’m in good company on this issue.
My best advice is to just grit your teeth from the beginning and charge your price.
Force yourself to get used to it.
Do you often find yourself haggling with someone about a price for an item? Unless you’re at a flea market or antique shop where this is expected, my guess is that you wouldn’t even think of doing that.
Don’t assume that someone is going to think your price is unfair somehow. Be confident that your price is right, and stick with it.
