Hello welcome back to a slice of success cake business talk this week.
We are talking about filtering out the noise and focusing on real advice so if you've ever been overwhelmed by advice from people who don't quite understand what you're doing, maybe it's a family member who doesn't get why you charge what you do or a friend who thinks that kids are just a hobby today we're talking about how to filter out that noise and focus on advice that will actually help you grow your cake business.
So I'm just gonna share a quick personal story to kick things off, so when I started my cake business, I transitioned from celebration cakes into wedding cakes and when I started to make the wedding cakes, obviously the prices for wedding cakes are much, much higher.
There's a lot more work involved, etc.
But when I did first move into wedding cakes, my husband told me I was charging too much.
He couldn't understand why someone would pay that much for a cake, so he was constantly telling me, you know, your prices are too high.
You're never going to get orders . Then one day he sat down and he watched me make a wedding cake from start to finish over the course of three or four days, so it was the baking, the decorating, the hours of work, and by the end of it, he turned to me and he said, I get it now . He actually realized how much time, how much effort, how much skill went into it and why the price tag was absolutely justified.
So this story sort of highlights something really, really important that not everybody understands your business and that's okay. But it does mean that you have to be careful about whose advice you take.
So, by the end of this episode, you'll know exactly how to identify the advice that matters, how to block out the distractions and how to feel confident in your business decisions . So let's talk about unsolicited advice because I'm sure we've all been there.
So if you ever had somebody say to you, are you sure people are gonna pay that much for a cake or why don't you just lower your prices to get more orders ? Now, at first, these comments are really going to make you doubt yourself.
You're going to think your prices are too high.
Should you lower them?
But these comments often come from people who don't understand the effort and the skill and the value behind what you do , and most of the time, the people who are saying this are actually just projecting their own fears onto you.
They wouldn't pay that much for c cake, so they assumed that no one else will. Or they think that you should lower your prices because they have low expectations for themselves and they think that you should too These people are not your ideal audience.
They might mean well, but their advice is really rooted in their own fears and not in what's best for your business so it's really important to recognize that these people might also be afraid for you.
Maybe they're worried that you're gonna fail or that running a business is way too risky, but their fears don't have to become your fears.
You have a vision for your business and it's your responsibility to protect it.
So who should you listen to?
The best advice is gonna come from people who already have experience in the industry . It's going to come from people who have already achieved what you want to achieve and it's going to come from people who offer advice that aligns with your goals and your values.
So for example , uh professional cake coach or a cake maker whose social media presence inspires you.
These are the people who understand what it takes to succeed in this industry.
They've been where you are and they know the challenges and the opportunities that your facing.
I remember when I started following other successful or what I classes successful cake makers on social media, seeing how they market their work, how they set their prices and actually how they engaged with their audience, it really gave me so much clarity and it wasn't about copying them.
It was about learning from their experiences and then adapting those lessons to my own business.
So if you're looking for advice, then I really do recommend that you seek how sort of communities, memberships and businesses where the owners share their insights.
So go and invest in courses, go and invest in coaching, go and invest in workshops that tailored specifically to your goals.
These are the kinds of investments that really can transform your business.
You don't wanna be listening listening to people who have not reached the stage that you are wanting to reach.
Should always look up to people who are doing what you are aiming to do, not at the people who are in the same level as you or below you, because you'll never progress.
You mean to look up . So what do you do when the wrong advice keeps coming your way?
So let's talk about handling unsolicited advice.
If someone offers advice that you know isn't helpful, there are a few polite ways to respond to this, so, you know, thanks for your input, but I have got a plan and I'm working on that or thanks for your input.
I do appreciate your advice.
I've got a coach that I'm working with and they're helping me achieve my goals.
Something like it's great that you're interested.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Just these are just polite ways to do it and sometimes it's about redirecting the conversation, but also about setting boundaries.
You don't have to explain or justify your decisions to anyone.
So if you don't want people to have an input on your business, you need to tell them.
You need to limit the discussions about your business with people who don't understand it.
And if social media groups or accounts are making you feel inadequate , take a step back, unfollow them.
Remember not everyone's opinion matters.
Your business is your responsibility and you know it best so let's talk about the real key to all of this and it is about trusting yourself.
It's about confidence and confidence comes from clarity.
So when you know your goals, it's easier to filter the advice. You can focus on following the people that have reached your goals or extremely similar to your goals.
I mean, everybody's goals are different and that's wonderful. So, you know, if you can't find somebody in the KK industry that has reached the goal that you're trying to reach, then find somebody who has reached a similar goal and see how they've done it.
Not every decision is going to be perfect, but every step towards your goal is progress.
So you need to trust yourself to make the best choices for your business . One way to build this confidence is by surrounding yourself with the right community.
So when you're part of a group of like minded cake business owners who uplift you and inspire you, is so much easier to stay focused and motivated instead of surrounding yourself with people who are constantly moaning about the price of bespoke items, the ones who say the cost of living is too much.
You know, everything costs more and nobody wants to buy anything and nobody can afford anything.
Listening to these comments all the time is really gonna put a downer on the way that you look at your own business.
You need to surround yourself with like minded people.
The people who have these goals and are taking the steps towards achieving those goals rather than the people who don't have the goals who are just plodding through life day by day . OK, this is your business.
This is your livelihood.
This is what you want to create a life that you love . The people that are giving you the advice about charging too much.
These are the kind of people that don't have their own business.
They don't have the drive that you do.
So you need to find people who are like you.
And that's the best way to stay motivated because you will see them going to achieve their goals and it gives you that motivation to do that yourself.
I've learned that mistakes are a natural part of growth and I've followed advice that didn't work , but those experiences taught me what does work for my business and mistakes aren't failures.
They are opportunities to refine your strategy and grow your cake business.
So learn from the mistakes that you make , keep focused.
OK. It's so much easier to stay focused and motivated when you surround yourself with light minded people. So before we wrap up, I'm going to share some quick actionable tips that are gonna help you focus on the right advice and then block out the noise.
So you're gonna ask yourself has this person achieved what I want to achieve?
So if somebody comes to you with a suggestion or a comment about your cake business, has that person achieved what you're wanting to achieve if the answer is no, then politely decline that information or you know choose to ignore the information, but obviously you don't want to have people's feelings if they do mean well so thank them for their advice and move on.
You want to evaluate the information.
Does this advice align with my business goals and my values?
So if it is another cake maker that's given you advice, does it align with your business goals?
Because it might align with their business goals, but it might not align with your business goals.
So take that advice on and maybe take bits from it, but if it isn't for you, that's okay.
It's for them.
That's okay.
Again, just move on.
You want to limit the amount of input that you're being given about your business.
So take advice from trusted sources.
Instead of trying to listen to everybody and make a plan, stick to your goals and stay consistent.
So your journey is unique.
Everybody has their own goals and their own journeys.
Make sure you're sticking to yours . If you're getting bombarded with information about what you should be doing, how you should be pricing, where you should be advertising, you need to focus on your end goals.
It's really easy to get distracted , and if somebody says to you, oh, this is a great idea, what about doing this for your business?
You could run off with a tangent and sort of say, oh yeah, that's amazing, that's a great idea. And run off with this idea.
And before you know it, you've gone completely off track, you have lost sight of what your goals are.
You're not enjoying what you're doing anymore.
So always try to make sure that you do stick to your goals and stay consistent in your journey.
So by tuning out the noise and focusing on advice from the right people, you're gonna free up so much mental space and you're gonna build the confidence in your own decisions.
So, you know, not all advice is created equal.
The best advice comes from those with experience and success in your niche in your little part of what you wanna do in the cake industry and you know, you do need to learn to trust yourself and your own vision.
So I'd really love to hear your thoughts on this topic, so share your experiences, good or bad advice and tag me on social media at the cake Business Academy, and I want to keep this conversation going.
I really do believe that everybody is trying to be helpful when they are giving advice for your cake business.
You know, nobody is trying to give you malicious advice and trying to hurt . But a lot of the advice that you are receiving from friends and family is based on their own fears, telling you that you are charging too much and no one's gonna pay that is just their opinion and, you know, there are people out there who will pay pretty much anything for anything.
So recently I went to visit my family for the weekend and my mom has ideas about what people can and can't afford.
And it's all based on what she can and can't afford.
So for example, we were walking down the high street and there was a shop selling women's clothing. Um and it was like a boutique kind of shop.
It's not a high street shop, um sort of well known or anything.
It's like a boutique kind of shop. And she walks past and she said, oh, everything in there is so expensive.
No one, there are always , they're gonna go out of business really, really soon.
They're always empty. And it's because they're too expensive and nobody can afford that.
And I had to say to her, I said, look, you can't afford that , but not everybody is the same.
You know there are people who can afford that and just because it's not something that you would pay for you don't see the value in it.
There are so many people that would see the value and it's exactly the same with cakes. You know, with my husband saying, you're charging too much for the wedding cakes. It's like, no, you don't see the value in it because I you are not my target audience.
And we need to reach those perfect people, those target audiences that value what we do and listen to your own instincts when it comes to advice.
Don't take on board everything that everyone is saying.
Pick and choose the helpful bits . OK, so just want to make that really, really clear.
You need to listen to yourself more than anything. So I want to thank you for tuning into this episode oflice of Success and I will see you next week with more tips and insights that are gonna help you grow your cake business . So until then, keep going and keep growing.
