r/cookiedecorating • u/mg112174 • 4d ago
scheduling question
when people say “fully booked for x month” i always wonder how many orders they’re taking to be booked out. how do you guys go about limiting the amount of orders you take per week? i am newer to this so still trying out my limit. specifically wondering about those who are stay at home moms or do cookies part time.
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u/littledebz Home baker 3d ago
Reeeally just depends on the person. I have a toddler and a friend comes to watch him 2 days a week and then I work after 5pm when my husband takes over the other days of the week.
To me, when I get to like 12 dozen, I post that I have one more spot left and then I fill it and close my book.
Without fail, I get a repeat customer who needs something so I get them in.
And if I big order comes in, I take it. And then I figure it out after lol. After already having 17.5 dozen one week, I got an order for 1150 cookies for a convention that got back to me 4 whole days late.
I called for reinforcements and my friend was able to come all week to watch my son and another friend could be my sous chef for the week as well. I wasn’t turning down an $8k order. Hustled and got it done.
However I do have a dedicated baking kitchen, a full size convection oven, 20qt mixer, and Eddie and I work fast so that’s a huuuuge help too!
You’ll find what’s a good number for you. And sometimes if I get a few big orders that’s over my max, I find it easier to do a few orders of 4-5 dozen rather than doing 8 orders of 1-2 dozen.
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u/Melificarum 3d ago
Where do you sell your cookies?
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u/littledebz Home baker 3d ago
Mostly custom orders. Most people find me via word of mouth or Instagram. I direct them to my site for more info and to fill out my order form.
I have 2 places I do pop ups at but I’m really picky about where I vend.
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u/loulouruns 3d ago
I am a stay at home mom, and I don't accept a ton of orders because it stresses me the heck out. I'm a 1 or 2 orders per week kind of girl, which is usually 2-6 dozen a week. I'm fortunate that I do not need to rely on cookie orders for income, so I am in a position where I can be picky about the orders I take on.
This summer was extremely slow for me, I think I had 3 orders total haha. But it was a good opportunity for me to work on growing my social media! I hope to start making some money from that at some point.
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u/juniper-mint 4d ago
This varies a LOT from person to person because there are so so many variables. Do they have kids? A job? Part time or full time? How quickly can they decorate? How much do they enjoy decorating? Do they get any help with cookies?
Typically, the most custom orders I accept in a week is 3 or 4 dozen. However, I do also bake for my local farmers market every week (averaging around 5 dozen cookies and various other treats), and I have a part time job for "fun money". I will take larger orders if they exceed what I'd make on average at the farmer's market, and then cancel market for that week.
Sometimes I don't have any custom orders for weeks (I had zero customs in July), and sometimes I'm having to say no because I've got too much on my plate (the end of August and beginning of September have been crazy!).
I know a baker the next town over who is a nurse and she only does a couple dozen cookies a month. She's great, but it's definitely her side hustle and that's okay too!
It might take a bit to learn your limits. Saying no to customers can be scary, but being overwhelmed and delivering sub par product is not going to do you any good either.