EXPERT ADVICE
Hello,
I’D LIKE MY CAKE FOR FREE BY BRETTE HAWKS
T
“I came across your cake page and I love your cakes! I was wondering...”
his is a typical intro message from someone about to request a free cake. If you haven’t received a message like this yet, be prepared! Chances are you will. These requests can be well crafted with just the right placement of flattery to make you feel valued, important, and lucky to be included. Then, they hit you with the payment deets: exposure. Think of all the likes you’ll get! All the new followers! Don’t let the sweet talk fool you. Whether it’s an influencer wanting
a wedding cake, a photographer needing a cake for a photo shoot, or a request from a company or brand, what they’re asking for is free cake and free labor without any promise of profit to you. I fell into the trap one too many times myself. I’ve learned the hard way that even if the photo shoot ends up in a big wedding magazine, even if that influencer has 100,000 followers, exposure alone doesn’t pay the bills. You don’t get a paycheck from Instagram for likes and follows.
HOW TO EVALUATE OPPORTUNITIES
Not all collaboration opportunities are useless! Some may be beneficial to you, and there’s strategic ways you can make things work in your favor. Here are my top tips on how to evaluate a proposed collaboration, how to increase the possibility of a profitable return from your participation, and how to politely decline the opportunities that don’t meet your criteria.
Brette Hawks owns Hobble Creek Cake Co., a licensed home bakery based in Utah. She creates beautiful artistic buttercream-cake designs for all occasions and has a special love for wedding cakes. Brette especially enjoys creating beautiful floral-cake designs, working with palette knives and piping tips to create stunning buttercream flowers. Along with sharing inspiring artistic cakes, Brette also works to coach other bakers in their businesses. She shares everything she has learned and mentors other bakers on their own journeys. hobblecreekcake.com facebook.com/hobblecreekcake
instagram.com/hobblecreekcakeco/ instagram.com/the.outofhome.baker/
64 americancakedecorating.com November | December 2021
