I've Raised My Cookie Prices 260% Since 2019 — Here's Why I Had No Choice

Admin work is part of your overhead costs.

When I started selling cookies on January 1, 2019, I priced them the way most bakers do.

I looked at my ingredients. I added them up. I set a price that felt reasonable — maybe a little low, but I was just starting out, right? I didn't want to scare anyone off.

What I didn't do? Price my time.

Six years later, I've raised my prices 260%. And I want to tell you exactly how I got there — because if you're in your Foundation Stage right now, pricing is the thing that will either build your business or quietly bury it.

What I Actually Got Wrong in 2019

I entered Foundation on January 1, 2019 with two things: a decision and a product. Custom decorated cookies. That was the whole plan.

Here's the honest inventory of what I built from there:

✅ I followed cottage food laws — non-negotiable, and I'm glad I started there.

✅ I got on Instagram — no strategy, but I showed up.

✅ I priced my ingredients.

❌ I did not price my time.

❌ I had no formal order system.

❌ I made a lot of mistakes.

The mistakes I can live with. Mistakes are how you learn in the Foundation Stage — you cannot think your way through it, you have to bake your way through it.

But underpricing my time? That one cost me years.

What "Not Pricing Your Time" Actually Costs You

Here's the thing about underpricing: it feels safe at first. Lower prices feel easier to sell. You're new. You don't want to lose customers. You tell yourself you'll raise prices later, when you're better, when you're busier, when you feel more confident.

But later becomes 2020. Then 2021. Then you've built an entire customer base around prices that don't cover your actual labor, and raising them feels like starting over.

I know because I lived it.

The Foundation Stage isn't just about getting started — it's about building on ground that can actually hold weight. And pricing is the foundation beneath the foundation.

When I finally sat down and calculated my true cost — ingredients, yes, but also labor, overhead, packaging, admin time, cleanup, the consultation call, the design work — my prices were nowhere near where they needed to be.

So I raised them. And then I raised them again. And again.

260% over six years.

What I Wish I'd Had in 2019

I didn't have a system for pricing. I had a gut feeling and a hope that it would work out.

That's why I created the Stage 2 Foundation Pricing Guide — a free resource that walks you through exactly what I didn't do in 2019: calculating your true cost (ingredients, labor, overhead, packaging, AND marketing), understanding your market position, and building the confidence to charge what your work is actually worth.

Download it. Fill it out. See what your number actually is.

[Free Download — Stage 2 Foundation Pricing Guide]

And if you're ready to go deeper — to not just know your number but build a full pricing system that grows with your business — that's what Price It Right is for.

Price It Right is my complete course for bakery entrepreneurs who are tired of undercharging. It walks you through the true cost calculator, competitive positioning, psychological pricing strategy, how to raise prices without losing customers, and a 90-day profit improvement plan.

It's the system I wish I'd had on January 1, 2019.

[Enroll in Price It Right →]

You don't have to raise your prices 260% over six years like I did. You can start doing this right — right now.

You are worth it. Your work is valuable. Your prices should reflect that.