Cookies!

My mother had a recipe for honey cookies that was my favorite growing up.  She didn't make cookies very often but when she did, these were the ones she always made.  It was a family recipe that was handed down to her.  I don't really know it's origin but you can search the internet for a recipe like it and not find it.

When I grew up, married and had children of my own, this was the only cookie I ever made.  Friends asked for the recipe all the time.  They really are good.  So when I was looking for a new source of income I could do part time, I thought of these cookies.

I’ve seen at least two articles of women who have turned to baking to keep themselves out of foreclosure.  I was in a similar situation.  I thought, why not me?  I have a product that I think beats anything on the market.  I can make money at this.  One brand of cookie though wasn’t enough so I started to develop other cookies, mostly using the same basic honey cookie recipe my mother used.  I modified it slightly then began adding items like chocolate chips and toffee, pecans, white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts, and instant coffee and caramel chips.  I sold them to family, friends and co-workers and then on ebay.  Soon I started getting requests for specific types of cookies like ginger and oatmeal raisin.  That’s when the real inventing began.  I was no longer simply adding onto my mother’s recipe, I was developing my own unique recipes.  As a result, the ginger and oatmeal raisin cookies have become two of the most popular flavors I sell.

It continues to expand and I recently added a peanut butter cookie, brownie cookie and a banana nut cookie and I’m working on a lemon one.  All of the cookies have to have honey as a key ingredient.  They need to be soft and chewy too.  I am not interested in a hard, crisp cookie.  It can be really frustrating throwing out batch after batch of cookie dough that doesn’t turn out quite right but I really enjoy the challenge and the process of coming up with a new cookie recipe.

Now I was selling cookies pretty regularly and it was a nice added boost to my income but it wasn’t paying my rent.  It bought my gas maybe, which would be fine if it was simply a hobby, but I wanted it to be a career.  A business that I could develop and grow, that I could make money at, which could employ my husband and later my children if they wanted.  So it was time to get serious about this.

The next question was how do I start?  I knew what I wanted but had no idea how to get there.  I searched the internet with search terms like ‘how to start a bakery’, ‘small business startup guide’, etc.  Some of the information I found was helpful but most just pointed me to a site where I could purchase their book(s) which would give me all the tools and information I needed to start my business and be successful.  It wasn’t what I was looking for.  I wanted someone to tell me what it was really like getting started.  What they did, step by step.  What worked and what mistakes they made along the way.  I didn’t find it.

So, I decided I would write it myself.  Maybe someone else will find it useful.

Tiffany and I will both be contributing to the blog with our different points of view and tell our story from our respective sides though the beginning was mine to tell.  Tiffany comes in when I decided to get serious about jumping from hobby to business.  It was an act of faith on her part and I am very grateful she threw caution to the wind and decided to take a chance on this.  She gave me the courage to believe it was possible.  She is a truly a great friend.  Here’s hoping we can stay that way!

M