We recently connected with Ashley Sage and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Ashley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?
In order to be a successful business owner, one must have a clear vision of what they want to provide or sell and how they can achieve that. When I was just starting out as a cookier and had finally decided to leap into the world of selling my baked goods, I made the decision to specialize in decorated sugar cookies, as opposed to offering cookies and cakes and pies and cocoa bombs and on and on. This decision allowed me to focus my attention on my craft and improve significantly faster at decorating and designing cookie sets. Just making the decision helped me focus on what was important.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?
I am the owner, and cookie artist, of Sage Sweet Treats, a cottage bakery based in Belton, Missouri. I specialize in decorated sugar cookies—you know, the ones almost too pretty eat. What started out as something I enjoyed watching others do online, turned into a hobby I enjoyed with my son, and finally developed into this profitable business. As a stay at home mom, I am so proud to be able to contribute financially to my family in a way that I am truly passionate about.
Over the past couple of years, I have continued to learn and broaden my decorating and designing skills. When I first started out, I was sketching each set by hand (with my 4 year old’s crayons). I took a big leap forward when I started using Procreate to digitally design each set, that I could then project onto each cookie. This makes for much cleaner lines and more cohesive sets. The skills developed over the last few years definitely come in handy when a client wants custom cookies but has no idea what to put on them. A request like this used to feel daunting, but is now extremely exciting!
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
This year I started attending and selling at local vendor shows to help get my name out there and meet more people who want custom cookies. I was selective in choosing which events to be a part of. I made sure that the events were places that my clients would be shopping at, because let’s be honest—custom cookies are a luxury.
These events were my opportunity to showcase what I’m capable of design-wise, and it allowed customers to taste test the various flavors that I offer without having to order a full dozen.
In order for this strategy to be successful, I made sure that my branding was on point. All of my packaging was very thoughtful. Every cookie already had a label on the back as required by Missouri’s cottage food law, so every paying customer walked away with my contact information. If a customer only bought a couple cookies, they would go in a small clear bag so that as they continued to walk around the event, other customers could see how cute they were and inquire where they were from. If they purchased more than a few, each bag or box had a logo sticker to help reinforce the brand.
The other side to this strategy is having a good page or site to send your customers to when they’re interested in more information, ordering from you, or just following along your journey. I’ve improved my photography of my cookies to better showcase them on my website (we eat with our eyes first) and I’ve tried to make consistent social media posts to increase engagement.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
I recently discovered a Sugar Cookie Marketing group on Facebook where cookiers come together to support one another and offer marketing advice. It is so nice to have a safe place to go to ask for advice or receive tips on how to build our customer base.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.sagesweettreats.com
- Instagram: @sagesweettreats
- Facebook: www.Facebook.com/sagesweettreats