We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Andrea Brooks a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Andrea, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
When my daughters were little, I used to make them chocolate chip cookies all the time. When my girls got older they told me the cookies were so good I should sell them. I just thought to myself “it’s just a cookie. Why would anyone buy a chocolate chip cookie they can figure out how to make themselves?” After years of putting off the idea, my family finally talked me into running and add around the holidays and I got several responses. Every year since then, I get more customers.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
As I explained before, I made cookies for my family when my daughters were small. I made them all the time and I guess I just got better at it. At first I did have to use recipe books. After experiencing and tweaking the recipe to make it my own, that’s when my family told me to sell them. The name “Ninis Cookies “ came from my first born grandson, Austin. When he was learning to talk, he started calling me Nini and it just stuck. My husband asked him one day “do you want one of Ninis cookies? That’s where we got the name. I love making cookies and I love blessing people with them. I love seeing them smile when they eat one.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
So far the best source for new clients has been social media and word of mouth.. one of my customers, who bought my cookies every few months, had passed away. He would buy cookies for a roofing company he once owned. Well after he passed, that roofing company continued to buy them as gifts for their clients. One day, a friend of mine sent me a picture of a box of my cookies and said “look what our office just got!” I just thought that was so cool. Word gets around!
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
My business partner is my husband. We’ve been married for 40 years. He’s always giving me creative ideas. He also does a lot of my packaging, which makes things so much easier for me.
Image Credits
Willow Rae photography