We were lucky to catch up with Claire Curtis recently and have shared our conversation below.

Claire, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you take vacations? Why or why not?

When running a small business there is almost no time off as you’re wearing so many different hats and responsible for everything. For me personally, setting and maintaining boundaries has been the hardest part of being a small business owner as I try to be present for my family and not get burnt out. Over the past two years, I have taken some time off to travel and most recently move. Taking time off for vacation means my oven is off and I’m not decorating cookies, but I am still responding to emails, order requests, purchasing supplies, running my social media accounts, etc. My personal and professional goal for my next year of business is to maintain my growth, but focus on setting a designated amount of time daily to business and then setting my phone down to focus on the present with my kids.

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

Hi there! I’m Claire Curtis, owner of Claire’s Cookies, LLC. I’ve officially been making custom buttercream cookies for 2 years now after a hobby of mine quickly turned into a business. I pride myself on making delicious custom cookies for all occasions. I love having the opportunity to have a small part in all of life’s special moments. I love meeting new customers and catching up with returning customers. I have been able to meet so many amazing individuals and thanks to their support, I have been able to grow my business! My customers keep me going and are a huge part of my success. Before starting my own small business, I never realized just how important reviews and recommendations, both word of mouth and on social media, are. It absolutely makes my day when I hear my customers are happy with their cookies or I hear from a new customer that I was recommended to them by a previous customer. Running a small business is not easy, especially in todays economic climate and there’s rarely time off. Rising costs and supply shortages have kept me on my toes as I try to bring the highest quality product at the lowest cost for my customers. Sure you might be able to buy a less expensive cookie from a big name store, but what you don’t get is the quality and personal connection. It might sound cliche but, it’s so true; when you shop small, you’re supporting a local family reach their hopes and dreams.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Word of mouth has been the best source of new business for me which I think is pretty cool in today’s world as so much emphasis is put on social media. Keeping up with ever changing social media algorithms is a challenge for me. I try to do my best to keep up and maintain my social media presence as it is a great source of new business for me as well.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

While I had always hoped and dreamed of having my own bakery, I didn’t think it would happen when it did or how it did. Claire’s Cookies, LLC came to be after I started making cookies for family and close friends. It was then that my husband and sister saw my excitement and passion that they then encouraged me to to put myself out there. Soon they started telling others about my hobby and promoting my products and I hit the ground running and haven’t looked back. They are two of my biggest supporters to this day!

Contact Info:

• Website: clairescookiesks.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claires.cookies.ks/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/claires.cookies.ks

Image Credits
All pictures are mine