We caught up with the brilliant and insightful David Johnson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

David, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

My business journey starts like many recent business journeys during the Pandemic.

In early March of 2020, I decided I was going to start selling cookies at my local farmer’s market. I reached out to the city and got the application. I was ready. Two weeks later, a nationwide emergency was implemented to stop the spread of COVID-19. I had to wait a year and a half before I was able to attend my local farmer’s market. For all the harm during the Pandemic, this was a blessing in disguise for my business.

I spend the early part of the pandemic still going to my day job but also baking. I baked and baked and baked. I would tweak a recipe here and make a change there. I would question the recipes I saw online. Why should I use 4 cups of oatmeal? Is two cups of sugar too much? I would Google what happens when you put in too much vanilla extract. I questioned all of it. Till this day, I am still learning new baking techniques every day. Baking is truly a science.

In 2020, I officially got my cottage food license. I bought a website through Wix during a sale and started designing. I needed a name first. “Brothas” was a name I couldn’t shake. A couple friends laughed when I suggested the name. It was simple yet spoke volumes to me and about me. When you think about the word “brotha” and how its used. It’s a term of endearment. It’s a term that shows kinship. Something that was at times lost during the Pandemic. It’s also a term that many people would call me so I went with Brothas Cookies. Wix had a logo making feature so during my free time, I would sketch how I wanted my logo to look. I’m horrible at drawing, but I had an idea of what I wanted. I loved the idea of the cookie being involved in the logo in some way. I settled on the cookie replacing the “o” in Brothas.

Now that I had a website, logo, name. and product, it was time to start marketing. After finalizing the name, I immediately took @brothascookies handles on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. I created a Yelp page. I thought marketing would be simple now that I have my social media locked up. I would pay the promotion fees, and my business would get tons of exposure and the orders would follow. It wasn’t that simple. I rarely got orders outside of friends and family. I soon switched my strategy to a more grassroots approach. I would say to myself, “If I could only get these cookies in people’s mouths”. This is why farmer’s markets are so important to my business.

Today, I’m in my 3rd year attending my local farmer’s market, which is where most of my sales come from. They became the best place for customers to sample my cookies. I’ve been able to incorporate stickers and shirts into the business as well as hand out business cards. The power of word of mouth is one of the greatest tools any business can have. I’ve been able to increase my online orders, follower count on social media, and create connections with many amazing vendors / small businesses and in the community.

The last thing I want to say is that there are three things anyone needs to be successful: opportunity, ability and motivation. Ability can be increased and enhanced but its limited. Opportunity can at times be created but usually they are given to us. But motivation is completely under your control. Be sure to stay motivated for when those opportunities arrive and show them your ability.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is David Johnson. I’m the owner of Brothas Cookies. I have a background in engineering and still currently work in that field as my day job. Working in engineering has given me a unique perspective on the industry. Cookies became a favorite snack of mine during my breaks at work. I enjoyed going to 7/11 with my coworkers and grabbing a pack of snickerdoodle cookies. They were so tasty but didn’t last long so I decided to try make them at home. Looking back, they weren’t very good, but I was proud I could do it. I had never baked before. I started baking for my family during Thanksgiving as an after-dinner treat.

In 2019, I met the owner of the clothing company Hypland, Jordan Bentley. We connected because he was looking for a manga series to take pictures of. I happened to have that manga series so I messaged him on Twitter. Embarrassingly, I thought he was the photographer for the company when I first met him. He was a young, black man, nearly 10 years younger than me. I didn’t think people who looked like me could be business owners of such successful companies, especially not at his age. Seeing him, gave me the confidence to think maybe I could create a business too.

The company motto at Brothas Cookies is “Made to Share.” We use the motto to differentiate ourselves by going away from the single big cookie and going back to offering multiple cookies in a pack. When families or groups of friends are out shopping at local markets or malls or watching a movie, we want to provide them with a snack to enjoy with their loved ones. If someone wants to finish the bag themselves, we won’t hold it against them.

I’m most proud of the way Brothas Cookies connects with our customers. We provide a product our customers enjoy. Our goal is to keep growing and continue giving customers a lot of options. That is why we currently sale vegan and gluten-free cookies. We are also looking into sugar-free cookies and protein cookies. We take a lot of inspiration from Diddy Reese, Afters, and Supreme. We want to establish ourselves as a cool, fun spot to grab a bag of cookies.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

A personal struggle I deal with constantly is lack of sleep. I currently still work in the engineering field for my day job. I still go into the office 8 hours a day Monday through Friday. When I come home from work, I rest a bit then start baking till the early morning. This is my weekly routine during the market season which is from Spring to Summer. It takes a toll on your health, but I strongly believe my investment now will pay off in the future.

I appreciate my manager and coworkers at my day job so much for being understanding and supportive. I’m very lucky to have a job that provides me the opportunity to work a couple hours from home during the morning before I come into the office. I always try to bring extra cookies into the office so they are able to enjoy them.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

Word of Mouth! You want to get people talking about your product. Some of the best ways to do that is to be personable. Take time to talk to your customers and get to know them… learn their name, ask them about their day. Find some common interest. Make a connection. I’m a huge geek so I love leaving my mangas on my table when I’m selling. A few customers will come up and comment on what I’m reading. Its great!

Contact Info:

• Website: Brothascookies.com
• Instagram: @brothascookies
• Facebook: @brothascookies
• Linkedin: @brothascookies
• Twitter: @brothascookies
• Yelp: Brothas Cookies
• Other: Email: [email protected]

Image Credits
Yash Rad @ohelzya Johsua Mejia @_joshmejia