We were lucky to catch up with Jessica (Jess) Lugg recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jessica (Jess) , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

2020 was rough for everyone, but it was the first time in my adult life where everything felt as if it was falling apart. I had just started a new job when COVID hit 3 months later. While in lockdown I realized this new job was not working. Plus, COVID was running through our department and I was terrified.

As a construction project manager, you can only work from home but so much. At some point you have to visit your jobsite. So that’s what I did. The more often I left home, the more anxious I became. After a few weeks my anxiety had completely taken over my body and I became physically sick. So sick, that my doctor encouraged me to take a break from work and helped me with applying for short-term disability.

By September 2020, when it was time for me to return to work, I just knew that I had to quit this job for my mental and physical health’s sake. With no other job lined up, I quit. I struggled to find another job that checked most of the boxes I was looking for. I ended up being hired part time for a small interior design firm. Unfortunately, my mental health was still in shambles and most days I struggled to get out of bed. Because of this, I was fired – understandable so.

Since the beginning of lockdown, I regularly experimented with baking. I’ve always been an avid baker, but I was trying things I had never baked before. Not long after I was let go, my husband suggested I sell my baked goods. At that time I felt like I was at rock bottom and had nothing to lose, so I said ‘f*ck it!’ I’m starting a small business! And that’s how Simply Sweet Confections was born.

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?

I’m completely self-taught. Never went to any type of culinary or pastry school. I have a huge sweet tooth, so I’ve been baking for as long as I can remember. When starting the business my main focus was to offer treats that simply tasted good! I’ve been disappointed so many times by cookie companies with really cool branding and beautiful products that just tasted awful. I am a creative, with a background in architectural design, so I know aesthetics are very important. But I knew that pretty treats can also taste good. I aim to provide delicious treats that are visually appealing, but not overly dressed up. I wanted my products to taste homemade, but with a slightly elevated look to them – not necessarily look homemade.

Simply Sweet Confections offers cookies, brownies, blondies, cupcakes, and custom cakes and cookie cakes. I offer a small variety of treats, but cookies are my jam. Gourmet cookies, that are sometimes stuffed, I would say is what the business is primarily known for. Customers looking for treats that taste amazing, first and foremost, are unique, and can’t be found in a typical grocery store is the value my business offers. I make everything myself, from scratch, made to order.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I have a few obsessive compulsive tendencies and strive for perfection in just about everything I do. Or at least I used to. Overthinking is something I struggle with and fight on a daily basis. Sometimes I think it’s crazy how I launched the business only 1 month after my husband made the suggestion. Typically I would think and think and think, and run through fifty-leven different scenarios in my head before making a decision. I felt like I had to know all my options and have every ‘i’ dotted and ‘t’ crossed. In business you have to pay attention and be able adjust when things aren’t working.

After about a year and a half running the business full time, I accepted a full time project management position. I figured with me working now, I’d have to change the way the business operated. A luxury bakery based in LA, Last Crumb, does cookie drops, and I’ve been trying to catch a drop, but they sell out fast. I’ve seen companies in other markets, like Telfar handbags, do drops and it seems to be successful. I’ve done a lot of market research (also, I just really like to eat cookies) and the ‘drop’ trend I find super interesting. It creates a sense of urgency and exclusivity, which I was really into.

So I decided I would shut down general ordering and only have ‘cookie drops’ with a very limited menu of 4-5 cookie flavors. A new menu would drop every week. I only received 2 orders from the cookie drops. I did this model for about 3 months before calling it quits. As soon as I rebuilt my website to how it was previously, I received a new order literally within minutes. This was a huge lesson learned for me. You have to do what’s best for the business, and let go of things you personally want if it just isn’t working.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Social media is always a challenge for me. I’m a private person and rarely post anything on my personal social media pages. I started off obviously posting photos and videos of cookies only. I did a collab with a local food blogger and she mentioned that I (my face) wasn’t anywhere on the business’ Instagram profile. She told me that most people really want to know and connect to the person or people behind the brand. Not long after that, I created a TikTok account to primarily post myself. I wanted to force myself out of my comfort zone to see where it goes. I don’t have huge followings, yet, but I’ve secured some of my largest orders from social media. And I’m enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. My advice is to not overthink it, and just share what you’ve got going on. Not every post has to be a curated, edited, piece. Even if it’s just a short video of you doing something (like, scooping cookie dough), being consistent is important.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.simplysweetconfectionsmd.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simplysweet.confections/
• Facebook: facebook.com/SimplySweetMD
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/simply-sweet-confections/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/simply-sweet-confections-silver-spring
• Other: TikTok: @simplysweet.confections