We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jodi Slate. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jodi below.

Alright, Jodi thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us 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

I have always loved to cook meals, but I was never really good at baking. I have made some disasters of desserts. A cake that was pretty much liquid in the middle. Another cake that basically slid off itself. Some really crunchy cookies that could break someone’s tooth. So, I just kind of have up on baking and stuck to cooking meals instead. My church wanted some sugar cookies, so I decided I’d give it another go. I decided I wanted to try some custom sugar cookies with royal icing after seeing a video online. Go big or go home I guess!! I tried the cookies and royal icing, and they turned out quite good! People loved them, so I was again inspired.

I purchased an air brush and edible ink, and just let my creativity flow. I posted a few pictures and people were very responsive. Someone asked me if I was selling them and my immediate response was “Oh, no way. They’re not good enough to sell.” To which she replied that they absolutely are good enough and she’d buy some. So, I took an order from her and sent her some cookies. I continued to bake and work on my decorating style, and posted each set on my social media. My messenger began blowing up for the next few months with people interested in ordering cookies. It was then that I decided to look into starting a legitimate business. I researched what I needed to do to get an LLC started, and off I went! I obtained my state Cottage License, my Food Safety License, and began to take “official” orders.

I also started doing pop up events where I would sell my baked goods at special events, craft shows, neighborhood food truck pop ups, and even a car show! One lesson learned; a car show in the middle of July with 105 degree weather on asphalt does not mix well with cookies! The cookies were warm like out of the oven, but some just plain melted! I’ve learned a ton of lessons along the way.

I truly thank God for the creativity I’ve been blessed with, and I hope I can continue to bring smiles to others when I create for their special events.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have worked in Public Safety for 35 years in various positions. I worked in the field as an EMT, and went into dispatch to pay for paramedic school. I ended up never leaving dispatch. In 2002 I began working for Denver 9-1-1 and have taken calls, been a police dispatcher, supervisor, and manager. I even earned my Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorate degrees in criminal justice administration and emergency management. I love my work and it is truly satisfying to me, however it is very stressful and I needed a creative outlet.

I have always loved cooking any type of food. My specialty was homemade Italian dishes my grandma used to make. I never really baked except for our family’s traditional Italian cookies. Sugar cookies weren’t even in the mix even though they’re one of my favorite cookies! I am very crafty and love to paint, so when I saw what could be done with royal icing, I decided I wanted to give that a try. It seemed like it was very similar to painting.

It never dawned on me to start any kind of business. I just really enjoyed trying new designs on the cookies. People’s reaction to my cookies was the most fun, and it inspired me to continue to try new flavors as well! The more I created these cookie works of art, I found it was truly my happy place and my escape from a career in such a stressful profession. The more I did it, the prettier they turned out.

I am proud of the fact that I don’t charge a huge amount for my custom cookies, making them affordable to a variety of people. Custom sugar cookies are typically very expensive and are seen as a luxury item. I try to make it affordable so it’s an option for more people to consider for their special events. People get so excited when they see the finished product, and that just makes me so happy. My husband always tells me I don’t charge enough for the amount of time I put into each cookie, but I don’t care. I refuse to jack up my prices. This is something that makes everyone smile, and it just makes their event so much more personalized and special. That’s worth it to me.

I came up with the name Cookie JAM because cookies are my primary item, and J.A.M. are my initials before I was married. It had a nice little ring to it, so Cookie JAM became my brand.

Since Cookie JAM was born, I have expanded my products to include cupcakes, chocolate covered treats, additional cookie items, and other baked goods. My signature items are still custom sugar cookies, though.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

I had no idea how much it would be to start a business. I was in for a rude awakening! Initially, I purchased an airbrush gun, stencils, and edible ink. I slowly began to add items one by one, including edible ink pens, royal icing transfer sheets, decorating tools, and other smaller necessary items.

Then I moved on to purchasing larger items such as an edible printer that prints images and logos directly on to a cookie, a food dehydrator, a commercial size mixer, and other larger items.

My business is a side business for now, until I can officially retire from my career in public safety. Because of that, I have to limit my orders so I’m not really making much of a profit yet. Once I can dedicate 100% to my business, I am confident that I may need to hire an employee or two to keep up. I’m excited for that day.

My suggestion for someone wanting to do this would be to make a list of items you really want, and don’t let it overwhelm you. Get the basics and then start purchasing bigger items one at a time.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I was resilient in that I had to make due with what I had. I had the smallest, oldest kitchen you could ever imagine. I could barely fit a small cookie sheet in my oven so I could only bake 8-12 cookies at a time. The kitchen was tiny, but it was clean and it worked. The largest order I made was 12 dozen in one weekend. If it were simply baking 12 dozen cookies, that would be no big deal. But when you consider that each custom cookie can take a couple hours to completely decorate from start to finish, that’s a LOT of time. There were many nights I would work all day and then spend another 8 -10 hours decorating cookies. I’d roll into bed about 2 or 3 am, and head back to my job the next day to do it all over again. Sometimes that happened multiple times per week!

We recently completed a home remodel, and with that remodel, I included a dedicated cookie studio along with a brand new, very large, kitchen with three ovens! I am very excited for my dedicated cookie studio and my new ovens, and can’t wait to begin taking orders for 2026.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cookiejam.net
• Instagram: jodi_cookiejam
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1BSUb9nLPp/