We recently connected with Katie Peyton Cocco and have shared our conversation below.
Katie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you tell us about an important lesson you learned while working at a prior job?
Starting at 16 years old, I have consistently held a job of some sort. Prior to graduating college, the jobs I worked were all in retail. I had a fantastic first job; despite only being 16 and in high school, my co-workers and leadership team treated me with respect and I was given the opportunity to acquire new skills and take on new responsibilities. I envisioned staying with this job after high school and coming back to work during school breaks. But part way through college, my family relocated and I was no longer able to continue to work there. I found another retail job at the local mall and was excited for the changes. I quickly realized that not all job environments are the same. At my first job everyone was friendly, helpful and respectful. That was not the case at my new job. There was a learning curve, I had to learn new systems, I was focused on different merchandise and I was trying out the salesfloor rather than customer service as I had previously done. I made a few mistakes as most people starting out do, but I felt like the majority of the leaders at this store didn’t have the patience to help new associates learn and grow. My co-workers were for the most part, kind, but no one was sticking their neck out for you and because this store had a commission component, some people were overly territorial and rude. But I tried, I really tried. I wanted to be trusted, I wanted to be successful, I wanted to be liked. Things got a little bit better but there was one manager who clearly didn’t like me. I could tell he thought I was stupid and it felt like he was always looking for reasons to criticize me, no matter how small. One evening I was working with him and I was assigned to work in the sale section. It was my job to assist any customers who were browsing in that area and keep it looking neat and tidy. On one of the shelves somebody had left food wrappers and empty cups. I quickly gathered it up and went over to the registers to throw the garbage away. As I turned to walk back to my section, this particular manager approached me with fire in his eyes. He was seething and harshly whispered to me, “Why did you leave your section? Get back there now!” As he said that to me, he physically pushed me in the direction of the sale section. I was stunned. His attitude in general was over the top but the fact that he actually pushed me had gone too far. I looked at my co-workers who witnessed this and they all just turned away. I didn’t know what to do. I was fighting back tears; I was humiliated and angry. There was another manager working in the back, one that I had a good relationship with, but I was frozen and felt like I shouldn’t leave the salesfloor to talk to her because I had just gotten in trouble for moving only a few feet away from my section. The manager who pushed me, knew he made a big mistake and his attitude toward me was completely different by the end of the night. All of a sudden, he was acting very nice and complimenting me. Telling me how great my sales were that day – they weren’t, they were abysmal – and how I was such a valued employee. I held all the cards in my hand and he knew it. I finished my shift on the salesfloor and throughout those few hours I was considering what I wanted to do. And I’m ashamed to say, I decided to do nothing about it. As a naïve teenager who didn’t want to make waves, I let it go. There were a few reasons I decided to forget the incident which at the time, made sense to me. 1) I wanted to be liked by my co-workers, I didn’t want them to think I wasn’t a team player 2) I was afraid no one would believe me and/or I would lose my job. The fact that my co-workers who witnessed the incident turned a blind eye in that moment made me think no one would come to my defense. The store had cameras everywhere, I feel certain there would have been proof if needed but I was still worried. 3) I knew this man was going through several life changes at the time and I didn’t want to be the reason he lost his job. Looking back on this experience so many years later, I am so disappointed that I didn’t stand up for myself. I had every right to advocate for myself and bring awareness to this inappropriate interaction. I should have never been put in this situation and I certainly shouldn’t have protected the person who did this to me. The working environment changed drastically for me after that, all of a sudden, I was this person’s favorite employee and I felt that I fit in better with everyone else too. Looking back, that doesn’t sit well with me. Why couldn’t I stand up for myself? If this happened to me today, I wouldn’t think twice about reporting it. Unfortunately, I can’t change the past, but I can make sure I am my own advocate going forward. Being a small business owner, I am solely responsible for handling any and all situations. I get to celebrate all of the wins but I also have to deal with the disappointments and ensure that I am not being taken advantage of. If I’m unhappy with the way something is run or not seeing eye to eye with someone, the best thing to do is just remove myself from the situation and redirect my attention. There are a lot of vendors out there who will participate in any event that will take them or sell their goods at any store that has room for them. But they miss the mark by not doing enough research. Just because you’re accepted to an event, doesn’t mean it’s worth your time. If you spend numerous hours creating, but you’re not selling enough to compensate for not only materials but also your time, you might actually be losing money. Especially in an industry such as my own, I sell perishable items, I can’t just pack up the leftovers and sell them at a market next week. I have to make all new batches and hope I don’t end up wasting too many of those. If any event or partnership makes me unhappy or burnt out, then it’s not the right place for me. In addition to my bakery, I am the mother of a two-year-old who is my top priority. My full-time job is raising her and all of my decisions are made with her in mind. I now understand the need for me to be my own advocate and focus my attention on what will help me progress, not hold me back. I will never let anyone treat me with disrespect in regard to my business. I don’t have time or patience for that. If you don’t like me or my products or think you’re better than me because you’ve been doing this longer, that’s your opinion and I’ll leave it at that. I would rather work in positive environments with respectful people on a smaller scale than have my cookies at every event and every store in town. I want to enjoy this venture and not feel constantly burnt out or as if I’m letting others dictate my journey.
Katie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I started my business, Cocco’s Cookies, in February of 2022. I had previously held a role in marketing but was laid off in December of 2019. With the pandemic starting only a few months later, I was unable to secure a new job due to most companies cutting staff and not hiring anyone new. My daughter was born in the summer of 2021 and I wanted to spend as much time as possible with her but not be completely out of the business world. I realized the most ideal solution for me was to start my own business. That way I could dictate my schedule, sign up for projects that benefitted me, and allow for any additional accommodations needed so that my daughter remained my top priority. Over the years I had received a lot of compliments on my chocolate chip cookies in particular, and I knew I could come up with even more equally impressive varieties. I think there are some subtle differences about my cookies and the ingredients I use, that truly make them stand out. My cookies are full of flavor, with chocolate chips or other delicious extras in every bite. I am committed to quality. I weigh each cookie before baking, ensuring that it’s just above a quarter pound. Also, all of my cookies are soft and chewy. Crispy, crunchy, cookies are not appealing to me and I know a lot of people agree with me on that.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
With the type of goods that I sell; namely, cookies, selling at different markets throughout the city has been the best way for me to get in front of new customers. Not only do I sell in the area where I live, but I’m willing to travel up to an hour each way for the right event. I typically offer free samples of a couple different types of cookies and am usually able to convert those to actual sales. It’s easy for a customer to tell themselves they don’t want the cookie if they haven’t tried it. But when you entice them with a sample – no commitment to a purchase on their part – it’s a lot harder for them to ignore the delicious cookies in front of them. I think it’s important to have somewhere to sell consistently, like a weekly market or a local store, so that your customers know how to easily find you. But it’s also important to regularly try out new events and locations to reach people that you may not have reached otherwise.
Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?
When preparing for my first market, I put together a price list that was determined based on the cost of making the cookies. So cookies that had ingredients that were a bit more expensive, cost slightly more. My menu pricing structure made complete sense to me so I couldn’t imagine it would cause any confusion. But it did. I had two different price points for individual cookies and larger quantities, and I felt like I was having to translate it to every customer. I tried it again at my next market and there were still a lot of questions. I was frustrated, I didn’t understand why this seem so complicated. I was also discouraged because I felt like people were only buying one or two cookies at a time; my average transaction price was lower than I wanted. I asked my family for some ideas on how to improve the customer’s experience. My husband suggested I make all prices the same, regardless of the cost of making the cookies. It would eliminate a lot of unnecessary questions and speed of the amount of time per transaction. There would be one price per individual cookie, half dozen and dozen; even if you mix and matched flavors when purchasing larger quantities. My brother gave me the idea of creating a deal for purchasing multiple cookies for those who wanted a few, but maybe not quite a half dozen. That completely changed the game for me. Customers would frequently want to purchase a cookie or two but when realizing it was only an extra couple of dollars to add in a third, the majority of my sales at every event were for “three cookie combos.” It was an easy upsell and it almost always led to a higher transaction amount.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.coccoscookies.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coccoscookies
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coccoscookies
Image Credits
Product photos: Ciara Lanise Photography