Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kristel Coronado. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kristel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you think folks should manage their own social media or hire a professional? What do you do?

I manage my own Social Media accounts. In fairness, I only have a website, Facebook and Instagram. I do own this business part time behind my main Engineering Career, so I have made the decision to limit my reach on purpose. Within those accounts, I aim to reach to my target audience, which are mostly locals, rather than reaching out to those that will not ever buy an actual product.

Social Media does take a lot of time and thought, but I have come up with a pattern that works with my business. When I have an order, I typically film the first cookie as a practice cookie and also the media content. This way, I can focus heavily on decorating my actual order pieces. I will take time away from watching TV to setup DRAFT videos in my Instagram and have them ready to go for days that I don’t have time to create a post or Reel. DRAFTS is a saving grace.

My best advice is to not try to keep up with the masses. Continue to focus on the audience that will be buying a product from you. Those are the ones that will truly support your business. If growing on Social Media and being paid that way is the goal, then aim to grow your followers. If not, aim to please the locals. Speak to them, show your face, host giveaways, etc.

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

I have always loved baking with my mother, but my journey of decorating with royal icing started as a birthday gift to my husband and his twin sister in 2018. That led to a fun way to hang out with my SILs, which led to teaching others the fun, which led to someone asking me if I could take an order. Thus, in 2019, my small business began just by sharing my cookie creations on Facebook. I had a lot to learn in the beginning – this included educating myself with the Michigan Cottage Food Law, proper food handling and safety, packaging, etc. It was all such a quick journey that I never sought after and it ended up being a fun blessing in my life. Fast forward to 2023, I specialize in custom-decorated cookies, tailored to your personal theme. My cookie is a family recipe that has been passed for several generations. It is a crunchier cookie, similar to a sweet, buttery shortbread. The custom designs are made with royal icing, which dries to a crunch. I also offer cakes, cupcakes, cake pops, hot cocoa bombs, and chocolate-dipped sweet treats, cookie decorating kits, cookie decorating classes, participate in market events, and more. What a fun, unexpected journey!

For the most part, my journey with this small business has been smooth. The only speed bump I hit was the same as everyone else… the start of COVID! At first, everything paused… things got pushed back to unknown dates, cancelled, rescheduled, etc. A month into COVID lockdown, I started getting more requests for orders – so many requests. I didn’t know if I should take them, because who knew how this virus spread? Eventually, I felt comfortable taking orders once again and I had some really funny, personalized, small orders while we took a pause from larger events. It was fun to create some very personal things for my customers along the way.

By day, I am actually an automotive engineer for General Motors in Milford. I make sure the vehicles you drive are safe and will protect you before a crash happens. I have been with the company for 23 years. By night, I run my own small business bakery – Kristel’s Cookie Creations. In 2019, I delivered my first paid customer order to a customer’s hands. Since then, I have done nearly 500 different custom orders, dozens of cookies classes, flash sales, and cookie markets.

I am most proud to be a self-taught decorator and businesswoman. It was a long journey to be self-taught, but it also helped me learn from my own mistakes and find methods that best serve me. I taught group fitness, indoor cycling, and aerial silks classes for a combined 18 years, so having that experience and background provided me with the foundation to be a strong cookie decorating class instructor. Teaching others comes quite naturally to me and I have a strong love for sharing my passion with others.

Support for my small business can come in many forms, which may not always include purchasing products. You can simply follow my Facebook and Instagram pages, like posts, share posts, and also spread by word of mouth to others that may be looking for custom-designed cookies. I do not often collaborate, as working with the Michigan Cottage Food Law does have some regulations that I must adhere to in terms of re-sale and labeling. I do pick one or two events per year to participate in as a “donation”, but I do not collaborate with those often as custom cookies do take a LOT of planning, prep, and time to complete.

Pricing:

Custom Cookies start at $4.00 per cookie for very basic designs
Most customers spend between $50-$80 per dozen
Cocoa Bombs (winter only) start at $5 each
Contact Info:

Website: https://www.kristelscookiecreations.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristelscookiecreations
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kristelscookiecreations

Have you ever had to pivot?

When you run a small business, consistency is BIG! As in, if you drop off the radar, it can make people forget about you. This can include on social media or being open and available for business. In September 2022, we started a very large kitchen renovation, which would take away my ability to run this small business for sometime. It meant declining orders again and again. It meant having no content to post online. It meant, no markets to attend and sell around the holidays.

The renovation lasted for the next 9 months (we are DIY’ers). This meant 9 months of trying to keep my name out there without actually producing a product. I reused old social media content to stay present in the algorithm. Any inquiries I received were spent finding an available local baker to help take the order rather than just saying “I am not available”. It was spent showing progress of the renovation to keep people excited about the new space their custom treats will be made. I wanted to share the journey with those that support the business.

It was a hard 9 months being out of operation, but you just have to adjust with a new plan to keep people engaged with the products you offer. I am happy to now be back in business and creating custom goodies!

How did you build your audience on social media?

I started my social media accounts in 2019, shortly after selling my first order. To get my name out there, I joined several local community groups in the cities surrounding my location. I would share pictures and videos to those groups posting the prices and availability. The orders started with friends and neighbors, then word started spreading. I did giveaways around the holidays to get people engaged and looking at my pages. Over time, I realized that I had to keep up with trends to make it on people pages. This meant, making videos and keeping up with trending audio and video styles. I often take polls on my story to keep up with what my specific audience wanted and I listened and continued to make most of my videos as they voted!

Overall, building social media presence took a lot of posting without a lot of engagement, but eventually those paid off! Consistency is key and it will pay off in the end!      

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kristelscookiecreations.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristelscookiecreations
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kristelscookiecreations