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

Kristen, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Almost all entrepreneurs have had to decide whether to start now or later? There are always pros and cons for waiting and so we’d love to hear what you think about your decision in retrospect. If you could go back in time, would you have started your business sooner, later or at the exact time you started?

I believe that everything happens in the timing that it is supposed to, whether I can see that at the time or not. Dip’t Cookies started in 2022, however prior to that, I did own another bakery, which morphed quite a bit before Dip’t Cookies was born.

In 2013, I opened a home bakery in Colorado, which I successfully ran for 8 years. I loved having that business, as I was able to be a stay at home mom to our 3 young children, while also doing what I am passionate about – baking. In the 8 years that I had the home bakery, I learned so much about running a business. I learned that my first concept – a cake bakery – was exactly what I didn’t want. I learned along the way that I actually don’t like decorating cakes at all. So, I morphed into a new concept and became a full service home bakery, specializing in everything except cakes – breads, muffins, cookies, pies, brownies, bars – to name a few things. In Fall 2021, our family decided to move to Greenville, so my home bakery in Colorado closed. I thought that the season of owning a bakery was passing with the move.

When we settled in Greenville, I could not scratch the itch to continue baking. However, I wanted something bigger and more unique. As a result, I decided to move into retail/commercial baking and get licensed to be able to work in my own commercial kitchen space. I wanted a unique product that was focused and that no one else was offering in Greenville. Dip’t Cookies was born from that idea – gourmet, jumbo, chocolate dipped cookies in a variety of flavors.

Today, you can find Dip’t Cookies in almost 10 stores around Greenville. We also can be found at festivals and events around town on the weekends.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I have yet to meet a single person that doesn’t like cookies. Cookies are happiness and memory makers. Seeing the joy that they create is what has fueled my passion for baking.

I started baking when I was a young kid, sometime around 9 years old. Remember “The Joy of Cooking”? That was my very first cookbook that I dove into. I baked everything I could that we had the ingredients in the house for. I truly started to learn my way around the kitchen though in the time that I spent with my Italian grandmother, Grandma Nancy. Summers were spent learning to make some of her family favorite recipes, helping to make cakes for family parties, and then making some recipes of my own. MEMORIES. Those memories fueled a passion.

I’m excited to offer Greenville a twist on some timeless cookies, as well as some that I have created myself. Classic cookies are my passion and I have crafted each recipe myself. I had my own bakery for 8 years in Colorado, before we made the big move to the Upstate. The memories of that bakery, the cookies I baked, the people I met. That has furthered my passion and propelled me to open a bakery here in South Carolina.

How’d you meet your business partner?

My business partner is my husband, Philip. He and I are a great balance together with operations. I am the creative and he is the one that ensures my bills are paid and books are balanced.

We met in 2006 in New York City. I was a Catering Director in midtown Manhattan and Philip was in banking at his first civilian job post military service. We both rode the train into NYC each morning for our job, totaling about 3 hours per day on the train, which dropped us off directly in Grand Central Terminal. As luck would have it, we actually met right in Grand Central Terminal, bumping into each other by chance and realizing that we took the same train. That chance meeting led to us reconnecting a few months later, at which time we began dating. As they say -the rest is history!

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

I truly believe that word of mouth is the best advertising that there is. I have worked hard in my first year open to develop brand recognition and word of mouth referrals. I am hopeful that this will help me continue to grow as I move into 2023.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.diptcookies.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dipt_cookies/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diptcookiesgreenville

Image Credits
Photo credit: The Chandler School Media – Christy Mason