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

Hi Kyla, thanks for joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.

My entire business was a risk taken. I made my first batch of cookies with my sister in law for Christmas in 2016. We went in armed with a family recipe, a google search, and absolutely zero experience. I was NOT a baker/chef, I wasn’t a kid that grew up in the kitchen baking and cooking with family members. I had previously dabbled in cake decorating for friends and family and thought surely those skills would translate–they did not. Our attempt was a total disaster start to finish, though they looked as if we’d decorated them blindly they were delicious and I love a challenge so I kept at it. From 2017 on any family or friend birthday party or church baby or wedding shower I jumped at the chance to sign up to bring dessert and with each attempt I improved bit by bit. By the time the bill legalizing cottage (home) bakeries was passed in Kentucky I had improved to the point that people were finally willing to pay for my work so I started Sissy Cooks It Up. At the time it meant baking 1-2 dozen cookies every few weeks alongside a full time position in a busy oral surgery office. In 2019 we found out we were expecting our first child and when faced with what we wanted the future to look like I realized I really wanted the flexibility to spend more time with out baby. We knew staying home with him would require some sacrifice and ingenuity but I convinced my husband that I felt like “this cookie thing” could really be something. Looking back I don’t know what made me so confident, I think I was make 4-5 dozen cookies a month at that point at $30 per dozen, hardly anything to write home about but I thought I could do enough to get by. We got a lot of skeptical looks when I would tell people I was leaving my career to stay home and bake cookies but it just felt right. My son was born in February 2020 just before everything shut down in the world, people weren’t having events and as such weren’t ordering custom cookies. I was terrified that in addition to everything happening in the world I had potentially made a huge mistake. I’d left a very stable job that was considered essential to start a business that people didn’t need. I revamped my approach temporarily and focused more on cookie activities like decorate it yourself and paint it yourself cookies that people could purchase to help pass the time indoors and I practiced. I saw my skill set expand by leaps and bounds in those first few months, it made such a big difference practicing day by day instead of scattered orders here and there, and by the time summer rolled around and “drive bys” started referring to birthday parties and baby showers custom sugar cookies had become a highly in demand, individually wrapped special treat that people could share from a distance. Before the end of the year what had started as a means to just get by and allow me to stay home with my son had become a full scale business that I loved, that gave me a creative outlet and an activity that I could do that made me feel like “me” during a very isolating time (new motherhood + global pandemic). There were many days in the beginning that I doubted my decision but I can’t even fathom what life would look like right now had I not taken that risk. I now set my own schedule, have the absolute best clients in the world that I get to celebrate all of their life wins with, I get to watch children and families grow through their orders, I get to create edible pieces of art that make people feel seen, I get to spread joy, and I even get to bake for the occasional celebrity. It’s a wild, and often sleepless, ride and you couldn’t get me off the ride for anything.

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

My name is Kyla Collins and I am a baker and custom cookie artist. I originally started out baking cakes for friends and family when I was a college student whose love language was gift giving though I had no funds out of which to give gifts. The cakes were fun, though far from professional, and while I didn’t truly love cake decorating I did love the joy I could see it bring to loved ones. I continued baking cakes for family and thought nothing more of it until I made a cake for my boss at the time that looked like a set of dentures. A sales rep saw it and asked if she could order 10 to take to other dental offices she visited in the area. I had never loved or truly perfected baking and decorating cakes so though I started getting requests I focused on my “real job” in the dental field and had no desire to start a business. In Christmas 2016 my sister in law and I tried our hand at custom cookies and though it was a disaster I truly loved and enjoyed the process. I spent the next couple of years practicing every chance I got, watching youtube and instagram videos, and reading blog posts. I started collecting supplies and eventually decided to turn this hobby into a business in 2020 as a way of creating a more flexible source of income while staying home with my newborn son.

I specialize in custom cookies and my favorite designs are sets that are highly detailed and full of personal details. I also love creating opportunities for people to see themselves in my designs, being biracial and growing up in a small town in eastern Kentucky I didn’t always see a lot of other people that looked like me and my name was never on any of the special pencils or keychains you could pick up in stores so I understand the value of being able to access something made just for you that represents you! I try to offer a variety of skin tones, hair textures, and attributes like glasses and freckles for all of my holiday presales. Seeing kids and even adults get excited pointing to their cookies and saying “that’s me!!” is one of the best feelings. I love getting to know my customers over the years and adjusting to meet their needs and wants. I noticed a ton of custom orders for dinosaur themed cookies a few years back across the board so now dinosaurs have become a non negotiable for every holiday cookie pop up. Custom cookies are a luxury item due to the time that is poured into them but over the past few years as costs of everything have gone up I’ve added things to the product roster to help accommodate new budget constraints like cookie cakes, mini cookies and even plain iced cookies and platter options. I truly believe the best part of buying from a small business is that you aren’t a nameless faceless order number, you matter and your purchase matters to your baker and it’s my honor to work with clients to create magic in the ways that best serve them.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I feel like it’s going to sound cliche but just showing up consistently and authentically and making meaningful connections. Be real, this about the message you want to convey and the purpose you want your account to serve. Share the wins but don’t be afraid to share lows and mistakes sometimes too. Be your number one cheerleader, if you’ve got a great quality product or idea, don’t be afraid to let people know about it. Social media can be such a great tool for expanding your reach, connecting with customers and building relationships but it can also be overwhelming and trip you up if you aren’t careful. Something I always tell people starting out is to be intentional with who they follow. It is so easy to fall into the comparison game on social media, follow a select amount of people in your industry and only those that you truly admire, respect and can learn from and other wise focus on making local connections with people you vibe with and connecting with your customer base. I have been blessed to connect with so many other local entrepreneurs, from bloggers to coffee shop owners and news personalities to artists and other bakers through social media, I even met two of my best friends (a pet portait artist and a fellow cookie artist) through social media and what makes those connections so valuable is that they happened organically out of genuine appreciation, interest and respect for each other. Be you and you’ll find your people.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Consistency and kindness. Creating a great quality product (both visually and deliciously) got people talking and word of mouth is the best reputation builder there is. I started my business not long after the bill legalizing home bakeries was passed and there were a lot of unknowns. A lot of people were hesitant to pay money up front to a baker without a storefront and because I didn’t have a storefront they couldn’t just walk in and buy a single cookie to test before placing a custom order.

Consistently delivery a high quality product that met and exceeded expectations time after time builds trust and that trust in the crux of a reputation, being reliable also makes past customers feel confident when recommending you. I’m not saying I’ve never messed up or dropped the ball, I’ve made mistakes over the past almost four years, as any individual running every aspect of a business likely will at some point, but owning mistakes, transparency, and earnestly working to correct mistakes builds an additional layer of trust. Because of this trust that grows each year and with each order a customer makes I’ve seen more and more amazing opportunities come my way.

If you are a business that is focused on providing a service within a specific area I believe what can make the biggest impact on your reputation outside of your product is just getting out within your community. That will look different for everyone but when people get to know YOU and not just your amazing product it makes such a difference. Do pop ups and markets so that people can put a face with a name and make connections, find projects that you’re passionate about and get involved. Sissy Cooks It Up is not all of who I am but I am every bit of what makes Sissy Cooks It Up.

Reputation and trust go hand in hand in my opinion and partnering with companies that align with your values and that you and that others respect is a fantastic way to continue building that trust and reputation. For example though my repeat customers often send me an invite or a quick summary of their event and trust me to create something that fits that trust takes time. I noticed that often with new customers that have found me on their own rather than through referral it’s a little harder for them to give up that control but since I’ve begun working with our local arena to create custom cookies for the musical acts and entertainers they bring in that even brand new customers with no history with me have an easier time trusting me with all aspects of their order. This may not be the case or needed for every business, but I think it helps people overcome any preconceived notions they may knowingly or unknowingly have about a home based business being a “real” business.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sissyscookies.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/sissycooksitup
• Facebook: www.facebook.com.com/sissycooksitup
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@sissycooksitup?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc

Image Credits
Quinn & Co. Photography, Brittany Bailey Photography