Alright, Lynn thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
Baking has always been a hobby of mine. Even when I was young I loved to bake. As a middle schooler I would beg my mom to let my friend and me use the kitchen, and we’d spend the afternoons making no-bake cookies. When Pinterest first came out I was thrilled, and I loved trying out new recipes. As an adult I’ve always found it to be a way to relieve stress (and truthfully I love sweets, so it’s a win-win), and I started sending in extra baked goods with my husband to work so that I wouldn’t eat the entire batch of whatever I had made. I decided to try out oatmeal cream pies and sent in the extras. Matt came home with the best feedback out of all of the things I had made. One of his co-workers even suggested I sell them! Creating a business out of baking had never been on my radar, plus I had a 5 year old, 3 year old, and a baby, and was overwhelmed as it was. However, this co-worker continued to encourage me to sell the oatmeal cream pies, and she even created the name and logo to give me the push that I needed to give it a shot. I never would have considered starting a cookie business without her push to do so! After months of debating if I should actually start Columbia Cookie Company or not, I decided to give it a try and opened an order form for Valentine’s Day. I only offered it up at my husband’s workplace, and received a handful of orders. While I ended up being able fulfill the orders I had received, I had all sorts of issues. My wooden spoon broke into the dough and I had to toss the entire batch, my cookies spread too thin, and I had other unexpected hurdles. It was a learning experience to say the least! I wasn’t sure about moving forward with the idea of a business at this point. I took a few months to tweak my recipes, make sure I could consistently nail it every time, and work out the issues I had faced with the Valentine’s Day orders.
Then, an organization I had previously been part of, Fit4Mom Howard County, was looking for local businesses to donate to a big event they were putting on and I knew if I was going to give my cookie business a shot, that this was a great way to get started! I donated bags of 2 mini oatmeal cream pies to the moms that attended the event, and then began posting on Instagram when I was opening up orders. Around the same time I also reached out to a local influencer, Claire Duarte, The Columbia Mom, who gave me great tips on how to get started and expand my reach. She was very encouraging, she gave me the confidence I needed, and she was a huge help in getting my name out. After this point I committed to working hard and bringing Columbia Cookie Company to life!
Lynn, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a cottage food baker (home baker) that makes oatmeal cream pies, cookie sandwiches, and custom buttercream decorated sugar cookies. I love making cookie favors for birthday parties, baby and bridal showers, and other special events. Everyone remembers oatmeal cream pies from their childhood, and I make a homemade version that is even tastier than the one that you remember. I also make seasonal flavored cookie sandwiches. Last year I did red velvet sandwiches with cream cheese buttercream filling, carrot cake sandwiches with a brown butter cream cheese icing, key lime sandwiches in the summer – these are some of my most requested and best sellers! In the fall I sell pumpkin oatmeal cream pies, brown butter pumpkin snickerdoodles, as well as a frosted vanilla spiced chai cookie. During the holidays I offer many options that make great hostess, teacher, or co-worker gifts.
Over the last year, in addition to my oatmeal cream pies and cookie sandwiches, I have been making decorated white velvet sugar cookies with vanilla buttercream icing. I’ve decorated everything from Super Mario stars, to wedding dress cookies for bridal shower favors, Bluey themed cookies, to trains. I have enjoyed expanding my skill set with these decorated cookies. Each set is different and fun to create.
I am constantly trying different recipes and working to expand what I offer!
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Offering samples and donations! Oatmeal cream pies are a treat many people remember from their childhood (Little Debbie cakes!), but it’s not a common treat you see often today. I participated as a vendor at my first market back in November, and there were at least a dozen people who grabbed a sample as they walked past my table, and came back saying that they weren’t planning to buy any sweets but couldn’t resist. I also love donating whenever possible, especially to schools. I’ve donated boxes of mini oatmeal cream pies for fun runs, fundraisers, teacher appreciation events, and more. It’s a great way to support our local educators.
I am always very honored when customers come back time and time again, and have been blown away by their trust in me when I offer up new flavors and options!
How did you build your audience on social media?
I have been very thankful for the other small business owners that have helped me build up my social media audience. Our local community has a great network of moms and other small business owners who are incredibly supportive of each other, and many of them have not only bought from me, but they also share when I open up a sale to their own followers. I’ve also participated in different giveaways, that have helped expand my reach on social media.
Contact Info:
- Website: linktr.ee/columbiacookieco
- Instagram: columbiacookieco