We recently connected with Robert Cox and have shared our conversation below.

Robert, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s something crazy on unexpected that’s happened to you or your business

One of the craziest things that has happened to my business was finding out about the shoutout that Bert Weiss gave Cookie Tingz over the air on radio station Q99.7. At that moment, I transitioned from being a spectator who observes the impact of social media in people’s lives into someone that was actually impacted directly. I was selling at festival through a local city government with my mother, and as I do at each event, I am striving to always make a positive, impressionable impact on the customer not just with the food but also with my presence. Not knowing who Bert Weiss was at the time, Bert came to our booth and when he experienced Cookie Tingz, it was like love at first sight. Some time later, I was at home on a Sunday and doing a retrospect on the business doings for the prior week and planning for the next. All of a sudden, my business Instagram account is going banana bonkers with notifications. I was confused because I was receiving hundreds of new followers at one time, but then I remembered that I did recently work with a social media influencer who had just posted the video to her IG feed. Fast forward about 20 or so minutes later, I get a DM from a old high school friend who shared with me that Bert Weiss had recently shouted out my business for the brownies he had and that he was trying to see if anyone had known who it could be. That friend shared my business page with him, he verified it was Cookie Tingz and from there the followers grew exponentially and a floodgate of orders were coming in. There are so many people that listen to Bert Weiss’s “The Bert Show” accross the nation, many people were requesting that I ship nationwide and because of their need I was able to expand into nationwide shipping. It was so exciting to get to send my cookies and brownies accross the nation so that people could experience Cookie Tingz all over. However, the greatest testament is the integral structure that I practice daily in my personal life and in my business. For me, it has never been about trying to sell more cookies and brownies for the sake of selling more cookies and brownies. It has always been about celebrating life, adding value to someone’s day, and being a positive impactful force on anyone that I or the business encounters. Receiving the shoutout was a great gift and confirmation to the quality of food and service that Cookie Tingz provides.

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.

Simply put, I am a chocoholic. However, being a chocoholic comes with it’s own set of problems, which for me was finding something that would not be too much sugar in one-sitting. With the help of family, friends and even some strangers, I underwent an extensive testing period of my cookie and brownie bases to verify that all of my products are reading with the right flavor profiles and of course the perfect amounts of sweetness. I saw what my competition was doing around me. Almost every cookie from my potential competitors took a direction to become giant, loaded with sugar and toppings, going completely out of balance and then got the title “Gourmet” slapped on the front of it. When I was designing Cookie Tingz, I intentionally decided to go an alternative route and keep the name “Gourmet” sacred. I believe that because this is at the core of Cookie Tingz, we can amass so many people that are in love at first bite. At Cookie Tingz, you are not just eating with your eyes – we do our best to engage all the senses and to satisfy the heart of our customers. As I grew throughout the years in perfecting my recipes, there was demand for Vegan and Gluten Free options. I was able to pivot and readjust to cater to that market of individuals, as they also deserve to experience well-crafted desserts. One of my customers that enjoys our Vegan Gluten Free options so much, decided to use Cookie Tingz to supply their dessert for a wedding reception instead of the traditional cake. It came with the challenge of adding more flavors to my menu since at the time I only had (2) Vegan Gluten Free options. I quickly went back into the kitchen and got to work, coming up with an additional (4) flavors in less than 1 week. We then resynced with the customer for another sampling, they loved all the options, and we were able to expand their menu even more for their wedding! It was such a privilege to work with them on this wedding and the feedback was even richer. As a business owner, I am always sensitive and attentive to the needs of my customers, and willing to work readjust within the boundaries I’ve set for the business.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A major lesson I’ve had to unlearn is it’s good to always be doing something. This is far from the truth. Being busy for the sake of being busy is not the goal in any careerpath and is not the lifestyle that I choose to live. It is instead better to focus yourself on tasks that are important. Do not waste time focusing on things that will not produce you results. The backstory stems from what we learn in the public school system. In any project or assignment given, there’s so much pride and fulfillment in being able to say “I spent XX amount of hours/days on this” when the reality is that the work produced is subpar, mediocre, or actually still incomplete and could have been completed in half the time or less. In the workplace we also see similar notions of people pulling all-nighters to still not finish a project by the intended deadline. It all boils down to a matter of priorities. Once you can identify your priorities, you can then identify what is important to do and what is not important to do. You can then also identify the steps that you need to take to get form point A to point B. By doing this, you will eliminiate a lot of noise/clutter that your mind might try to impose on you or even others. Learning to focus on what’s important will save you so much time because you will quickly be able to reject anything that will push you out of alignment to your project

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

This year, 2024 has posed many challenges to me as a business owner in which I have had to pivot. When I started doing 2022 all the way up until the end of 2023, the economic scene was different. However, by 2024 the economy to a big turn for the consumer and the business owner. However, I believe the excitement of being a business owner is being able to identify what your customers need and to figure out the best way to give it to them. With this joy in mind, I’ve been able to pivot into markets that are more productive for Cookie Tingz, and strengthening my relationships with existing clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.cookietingz.com
• Instagram: @cookietingzatl
• Facebook: @cookietingzatl
• Twitter: @cookietingzatl
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs6OmAHp8hW9Eru-2lwpWmA
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cookie-tingz-norcross