Colleen's Cookies

For Colleen Thompson, baking was a hobby…until word of mouth spread about her shortbread cookies. Now she runs Colleen’s Cookies, a specialty cookie boutique that can create fresh, custom cookie art based on the client’s needs and the company’s motto: “It’s all about the taste.”
Colleen’s Cookies is a great example of how being passionate about things you make can turn into a new job, and in this interview she shares some tips about her unintentional path to becoming an entrepreneur.

TheCareerCreator.com: What is your “job”? Please tell us a bit about your company and what you sell or what service you provide?

Colleen Thompson: Colleen’s Cookies is a special order cookie company.  Our house specialty is creating decorated shortbread cookies that match any occasion.
For instance, a friend had a moped accident and we created (once we knew she was not seriously injured) a crystal ball stating “we see you feeling better very soon”, some fun sayings like the old Batman “wham”, “pow”, “bam”, a moped cookie that we broke in half, her favorite beer – Stella Arteois, etc….we’ll you get it.  Fun…but very personal – that’s it in a nutshell.  It’s so enjoyable.

Colleen's Cookies

TheCareerCreator.com: How long have you been in business? Can you tell us a little about how you got started? What was your “Once upon a time…?”

Colleen Thompson: I started baking cookies in 2000 when a friend asked me to create 250 cookies for an event.  The guests enjoyed them, started calling, and that’s how it started.

In the beginning it was just a hobby – a few orders here, a few orders there and it all started word of mouth.  The hobby turned into a business a few years ago due to the growth in our client base.

TheCareerCreator.com: You had a natural interest in ??? that is now the basis of your job?

Colleen Thompson: I have always been a “foodie”.  I grew up in Colorado and food was what happened in our house.  From my mother to both of my Grandmother’s – we all loved being in the kitchen.  My family also has a restaurant that is celebrating 51 years in business – very successful for such a difficult occupation.

My first solo baking was at 10 years old – a scratch strawberry cake with strawberry icing – the icing had chunks of cake in it, lopsided, and I was sooooooooo proud!!!  I was hooked.

Colleen's Cookies

TheCareerCreator.com: What were some of the materials or technology you needed to get started on a very basic level?

Colleen Thompson: When I began it was in my kitchen.  All I needed was a mixer, flour and sugar, some creativity and an oven.  It is more complicated now that we have a production kitchen.

TheCareerCreator.com: The best part about creating your own job?

Colleen Thompson: The best part about my job is having the ability to create.  That’s fun.  We’ve sent out some amazing cookies.  Last summer we were selected as a winner for the A List – Best Gift Cookie in STL.  One of the comments in the write up was “if Amos is famous, someone should call Oprah”…Forever imbedded in my mind.

We also were selected to create cookies for a cartoon that launched last fall, Turbo Dogs.  The production company contacted us to bid on the project and create a cookie for the New York promotion and the LA promotion and we won.  These were works of art.  So very proud of them.

TheCareerCreator.com: What’s the toughest hurdle you’ve encountered in creating your own job…and how you overcame it?

Colleen Thompson: The toughest hurdle…hmmm.  Had I chosen to start a business, It would have started out differently.  What was just a fun hobby became a business.

Colleen's Cookies

TheCareerCreator.com: Any words of wisdom or encouragement to anyone wanting to create their own job?

Colleen Thompson: Be passionate.  It is an old adage but if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life….it’s all fun!

More About This Company:
Founder: Colleen Thompson
Company Name: Colleen’s Cookies
Website: www.ColleensCookies.com

Thanks, Colleen, for taking the time to encourage our readers with sound advice for starting a business from a hobby! Hopefully, Oprah will come calling soon!

~TheCareerCreator.com

Sylvia Weinstock

TheCareerCreator.com is kicking off our “People Who Created Their Own Jobs” interview series today with a legendary entrepreneur who is in the business of creating edible art.

We got the chance to ask Sylvia Weinstock “The Queen of Cakes” of Sylvia Weinstock Cakes Ltd. a few questions about the road to creating her own job.

Sylvia created her own job and has been in business for 30 years and has made cakes for Donald Trump, Mariah Carey, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Oprah Winfrey.

Sylvia was gracious answer a few questions we thought would help encourage readers who are interested in creating their own job and it was interesting to discover what she has to say about being an entrepreneur.

TheCareerCreator.com: What is your “job”? Please tell us a bit about your company and what you sell or what service you provide?
Sylvia Weinstock: I own a special cake company where we create individual designs for each client.

Cake Design by Sylvia Weinstock

TheCareerCreator.com: How long have you been in business?
Sylvia Weinstock: I have been in business for 30 years, here in Manhattan NY.

TheCareerCreator.com: You had a natural interest in ______ that is now the basis of your job?
Sylvia Weinstock: I loved to cook and bake, garden , sew, knit etc. I love handcrafts.

TheCareerCreator.com: Tell us a little about how you got started…give us a bit of your Once upon a time… (What was the turning point where you decided to turn your interest or hobby into a career?)
Sylvia Weinstock: When someone wanted a cake, I tried to make it different and to handmold sugar flowers to decorate the cake.  When people recognized this quality of a delicious and beautiful cake, they started to order cakes from me. As the business grew I took on workers , trained them to execute the designs.

TheCareerCreator.com: What were some of the materials or technology you needed to get started on a a very basic level?
Sylvia Weinstock: When I started there very few tools so as the need came, my husband would try to create the tools I needed.

TheCareerCreator.com: What’s the toughest hurdle you’ve encountered in creating your own job…and how you overcame it?
Sylvia Weinstock: The hardest part of my business is delivery of cakes, and the diverse personalities of employees. As an ex kindergarten teacher my skills help with employees. As to deliveries, one realizes that it is not death or cancer but a cake.

TheCareerCreator.com: Any words of wisdom or encouragement to anyone getting wanting to create their own job?
Sylvia Weinstock: Although we try very hard to satisfy our clients and we do, there is always the element of worry and tension. I overcome this by taking a deep breath, and a cocktail with my husband at the end of the day.

Sylvia Weinstock Cakes Ltd.

More about this company:
Founder: Sylvia Weinstock
Company name: Sylvia Weinstock Cakes Ltd. ~ 273 Church St. ~ NY 10013 ~ 212.925.6698
Products or service offered: Specialized cake design
Website: www.sylviaweinstock.com

Thanks, Sylvia, for talking to us about how you created your own job.
To our readers, we hope this was encouraging! Think about the things you already love doing and see if there may something you could do to create your own job!
~TheCareerCreator.com

Photo Credit: nancyhugockd.com

You watch cooking shows for entertainment and your culinary experiments always get rave reviews.

Your recipe collection is unrivaled by anyone you know and people in the office mark their calendars for the days when you bring in brownies.

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For some people, cooking is a chore, but for you…it’s an escape.

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