Today we’d like to introduce you to Becky Spoolstra.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Growing up, my grandmother and mother were always baking. Between the holidays, special occasions, church events, and just trying new recipes at home, they made all sorts of amazing desserts and actually used to have a family bakery up in Minnesota before moving to Texas. Though they’d both deny it, their skills totally rubbed off on me through the years and cultivated my love for baking. My mom would always let me help in the kitchen and also my brothers and I would have a big Christmas cookie decorating session at the kitchen island every year with various cookie shapes, colored icing, and sprinkles galore.
Fast forward to 2014, I just had my first child and was still baking all the time. I became fascinated by the fancy decorated cookies I saw on blogs and Pinterest and wanted to try my hand at them. My first attempt was mildly successful and I was quickly hooked. I think that I was also looking for a creative outlet as a new mom and wanting to learn some new skills.
I continued practicing and soaked in all the information I could gather about different baking and decorating tips and techniques. I used family events such as baby showers and Birthday parties as an excuse to try out new designs and bring something special to the celebration. Soon I was being asked if I sold the cookies and while the idea had been in the back of my mind, I didn’t know the first thing about starting and running my own business. But thankfully I decided to take the leap and haven’t looked back!
I did all the research about becoming a legit and legal home-based bakery business in Texas and slowly started putting myself out there between social media and spreading my info by word of mouth. Business picked up steadily between custom orders and holiday cookie specials. I had to slow down for a little while in 2016 when my second child was born, but the baking bug was strong and I jumped back in as quickly as I could manage.
Now I am a “bake at home mom” with my two little girls and basically, run my business while they sleep. It is a crazy and busy life but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I still can’t believe that this hobby turned into a passion and then developed into a small business that helps support our family. The fact that people want to pay me to bake and decorate cookies is so surreal and I am beyond thankful for all of my amazing customers.
Has it been a smooth road?
Thankfully my business has run pretty smoothly over the last few years. I’ve tried to take things slow and set realistic goals along the way. The biggest struggle has been finding balance. I am a one woman business so personally, handle the whole process. Communication with clients, brainstorming designs, purchasing, prep work, baking, making and coloring icing, the entire decorating process, plus clean up – it is A LOT of work! I work super late nights and drink a lot of coffee.
But on top of my work, my larger vocation is being a wife to my dear husband and a mom to two young daughters that need a lot of love and attention all day and often at night too. I’ve had to learn how to get better at saying “no” and “sorry, I’m totally booked!” even though I want to make cookies for everyone and everything. It’s difficult when you love the work that you do, especially when your business is based at home, to keep your priorities in line and find balance in your work/family life.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Dulcis Cookies story. Tell us more about the business.
Dulcis Cookies creates custom decorated cookies for any occasion – everything from parties, corporate events, holidays, or just satisfying your own sweet tooth. I take pride in my attention to detail, taking great care of my customers, and above all, making delicious cookies! My specialty is a soft vanilla sugar cookie with vanilla icing but I also like to dabble in seasonal flavors to mix things up a bit.
I love working with each customer to create the perfect cookie design and including special personalized touches, whether it’s matching an invitation design or incorporating a favorite color or theme. Custom cookies are very labor intensive to make and thus aren’t cheap to purchase. But I strive to create cookies that will be the talk of the party and worth every penny!
I am proud of the small business that I’ve grown and the ability to use my talents to give back to the community through cookie donations at various events in DFW. Not only am I proud of my product but I take great pride in my customers – they are extremely supportive, loyal, and do so much word of mouth advertising on my behalf.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Cookie decorating is becoming more and more popular and it’s amazing to see all of the new techniques that decorators come up with. I can see hand-painted cookies continuing in popularity since there’s so much that you can create in that style of decorating. New products are always being created to make decorating easier, faster, and more accessible to people, even if you’re not a seasoned pro and more cookie products are being sold in stores like Michaels and Hobby Lobby, along with countless online stores.
With 3D printing now, cute new cookie cutter designs are always being created which is so much fun but tough on my wallet. I can’t wait to see what else is developed in years to come and look forward to learning new skills along the way!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dulciscookies.com
- Phone: 214-558-8496
- Email: dulciscookies@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dulciscookies/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dulciscookies/
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