Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Simmons.
Hi Elizabeth, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I would have to start by saying I have always loved art. It was my favorite subject all through school. My elementary art teacher used to send me home with leftover supplies on the last day of school because she knew how much I enjoyed creating. In addition to that, my father shared his love of calligraphy with me, and my mother instilled in me the joy that comes from cooking for others. I never imagined I’d be using all those skills later in life to create my dream job!
In 2019, my husband and I learned we would be welcoming three granddaughters to the family. Our summer calendar quickly filled up with baby showers! It was at the second gathering that my life began turning in a new direction. On the refreshment table, next to the cake, sat the most beautiful baby-themed sugar cookies. I could not take my eyes off of them. I remember thinking to myself, “I wonder if I could make cookies like that?” I knew our women’s group at church was hosting a Christmas in July event and decided it was the perfect opportunity to try out my new skills. They were far from perfect, but the ladies enjoyed them and with their encouragement, I dug a little deeper into the craft.
By the end of summer, with my confidence growing, I decided to create a set of cookies for my manager. I came up with a business name, created a logo, dropped it on a card, and presented it to her as if it came from a specialty baker. She was in shock and quickly became one of my best customers and my top promoter. Orders began coming in rather steadily and by January of 2020, I made the decision to leave the security of the corporate world and jump into the excitement of entrepreneurship!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I don’t know that any road is a completely smooth one, as there are (and will always be) struggles along the way. Some loom larger than others, like the pandemic. As we all know, March of 2020 turned everything on its head. With only three months into my new adventure, I had concerns about whether or not I would be able to make it. Fortunately, my orders didn’t slow down during this time. With contactless porch pick-ups, I was able to continue to provide the sweet treats my customers had come to know and love while also making them feel safe in the process.
Because people were at home more than ever, they sometimes felt they were becoming trapped in the ordinariness of day-to-day life. Having special treats to share with their families was one way to add a little something exciting to their routines. Parents were also looking for new ways to entertain their kids, and our paint your own cookies and DIY cookie decorating kits were very popular ways to do just that. And there were so many businesses that employed essential workers that used cookies as a way to say thank you and to boost the morale of their teams. It was very refreshing to fulfill orders that were used to show appreciation for others during that time.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a “cookier”, that is a baker who specializes in decorated sugar cookies. As I said earlier, I have been able to combine my love of art, calligraphy, and cooking into this specific area of baking.
While I do make other types of cookies, decorated sugar cookies are what got me started and are what I enjoy most. My cookies are typically vanilla decorated with royal icing, but I have a few customers who prefer chocolate sugar cookies. Some of my favorite sets are those made for bridal showers, milestone birthdays, and of course, baby showers. I also love creating designs that allow me to use different typography styles, as well as recreating business logos in cookie form.
I am a one-woman show, so I handle all of the mixing, baking, and decorating myself. With that in mind, you can surely understand why completing single orders of 1000+ cookies is something I’m extremely proud of. Fortunately, my mom always makes herself available to help with packaging and labeling, which is a major blessing!
I feel like decorated sugar cookies have gotten a bad rap through the years, probably because of the shrink-wrapped variety found in the checkout line at the grocery store. They are typically hard with a texture similar to cardboard and a taste not much better. So many people I talked to in the beginning stages of my business said they’d had sugar cookies that were beautifully decorated but lacked taste and they’d also had sugar cookies that looked less than stellar but tasted amazing! They were faced with a “cookie conundrum” – is a beautiful and delicious sugar cookie the baker’s unicorn? I believe (and my customers would agree) my cookies meet both criteria which sets me apart from the others.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
I listen to a variety of podcasts while I bake and decorate. Some help me learn how to manage my business better, some help me grow in my spiritual life and some are purely for fun. A few of my favorites are: All It Takes Is A Goal (Jon Acuff); That Sounds Fun (Annie F. Downs); Susie Larson Live; Baking It Down (Heather and Corrie Miracle); and Everything Happens (Kate Bowler).
I’m an avid reader, participating in reading challenges every year. Some of the books I’ve found to be most helpful in my business are: Atomic Habits (James Clear); Essentialism and Effortless (both by Greg McKeown); and The Four Agreements (Don Miguel Ruiz).
Contact Info:
- Email: txcookieconundrum@gmail.com
- Website: www.txcookieconundrum.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/txcookieconundrum/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/TXCookieConundrum
