Today we’d like to introduce you to Julia Arriaga.
Please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My story pretty much started when my aunt got me a job.
I worked at Highland Park cafeteria with my aunt ,who was the baker, for two and a half years. I was put in charge of the bakery counter and learned what each cake pie and cookie contained.
2016 I was going through a really rough time in my life and just two months later, I learned I was pregnant with my Rainbow baby. It was a depressing time for me so i needed a distraction. I looked into baking and cookie decorating. I started decorating cookies at work which were not the best but I was proud of myself. Practice makes perfect.
Next thing you know I was the new cookie lady at my job.I took pictures of almost everything I worked on and put them on Facebook.
When i went on maternity leave I had friends telling me I should sell cookies,which was a good idea, but I also didn’t know how to bake the cookies so I put that off for a while.
I went back to work 2 weeks after i had my son as a way to keep me distracted because i felt like I had PPD. I regret the decision I made. I literally missed out on my son’s first few months and i came to realize i needed to be home with my kids.
I took the advice I got from friends and my family and decided to stop working and sell cookies from my home. I came up with a recipe that worked for me and soon I had my first order. Started off with 1dz and today I’m getting just about 20 DZ per week.
If it wasn’t for my family encouraging me into doing this, I don’t know what I would have been doing today. I love what I do but I still find myself looking into jobs and going to school. But what’s better than having your own business and working from home and being able to see my kids grow up.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Not at all. Running your own business is a lot of work and time. I was already struggling with having time for friends and family, then the pandemic and social distancing happened.
Also it was hard finding supplies.
It’s like once we went into quarantine, everyone turned to bake as a past time.
I’m glad they did. Baking is fun but I also had to hunt down my supplies and many stores were sold out of stuff or price gouging.
Supply and demand. I had to bring up my price on my cookies. But that didn’t stop people from ordering. I actually received more orders now than I did before the quarantine.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about East Dallas Cookies – what should we know?
My business is East Dallas Cookies and I specialize in custom decorated cookies for any occasion. I make other desserts also because I like to bake new things but cookies are my best sellers.
I take pride and joy in the work that I do and just the good feedback I get from new customers and returning customers lets me know I am doing something right.
I feel like what sets me apart from others is all the hard work and dedication it took to start my business from my home.
To this day, I am still investing in expanding my business. Maybe one day I can have my own little shop where you can just come by and pick up a few sweets.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My Aunt for getting me the job at HPC. If it wasn’t for her, then I probably would be doing cookies today.
My family for being there for me and encouraging me even when I feel like giving up.
And my clients. They are amazing! I have clients who have bought cookies from me and have taken them across the country just for their event.
My cookies have gone out of state and Mexico several times.
Pricing:
- Prices depend on the design $36 per dz +
Contact Info:
- Email: julia.arriaga99@yahoo.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julies.cookies95/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/julies.cookies
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