011 – Being on Oprah’s List with Susie & Jill of The Cookie Joint

Gift biz unwrapped episode 11.

Hi, this is John Lee Dumas of entrepreneur on fire,

and you're listening to the gift of biz unwrapped.

And now it's time to light it up.

Welcome To gift biz,

unwrapped your source for industry specific insights and advice to develop

and grow your business.

And now here's your host,

Sue Monheit.

Hi there.

I'm Sue and welcome to the gift biz unwrapped podcast.

Whether You want own a brick and mortar store sell online

or just getting started,

you'll discover new insight to gain traction and to grow your

business. And today I am thrilled to introduce you to Susie

Schuster and Jill Baylock Susie and Jill are co-owners of the

cookie joint.

Susie is a former mosaic artist,

and Jill is a former jewelry designer.

Their creativity and love for baking is what brought them together.

The cookie joint,

as you can certainly tell by its name is all about

cookies, but it's way more than you think you have to

envision these cookies.

Their signature products are cookie fries.

These are shaped and served like crinkle,

cut French fries,

and have delicious dips that accompany them.

The cookies can be purchased as gifts.

And they're also very popular at events and celebrations.

Now listen to this in October,

2014, the cookie joint was on Oprah's own list.

Susie and Jill recently filmed a food network show called food

fortunes, and they are also featured in American airlines in flight

magazine. Clearly this unique cookie concept has taken off.

They say their food and entertainment background has landed them right

where they want to be.

Welcome to the show,

Susie and gel.

Thank you.

Thanks. I'm thrilled that you're with me.

Is there anything you'd like to add before we get started?

I think you covered it pretty well.

Just our love for baking and our desire to come up

with something new and fun is what really helped us create

our cookie fries.

And I think we bring a lot together with our sense

of humor.

I think that's definitely key in the kitchen and with our

packaging and promotion.

It's all about having fun and lots of smiles,

right? That's a really good point because clearly when you're co

owners, it brings a whole new layer to ownership of a

business. Cause you guys have to get along too,

Right? Yes,

no. We're with each other practically 24 7.

So, so you have to think of that more than even

your husband,

right? Exactly.

Well, it definitely,

we fight like sisters As our listeners know,

we align the conversation here around the life of a motivational

candle. The light's going to shine on you too,

while you share your stories and experiences.

So shall we light it up?

Fabulous. What color is your candle?

Our candle is purple because purple represents creativity.

It's different.

It really surprises people.

It's not a color that is just there.

It really stands out.

And what's the motivational quote that would be on your purple

candle. Our motivational quote is one from Steve jobs and it's

sell dreams,

not products for us.

It's not totally just about a product or delicious cookies.

It's about creating a fond experience for people,

whether you're sending the cookies or receiving them,

you know,

it's a reflection on us and our creativity gift giver,

how creative they are,

or they're in the know to find something new and different.

I mean,

the way the cookies are packaged,

the way they look,

it's fun.

And it's a really great experience and so different.

So different.

Let's Go back to the beginning and really for all of

our listeners,

if you have a chance to go on the website and

see what the product looks like,

you'll understand even more.

They're just fabulous.

But since we're a podcast and you're just listening right now

and you'll need to do that of course later,

but let's go back Susie and Jill,

how did you get this concept and bring this whole thing

together in the very beginning?

Okay. So Joel and I both loved baking and we wanted

to start a cookie company.

I'm like you had mentioned before,

we're both very creative.

You know,

Joel was into jewelry design and I was,

I'm a mosaic artist.

But prior to that in a past life,

Jill was managing restaurants before she had children.

And my husband is an event planner and I worked with

him. So we were both into the creative aspects and we

both love baking and understand the kitchen and what it takes

to really make things work.

So when we decided to open a cookie company,

we wanted a signature cookie,

something that stood out,

something that was ours alone and something that was fun and

different, not just your regular chocolate chip cookie,

which I delicious,

which we also make delicious.

Exactly. So French fry cookies,

like where did that come from?

So we both love French fries and we both loved cookies.

So we said,

why don't we make a cookie that looks like a French

fry, which was very challenging because all of our cookies currently

are cut by hand.

And let me interject that.

First of all,

shame, you know,

we thought,

okay, most cookies around.

So let's go with a different shape.

And so then we thought,

okay, stick.

Well, breadsticks,

that's not fun.

And it's funny because we just sat around having silly conversations.

And as like you,

before the gas chamber,

I want French fries and pizza,

you know,

and, and we just had this fun back and forth kind

of dialogue.

And then it just kind of like halo,

You knew you weren't going to do a traditional cookie.

Right. You were brainstorming.

We do also do gourmet classic cookies,

but our cookie fries,

our signature cookies.

So yeah,

we wanted a signature cookie for our company.

So once you arrived on that French fry,

did you guys both like light up and say that That's

it, we got very excited,

really excited and then making it work was challenging,

but fun and exciting also.

Yeah, it just became so much fun because one idea led

to another to another and it was like,

and then the different flavors and the different dips,

it was just,

yeah, we're still doing,

we're still creating new flavors and new dip.

You probably always will.

It will always evolve.

Right. That's the fun part,

right? Yeah.

That's the part we love,

right? Yeah.

So You've had a lot of acknowledgement of the product and

you guys are clearly happy and love what you're doing,

but we all know that it's not an easy path to

get to where you are.

Things get difficult and challenging.

Can you bring us to a time when that flame,

that excitement about your business started to flicker and you kind

of thought like,

oh my gosh,

what are we doing?

Tell us a story about what happened and how you overcame

one of these challenges.

Well, I think our biggest challenge was our packaging and shipping.

Cause you know,

we are an online company,

not brick and mortar and we ship everything all over the

country and our cookies are fragile.

It's a shortbread cookie.

And so our packaging was our biggest challenge.

You know,

we've sent up cookies.

I think Joel can tell you the story about when we

did them for her niece,

for her wedding,

my niece,

I was so excited.

She loved our product and she actually is a party planner.

And so this was something she wanted to give as a

giveaway she's in California wine country was where her wedding was.

And I sent the cookies a week in advance.

They do have a great shelf life just to make sure

if there's any problems,

you know,

we can fix it.

And a lot of them came broken.

We were like,

oh my God.

You know,

and she had 200 guests and I thought,

how am I going to bring 200 cookies on the plane?

I did carry them on the plane.

And I was traveling with four other people.

So it worked out fine.

But from that moment on,

we then had to figure out how are we going to

ship these since we're an online company and that's how we

do it.

Right? So packaging them was very challenging.

And we knew we had to change our packaging to make

sure that the end product got to the customer,

how we sent it and environment friendly.

I mean,

that's really important to us.

The peanuts we use are made from corn starch,

which is really fun.

You put them in the sink,

you run water.

And there goes all those peanuts,

which is nice.

You know,

when you're getting one of these packages,

we would take the batches.

Once we filled it with cookies and our packaging stand up

on a chair,

try to get as high as the ceiling and then just

drop the box for testing purposes.

It's just not cookie cutter sending out good idea.

But yeah,

it's very childish.

It's packaging and shipping.

It's like a 10 step process.

It's very labor intensive to ensure that the product gets there

in good shape.

It's necessary.

It's necessary for the success of the business if a lot

of it's shipping.

Right, right,

right. I mean,

honestly, these are definitely made with love.

We cut each cookie by hand,

we pack them.

I mean,

it's all very well thought out and labor intensive,

but you know,

when we get those comments from people,

it makes it all worthwhile.

It's amazing.

Right. The emails that we get are just,

yeah, it's great.

Well, and this speaks a lot to the point that you

really have to test every single step along the way in

your production.

You know,

it's a good thing that you found out that,

that week,

you know,

the shipping issue was a weakness at that point.

So you knew that and could fix it as you went

forward. Right.

And luckily it was early enough in our stage there that

we didn't have a lot of problems going forward after that.

But yeah,

that was a wake up call.

You share with us a promotion or some type of an

event that you did that made a difference.

In other words,

it either brought in new customers or increased your sales or

did something to help move the business.

Yeah. I would have to say being in Oprah's magazine,

she did a,

a, like you mentioned earlier,

a full page on us and her old list in her

October issue.

And that was like,

wow, it opened the flood gates.

So how Did that come about?

Did they just call you one day?

No, we had done cookies for one of her producers in

Chicago and she had told us,

can you send these cookies to Adam Glassman?

Who is the editor,

one of the editors of all magazine.

And we sent him the cookies out thinking anything of it.

And he called us personally telling us how much he loved

the cookies and how great they were.

And that was the end of it.

And then about three months later,

three to six months later,

we got a phone call from the staff that they wanted

to put it on the oldest.

Oh my gosh.

Which of you got that phone call?

You know what?

I don't know.

I don't remember.

Did you guys totally freak out?

Oh my God.

And then they kept saying,

know, you know,

you don't know when or,

you know,

if, and yeah,

you never know because,

well, they do it.

And then Juul was out of town.

She was visiting her,

her son,

I believe.

And the magazine came out and I went to Barnes and

noble to get the magazine because they never,

they said they were going to send it to us and

they never did that.

She goes,

I think you're going to like it though.

And I opened up the magazine.

It was the full page.

And it was like,

I was like in shock.

I was telling people,

this is my cookie company.

What happened was we started getting all these orders and I

was out of town and Susie called me and said,

Joe, I think the Oprah issue came out because someone emailed

me and said the promo code isn't working.

And in that ish,

we had a promo code and we thought really,

cause, you know,

they told us when they,

we sent the cookies for a photo shoot,

if it works in that issue,

you're in no till then.

Yeah. But also at the October issue.

But what they didn't tell us as the subscribers get it

in September.

So all these things started coming together.

And so she said,

well, I'm going to go see if I can get the

magazine and see if we're in it.

We must be.

And we made the front cover of the old list.

So it was pretty big.

Yeah. It was huge.

So really that's how we found out.

But I think also with an online company,

when we were in American airlines,

they wrote a little article about us.

That was really huge too,

because we are an online company and national,

we were able to have people in California,

New York,

Dallas, all over the country learn about us.

That was pretty huge.

Yeah. But I would probably say the biggest was,

oh yeah.

The old magazine.

Talk about that just for one more second,

because you all,

everyone hears about,

you know,

the Oprah effect,

quote unquote.

Right. Did you guys do any preparation in terms of being

ready for those orders?

When they came in?

Not really.

We didn't know it was going to be in,

but we got ready quick.

Were you able to handle the value?

Yes. Yes.

We work pretty quick.

You know,

we have helped.

So it was,

so You didn't have to do any additional preparation because you

were already able to produce the volumes that you would Have

needed. Right?

Well, we work half day in the kitchen in the morning

and then the second half of the day we're shipping out.

So we just needed to bake that much more and yeah,

we were able to handle it.

We like to get the orders out within 24 hours and

we were still able to do that,

which was great,

such An exciting time.

And that was I'm sure.

Yes, yes.

Right. So on the customer service end and this'll be interesting,

especially because you're online.

How do you make your customers feel unique and important?

And Well,

first of all,

when the customers do call in Susie and I make sure

to answer the phone so firsthand,

we always get to talk to everybody.

If they're going to place an order over the phone,

or if they call us,

if it is placed online,

Susie or I are always the one who emails people and

tell them their tracking number and tell them,

you know,

thank you.

We appreciate your business and receive it when they'll receive it.

So we do everything within our power to make sure that

everyone feels special handwritten cards out our gift baskets.

Yes. Handwritten cards,

every thing is personalized with us.

And I think the customer feels it when they placed an

order with us.

And so do you Have a lot of repeat business then

because of that customization?

Oh yes.

Yes, definitely.

And repeat business,

but we always get a lot of business.

Like someone will call and say,

they just got the basket and they want to send us

someone else.

So we get a lot of business from people who've gotten

baskets. Okay.

We're going to move now into our reflection section.

This is a look at you.

And what you guys think has helped you to succeed along

the way.

If you had to think of one natural trait that you

have, that's led you to succeed,

what would that be?

I'm definitely a people pleaser.

And I think Joel is also,

so I really think that has helped us.

We want to make people happy.

We don't like conflict.

I think we handle things quickly and smoothly.

And I think that helps a lot.

Have you ever had an issue where a customer has had

concerns or been less than happy?

I mean,

you know,

if, if someone says they didn't get their package and now

we've, they've missed the holiday or something like that,

which of course is now is in our control because we

do our part,

you know,

we don't like a bad experience.

So whether we say next time,

a percentage off,

we do anything we can to make a negative experience.

Positive. That's A good point,

Jill, because like you said,

even if it's not in your control,

they still relate it to your business.

So if there's some,

if there's something that you can do over and above,

like you're saying,

and your solution is perfect because then they're coming back to

you again.

And most likely they won't have delivery issues,

you know,

the second time.

Right. So,

but it sounds like you guys really,

you listened to your customers and you make sure that they

walk away feeling good about the experience in whatever manner You

need to.

We've changed shipping companies to save 70 cents on a shipping

for our customers because shipping is so high,

anything that we could save them,

you know,

we're happy to do.

So we even switched companies to do that.

I guess I won't ask you right now who you're using,

You know,

shipping is that is one of my challenges because people are

used to seeing free shipping and we always think,

how can someone do it either if you're not an Amazon,

you know,

I see a lot of people may be padded in the

cost of their product,

which we don't do.

And that is a criticism that we do get from customers

is, you know,

your shipping is so expensive and it's not always in our

control, but we do the best we can,

you know,

to cut down costs,

wherever that is.

And then you provide a top quality product with fabulous service

and they have to pay for the whole package.

Right. So what tool do you guys use regularly that helps

you stay productive or helps you maintain balance in your very

busy lives Exercise?

You know what?

We've always made it a point and we tried to do

it every day.

You know,

of course,

some days you can't,

but we try and walk every morning,

Joel and I together.

And when we clear our minds,

we talk about business and we talk and family,

whatever, but we are instead of sitting at the desk and

talking about it,

we'd rather go take a walk.

Oh, that's smart.

So you're,

it's kind of like a business walk,

Right? Exactly.

Oh, definitely exercise in.

And we still get our business taken care of.

So we could still get our phone calls.

We have our phones and it's really helped us a lot

with the balance.

You know,

you got to stay strong and healthy and exercise is key

to that.

Absolutely. Especially with the challenges of business brings,

there Can be a lot of stress,

lots of stress,

especially eating cookies.

Right. I don't think that's too stressful exercise.

There you go.

There you go.

What book have you read lately that you think our listeners

would find value in One book?

And it's funny because it's really not why we got it.

My mother has great recommendations and one book she recommended was

how to bake a perfect life by Barbara O'Neill.

And I,

I mean,

as soon as he read it,

so yeah,

we really liked it a lot.

It's it's,

you know,

it's, it has personal struggles.

It has relationships,

happiness, you know,

to me,

a good book is you can cry,

you can laugh and you love the characters that takes you

away. And this book really does it all.

And it's also about baking.

So she's a bread baker.

So we're also able to relate.

Yes. It ties it all together,

right? Yeah.

Well, just as you are listening to the podcast today,

you can also listen to audio books with ease.

I've teamed up with audible for you to get an audio

book like Susie and Jill are recommending for free.

All you need to do is go to gift biz,

book.com and make a selection.

That's gift biz,

book.com. Now I want to add one more thing in here

just because I think it's so important and we touched on

it in the beginning,

but before we go to the very end of the interview,

I just want to ask you guys,

cause you have such a good vibe between the two of

you. Are there any recommendations you would give to somebody who

is going into or already is in a partnership situation with

their business,

any tips or clues on how you guys have made it

work? Yeah,

I think it's important to listen to one another and be

open to try new things or,

you know,

it's a give and take.

Yeah, it's definitely important.

And then if someone,

you know,

needs time off,

I just really,

you want your partner to be happy and it's also you,

the reason I think you have a partner is to bounce

off ideas,

to share,

to help when the other person needs help,

you know,

to stand in for them,

if they need to take off whatever it is,

you know,

to make a smooth working environment.

Susie, That's a good benefit to a partnership too,

is you do have someone who's totally in the know of

every aspect of the business where you really can bounce ideas

and support each other all the way along.

And I think also,

you know,

what I'm hearing from you guys is really this message that

it's not Jill's business.

It's not Susie's business,

it's your business together.

So there's there's ownership,

but there's still that overlay of the joint partnership,

Right? Yeah.

We try not to say it's her idea or her idea.

It's our idea.

And also it's like,

not, well,

you should do this and then I'll do that.

And you know,

we know what needs to get done and we do it

and it doesn't matter who does it.

That's good.

Yeah. Yeah.

Cause you're all,

you're both going for the same end result.

Exactly. That's a lot of,

you know,

uncompromising and Oh yeah.

Compromising along the way too.

Yeah. Yeah.

But in the end it's a stronger business for it,

Correct? Yeah,

definitely. Yeah.

Okay. We are going to circle to the end here and

I'm going to bring you to the dare to dream question.

I'd like to present you with a virtual gift.

It's a magic box containing unlimited possibilities for your future.

This is a dream or goal of almost unreachable Heights that

you would wish to obtain.

Please accept this gift and open it in our presence.

What is inside?

Okay. Oh my God.

Thank you.

Yes. Thank you.

Notes from people around the world,

letting us know how much they enjoy our cookies and has

brought a simple moment of,

and a smile to their face.

I mean,

really that,

you know,

when we get these emails from people,

really nothing makes us happier.

We love yeah.

Getting these,

you know,

the thank you is and how they enjoy it and how

their kids or their grandkids or their husband or their wife

loved gum.

And thank you so much that makes us so happy.

That'd be a,

a great thing to receive.

And the fact that it's all over the world,

you know,

that our cookies have spread that far.

You know,

and this goes back to your quote too,

that it's not all about the product.

It's about the emotion and the experience that your product provides.

Exactly. But typically in a new business,

because you,

you know,

it's not about the money because you know,

it takes time.

So you really doing this for other reasons and that's a

huge one for us.

Got it.

So if our listeners want to go online and take a

look at these fabulous cookies and possibly place an order,

where would they go?

They would go to the cookie joint.com.

Okay. And joint is J O I N T.

Then you'll be able to see all the cookies,

what they look like,

how cool they're packaged and all of that,

correct? Yes.

And gift biz listeners.

If you jump over to gift biz,

unwrapped.com, you will find the show notes page for Susie and

Jill. And there I'll also have their website,

social media site and everything you need,

if you would like to get in touch with the cookie

joint. Thank you so much,

Susie and Jill,

for the valuable gift of sharing your journey and insights with

us today and may your candle always burn bright.

Thank you.

Thanks. Learn how to work smarter while developing and growing your

business. Download our guide called 25 free tools to enhance your

business and life.

It's our gift to you and available@giftbizonrap.com

slash tools.

Thanks for listening and be sure to join us for the

next episode.

Would you like to be on the show or do you

know someone who can provide valuable insight from their experiences?

If so,

we'd love to hear from you.

All you need to do is submit a form for consideration.

You can access the form@giftisunwrapped.com

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