Beautiful Cookies

Beautiful Cookies began six years ago when my six-year-old daughter Hazel, ever the entrepreneur, asked if she could sell lemonade at the famous Buffalo Garden Walk.  Of course I said yes and decided to add my cookies to accompany her lemonade. Her lemonade went over well – and so did my cookies.  Beautiful Cookies was born!

 There are two reasons for the company name.  First, I’ve taught in some of the most challenging high-needs schools in the country. There were many times I wanted to say what I was thinking, or act on what I was feeling. But instead, if a student said "F*** you Mr. C, I hate your bald head”, for example, I'd reply, "Beautiful."

Second, like me, none of the cookies look perfect.  That’s OK, because we say, "Every cookie is different, but like people, beautiful inside." 

In spring 2016, I began baking in earnest, starting with recipes my sister Maeve (who is the best baker I know) shared with me. My whole family jumped into the act. My kids designed the logo and gave some of the cookies colorful names. I had fantastic success selling Beautiful Cookies at fairs and events in and around Buffalo. I had a commercial kitchen, several people working for me. I was working around 100 hours a week. However, a thoughtful, realistic business plan was missing. After 10 months, I couldn’t keep up the pace and shut the business down.

I’ve had 3 years to reflect on my 2016 cookie experience.  I know I’ve found a passion as great as working with kids in the classroom.   I know the mistakes I made.  And I do know there is a way for Beautiful Cookies to be successful.   Everywhere I go, people I meet love our story. The bottom line: there are really no great cookies in Western New York.  After dedicating many years of my life to teaching, I’m making a full-time commitment to establishing Beautiful Cookies as a Buffalo based company!

However, this time I know I need help from family and friends.  Now Gideon is 13 and Hazel nearly 12.  Both of them are capable and dependable.  And I’m determined to keep my connection with youth, so I plan on hiring Buffalo culinary high school students as interns this fall.
To establish a sustainable business, I need to hire a small part-time team to work with me; and prove we can run the company successfully for a full year.

                           [My funding goal is described below the following video and photo.]


The video captures the reactions of people sampling our cookies at some festival events.



The very first event!

To identify my funding goal, I started with my costs:
- My personal bills, including care of my children: $3,400/month
- A commercial kitchen lease: $800/month
- Part-time people with experience in sales, baking and business: $1,400/month
- Advertising: $400/month
- Total: $6,000/month.

So, my funding needs will range from $6,000/month right now to zero/month by the end of the “full year”.  If the net business income were to steadily improve, my average funding need would therefore be $3,000/month.  But growth will likely be slower in the first half of the year, so my average funding need will be higher: say $4,000/month.  Thus my basic GoFundMe goal is 12 times that average, or $48,000.

Of course, I’d love to exceed that “basic” goal!  Any excess could help me to:
- Hire additional part-time people to help at busy festivals
- Find a business consultant with directly relevant experience (and higher cost!)
- Purchase a refrigerated trailer (to convey cookie dough or baked cookies).

Thank you in advance for any and all donations.   The company cannot be Beautiful without your support!

To donate on-line, click the "Donate Now" button.  On the page that appears, you can choose to donate anonymously by clicking below the "First Name" field on the small box labeled “Hide name and comment from everyone but the organizer”.

To donate by check, click the small envelope icon beside my name (below the "Donate Now" button). 
Fill-in the "Contact the Organizer" page that appears, and ask me to send you my mailing address.