Today we’d like to introduce you to Courtney Boyer.
Hi Courtney, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I am a one woman show! I make all the cookies, decorate them and run my social media and websites. My husband, parents, sister and in-laws all help during busy holiday months to make bag cookies, packaging, etc. I run the cookie classes I teach each month and have some help from my mom as well. My day-to-day schedule involves me going to my day job- I’m a 7th grade teacher for Lancaster City Schools. I then come home to be a mom and wife. I have two girls that are 2.5 and 4.5 years old. Typically our evenings are filled with playing outside (when the weather is nice), making dinner, going to soccer or dance and then bath time followed by bedtime. Once the girls are in bed it is cookie time for me! I find it relaxing to sit down, listen to an audio book and decorate cookies after a long day. I grew up in Lancaster, Ohio and attended Lancaster City Schools, where I currently teach. I grew up with both parents and my younger sister. We were both involved in many sports and extracurricular activities. My mom forced us to do 4-h all through elementary and jr. high, at times we complained but this is where I learned to decorate cakes, which later turned into cookie decorating. I started this business when I graduated from college almost 11 years ago! I make custom cookies with royal icing on them. I started teaching cookie classes in 2019, and now I teach at least two a month at local coffee shops, breweries, small shops, private parties and my own home. I just recently started selling gourmet cookie cookies and oatmeal cream pies. I believe that my business is set apart from others because I have strong attention to detail, creativity and my product quality is great.
In elementary and junior high, I was always involved in 4-H. I took cake decorating and learned how to use different icing tips and techniques to ice cakes. I always enjoyed making cakes and baking, after that I would make them for family. I did not start making sugar cookies with royal icing until I was a senior in college. I came home to finish my student teaching, moved back in with my parents, and needed a creative outlet.
So, I started experimenting with buttercream and royal iced sugar cookies. I liked the look of royal icing so I self-taught myself how to ice cookies and watched a lot of YouTube videos on the ins and outs of all things cookies! I started making them for friends and family and then it turned into me making dozens of cookies each week.
Since my parents had a dog, I did not want to bake or ice the cookies there so my grandparents offered for me to run the business out of their house. Thankfully, they had a fully finished basement with a kitchen in it. I continued using their basement for four years. I baked and iced DOZENS (thousands) of cookies in their basement. I would average around 25-30 dozen cookies a week.
My grandma helped me mix icing, and dough, grocery-shopped for ingredients, and was my hype girl! My grandpa built all the boxes that the cookies went in. I then went on to get married and we built a house, where I run my business today. I am also a 7th-grade teacher at General Sherman Jr. High. I have two daughters (2 yrs old and 4 years old). I do cookies once my kids go to bed.
My husband is a tremendous help; he does all my business taxes, helps me bag cookie orders, runs my website, and much more. My grandparents are a bit older now so they do not help anymore.
My sister, parents, and in-laws now help with larger orders. It’s a family affair, and I couldn’t do it without all their help! In 2019 I started teaching cookie classes. I taught 5-6 classes and then the whole world shut down in 2020 due to Covid so I stopped doing classes for over a year.
In the fall of 2021, I started teaching cookie classes again and am continuing to do so. I love that I get to combine two things I love doing; teaching and cookies. I continue to make custom orders but due to my family’s busy schedule, I have cut back and focus mainly on holidays and cookie classes.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Juggling a full-time teaching job, being a mom, a wife, and a small business owner can be challenging at times but I thrive under pressure and love to stay busy. I never expected the business side to be so challenging- taxes, inventory, being my own secretary, and much more.
Thankfully, my husband is great and does the finances and taxes for me! I struggled during covid, as many small businesses did. Finding ingredients, contactless pickups and not being able to teach cookie classes was a huge obstacle for me.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is always ensuring that I am producing a high-quality product that not only looks great but tastes just as great. My customers’ continuing to come back for pre-orders, holidays, and classes is very important to me. I love being a small part of my customer’s celebrations.
Pricing:
- Custom orders range in price from $40-$60 a dozen
- Cookie classes over $45 a person
Contact Info:
- Website: https://courtneyscutouts.square.site/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/courtneyscutout/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CourtneysCutOuts/
