Conversations with the Inspiring Christine Yocum

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine Yocum.

Christine, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
ON A MISSION
Are you like me, in that you have this burning desire to want to make something exceptional, extraordinary, different, new, memorable? Since I was a kid, I’ve had this burning desire.

Cookies have been around forever, this we know, just ask Cookie Monster. And opening another “cookie cutter” cookie shop wasn’t sexy, exciting, or different. So, we decided to do something bold, courageous and crazy. We are on a mission to redefine the decorated cookie. We believe great tasting, hand-painted cookies are the cookies for the new generation. Why? Because this generation was born on the cutting edge, creating trends not following them.

Why hand-painted cookies? I guess I could answer that question with “why not?” or like Mt. Everest, “because it’s there” or worse, “my mom said I could”, but none of these answer the question. Lean in and I’ll tell you.

FAVE QUESTION
I’m a certified decorative painter and I’m a certifiable cookie monster both of which I love, love, love. So, it was a magical moment when I asked myself my favorite question of all time—“I wonder if______, hummmm…”—which I then fill in the blank with whatever I’m wondering about (if you try this, remember to fill in the blank or it doesn’t work, trust me, this I know).

Well, the blank this time was, I wonder if I could cut out fondant using a cookie cutter, paint it and somehow glue the fondant to the cookie, hummm…, (the question always ends with “hummm…”, the natural ponder moment and adds such dramatic flair). If I could do that, it would bring together my two passions—cookies and painting—the mission began.

MISSION POSSIBLE
I experimented with a few Christmas cookies and gave them as gifts. People were amazed because no one had seen hand-painted cookies before. I was obsessed. All I could think about was that there are a bazillion cookie cutters that were looking for me and I needed to find them and paint them.

Fortunately, Valentine’s Day was just around the corner, which gave me another excuse to paint cookies for friends. Again, they were so excited about these little hand-painted cookies. It was as if they felt like they were about to be a part of something that had the possibility of being big.

DUH MOMENT
Then, someone said something stunning, “you ought to sell these.” Duh! Great idea! If they were excited about the cookies and I was over-the-moon about them, that was all I needed to set the mission in motion.

My mission is to continue to build our cookie company in redefining the decorated cookie. As for now, when you think “decorated cookie”, you think iced cookies, which means our work is cut out for us. But as long as there is milk, there will be cookies, so we press forward like Buzz Lightyear–“to infinity and beyond! (Just tryna find his cool outfit in my size.)

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
STARRY-EYES, BIG DREAMS
I started our business with a BIG dream, starry-eyes, shoe-string budget, zero business experience and no education (risky recipe, but not impossible). In the early days, my heart got in the way of making sound decisions (oopsy) and I made a lot of mistakes, some of them costly. Now, I like to refer to them as “learning opportunities”–it sounds so much nicer.

I didn’t want to fiddle with numbers, I just wanted to paint cookies. I didn’t want to figure out financials, I just wanted to paint cookies. This is so common for creatives going into business. We just want to do our craft. I didn’t have anyone to do the stuff I didn’t want to do and I couldn’t afford to pay someone, so I had to develop my left brain–and it hurt–still does. The good news is that “pit bull determination” is my superpower, so I press on, I always do.

EPIC FAILS
Candidly, I consider myself the poster child for epic fails–in hindsight some are hugely comical and some, not so much. The urge to walk away–to just quit–often tempted my will. But I was all in, full body, with all my heart, passion and ego. It was a sheer determination that helps dig us out of the holes I created. It was dogged perseverance and fidelity to the dream that kept us going. The good news is that 11 years later, we’re still here (yea!) and I know more about spreadsheets and process than I ever thought I would. Best of all, our customers and clients love our cookies and we love making them for them.

MY TWO CENTS
It pains me to admit this, but I jumped into business before I had a business plan. It’s not that I’m ashamed, but it’s a painful reminder of all the havoc it caused. I convinced myself that I didn’t need one. Remember, at that time, I was following my heart (sounds so romantic) and not my head.

My solemn promise is that writing a business plan is not fun (I’m glad I’m not melodramatic). It’s like cherry cough syrup, it’s icky and it sure doesn’t taste like cherry, but it’s really good for you. And while a business plan doesn’t guarantee success, it will challenge you, force you to consider all facets of your business and ultimately keep you on track. By the time it’s finished, you’ll know how much seed money you’ll need, how much runway it will afford, how long you have before you must make your first sale and so much more. It’s so left brain and a necessity.

I discovered the incredible free assistance of the Small Business Administration and SCORE and highly recommend these resources to everyone starting a business. Both organizations offer incredible business support and mentoring–some of which are free–now that’s fun!

What should we know about Cookie Charm? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We, at Cookie Charm, are redefining the decorated cookie, both in terms of design approach and taste. Our tools of the trade, apart from our yummy ingredients, are our paint brushes and Photoshop. Whaaaaat? While most decorated cookies are piped with royal icing, we hand-paint each cookie with artist brushes and edible paint, creating edible works of art. Our hostesses love them and love the way they feel giving them as gifts.

In addition to hand-painting cookies, we are the “Brand Masters” of the cookie sphere (fist pump–YEAH!), specializing in creating cookies and gifts that express our clients’ personal and professional brand’s discriminating taste. From logo cookies to on-brand gift boxes, we make gifts that keep their clients talking about them.

Understanding that gift-giving is such a personal expression, we’re committed to every detail. From the moment a gift arrives until the last sweet crumb is consumed, we want to provide an experience the recipient will remember, share and talk about.

Signature to who we are is a fabulous tasting cookie.–’cause if the cookie ain’t good, then all the “pretty” in the world ain’t gonna make it so. We use simple ingredients to make extraordinary, “eye-rolling” good cookies.

We would love for you to visit our website and see for yourself.

What do you feel are the biggest barriers today to female leadership, in your industry or generally?
PUZZLE MINDSET
I love what Quincy Jones once said in an interview. When asked how he handles problems, he said he doesn’t have problems, he has puzzles to solve. Now, that’s a powerful mindset shift which forces our brain to focus on, and looks for, solutions. Way to use that frontal cortex, Mr. Jones!

If I say to myself I have “barriers” my mind shifts to “okay, time to U-turn, go back, retreat”, which becomes the brain’s focus and can easily transition to victim mentality or a pity party (and I’ve yet to make cookies for that kind of party). When we think “puzzles” our frontal cortex is stimulated “oooo, puzzles are games and games are fun, and we might get cookies, let’s do this.” That’s empowerment.

Personally, I like the easy four-piece puzzles (all corners)–if only life were so simple. Some of life’s puzzles are four-pieces (yes, please and all day long) and some are the 5000 piece puzzles that live on the coffee table for a long while (ouch!). I’m a woman of color, starting a business in my 40’s, no money, no education, etc. I could easily choose to see barriers or I could, and do, like Mr. Jones, choose to see puzzles. I say, reset your gaze to see puzzles and empower yourself.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://CookieCharm.com
• Email: Hello@cookiecharm.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mycookiecharm/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MyCookieCharm/

Image Credit:
Cookie Charm

Getting in touch: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.