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My Dip in the Shark Tank

Cookie Text takes a dip in the Shark Tank...Show.

Sidewalk Camping

I won’t sleep on the sidewalk for just anything. I do have standards, you know. But sleep on the sidewalk I did. Right between the couple with the neoprene lunch boxes that convert into placemats and the lady with the pop-top jewelry.

The couple to my left had flown up from Miami. They already had a successful product and a 5 star rating on Amazon. They were hoping to get on Shark Tank, the hit ABC reality show to increase their exposure. My line neighbor on my right was confident that her aluminum can jewelry was so new and unique that she was going to be the next big thing. She was just as sweet as she could be.

Then there was me. What brought me here? Sleeping on the sidewalk in a beach chair at 3am in Greenville, North Carolina? I’ll tell you the Interstate didn’t take me to Greenville. It was a two lane road through towns that had rolled up their sidewalks at 10pm.

There are four types of people

In life there are optimists, pessimists, cynics, and realists. I’ve come to find I’m some crazy combination of the four.

The optimist says: “I’ve got a great product that is a big hit, with the right guidance and backing, we could go national.”

The pessimist has read the statistics: According to Karen Ano, with Hearst Publications, “Of the more than 35,000 people who now try out each season, fewer than 150 make into the tank.” And then of those 150 countless numbers end up on the cutting room floor and never make it on television.

The cynic in me says, “It’s all about casting the right combination of people and products. It’s a tv show first and foremost, not just about the ideas with the most potential.”

And the realist says, “There’s a snowball’s chance in hell, but I’ve got to take the shot.”

So there I was. Sleeping on a sidewalk waiting for a wristband so I could take my turn pitching to a member of casting for Shark Tank. I could go into my amazing ability to create conditions in which I can sleep in any environment, but that might make you insomniacs jealous…so I’ll back track a little.

Shark Tank calls Cookie Text

April 2013: my cell phone rings and I let it go to voicemail. I listen and it’s a gal from Shark Tank wanting to talk to me about Cookie Text, LLC. So I call her back, she interviews me on the phone then proceeds to send me the full application via email. The full 29 page application and the 10 minute video requirement. I did it all (with a lot of help and support from my friends). I made a special trip to FedEx it within their 7 day window. Then I waited.

I never heard a word.

Shark Tank Emails Cookie Text

Fast forward one year to April 2014: I get an email. A different person in casting had seen an old email exchange and sent an email asking if I was still interested. Of course. So she calls me and again I interview on the phone, complete the mega-application, submit a video, and even send sample products. I thought I’d submitted a great package. (Again, within their timeline.)

Again: I never heard a word back from them.

Shark Tank Open Casting Call

I follow Shark Tank on Twitter and Instagram. I knew they did some filming in June. In my mind if I’d been selected from the April application I’d have been in L.A. in June. So amidst the social media I noticed the open casting call in Greenville, North Carolina. For those that don’t know, Cookie Text is based in Yorktown, Virginia, and at the time I didn’t even know there was a Greenville, North Carolina. Thanks to Google Maps I figured out it was just 3 hours away.

So I filled out my third application, this one graciously much more brief. I knew it would be my last time. I also knew I had to go to Greenville. I had to see this through.

Maybe it was the statistics that sent me: if they get 35,000 applications, did anyone even look at mine? I had to make sure I’d been seen. I knew once I’d been seen, that if the answer was no, I could accept the no. I just couldn’t accept the ‘who knows’?

So I arrived in the line about 2 a.m. I offered the extra two chairs in the back of my “Cookie Cruiser” to a couple of nearby folks who were sitting on the pavement…and then I dozed. Well, I dozed between trips to the port-a-pot (though I felt calm, clearly my bladder was nervous)…I arrived as one of the first 25. By the dawn’s early light the line snaked down the block and around the corner, with the end further than I could see. I kept thinking of the guy that walks down the street at the end of the movie Pretty Woman saying, “What’s yo’ Dream?”

Into the Shark Tank…foyer

Finally, wristbands were distributed, I switched from flip-flops to heels, and it was time to enter the building. We went right up the stairs to a beautiful waiting area where we were briefed by a casting director. He told us they’d call our number. We had a minute, but not exactly a minute, they weren’t going to cut us off at 61 seconds. He told us a lot of other stuff too, like this was the most obscure town they’d been to, but the attendance was as good as Seattle or Austin.

Then I waited for my number to be called. It wasn’t long. I was only #21. There were about 6 people from casting working at once. Each had his or her own table and the applicant walked up to the next available table when it was his or her turn, so it moved very quickly.

My number was called. I got my stuff together and quickly  the next available casting person was ready for me to give my pitch. And…she recognized me and CookieText® cookie cakes. She was the one that called me in April, that I routed my application to when I sent it to California. So the optimist says, “That’s good my product and I are memorable.”

The Takeaway from my swim with the sharks

But there was the realist: The part of me that most needed to attend the casting call. The part of me that needed to see this pursuit to the end. The part that knew, when I walked back to the Cookie Cruiser, that I wouldn’t be getting a call to head to L.A.

I was a little sad. But I was more proud and relieved than sad. I was proud I followed through to my finish line. And let me be abundantly clear. It was my Shark Tank finish line, not my Cookie Text finish line. Sure, Shark Tank would have been cool, as much for me as everyone who knows and loves the company and brand, but it’s not the only way to make all our Cookie Text dreams come true. It’s one of hundreds of routes to success. I’d drawn my line in the sand. If I went to Greenville and still didn’t get a call, I was letting go of that route.

Lots of my pride and belief comes from the love of you all, the customers and fans, so you gotta know that means the world to me. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I heard today on MarieTV (if you are in business and haven’t tuned in, check her out her website www.marieforleo.com) that failure and success aren’t necessarily different paths. They are often the same path. Success is just further down the road. So down the road I go.

I had to see Shark Tank through, and I’m very glad I did. But a ‘no’ from them isn’t a no to CookieText® cookie cakes. I firmly believe in the products, the concept, and the brand. Maybe most importantly on this long road, I still believe in myself.

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Facebook or Forcebook?

A small business perspective.

About 8 years ago I caught my UVA niece checking her Facebook page. “What’s Facebook?” I asked.

“It’s kind of like MySpace, but geared toward College. It helps you connect with people,” she said (in my loose memory of the conversation).

Shortly thereafter, I started an account. I remember it was laborious for me to figure out how to add a profile picture. And later when I figured out I should have my maiden name on my profile so people who knew me then could find me. I remember countless times it connected me to people I thought were lost forever to me.

Years later I can name only a very small handful of people I know that do not have a Facebook account. My husband, one of my best friends, and a friend who had a page then and realized it wasn’t for her.

A new way to “catch up.”

Ahhh, Facebook. In this very busy life, it fills in the gaps. When I see my friend that served on the PTA committee with me 3 years ago at the grocery, we don’t have to ‘catch up.’ We hit the ground running. I know her oldest won an ROTC award. She knows I just got back from a week at the beach and that my son is homesick at camp. It keeps us informed in an era that is so busy it’s tough to pick up the phone or meet to catch up.

Technology. The blessing and the curse.

Things got so uncomfortable between a relative and me a few months ago that I looked into closing my Facebook account…and that was even after she’d ‘unfriended’ me. Well, I can’t have a business page without a personal page–if I suspend one, the other has to go as well.

In my experience, and I think the vast majority will agree, Facebook is a critical resource to the small business owner. Shutting down the “Cookie Text…an edible tweet” page would kink the lifeline to my customers.

I care about my customers. I like them.

Quite a bit, honestly. The go-to way for them to be engaged with Cookie Text (and me) is via Facebook. When someone posts a picture of their loved-one with their CookieText® or I post the picture I took before a cookie cake went out and they comment that it was a hit…well that’s priceless to me. I love people. I love back stories. Then when someone posts that their son demanded a CookieText® for his party it fuels me to keep on keeping on.

I thrive on feedback, and that comes from people, not the bank account…we can all google the same statistics that tell us it sure isn’t money that will keep the small business owner going the first few years. Feedback from the customer is priceless, and Facebook is the hotline to that.

Facebook…

  • the cord to my customers, yet it chains me to difficult relationships.
  • the most valuable time I spend growing my business, yet the biggest time waster as I get distracted and watch countless inane links to videos of cute kids and puppies, or ‘just glance at the home page for a second.”
  • the social media that my generation is fully engaged in, yet my children have already abandoned.
  • the very reliable bond to many friends that I truly love and care about, yet…sometimes overwhelming.

Facebook. You are the best of times, you are the worst of times. In the ways when you are good, you are very good. In the ways when you are bad…you are quicksand.

 

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Little Victory

I had to shut down the shop and farm my boys out to friends last week. We moved the daughter/niece to Atlanta for her first real job. It was a quick trip, so it didn’t make sense to throw the boys in the car for 20 hours round trip when the hang-time in Atlanta was really about 6 hours.

Shutting down the shop is weird.

I can “block” dates on the online store, so people won’t select a day we are out of town for a delivery. People still email and call wanting something for that day, and then I have to tell them no, and no is never easy, but I’m getting better at it. So, We closed on Thursday. Not a single item was baked or delivered. I do have help. Someone that can cover when I’m gone. But in this case she was out of town as well.

Which brings us to the conundrum: family

“Put your family first” is easy to say, harder to do when trying to grow or run a business. I left town to care for family. My helper left town to take her son to an out of state event.

There have been many, many times in the past year, especially during the holidays, that I felt like I was neglecting my family for the business. It just makes sense that one capitalizes on the business when it’s there…unfortunately the holidays are a time when the demands of family are high as well…and tough choices are made.

Volunteer to Entrepreneur

If you can recall, I transitioned from volunteer to entrepreneur, so not only am I less present for the boys at home, I’m less present in their schools…where I used to spend a lot of time that they appreciated.

It makes me feel funny. When push comes to shove, I do pretty well with the balance. But there are days and weeks that I feel like I’m short-changing the family. Am I doing the right thing? Are they going to be okay?

So then there’s last week

I had to shut down the shop and farm my kids out to friends to take care of family stuff. I didn’t feel “bad” about that one. Family had to come first. But not feeling bad isn’t the same as not worrying.

The surprise came when I returned

The oldest went and stayed with his BFF’s family. I’d have sent all three there, but the BFF had company in town and I already felt like I was imposing with just the oldest. I went to pick up the younger two boys from a friend who hadn’t had the youngest around a lot before.

Eddie, our middle son, is great friends with their oldest boy, so it was a no-brainer that I’d ask if Eddie could stay there. But we wanted our Andrew close by his brothers and he doesn’t really have a friend in the neighborhood whose parents we know. So since Eddie’s friend has a younger brother we asked those parents. In their infinite kindness, they said they’d love to have both boys over (never mind that we later learned it was over their wedding anniversary).

If guilt was a crime…

So I’d closed the business, pawned the oldest onto his BFF’s family, and the younger two out to people that should have said no, but didn’t. If guilt was a crime, I’d have been doing time.

But then I came home

And the business was fine. People didn’t give up on Cookie Text because we closed for one day. And the boys were fine. Apparently more than fine.

I went to pick up the younger two and the mom said, “They are the most well-mannered boys I’ve ever met. They say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. They don’t run in and out of the house. They say ‘excuse me’ when they want to leave the table. And my youngest usually gets his feelings hurt when kids are over. He never did. They included him in everything. I seriously need to send my boys to your family for a week for boot-camp.”

So…there’s that little victory.

I guess it’s simply the life of the working mom. Wanting to raise kids that don’t feel neglected and bloom where they are planted…Wanting to raise well-mannered kids that aren’t personality-less drones.

The kind words my friend said about my boys were exactly what I needed to hear to make me believe that although I was constantly juggling the business and the family, I was managing to keep all the balls in the air. It was a huge sigh of relief.

And though it was barely sufficient thanks for someone caring for my kids for 2 nights, I did arrive at pick-up time with a thank you CookieText®…and Doug!

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Struggle or Success?

I read a quote by former NBA player Chris Herren recently. He said that more people were impressed with his sobriety following addiction than his amazing career as a Denver Nugget and Boston Celtic.

Herren said people identify more closely with struggle than with success.

It got me thinking…I’ve always tried to put Cookie Text’s best foot forward. In Facebook posts and in blog posts. Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative. This creates a positive aura around the company and keeps the customer worry-free.

Struggle or Success?

But do you need to know our struggles in order to really get behind us? And what kinds of struggles does a cookie cake company have? It’s cookie cakes, not rocket science (spoken by someone who lives in a NASA hotbed!).

I’ve had all-nighters, and customers who want the sun, moon, and stars–and they want it yesterday, for free. I’ve done bad math regarding flour after purchasing a new mixer and sent out a big batch of CookieText® that may have helped soak up flood waters. DRY as the Sahara. I’ve had equipment break downs. Most notably the mixer break down during Teacher Appreciation week…I was moments away from a stroke. Thank God for my husband.
And I’ve mentioned in the past the time the gal on the west coast copied my website to sell her own style of cookies.

So struggles, Cookie Text has had them. Quite a few. But we keep on keeping on, keep on moving forward.

And Triumphs…

We’ve also experienced some triumphs. You already know about those. Those are the kinds of things I usually post and share.

I can attest that people have enjoyed the successes. When I post or blog about something cool that has happened with the company, people ‘like’ it like crazy. There have been many moments I feel like the whole world is pulling for my little company that could. It truly makes me feel like a rock star.

There are times I truly need this assurance. Those times at 2 am when I’m cranking out cookies all by myself and I think of that support and realize that I’m not in it alone. There are hundreds of people who want the best for Cookie Text. It doesn’t matter if I’m sometimes the only one manning the ovens through the night. The knowledge people are pulling for CookieText gives me the ‘umph’ to keep going.

Perhaps it’s the old ‘root for the underdog’ mentality when it comes to Cookie Text.

I think people know we’re the underdog:

  • Most companies don’t happen upon someone who creates the perfect logo to launch their brand.
  • Most companies don’t start without a large investment of borrowed funds.
  • Most companies fail the first few years.

And there is something about that that makes people pull for us.

Let’s face it. I’m not the gal that got an MBA and knows the ins and outs of business.

I’m the girl from Phoebus, Virginia who is still paying off her college loans. Who started a little cookie cake company that people like and does a good job.

Maybe it’s both struggle and success that people identify with. Maybe people simply appreciate hard work that pans out.

So what do you more easily identify with, struggle or success? Perhaps too much of either can lead us astray.

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It’s a Small World

Late Friday Night

It’s Friday evening and my business line rings with a call from Texas.

“Good evening, this is Jeanne,” see, since it’s my cell and my business phone, I answer any unknown calls like that.

“Hi,” says a slightly strained voice, “is this the bakery?”

“Yes, this is Cookie Text,” I reply.

“First of all, do you deliver?”

“Yes, everything is hand delivered.”

“Okay, good, now are you open tomorrow?”

I explain that I take Saturday orders when I can, and have several for the next day, so I’d love to help her out. But since the number is from Texas, I clarify my delivery areas.

The Situation

“Yorktown. Good, my sister lives in Yorktown and she broke her wrist today. I wanted to do something nice for her,” the caller said.

I talk with her a bit about our product options and what would be best for the household she’s sending to. She decides on an item and explains that she’s 6 months pregnant, walking through the airport to her gate, doesn’t know yet how her sister even broke her wrist, but would try to place the order via her phone if she doesn’t have to board immediately. She mentioned she found Cookie Text by searching the yellow pages online for Yorktown bakeries.

Order Online

I explain that I’d love to help her out and take her order over the phone, but I was driving at the time (doing carpool for the Friday night trip to the ice skating rink–the latest place to be seen for middle schoolers). I told her if she had any trouble at all ordering online just call me or text me before the night ends and I promise her sister will get her item the next day.

It was a pleasant conversation. I was happy for the order, thrilled that she found Cookie Text online, and also delighted at the prospect of brightening her sister’s day.

Order Received

When orders are placed, I get an email with all the details. It’s quite convenient and helpful. So as I sat at the ice skating rink where the cool kids were spending their Friday night, I peeked at my email on my phone and there was the order from the woman in the airport.

It’s a Small World

See, the woman in Texas…that found us online…well, she was ordering a cookie for her little sister…
who broke her wrist in PE, and who just happens to be my eleven year old son’s sweetheart.