What It's About
A viral sensation inspires a baker to create an edible fidget spinner cookie.
Business Model
Skills Required
Complexity
Profit Potential
Words of Wisdom
Jessica kept her cookie creating side hustle simple and easy to manage for years. Through multiple jobs and different states, she took her side hustle with her. Luckily, all the states she’s lived in have cottage food laws, so she’s been able to work right out of her own kitchen.
For best results, find a flexible, low-maintenance side hustle that you can take with you no matter where you go.
Fun Fact
Jessica has made many unique cookies for so many happy customers over the years, but sometimes it’s the mistakes that stand out. A customer ordered chevron cookies for a party. Not knowing that “chevron” was a type of pattern, Jessica proceeded to make Chevron logo cookies.
Since it was a local order she dropped them off in person to a very confused client. While she ended up refunding the client's money, Jessica still thought it was one of her funniest cookie stories yet!
Notes from Chris
Episode 233
Based in Dallas, Texas, Jessica Grose is currently the Executive Producer of a popular YouTube channel, but her side hustle is totally unrelated to the entertainment business... because she’s also been baking cookies on the side. When she started ten years ago, she only took orders from friends and family for around $3/cookie and accepted cash or check. She always made custom cookies based on exactly what the client wanted—little dump trucks for a kids birthday party or pink feet for a baby shower. She slowly started getting even more orders and spending an average of 5-8 hours a week baking, decorating and packing up cookies for customers, for anywhere from $500 to $1,000/month in sales. For years this is how Jessica’s side hustle has gone—enough to keep her busy and occasionally serve an interesting celebrity customer. But then at the end of May 2017, Jessica made a fidget spinner cookie and it went viral. All the attention has translated to an average of $2,000/month in new sales the past few months. Not bad for a business that she can run right out of her own kitchen! MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:- Clearly Cookies: Head over to Jessica's Instagram page and check out these fidget spinner cookies in action!
- PayPal & Venmo: Two of the payment services that Jessica used to accept payments for her confectionary delights
- Cottage Law: Interested in starting your own baking side hustle? Here are the cottage laws in the U.S. by state
- Delicious Cookies Arrive at My Door in Portland, Oregon: A late night craving evolves into a cookie delivery service spreading chocolate chip goodness throughout the land
- Belgian Fine Chocolate Comes to America: After living in Belgium for 13 years, a Louisiana freelancer starts a seasonal side hustle making fine chocolate out of his home. It brings in close to $8,000 in the first year of business!
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Resources
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Quote of the Day
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