Katie Boardman, owner of Katie’s Cookies on the Mall in Lebanon, shared the history of her sweet business.
Katie Boardman
Katie grew up in Canada. Her father was a Rotarian. She said it was easy to think of him being a one of our tables enjoying all the conversations that happens over meal.
She went to the University of Utah. She has 6 children. She moved with her family to the Upper Valley from Fort Bragg in North Carolina. She grew up in a family of bakers, but as a child she envied kids who had oreo cookies and white bread in their lunch bags.
She indicated that her kitchen skills were never the best, but once married she learned the art of baking…no margarine or cake mixes for her. She developed a passion for making cookies, and she was noted for the cookies she would share with others at schools and other events. This lead to a dream of opening her own cookie shop. Here dream was on hold until her last child went to school. Though she did begin collecting family recipes from her aunts, and converted some into cookie recipes. She has a book filled with family recipes.
In 2020, COVID put her cookie dreams on hold, but in 2022, she got a booth at the Lebanon Farmers Market and started selling her cookies, successfully. She then shared that one day her husband came home from running and announced that there was an open store front on the Mall in Lebanon, next to Salt Hill Pub. He asked, “Are you ready?” Though hesitate, the dream of the shop has become a reality.
Her educational background was in therapeutic recreation, and she took no business courses. She had stayed home for 21 years raising her children, but her own personal “board of directors” had faith in her, and believed she could do this. They are the people who provide support, help generated ideas, and provide motivation. She shared she cried as she headed to the meeting with her landlord to sign the lease, but took a risk and rented the space. Her husband help build the bakery with her, and the grand opening was in March of 2023.
In the beginning she was putting in 12-16 hour days and not sleeping well. She shared a letter one of her daughters wrote her requesting “more hugs”. She was missing other important family events. She learned she had to hire people she could trust to bake at least 90% to the standard she had for herself. She learned how to supervise staff, and let staff go that did not meet the standard she needed for the shop. She now is working between 4-6 hours each day.
She indicated, a book, Profit First, by Mike Michalowicz outlined a new way for her to look at her business. [From a book review: This book encourages business owners to prioritize profit that they are trying to generate, before considering expenses and revenue. From that profit number, which should include paying yourself, they work backward.]
From AI synopsis of the book:
The Profit First book recommends setting up five distinct bank accounts for financial management: Income, Profit, Owner Compensation, Taxes and Operation expenses. These accounts help prioritize profit by pre-allocating funds before expenses are paid.
Here’s a breakdown of each account:
- Income Account: All incoming revenue is deposited here before being distributed to other accounts.
- Profit Account: This holds a percentage of the income, serving as a cash buffer and source for profit distributions or reinvestment.
- Owner’s Compensation Account: This account holds funds for the owner’s salary or compensation.
- Taxes Account: A dedicated account for setting aside funds to cover business taxes.
- Operating Expenses (OpEx) Account: This is where all business expenses like rent, utilities, and supplies are paid from.
Katie let us know that her business start-up was supported by 2 investors, one of which she was able to buy out last year.
She talked about the importance of her social media presence, and has a person who coordinates this part of the business for her. The do daily posts that include the menu of the day and if special events are happening. This person helps with online orders too. Each day has a different menu of cookies. The only cookie you’ll find every day is Katie’s Chocolate Chip.
It was a challenge in the beginning and continues to some extent to know how to order ingredient. The current climate has made for shortages and increased prices for key ingredients, like chocolate and eggs.
She shared a sweet story of being a mother and owner of a business. At one point, her daughter left the shop and went to explore the poker room…and was returned to her by a poker room employee who became a loyal customer. She used this story to share that this made her come to the realization that she can’t do it all, and her kids may get into trouble. Though a 1 star review still haunts her.
Bottom line, it takes a village to run a business.
From Katie’s Cookies Facebook Page
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