From baking an occasional batch for one to designing a successful school-wide business, sophomore Carys Burnette combines ambition with creativity to develop Carys’s Cookies — a weekly cookie sale with a selection of creative, original flavors.
“Baking has always been a hobby of mine and I enjoy doing it a lot,” Burnette said. “I was mostly inspired to start a cookie business so I can raise some extra money when I go to France this summer.”
Although cookies may seem simple and fun, maintaining a successful business is not an easy feat. However, Burnette has learned to balance both her school and work life, leaving time to do homework while also keeping up with her rotating cookie menu.
“It’s not too hard balancing my business from school, because I plan out days just to make cookies,” Burnette said. “For example, I’ll buy ingredients Saturday night and then spend the following Sunday making them. One thing about cookie dough is that a lot of recipes call for it to chill for a few hours, so while my dough is chilling I’ll use the time to do school work.”
Besides hours of homework and tedious cookie recipes, Burnette struggles with other obstacles she faces as a small business owner.
“A few challenges are probably carrying the cookies around school,” Burnette said. “I make the best sales when I take them with me because I have all my inventory available. Another challenge is probably buying my own ingredients and packaging because some things are expensive. One way I deal with ingredient prices is setting aside a portion of money I make from sales so I can keep my ingredients in stock.”
Although consistency is key, originality and creativity are also essential parts of a successful business — especially when it comes to baking.
“I think something that makes my cookies different from others is that I tweak all the recipes to make them my own,” Burnette said. “This way I know no other cookie will be exactly the same as mine. For my flavors, I take a lot of inspiration from popular recipes I see online. The main ones are s’mores, biscoff, and cookie butter. I also like coming up with flavors that I know are generally liked so more people will buy them.”
If interested in trying Carys’s cookies, visit @carys_lb9 on Instagram.
