Today we’d like to introduce you to Ross Canter.
Hi Ross, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was an out-of-work screenwriter during the Hollywood writers’ strike in 2008 and picketing was surprisingly grueling. My wife, tired of paying the bills with no money coming in, suggested we start selling cookies — I had always loved baking and built a (tiny) reputation for my fun flavors amongst our family & friends. We sent out an email and the orders started coming in. Ironically, the strike ended and I was quickly back to work — but we didn’t stop taking cookie orders so I split my time writing and baking (sometimes for the same people!). As demand grew, we left our home kitchen and found a commercial bakery to rent a few hours a day (and just a few days a week) — that soon became very limiting and we knew we had to find our own space. With no retail bakeshop experience at all, we opened our store in 2014, figuring we’d make it up as we went along…which we did and we’ve been baking and growing ever since. We are currently in talks of expanding from our one shop in Santa Monica.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Is any road ever smooth? For two people with no retail baking experience, starting a cookie business is definitely filled with bumps. But I will say that these bumps always made us better/stronger/smarter. When we were preparing to open our shop, we knew we needed to find a real professional bakery manager to do all the things we didn’t know how to do (which was pretty much everything). We hired someone who had managed a popular bakery in NYC who’d just moved to LA. We were elated…until he quit just weeks before we opened. We felt completely lost and overwhelmed, having no idea how we’d manage any of this ourselves. But then, we dried our tears (yes, there were tears – like I said: we were completely overwhelmed/panicked) and decided that having our own business also meant that we got to establish our own rules — if we didn’t feel equipped to open for full days, six days a week, then we’d be okay to open for a few hours a day, a few days a week (making sure we’d only take on what we felt we could handle). This realization was key in letting go of some of the fear and being able to move forward and open our shop. As it turned out, we saw that we could handle a lot and never actually limited our hours. And even though we’ve absolutely made mistakes along the way, we learned quickly from them and were able to pivot and grow.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
We take the idea of “feeling Cookie Good” seriously. Yes, we absolutely work hard to make cookies that bring smiles to our customer’s faces (and we love coming up with new/fun flavors) – but we also work hard create a happy/fun work environment. We are so grateful for each and every one of our team – that they work so tirelessly and give their time and energy to help our business thrive – and we try make sure they all know it and feel good and appreciated every day they’re in the shop. We may be able to make good cookies but this could never have become a successful business without them.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I don’t think of myself as a risk-taker (my couch at home is my happy place). Having said that, I do think that most of the greatest parts/moments of my life happened as the result of taking a risk (and getting off the couch!).
Risk-taking can seem overwhelming but it does help to sometimes split the big risk into micro-risks. Not everything has to be seen as taking a leap — you can still get to the end goal by taking little jumps instead. There’s absolutely no way we could have sat at home during the writers’ strike and decided to open a cookie shop. But sending an email to a few friends and family was doable. From that point, moving from our home kitchen to a part-time commercial space was manageable. And then, after baking thousands of cookies and watching our business grow and expand across the country, the idea of opening our shop was actually conceivable (though still a risk, not as absolutely crazy).
Contact Info:
- Website: cookiegood.com
- Instagram: cookiegoodla
- Facebook: cookiegoodla
- Twitter: cookiegoodla
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/cookie-good-santa-monica
