This isn’t a girl making a buck or two baking cookies for the neighbors. This is a girl who currently sells to over 250 people. In less than two years, she’s earned over $2,000, making more money a month than she would working seven hours a week at McDonald’s. Sophomore Chloe Davis started from scratch, but she created a full-fledged business.
Chloe and her mother Roni Davis originally started baking for their neighbors, like Jennifer Eckert.
“For a while they were definitely tweaking [recipes] and trying to get them just right — we tasted a lot of sugar cookies,” Eckert said. “Her decorating is so precise, and she definitely makes them very personalized. For my family, it wouldn’t be a celebration or holiday without her cookies.”
When family friend Kari Lipscomb ordered cookies for a welcome home party for her nephew returning from Afghanistan, Lipscomb jokingly suggested for Chloe to start a real business, and she jumped at the opportunity. Chloe’s cousin, a graphic designer in New York, created a logo, and shortly after, Chloe and her mother made business cards.
“My sister-and-law always called Chloe ‘Chlobugs,’ so we played around with the name,” Roni said. “I was really excited because I share that same passion for baking that she does, so it was something that we could do together.”
The business took off when Lipscomb ordered cookies for a party she hosted for GO Jammies, a part of the Global Orphan project. GO Jammies sells pajamas handmade in Haiti, and all of the proceeds go to the Global Orphan project. Lipscomb and her daughter became very involved in the
Global Orphan project after visiting Haiti in 2008, so when they decided to host a party to sell GO Jammies, they asked Chloe to make pajama-shaped cookies.
“The pajamas exactly matched the cookies that were sold,” Lipscomb said. “There aren’t a lot of cookie places around this area, and especially ones that have such beautiful cookies and designs. They were just incredible.”
Chloe’s name and contact information were added to the Global Orphan website, so word of her business quickly spread. Shortly after, Chloe went from baking in her spare time to juggling orders of almost 170 cookies each month.
“At the beginning, it was really just like family friends and friends of friends, but now I get people I don’t even know,” Chloe said. “I had one lady from New Jersey try to order, and I was like, ‘I don’t ship cookies’ .”
Chloe and her mother intend to stay in business until Chloe graduates, and until then, Chloe is always open to a new challenge.
“Our motto is to ‘bake your first impression,’ and our goal is to keep improving and keep making the best cookies,” Chloe said. “I’m always open to trying something new.”
