Today I'm super excited, because I get to talk to somebody really awesome and I also get to fan-girl all over the place! I'm going to be talking to Georganne Bell, who I know a bit better as Lilaloa, from lilaloa.com. Listen in today, to find out all about this amazing Cookie Legend.

 

Georganne is from a military family. She's also a mom of four kids, all under the age of ten- which makes her legendary in my mind! She wrote the Cookie Companion book, which came with its own set of cookie cutters and she's also made custom cookie cutter designs for Anne Clark. She's a Cookie Con presenter, she was the Cookie Connection Educator of the Year in 2015, she's a Craftsy instructor, she teaches in-person classes and she also manages to run a blog, pretty much full time and, basically, she's really an all around Cookie Goddess! For those of you who don't know, she started out as a cake baker and then ditched that for cookies.  Listen in and find out about Georganne's amazing career in baking and also how Cookie-ers actually make money.

Show highlights:

• Georganne's transition (which really hasn't actually happened yet) from baking as a hobby to it becoming a full-time business gig for her.
• How Georganne doesn't really feel legit with what she's doing...  she somehow thinks that for a business to really be legit, you have to hate it.
• What it would take for Georganne to do a custom order.
• Where Georganne's main source of income comes from- a toss up between live classes and the advertising on the blog itself.
• Is blogging really is a way to make money?- Georganne was making just over $1 per month after her first three months and then just over $20 after her first year.
• The amount of time and effort that goes into blogging, so to make it, you really just have to keep on showing up consistently, until the return eventually comes...maybe...
• Georganne's experience of growing her blog, while growing her kids. 
• The three areas that allow for Georganne to feel valued and whole, as a person – her family, her church and her cookie community.
• Georganne's struggle to balance her time, so that her kids get the best of her and not just the left overs.
• The importance of being flexible when you're a working parent.
• If you really want something, do it! You really can be so much more than you are right now!
• The issues that cookie-ers have that cake bakers don't.
• How cookie-ers get around the money making issue.
• Getting over the weirdness of marketing yourself and your product.
• The best and the worst parts of what Georganne does. 
• The love or the money? Finding the balance.

Links:

Georganne's website: www.lilaloa.com 

 

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