Cookie In The Kitchen: Emily Henegar Talks Art, Boundaries, And The Therapy Of Baking

What happens when a childhood sweet tooth becomes a lifelong calling—and a business that puts people first? We sit down with Emily “Cookie” Henegar, the Nashville-based cookie designer behind Cookie in the Kitchen, to unpack how an 11-year-old baker turned porch pickups into a brand known for bold colors, clean lines, and cookies that tell stories. From early kitchen lessons with two very different grandmothers to celiac-safe practices learned for her mom, Emily’s path blends heart, precision, and play.

The real twist: she skipped pastry school and majored in entrepreneurship while honing graphic design, treating business as a creative craft. Emily shares how that choice sharpened her pricing, operations, and branding—and why album covers, book jackets, and everyday objects now jump out as cookie concepts. We explore what it takes to balance classes, orders, and life, the art of saying no, and the mindset behind her most-read newsletter, “Human First, CEO Second.” If you’ve ever wondered how to stay inspired without burning out, her rituals of rest, Sabbath, and community support offer a practical roadmap.

Baking is her therapy and her structure. When screens and emails feel endless, a finite order—two dozen cookies with a clear brief—restores focus and creates satisfying closure. Emily walks through managing the emotional highs and lows of music-industry projects, asking for help without apology, and choosing between “hurry up” or “wait,” but never both. You’ll come away with actionable ideas for starting where you are, building a distinctive visual voice, and letting your unique mix of place, people, and passions lead the way. If creative entrepreneurship, cookie decorating, and sustainable growth are your keywords, this conversation is your search result.

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Transcript

Welcome & Audience Shoutouts

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Cake Therapy Podcast, a place of joy and healing with your host, Dr. Christopher. This is a heartwarming and lifting space that celebrates the transformative hour of baking therapy. The conversations will be a delightful blend of inspirational stories, expert insights, and practical baking tips. Each episode will take listeners on a journey of self-discovery, emotional healing, and connection to the therapeutic art of baking. There's something here for everyone. So lock in and let's get into it.

Meet Emily “Cookie” Enigal

SPEAKER_01 0:47

Hi everyone, welcome back to the Cake Therapy Podcast. I'm your host today, and I'm excited to be back with you. First of all, before we get started, I want to take a moment to give a special shout out to all of our listeners, our regular listeners, our subscribers, and especially to the University of Technology students who are joining us. So welcome guys to the podcast. Today we have an extra sweet guest who's joining us. She is one of four to be reckoned with, I would say, because she has turned her childhood love for baking into a full-fledged business. So you know how some of our guests come on and say, oh, we were inspired by a traumatic event, i.e. me, or but she always knew that she wanted to bake since she was a child. Um so I'm excited to hear her story, and I'm also excited for you to hear her story. So today's guest is Emily Enigal, also known as Cookie. She is the creative entrepreneur and cookie designer behind Cookie in the Kitchen. Um a little backstory about Emily here is that she actually started baking at the tender age of 11 years old because she wanted to satisfy a serious, serious sweet tooth that she has, just like most of you are listeners who are just here because you have like an incredible sweet tooth. And I think this blossomed for her into this thriving business that she runs out of Nashville, Tennessee. Um she likes creating cookies that tell unique stories and um tell the stories of people's, you know, moments. She likes to capture moments in time. And if you go on her Instagram page, you will see how she does that. And she does that so beautifully. She did entrepreneurship and graphic design at Belma University. Um, so now she fixes and runs her business full-time. And she says that this brings her Jorg to the colors that she used and how she personalized her cookie creations. Um, she loves designing intricate cookies. Um, and we want to hear how she's managing this business and um want to know like where does she find inspiration? She's been doing this for a while. And, you know, after graduating university, um, I want to learn what she's done and how she's doing it. And um, you know, I I can't wait to have this conversation with her. Um, for you um or young listeners, especially. This is a young lady who really answered the call. You know, um, her call was actually qualified and she stepped right into that. And um let's hear from her. Welcome, Emily. I'm excited to have you on today. Welcome to the podcast, Emily.

SPEAKER_02 3:46

Thank you so much for having me. I'm so delighted to chat with you today.

Early Kitchen Memories & Celiac Lessons

SPEAKER_01 3:50

You know, I'm really excited to have you on as well. Um, cooking in the kitchen is an amazing space. I watch your work, I love your artistry. And um, for our listeners, you're gonna tell them how to find your work towards the end of this conversation. But listen, you do awesome work and we're happy to have you. So, how are you doing? How is Tennessee? Share with our listeners what's going on down there.

SPEAKER_02 4:12

Yes, Tennessee is lovely. We've had a a warm start to the winter so far and or fall, I guess. Um, it's very dreary today. So on a Monday, I'm like dragging my feet. But it's a a good place to be. Yes. Where are you in the world?

SPEAKER_01 4:30

I am in Minnesota and it's very, very dreary today. It's like gray outside.

SPEAKER_02 4:37

Uh do y'all have a lot of snow right now?

SPEAKER_01 4:40

No, we have no snow right now, but typically we should be. It typically snows around this time, but we are not snowing. I I traveled last week and I was expecting to come back to Minnesota in the snow because I was in Jamaica, you know, that was sunny and stuff.

SPEAKER_02 4:56

But that's a fun break from all the dreariness to go to Jamaica.

SPEAKER_01 5:05

Absolutely, absolutely. It's always fun to be home because I'm Jamaican. Yeah. So fun. All right. All right, let's dive into this conversation because you know, my producer and I, we we just couldn't stop with the questions. We have a lot of questions for you.

SPEAKER_02 5:24

I'm ready, I'm locked in. I'm so excited.

SPEAKER_01 5:28

So we we really wanted to um to tap in into Emily the little girl, right? To find out about your first memory of baking and how it sparked your love for cookies.

SPEAKER_02 5:42

Oh, well, I feel like everyone's first memories of baking are often with family, and that's where my mind goes to first. Uh both of my grandmothers are very talented cooks and bakers, and um and I would, I just yeah, would remember just piddling around in the kitchen with them. They had very different cooking and baking styles. One my mom's mother was very like precise and a little more calculated, but also still had a lot of fun. And then my dad's mom is very like never uses a measuring cup, rarely checks a recipe, a little more go with the flow. So it was fun to kind of have the mix of both of them. And my mom actually has celiac disease, and she's allergic to gluten. And so I she didn't get diagnosed until I was probably 12, maybe, or maybe a little bit younger than that. So I didn't bake with her as much um until early days uh before she was diagnosed. We definitely would would make lots of cookies.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

Mm-hmm. So are you making um I would say gluten-free cookies now? Do you?

SPEAKER_02 6:55

I can. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't always do it, but whenever people ask, it's nice because celiac is very intense and you have to be very careful about cross-contamination. And a lot of people don't really know how to do that well, or just will forget about it. But I'm like, I've been trained. Like, I tell people, I'm like, you can trust me, I have I have the celiac kind of approval for my mother. Um that went through a lot of uh me baking in high school and being really bad at that and like leaving crumbs and keto residue over the counter. My mom was like, Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:28

Like, run your hand over this. You need to give this a watch. Like, this is going to kill me.

SPEAKER_01 7:32

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So you you baked your you start you're in the kitchen. Tell me about 11-year-old Emily. Um, what made you decide that this is the thing that I want to do for the rest of my life? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:48

I mean, I I don't I knew that I wanted to do it, and I I had no sights of stopping, but I think my parents were never never pressured me and not neither did anyone else around me to be like figure out what you're going to do with your life, and this is the thing that you're good at, so you should do this. It was all like like people would ask my parents, how do you get her to do this? And they're like, trust me, we do not get her to do this. She this is all her. Like, we can't get her to stop. That's the opposite of this. Um so I think that it was um, I feel like baking for me has always been a conduit for having self-expression and just having fun. And it it's more of a means to a lot of different things rather the thing in and of itself that I am like incredibly excited by. Um, I am incredibly excited by baking, but there's just so many other things connected to it that it allows me to do. And um, and so I think that was what as an 11-year-old, I really appreciated the freedom there to play around. And my um, yeah, my parents were just very supportive of giving me the tools to do what I wanted to do, but appropriately, like they would let me. Um, we because of my mom's health, I baked in a separate part of our kitchen and our like mud room. And then I would still use our same oven, but I would be baking every time. They were like, okay, yeah, let's like pull out these random shelves that we have in our storage fog and we can put them up and let's go run to the store and get used to mixing bowls. And um, they didn't like go ham or anything crazy. They kept it still very like natural to my age, but they really let me run with it. Um, and so I think that uh that to me is what really enabled me to dream about what I where I wanted it to go and to enjoy where I was right then. It wasn't like, oh my own, like if only I was 25 and I could be doing this in my own apartment or whatever. I was like, oh my gosh, I love doing this right now, and also like how it's so exciting to think about what it would be like if I had a whole kitchen of myself or other people with me who were a bakery in Paris or whatever I was dreaming about as an 11-year-old. Um so yeah, it was really um what baking enabled me to do that made me love it so much, and just the community aspect of it that I was always bringing cookies to neighbors and the church friends, and there's just so many opportunities in which big gifts are able to be present and um or be a present. So that was especially fun.

Neighborhood Sales & 19 Dozen Orders

SPEAKER_01 10:23

You know, like you you you did talk about um community here, and you know, I I started my baking journey very, very old. Way older than you, right? And I I remember as I was baking these cookies and cakes in my kitchen, everyone was going, hmm, but nobody was ordering. Tell me about you giving your cookies away, right? And then coming home with 19 dozen orders. Tell me, oh my god, tell me about how that felt and if that had anything to do with you um understanding your gift and you know deciding to pursue it.

SPEAKER_02 11:08

Wow, yeah. Yeah, so the the story goes, I started cooking in the kitchen at age 11, and I've been making for, I mean, like fiddling around in the kitchen with my grandparents, the parents before then. Um and then uh, but there really wasn't a huge amount of time between me starting, me like making cookies and being passionate about that, and then me selling cookies. And usually people there's a wider discrepancy because people are like, let me get good at this before people pay me for it. And I'm like, I'm good. We're we're ready to go. We're ready to roll out this thing. And grind me my money. Exactly. Yes, right. Um, and so my yeah, my sister drew a little logo for me, and we printed out some business cards, and then um we I baked probably five or six dozen cookies in a couple different flavors, and then walked around my neighborhood with a big tray of them and just went door to door, and I had a little clipboard that just asked people to sign up for more orders. And the great thing about baking as an 11-year-old is you're not gonna skim on the product chips, and you're not gonna skim on the butter or the sugar or the good ingredients. So I I do still stand that I think they would probably taste as good then as they did today. Um other recipes I could probably be like, yeah, I I do think I've improved since then. Um but yeah, and and then we walked down one like main street in my neighborhood, and then I had 19 dozen orders at that time, and then my mom was like, we can't keep going, like we've gotta stop. So yeah, I think that I mean, obviously, there's like a precious 11-year-old knocking at your door with cookies and giving you a full-size sample, and like, I mean, what what are you gonna do? You're gonna turn that girl down. So I think I think the cuteness factor was definitely working in my favor. Um, but yeah, I do think that there's I've been really grateful to be blessed with just having a strong sense of confidence as a young age. Like I was very feisty as a really as a toddler, and my mom would say that I was a CEO in a toddler's body. And so I was like, I knew what I wanted and who I was. Um, and that's just been kind of part of who I am. And so I think that was just the iteration of how that came about through a lot of my life was through the avenue of cookies. And I think there's something about people that are confident and that yeah, know who they are and what they want that doesn't have to be directly related to career, but just in general, I think it's attractive to people because it's inspiring to be like, oh, I can also feel the same about the things that I'm doing. And not to say I don't think it's mutually expensive with still figuring things out and navigating who you are as much and what you're interested in. Um yeah, but yeah, so I I think maybe, I don't know, maybe people picked up on that when I was young too. Just like, wow, I love how bold she is to ask for this and to go for that in that way. Um, and thankfully I was in a very lovely uh church community of people that uh were very eager to support and buy 50 for their kids' birthdays and parties and everything. So um I think that was uh yeah, an easy end for people to celebrate me, which I'm really, really grateful for and for me to celebrate them.

SPEAKER_01 14:23

Yeah, absolutely. And the thing about it is too, it's hard for adults to miss leadership and in in in youth, like in young people it's easy to see. Yeah, to really and it's it's for us to really see it and nurture it. So kudos to those people um for seeing you, seeing you uh and nurturing you and ordering 19 dozen cookies, girl.

SPEAKER_02 14:46

That was agreed. Yes, my mom does like to say that she's like she's really great now, but she was a really hard parrot, so keep that in mind.

SPEAKER_01 14:55

Yes, you were really hard to parrot. You did mention that there's some things that you wouldn't put in the cookie. You think your cookies would taste, you think your cookies tasted as good then as they do now. So obviously your skills definitely grew over time. How did you learn to actually refine your cookie decorating skills? And um to add to that, I know that you went to college for entrepreneurship and graphic design, and I wanted to see if there was um a correlation between you studying entrepreneurship, graphic design, how it actually influenced your approach to you know baking and running your business and actually your skills following.

Self-Teaching Craft & Business School Choice

SPEAKER_02 15:37

Absolutely. Yeah, it's a great question. I think the the business versus creative breakdown is a really interesting one, but a whole other thing I could into. But on the cookie front, I mean, really, I just had a 10-year learning curve of making every possible mistake that you could make in the kitchen and learning from that. Um, so yeah, it was mostly like really just self-taught. I mean, I would peddle around on Google and a random cookie blog and follow along with other cookie decorators to just see what people were up to or joining Facebook groups and asking questions of like what the heck just happened on my icing? Like, why does it look like this? Um and yeah, and I think generally, and that's especially trigger cookie wise, I feel like it's it just like you said, it was refined over time that I just found my style more or got like just cleaner in my work than my lines and artistry and that I mean, like any form of artistry, it would just uh just take practice. And on the business front, it was so when I was a senior in high school and was considering what I was gonna do for college, most people would assume, like, oh, pastry school is culinary school, like that's your direction. I was like, not really. Like, I am interested in the baking world and I love what I do with cookies, but like I kind of found my niche and I'm I'm good sticking with that. Like I I didn't feel as enamored by learning all of these different pastry techniques and everything. Um, and so um, and and I took a graphic design in high graphic design class in high school, like early high school, and that's when um I saw the connection between what I was doing on cookies and what I was doing on the computer, and then that rocked my world um to see the the overlap of like, oh, I'm really just doing graphic design on the cookie, and then that the artistry just really exploded for me. And so when I was yeah, considering what I was wanting to do in college, or if I wanted to go to college at home, really I just talked to a lot of people and adults that in the industry and were like, what the heck should should I do? And like I had always had this dream of opening a bakery, and I felt pretty confident in that dream because it had been since yeah, from age 11 to 18, that I would still think about it. So I'm like, okay, that's it's stood the test of time through puberty and adulthood. Um, so that's telling me that there's something here that I that's that's really true to who I am that I want to pursue, but also like how in the world do you have a bakery? Would I even like that? And um a lot of people in the industry all of that, like, don't go to patriot school, go to business school, and learn how to run a business because you could have a fabulous product, you could have the best tasting, most beautiful cookie ever, but if you don't know the business, like it could completely flop. And so then I was like, well, okay, that's interesting. Am I going to hate business? Like, I'm such a creative person. Will that just like uh yeah, make me feel crazy um by not having a lot of creative problems when I'm studying? And so I almost thought about majoring in graph design and minoring in entrepreneurship. And then before I did that, I was like, well, I didn't want to do this with my life, so probably a good reason for me to major in this. And um, yeah, and so really what I saw in my time in school was that entrepreneurship and business is 100% creative. It's not um like the craft is just one aspect of what you're doing, and that is definitely where like if I was only wanting to spend all of my time in the kitchen, like running a business is not what I would say and I would suggest to people. Like work for someone else and they can run the business things that you don't want to do, and then you can just enjoy all of your time being spent in the kitchen. Um, but I really found that I didn't feel as in as excited by that, and I really like lit up talking about the business and learning it about how everything worked and just all of the the interconnectedness underneath the surface of what I was doing with the kitchen and learning more connections of how things were connecting to something bigger, and so yeah, that was um really what my my journey looks like and still kind of looks like this day, and it's how I want my future to look like in terms of what I'm spending my time on or what my role is as my business grows. Um, but I think yeah, that uh that being in school for that really to just kind of give me the space to play around with it and not have the pressure of like, like if I had gone and started a bakery as soon as I graduated uh from high school, like I wouldn't have had that freedom to be able to even ask that question, like, do I want to be in the kitchen? Because I'd be like, Well, this is what I'm doing. So I really appreciated that um that space and then community around me to um sport me and champion me in that professors that were curious about it and asked good questions of hard questions. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:35

Yeah. You know, I I love that um so many of us, um not me, so many, so many of our youth, they like being in the kitchen, of course. And the first thing they think of is going to pastry school. But they like making cakes or they like baking cookies or they like making cake bottles. And I love where your thought process went to when it was time to go to college, you're like, okay, I I know I love cookies, I'm not going anywhere else. Let me learn how to run this cookie business. Let me learn how to do this, you know, as efficiently as possible. And let me learn how to express art on my cookies and through my cookies. So kudos to you. And we do have a lot of college listeners, high school, middle school um listeners on um who subscribe, you know, are regular listeners to our podcast. But I want you to share with us and with them, uh, because we all know that balancing school is is hard work, right? With baking and growing a business. To me, that that when I I I I started baking, I was working as a vaccine scientist and it was it was challenging. So I know that it has to have it had to have been challenging for you. What kept you motivated during those years?

Balancing Classes, Orders, And Saying No

SPEAKER_02 21:58

That's a fabulous question. I mean it really was the passion and like love for doing it. I think if without that, there's no way that I would have gone down through all of the hoops that I did to make it happen while it was while I was in a challenging setting in terms of like it's not as easy as rolling out of bed at my parents' house and then going into the kitchen. It's like okay, I have to pack all my supplies up and then I have to walk it over to my friend's apartment and they then I have to walk it back to my dorm room and do it here and or like it's not as straightforward as all right, I finish school at three o'clock and then I get home and I have all this time to work on cookies. It's like okay, I have this gear pocket of time, and then I'm going to this concert, and then I have this event that I have to go to, but then I might have this order and then I should also probably respond to my emails. And I mean, not to say that being in in uh high school or middle school, it was uh it was still definitely challenging to navigate to a school, but it's a little bit the lines are a little bit cleaner, whereas especially in college, like there's so many things that are going on. Um and yeah, and the physical place in which I was thinking was a lot less straightforward as well. And so um, yeah, I mean it definitely was a challenge and was a balance. And any of the podcasts that I was on in school, that was always a big question of like, how do you balance this? And I'm like, it is it is uh it's a dance for sure. There are some days where I feel good at it, and like I've I'm holding the things well, and then other days where it feels like there's cookies are on the floor, you know? Yeah. Um and I think my perspective with it was um, I mean, I've I I've been in business almost 14 years now, and clearly I'm down to play the long game. Like this is it's something that I don't feel um brushed to keep growing. And any honestly, most of the growth that I've had is felt like, oh my gosh, I'm not even trying to make this happen, and yet this is growing faster than I can keep up with. But really, my perspective, um, especially in school, was like I'm just not in any rush. And I right here and right now, like I'm like, I have my entire life to make cookies, and I have four years to be a college student. And that was generally my perspective of like this is my bigger priority right now. And though I say that and I look back on my time in school and I'm like, yeah, I did make a lot of cookies, and that definitely was a priority. But I think my perspective that I had on what am I here to do was not like I'm here to grow this business, I'm here to make this happen, I'm here to find connections. I'm like, I'm here to be a student, I'm here to learn this, and I'm here to play around with this and enjoy the gift of being of having this wonderful, beautiful business that I'm growing and also being a college student. Um, and so I think that has been uh it shaped me so much and shaped my business a lot. Um, especially just in that sense of like, I'm not gonna have to grow this. Like I have wanted to have a bakery for so long, I dream about it all the time, and I'm like, and I'm not in any rush. Like I literally took my entire life to do that. And I think um, and I also just got really good at saying no, which is hard. And I still am not great at it. I still struggle with that, but that was a really cool perspective to think to realize when I graduated and was still saying no to people where I'm like, oh wow, I really have exercised this muscle muscle a lot because I've known I've seen my limits so much up close because I really I did not have that much capacity to do a lot. And so uh I had to be pretty selective in what I said yes to, which also made me more particular on what I wanted to do and what I wanted to spend my time on. So um that's not always like you don't always have the option to be picky, but I'm I'm grateful that I was able to.

SPEAKER_01 25:50

Yeah. You know, I I love hearing you say that there was no rush. You had the rest of your life ahead. But then I also um love hearing you um talk about your boundaries and when to say no. Um again, here with these youngins, right? The importance of saying no and going slow.

SPEAKER_02 26:18

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think at the end of the day, I wrote a uh I have a newsletter that I I write out when I'm opening my books for orders, and I'm like, I don't know if anybody wants to hear this. I'm just rambling. Uh you probably are just wanting to order cookies, but you're getting an insight into my whole brain. Yeah. And um, there's one that I wrote recently that I entitled Human First, CEO Second, and it was one of my like most popular emails that I'd seen people uh open. And I think I've always had that perspective of like I'm a human being first and foremost, and we're creatures. Like we need we need sleep, we need fuel, we need rest, we need community, we need time to play, we need time to work. Like there's um we have a lot of needs, we're very needy people. And when those needs aren't being met, like we're not fun to be around. And this is always a struggle for me to balance like what I say yes to. And oftentimes it's I've learned a lot more from saying yes to way too many things or spreading myself too thin. Um, and realizing, like, okay, I got this done. I made all of these cookies and I'm proud of them, but I also don't feel great after this. Like, one, I like feel like I just got run over because I didn't sleep for three days straight or something. Um and also I'm like, and I neglected like all of the text that came in and my friends that were near me, and I'm like, I'm not that fun to be around that time. And so um I think seeing the cost of what happens when you don't say no um is uh what has made that clear to me of that being so important. Um and yeah, and I'm not rushing, I think um, yeah, I had a um I interned at a bakery of when I was a junior at Belmont, and I was talking with the owner there about how much of like what I am learning about a bakery and what I should be doing. Like, how much of this do I act on right now? Like, do I need to be like making this happen? And I have not to think about this since he gave me this advice, but he said either hurry up or wait, but don't do both. And that was a really helpful framework to have when um, especially when I graduated too, and I was like, okay, do you want to jump into trying to buy a bakery space? Like, what should I be working on now? Like, what should I be doing? And I kind of thought there were a couple opportunities that I was curious about and kind of saying, like, should I I follow through with these? And I was like, I can rally, I can hurry up. We know that I can do that. I have proven that time and time again. But it felt I felt a lot more peace about not about waiting. And um, I think that you both are are worthy options of how to navigate your life and your business. Um and there are some people that are like their careers are very quick, or it can be like a flash in the sand that um uh or flash in the sand that is um yeah, like it grows really, really quickly. And then they're like, all right, and now is my time and I'm done with that. And that is beautiful just as much as doing something for 14 years is it's not like one path is a better way to go about it. And and that's the other thing too for the young listeners. It's like if you're interested in this right now, and then in a year you're like, I could care less about all of these baking supplies that I got from Michaels, it's like cool. That's like the fun part about being young too, is that you can play around with it. Um and it doesn't have to be something that you stick with forever. Um, but yeah, that was just helpful wisdom for me. Um, because uh that has just felt like my general perspective on my business and passion as I've grown it since I began. Um it's just always had a bit of a slower pace. And yeah, I could expand that if I wanted to, and I could could rally, but um yeah, I I've appreciated that because it gives me time to do it well and to think about it thoughtfully of how I'm going about it, but it also um yeah, lets me uh yeah, enjoy being a human and being whatever whatever like God has for me in the season that I'm in with the people that are around me to be able to enjoy that and not feel like I'm a slave to Yeah, absolutely.

Human First, CEO Second

SPEAKER_01 30:40

I love your perspective on that, and I'm gonna invite you to share a similar perspective on our blog at the end. Um, because I'm gonna like I love hearing you how you how you get to concept ideas and how you lead your life, and I want you to share that with our girls on our blog. So I'm gonna invite you to to write a blog for us. Um I um I can appreciate your pace. I do appreciate your pace. And for me, I found baking to be baking is my therapy. And for a lot of our guests, you know, baking is quite therapeutic for them. I want to know um what what does the act of baking mean to you on a personal level?

SPEAKER_02 31:26

I love that. So something that I've been thinking a lot about is I've been full-time, I've been full-time for a little over two years now. And I a lot of my time is spent on the computer more than is in the kitchen. Um, I mean, it's in terms of hours I'm copying, it is more time in the kitchen, but it feels like my soul feels like I'm spending all of my time on my computer. And uh and uh there's a lot that part of running a business that you just kind of have to do that. And there's um and there's parts of that that I do enjoy, and then other parts that are like soul sucking to me. And um, but with baking, it's always so nice because I had to figure out like how do I build a schedule uh as I graduated? Because no one's telling me when to do things, no one's telling me how to do things, and I have this whole like freedom of it could look like anything, which sometimes is nice and sometimes it's kind of overwhelming. And so um I'm a night owl and I've always been that way. I will would always bake. Yes, you as well. Yeah, what are when are your when are you usually baking?

SPEAKER_01 32:30

I'm I'm I I'm baking cakes and I'm starting late. They're due on Saturday, and I'm starting Friday night or something and I'm sweating with bullets.

Baking As Therapy And Finished Work

SPEAKER_02 32:41

Yes. Exactly. Yes, yes. Well, there's even something like therapeutic about that that I appreciate of like the house is quiet, no one's bothering me, my phone's not blowing up, like I don't feel this pressure to go outside and do things, or when's the sun's gonna set? Like, it does feel nice to have that just runway to enjoy it. Um, but I uh one of the things that I so appreciate about big demons that they're beautiful for me is that I was talking with someone once and they were saying that um we were about to do some like gardening, and um he was saying that so much of our work, especially when we're doing things on the computer, is so never-ending and it doesn't we don't have that sense of like resolution and satisfaction. It just can feel kind of like a treadmill, like we're always keeping up with it, or like, oh my gosh, okay, like I cleared up my inbox, like great, I finally checked that off, and I'm like, next day everyone writes me back, and now I have to do it all over again, and I'm like, it just can feel so frustrating, and um and there's something so nice about just closing my computer at the end of the day and working with my hands, and I don't think that I would want to ever not be working in the in the way that I do, where I'm doing a mix of a lot of different things. Um, and I just love that so much that I'm able to use like so many different skills or a different part of my brain. And when there's a a day that I just feel overwhelmed by all of the decisions and what am I saying yes to? And I'm like trying to catch up with all of the uh unresolved threads of work I have to do to yeah, to turn that off and then be able to do something that I'm really, really good at and that like I know how long it's gonna take me. And then I get to the end of it, and not only do I have like it's very, it's more finite. Like I'm like, okay, I'm making two dozen cookies, like that's what I'm doing, and I'm doing this exact thing, and I have this order form and these specifics that they're wanting. It's makes me like oftentimes I think that we can feel like more options is where we find freedom. I have felt so overwhelmed more times than not when I have way more options than a clear path, and um and so yeah, to have that resolution at the end of like I baked these cookies, I crossed it off my list. And then I also love to have the personal interaction of like I'm not just baking these and then they're sitting in my house, but like I have the connection of I'm making this for someone, and then they're coming and receiving it, and then I'm getting to have that personal interaction with them at our um on my porch as they're looking at what I made. It just it's so satisfying and so life-giving. And I um that to me is yeah, it just fills my soul more than anything.

SPEAKER_01 35:33

Yeah, absolutely. Does it does fill our soul? It really gone people like us. So, you know, you you you spoke briefly about um tackling the decisions in your emails. Yeah. Share with the listeners how do you actually manage the emotional highs and lows of entrepreneurship?

SPEAKER_02 35:56

Good question. Um people, honestly, like my mom and my counselor are the two people that come to mind and my roommates. And um, yeah, it is absolutely a lot of high, highs and lows. And especially um a lot of the work that I do is in the music industry and working with a lot of celebrities, and there's these really big moments of like, oh my gosh, I just made cookies for this person. Like, I can't believe that this happened. But then there's like there's uh more often than not, it will happen where I'm like, go pass off these cookies to or someone picks them up to give to these this artist, and then it's just like yeah, yeah, an emotional crash immediately after because I like hyper-fixated on these cookies for like 15 hours straight, and I didn't think about anything else, and I barely got any sleep. And I'm like checking my social media trying to be like, how are they doing? Are they gonna pay for it? And there's just a lot of like stress that's go faster. Um, yeah, it's fun, but it's definitely like, okay, this is not uh that sustainable. Um and without fail every time it I it it happens like clockwork. And then I and then I'll call my mom and I'll be like, Why do I feel like this? And she's like, Emily, this happens every time, and you know how to go about this. And so it's often it's people that know you well and can sit with you in it and point you back to what's true. Um and uh yeah, and I think recognizing, I mean, I so often need the encouragement and the truth that like this is really hard to do this on my own. And most people have coworkers that they can bounce ideas off of with and they can ask questions with, and they're doing work beside them, and to do it on my own as of now, um, is yeah, it's challenging. And um, I'm really, really grateful to have a lot of my friends and community eager to engage in it in whatever way, whether that's me like designing cookies and being like, okay, which cookie do you like best? Like, what should I do? Or I'm like, I need help like wording this email, like, will you proofread it? Or I'm like, I have to go to bed, but someone's picking up cookies, like, could you give them to them at the door? Um, and my one of my old roommates has said before, she's like, the way you ask for help is it's almost on putting sometimes to me as like as someone who's can be more of a people pleaser and just like be worried about asking. And um, I don't know, I think part of maybe that just goes into my personality. Um, but I think also, yeah, having again done it from such a young age, I'm like, of course I'm gonna ask people for help or ask people to dive in on this. Um it's it's not just all about me either. It's like so connecting. I think people want to be invited into that. And um I'm uh yeah, I I've God has definitely kept me from not uh from knowing from thinking that this is all happening on my own and that it's all me that's doing it. Like it is there's so many people involved in the business, whether or not you see it or not, and from outright, and it would be really easy to make it all about me and be like, it's all me and it's doing it. And I'm like, that could literally never happen. It will not happen. And that's a big part of why I I dream about a bakery and dream about growing my business is to invite more people into that. Um so yeah, it really, it really is just people and and also face from uh away from doing it uh and rest. I took the summer off after I graduated from Beaumont and um yeah, just to think about like how do I engage in this world? Because as you know, as an entrepreneur, like it's just all consuming, and there's so much of yourself that lives in what you do that it can be really hard when you have the high highs and the low lows because it's so connected to your emotions and to who you are and to what people think about what you're doing. Um, so I yeah, I really wanted to take the time before diving into it and working full time when I knew it was going to be taking up more space than it usually would to set myself up for success. And a lot of what I was was learning about was just rest and yeah, working out of a place of rest and not for it. Um and uh yeah, and like I I practice the Sabbath on Sundays I don't work at at all. And that's been like not even it, it's been like a lifeline for me that I I can't not have that and seeing what I'm doing. Um a lot of what I've been focusing on the last couple of years has been like, how do I not just only put that on one day and actually expand that into the rest of my time as I'm figuring it out? But yes, people rest.

Managing Highs, Lows, And Asking For Help

SPEAKER_01 40:39

I do have it it's cool how intentional you are about the things that are important to you in your life. And I I would like for you to share with our or listeners what some advice. I want you to give them advice now around starting their business, walking in it with purpose, or turning their hobby into a business.

SPEAKER_02 41:03

Absolutely. Well, I think I mean the easiest place to start is just to start that uh yeah, there thankfully we live in a time where there's so many resources and so many free resources available for you and um and so many people to get inspired by, which is why listening to this podcast and finding creators are so interesting to see. Like, how did other people get here and what did they look like and how did they do that? And what about their story could I pull into mine and integrate here? Um, so I would say, I mean, be a sponge in that way and just be curious, and not just in like the industry that you're in, but um so much of what I have learned has just been about like learning how other people think about their cross or their passions. How do they bring this into their life? How do they hold this well? And um how do they see this and extend generosity and into the world? And um so uh and that's the fun part also about being a student and being young is like that's what that's the world that you're in and the space that you're in where you people are feeding you with a lot of intel to spark different ideas and see what's uh what's interesting. So just pay attention to that and um and like follow the thread of like okay, this this thing that somebody said like just really stuck with me. It's still rattling around in my brain. Like, what what where could that lead or what could that look like? Or what about like my unique perspective and my story to connect with that and branch off into all of these other things? Like there's so much about who I am and about my story again in my business, but there's um like there are other people that could do what I do and then do do what I do. Um, but there's something specific about the passions that I have, whether like with music and graphic design or the place that I'm in in Nashville and in Atlanta and the communities that I'm in and the relationships that have all kind of fed into the unique uhness of what I'm doing. And so everybody has that story. You have that story, that story is currently being written and lived out. And um, yeah, you don't have to like go out and find that. Like it's it's in your backyard, it's already you're already doing it. Um, and I think it's just getting it the attention and the space to thrive and to play around with it and um and looking for those people that invite that and don't shut them down um and that celebrate it and want to give you the tools to pursue it. And you also don't need like all the fancy stuff. Like I was not starting out with anything fancy and um and I was just kind of pulling people near nearby in my community that had got through similar things or had a baking blog or whatever that could teach me how to uh decorate cookies and it give them starting places. I wasn't like, oh man, if only I like had thousands and thousands of dollars and I could do all these things, like the the barrier to Entry is low, um, which is a great gift. So yeah. Um, yeah. So uh I don't know, just have fun with it. Like it really doesn't have to be that serious. And people like I think a big reason why people love my cookies is not because they're the most fanciest, prettiest cookies, but because like yeah, I I'm the one that's making them and the passion and care that I have, not just for the cookies, but for the people behind the cookies, is so uh notable. Um, and that's really what connects to people. And what m is like more fulfilling for my soul is like yeah, thinking about the people behind the work that I'm doing rather than just oh great, you're a reason for me to be able to spend all my time in the kitchen. I'm like, I'm no, I'm spending all my time in the kitchen because I like doing this for you.

SPEAKER_01 44:48

Um, absolutely, absolutely having to feed your own soul is really, really important. Um, before we wrap this up though, um you talk about passion. And I want to know, like, you know, what's what keeps you so passionate about cooking? Um after having done it for so long, and what keeps you, you know, this inspired?

Practical Advice For Young Entrepreneurs

SPEAKER_02 45:13

Well, I cookies are such a fun art form because I I see cookies everywhere. I'm like looking at the things on my desk. I'm like, this hot sauce bottle that looks like a cookie, like this, I don't know, this book cover. Oh, this is actually a good resource for for y'all. This is uh Candace Nelson, the founder of Sprinkle, she wrote a book um on uh turning your passion into profit. So there you go. But I I actually did put this on a cookie because it looked like one to me. So um that that's the fun like art form of it that I I get so inspired by anything, and especially with making cookies um for musicians too. Like the first thing I think about when an artist is announcing an album and it's an album cover out, I'm like, how easy is this gonna be for me to put this on a cookie? And that's really fun. And uh yeah, so the I'm just so inspired by uh honestly by so much, and I think cookies are a great um I don't know, thing to keep me inspired, constantly inspired because it really is never ending is what I can do with it. And every cookie that I make is so different um that I don't get bored because while the process of the while the cookie making and baking process stays the same, um what I'm actually doing on the cookies is so different. And the again, the people behind the cookies are so different. And even I've been cooking tour musicians multiple times with like years of heart, and even that's so special because the getting to see not like my artistic transition of things that I'm changing and doing differently, but like their art artistry and how that's shifted and the colors that they're interested in, or the um the things that they have created that they didn't create when I um or hadn't been out yet when I did their first book cookies. Like that's just so special for me. Or whether or that's like oh okay, making first birthday cookies for uh a kid that I like made their parents like wedding cookies. Like that's just so special to see that um that transition. So uh yeah, it's I'm just I'm constantly inspired by them, and it's it's a it's just a fun art form.

SPEAKER_01 47:21

Yeah. Well, um, thank you so much for for giving us the gift of your time. And I'm like I told you before we sign on, like your presence on this podcast, media does mean a lot because of who our listeners are. And most importantly, I love that you've known who you are since you were 11. And but what you also um bring to our listeners is that you don't have to know, you just have to just keep working at it. And uh I hear you, I see you, I appreciate everything that you are, Emily. I love your work. I want you to share with our listeners how they can find you.

SPEAKER_02 48:05

Absolutely. Well, and first of all, just thank you for the generosity and of your curiosity and your invitation and the work that you're doing really matters, and your presence is very encouraging and calming, which makes so much sense to me. Um, but it's it's joy to chat with you. I also need to, I don't know how many listeners will be watching the video, but the fact our glasses, I'm just I feel so deeply spiritually connected to any people with glasses. So I mean soul safe. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:37

I love you. I you know, I was thinking the same thing too in the middle of our conversation, and I was like, I'm not gonna interrupt and say, girl, we're on the same floor with these glasses. But yeah, glad you recognize that. Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:51

Um, but yes, you can find me on Instagram and TikTok at Cookie in the Kitchen and on my website at cookieinthecht.com. I take all custom orders, locally in Nashville, Tennessee. I don't ship cookies, but I do I did just start offering prints of my cookies and those can ship and those are on my website. But yeah, and then I have a substack as well that's um my newsletter that I mentioned that I think it's just substack.com slash cookie in the kitchen or something like that. It's on my website.

SPEAKER_01 49:19

Yeah, well good, thank you. Um, you definitely will hear more from Emily because guess what? We invited her to write a blog for us. Um, Emily, you could go on to the website and check out our blog. Um, but you know, you get a but we could talk about what we'd like yours to look and sound like, and then you just take full autonomy and write that thing out, girl. Um, so we're looking forward um to that. I I want to thank you again. I want to thank you for coming. I want to thank our listeners for listening. And guess what? If you are listening and you haven't subscribed yet, like come on now. We we yeah, have you downloaded the Cake Therapy app? Like what you're doing, what you're doing. Um if you if you download the Cake Therapy app, you'll get Emily's episode a day or two before it officially drops on your um Spotify, YouTube, or Apple podcast. So continue to support the Cake Therapy Therapy Foundation. Like everything you do, so it really is for the girl. If you buy us a coffee, it goes to the girl. Um remember to get a copy of my book, Cake Therapy, How Baking Change My Life. That doesn't go to the girl. That is my personal book. You can find us on Amazon.com, but everything else is all for the girl. So thank you, Emily, for joining us. And before we go, I'd like to share uh today's mindful moment. It's your mindful moment for today is to remember the best dishes come from experimenting. Don't fear a little mess. It's part of the process. Enjoy your evening. Thank you for listening to the Cake Therapy Podcast. I'm out. Thanks, Emily. Thanks for joining us.

SPEAKER_02 50:55

Welcome. Oh my gosh, thank you. This looks so fun.

SPEAKER_00 50:58

I loved it too. Thank you for tuning in to the Cake Therapy Podcast. Your support means the world to us. Let us know what you thought about today's episode in the comment section. Remember to subscribe wherever you get your podcast. And if you found the conversation helpful, please share it with a friend. Also follow Sugarspoon desserts on all social media platforms. We invite you to support Cake Therapy and the work we do with our foundation by clicking on the Buy Me a Coffee link in the description. Or by visiting the Cake Therapy website and making a donation. All your support will go towards the Cake Therapy Foundation and the work we are doing to help women and girls. Thanks again for tuning in, and we'll catch you on the next episode.