This is Entrepreneurship: Christina Davis on Time Management and Family Roots
Sitting in her car between errands, Christina Davis, C.E.O. of Davis Cookie Collection, shared her journey to entrepreneurship. Although our interview was virtual, I could feel her energy and excitement about her business and the forthcoming opening of her first brick-and-mortar store through the screen. I knew instantly that this is a woman who can successfully juggle many roles: business owner, baker, mother, wife, mentor, community leader. Whether describing how to make it work as a wife/husband team or how she thinks up her next cookie recipe, Christina shows how her creativity and perseverance make it possible to live her dreams.
[Editor’s note: Davis Cookie Collection’s first brick-and-mortar store is opening soon. We will add the date of opening when that information becomes available.]
There is no single definition of an entrepreneur or the obstacles they face. As part of our year-long series sponsored by Main Street Ventures, our community chose 12 of the biggest obstacles female-identifying entrepreneurs face, and we found 12 women who spend their days conquering them. Explore the whole series here.
Interview by Judy Zitnik. Photography by Chelsie Walter.
What’s your elevator pitch?
Davis Cookie Collection specializes in delicious gourmet cookies and desserts that are made with ingredients that have passed down from generation to generation in my family, which creates an amazing taste that makes every customer smile.
How did you get started in the cookie business?
While I was in graduate school at the University of Cincinnati, I would often bake as therapy during stressful exam times, and I would bring samples of cookies to my class. At the same time, I worked at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in the emergency room. I would also take samples there, and everyone talked about how delicious the cookies were. I had many people say it was the best cookie they ever tasted.
A gentleman who worked there offered me $15 to make him a dozen cookies. And that's when I pretty much realized, "Wait a minute, people actually purchase cookies." I didn't think people would purchase a homemade cookie. So I went home to my husband and presented the idea of possibly starting a cookie business. He had the same concerns. "I don't know if people will purchase a homemade cookie," he said, "But let's give it a try."
The very next day, we came up with the name Davis Cookie Collection and printed off some business cards. And a business was born – ever since our business has been thriving. We created a social media page on Facebook when we first started, and people began to order by the dozens.
But this is not new to me. My family moved to Cincinnati from Georgia in the 1950s. They specialized in delicious homemade food and desserts made from scratch. Once they moved here, they opened up a club and restaurant in downtown Cincinnati called The Club Safari. My grandfather performed with Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, Little Richard. All these different artists performed, and my family served food and homemade desserts for customers to purchase. It was a big thing. And even though I wasn't born yet, hearing those stories over the years really inspired me to start a business.
I spent numerous days and countless hours in the kitchen observing family, finding out their southern methods to learn how they made their food and desserts stand out. And I was as young as five years old. I learned these different methods, and I'm using those in our cookies. A lot of the cookie recipes have these secret ingredients that are southern-inspired, which is why it creates this delicious taste that customers are wondering, "What are you putting in these cookies?"
So I know that you're about to open a bakery. Can you tell me about the journey from idea to a brick-and-mortar store?
We've been in business now for seven years. We started our business in our home kitchen. We were in business for about a year when we participated in the MORTAR Entrepreneurship Academy, which really opened doors for us. Specifically, getting us into Findlay Kitchen downtown. It's a commercial kitchen space, and we've been there for three and a half years now.
It's been those steps that helped us to get to where we are now. I feel that being inside Findlay Kitchen really paved the way for us because now we're very familiar with operating commercial equipment. We know the different processes that are needed to make sure we're abiding by the health department's standards. They've helped guide us through this path of getting to our storefront. Now we're ready.
It takes dedication in order to be a successful entrepreneur.
The decision to open the storefront came because we realize a lot of our customers really want cookies right at the moment when they have a taste for them. We have many customers who say, "Hey, I wish you had a location where we could just walk in and grab."
Our business has totally been based upon our online sales, and we've been inside stores like Jungle Jim's, Conscious Kitchen, and the Cincinnati Zoo. But our customers wanted to be able to walk into a physical location. So we felt like it was time for us to change our business model. And having our product more accessible to customers is going to be a huge difference. Our location in Bond Hill is easily accessible to all people. I mean, it's within three different major interstates, so it won't take customers long to get to us.
Is it just the two of you, or do you have a team of people who help you?
Right now, it's just us. My husband, Miles and I are a team. But when we open our storefront, we will have employees as well. It's been my husband and I for seven years. We have two toddlers, so we wear several hats a day. He's also a Cincinnati firefighter, so you know he's wearing a lot of hats at the same time. I was a social worker prior to last year. And so, prior to my resigning, you can imagine how chaotic that could be.
But we used our time management skills to really push through. At one point, I was in graduate school, I had a full-time job, I did an internship at U.C. Medical Center, and I was running the business. And we were parents. And we do a lot of stuff within our church too. And family time.
I really want to know: How do you run a business together and stay married?
[laughs] It took us a little time to learn this, but let's say our business hours end at 4:00 p.m or 5:00 p.m. We agree, most of the time, not to discuss the business after that time. So it really is about creating boundaries. So even when our store opens, after six o'clock is family time. No discussion of business. So I think you really just have to separate the two. And not take the business conversations personally or anything. It's hard.
As an entrepreneur, and a female entrepreneur, what have been some challenges that you've faced getting to this point.
One major challenge is access to capital. That's been a huge hurdle. We kind of looked for grants starting out, but it seemed like there weren't many grant opportunities for for-profit businesses, and those that were there are very competitive. So it was very difficult to find capital. Luckily, we collaborated with the Cincinnati Port Authority, and they were able to help us and provide grant dollars. We also had to do Kiva, a crowdfunding type of loan. So I feel like that was the most difficult part.
How has COVID-19 posed a challenge, and how do you think it's going to continue to be a challenge?
COVID postponed our grand opening day. Finding cabinetry came to a halt because people weren't working. Another challenge was that catering has always been our number one source of income. We get a lot of corporate catering orders. Once COVID hit, it put all of that to a halt. In addition, we've usually done a lot of events like Taste of Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Soul Food Festival. Those were all major components of our income.
So we’ve had to readjust our business. To really go online and promote the delivery component. We have no-contact delivery where a customer can order online, we deliver it to you, we place it on your porch, and then we give you a courtesy phone call so you know that your order has arrived. That was major for us. It did really, really well. We've been actually very steady since COVID started based off of that component.
We probably will continue that, because I realize some people are still staying in the house. Everyone isn't coming out. So I think we may incorporate that into our business model once we open.
I do feel that, if this continues, as a business owner, you have to sit down and think of different directions to take your business. I've been teaching some classes, doing some online webinars teaching other business owners how to get their products into wholesale locations and grocery stores. It really has taken a lot of brainstorming on how to change the business to survive.
What advice would you give to other women who want to start a business?
I would say if you want to start a business, find something you're passionate about. Because if you're not passionate about it, you'll end up hating what you do. What I mean is you may not feel like waking up in the morning when it may be easier to quit. I can bake cookies day after day after day, no matter how many hours it takes, and I'm never going to get tired of making cookies because it's my passion. I enjoy doing it. I've had to sacrifice many late hours at night just to get orders done. I've had to sacrifice many hours during the day. It takes dedication in order to be a successful entrepreneur. So passion, dedication, and consistency. Being consistent with whatever product you have, making sure that you're giving every customer the best experience and that they get the same experience each time they visit you.
I wish my 13-year-old self would have known that you don't have to go down the path that others may want you to go down.
I also want women to know that it is possible to run a business with kids. It's just a different dynamic. It makes it a little harder, but you can still overcome it. I know there's a lot of parents that feel they can't start a business because they have children. Especially when they're little, and they're so busy.
We got married and started the business two years later. Shortly after that, we had our first child, so we had to manage that too. It takes a lot of time. But there are funny moments within the business with our kids for sure. Our kids are like little Cookie Monsters. Whenever we have cookies around, we'll notice one's missing. And I'm like, "Where'd it go?" Oh, they snuck it in their pocket!
What is it about being an entrepreneur that you like so much?
Well, I've always had a really outgoing personality. So I really love it when things aren't the same every day. I enjoy having the flexibility to spend time with my children, my family. I also enjoy waking up and being my own C.E.O. and my own boss, where I can kind of control the experience of every day. And doing something that I love is number one. I love making customers happy and interacting with them.
What helps you through the challenging times of being an entrepreneur?
I would say, God and my husband. My husband is extremely supportive. He always has been. Whether it's helping me with baking or if I have to discuss ideas with him, he's very supportive. Our parents are also extremely supportive. We have a very strong support system. Even my kids are very supportive! I'll have my son – he's only five – but he'll taste the cookie that just came out, and he'll say, "You did a great job, Mom." He doesn't realize how much he actually helps us. Sometimes my daughter will come and give me a hug. She just turned three a few days ago.
What are your growth plans? What's your vision for the company?
So our vision is to have other locations here in Cincinnati and other states and cities. We've already had people reaching out who want to franchise our business, so it blows my mind. I see us going in that direction, but opening other locations as well. We definitely want to get our product in more grocery stores. Jungle Jim's was the first, and I eventually want to try Kroger. That's a goal.
What role do you want the company to have in the community?
The foundation of our business is to give back to the community. I've been volunteering for various organizations since I was about 17 years of age. So it's something my family instilled in me – always to give back. Our location isn't just about cookies. We're going to be offering workshops for young girls, teaching them about self-esteem, confidence, pairing up with different high schools where kids want to get a feel of what entrepreneurship looks like, and what it looks like to have a bakery.
So we want our storefront to be the basis of giving back to the community. And we believe that's what God has placed us there to do. We've been doing a lot of that over the last seven years for different organizations.
Tell me about some of the cookies you are especially proud of.
The one that I'm very proud of is the brown butter bourbon pecan chocolate chip cookie. It's a recipe that was inspired by my grandmother, my great grandmother, and my aunt Fox. It has a unique list of ingredients, and it's not easy to create. It took me about two months to get it down exactly how I wanted it. It's our most requested cookie. It's our top seller. I actually have people that have ordered a dozen, and then an hour later, they're wanting another dozen. So it's been a really hot item.
The other one is our strawberry lemonade cookie. It's a recipe I created, but it was my husband's idea at like midnight one night. The very next day, I tried it and gave out some samples. It's been a hit ever since.
What advice would you give to your 13-year-old self?
I would say, "Follow your dreams." What I mean by that is my family really educated me about the importance of going to college, for example. It's good for you to go to college to get a good job. So I went to college, got a graduate degree in criminal justice, became an investigator for a government agency, but I still didn't feel happy. So then I went back to grad school, got a master's in social work, but I still didn't feel like I was happy. Like it wasn't fulfilling my niche. I wish my 13-year-old self would have known that you don't have to go down the path that others may want you to go down. Do what makes you happy.
I may have decided to do entrepreneurship right out of high school. And I wish I had. But I was just following whatever the norm was at that time. You know, everyone's graduating from high school. They're going to college. Of course, I'm not saying that college is a bad thing, but it may not be for everyone. I don't regret going to college because I can still utilize those skills within my business. But I would definitely have become an entrepreneur a lot sooner.
Tell me about an influential woman in your life.
An influential woman in my life would be my mother. She's instilled a lot of value within my character since I was a little girl. I feel like the way I've turned out as a woman, how responsible I am, how passionate I am about things; it all goes back to what she taught me. It makes me a great entrepreneur: the hard work, being dedicated to what you do, never giving up, giving it all that you have, the creativity. My mom always pushed me to the limits to think beyond what the norm is, which really helps our business stand apart. So yes, I would say my mom. She's a wonderful woman and a great cook!
And then my aunt Fox, who died last year. She was a key piece to everything that I know about baking and cooking. So she was very inspirational because I wouldn't be here without her teaching me in the kitchen. I have all her southern recipes written down, or I have them on video or have them memorized. Those help us generate all types of ideas - like the sky is really the limit with using the southern twist of what our family foundation was.
There is no single definition of an entrepreneur. Check out our year-long series, "This Is Entrepreneurship." Sponsored by Main Street Ventures.