Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Tanya Griffiths, founder of Being Baked Cookies, located in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Being Baked Cookies is a gourmet cookie business whose purpose is to propel mental health discourse and provide our customers with a sense of comfort and belonging to their present moment. Each order comes with a sticker and postcard that serves to uplift and remind us of the impermanence of life's processes—making Being Baked a service delivered with a product.
Our customers are folks & foodies who enjoy the comfort of a homemade cookie—which can definitely umbrella a lot of people. Since there's still a lot of work to be done to destigmatize mental health, we chose a medium (cookies) with which many people can associate happy memories. However, when customers put in the effort to take the time, sit, eat the cookie mindfully, and read the postcard, then they will truly be able to experience Being Baked.
Tell us about yourself
Shortly after graduating in the summer of 2020, I started spending more time in the kitchen—a safe space I found comfort in. As I developed my gourmet cookie recipe with my roommates as my "beta-tasters," I was encouraged to start my own business.
However, if I was going to start my own business, it had to be more than just cookies. So I thought about my values, what mattered to me, and what my passions were, and I came up with Being Baked—because it's easier to say you want a cookie than it is to admit you need help or that you're not okay. Being Baked strives to remind you that we're not final products. We're still growing, adapting, and learning about ourselves and the world.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Honestly, just being where I am now. Early on, I realised the harm of always wanting the next big thing and not being content with how far one's come. The joy of an accomplishment is as temporary as the frustration of an obstacle. So I remind myself to truly live Being Baked's values and cultivate joy in every step of the journey. Being here today through doubts and fears, embodying and loving myself, and being able to comfort others in their journey makes me feel very grateful.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Sometimes I feel very alone in my journey. There are many things that come with being a solo business owner, and sometimes the responsibilities get too heavy for me to carry. I also have this belief, which comes and goes, that I'm never doing enough. There's always something to do, and especially within entrepreneurship, it feels like the main goal is to be bigger & better than your competitors. But that doesn't align with who I am and the change I want to create in this world. So deviating from that current has also been quite challenging.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Dream big. Sounds super cliché, but the only limits are the ones you put on yourself. You may realise that these limits can also reflect social & cultural norms, but once you stop limiting yourself and let go of beliefs that hinder you, you get closer to who you truly are.
- Define success for yourself. If you always compare yourself with the success of others, you will never be successful. You will have done a lot, even enough, but it will never equate to the engrained image you have of success. Don't let success own you; make success yours.
- Really get to know your why. Why do you want to do this? Why you? Why this? It will be your why that carries you through your life's hardest sprints or even marathons.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Catch Being Baked this summer & autumn at the UBC Farm Saturday Farmers' Market. Check out our Instagram to know which days we'll be there.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://beingbakedcookies.ca/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beingbakedcookies
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beingbakedcookies/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanyagriffiths513/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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