Cookie Love Member profile Mike Stone, Owner cookielove.ca What’s your story? Almost 10 years ago, my wife Iva and I acquired a stall at the Downtown Farmer’s Market one Saturday, hoping to sell some cookies we made from home. The market was small then, but as it turned out we didn’t even have enough cookies to make it until noon that day, we sold out. After five successful years at the Downtown Farmer’s Market, we had an opportunity to build a little bakery on 124 street in the Glenora building. We jumped in with both feet, not exactly sure what we were doing or getting into. It has been quite a ride and a heck of a learning curve since then. Fast forward to 2017 and we are settled into our new downtown cafe/bakery. I think we have weathered the storm pretty well and continue to fresh bake a range of delicious, choice cookies right here in Edmonton. What are three things people are surprised to learn about your business? 1. We have been in business for almost 10 years, albeit in a few different forms. 2. Despite the rising costs, we always bake using real vanilla, butter and top quality chocolate. 3. Our most popular cookie, by far, is the Triple Chipper. A soft vanilla based cookie with Callebaut milk, dark and white chocolate. What do you think is the biggest issue impacting Edmonton’s small businesses at this time? There are a few that’s for sure, but one that I think is ongoing is the challenge of getting our (collective) name out to the markets. It’s toughest for the Mom and Pop’s to get the marketing right, or even have the time to look into it, not to mention the costs associated. What has been your biggest challenge in the last 12 months? From a personal perspective, it has been
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JANUARY 2018 // BUSINESS IN EDMONTON // BUSINESSINEDMONTON.COM
Mike Stone, Owner
tough to keep a positive attitude, continue to move forward, and most importantly motivate our staff. For the business, it has been to (re) build the corporate side of our business. As companies slowly start to spend money on their customers and staff, we need to ensure we have solid connections in place. What’s your secret to keeping your employees engaged? I like to think we are a pretty close group, and we can have dinners together and go to movies. They do see how hard we owners work and how much we actually care for them. We are very fortunate to employ the great staff we have.