How Baking Cookies Set Me Free

In 2026, everyone I know has multiple jobs. Including me.

A quick instructor photo at the venue before a a Galentine's Day cookie decorating class in 2025.

I thought it was a Millennial thing, this ever-present compulsion to be productive. As it turns out, more people are feeling economic anxiety than I realized. It is becoming increasingly common to see folks who are employed full time clock out of their 9-5s and clock in to their side gig, delivering food or working remotely.

Diversifying your income is the new work-life balance.

When I started my cookie business, I was self-employed working in real estate and earning my Masters degree in Public Administration at Southeast Missouri State University. So, not only was I not really employed, but I was living the life of a college student (without the undergraduate fun): surviving on copious amounts of caffeine, working part-time in the University news bureau to pay for school, and trying to convince my friends in their mid-20s to finally buy that house!

You could say it wasn't my most financially sound era.

Enter, COVID-19.

The virus that changed everything from how we learn to how people think about being employed.

If you had a skill, suddenly the world of entrepreneurship opened to you. People looked to monetize what they actually enjoyed doing, and told their corporate boss, "Have a great day!"

People made sourdough like it was catching. Millions of new Etsy stores popped up during and after the pandemic lockdown. Tiger King was the height of entertainment.

It was a weird time.

For me, it became a reset. With a little push from some good friends, I realized I could transform a fun hobby into a business. And I'm so thankful I did because here's what this "little" cookie business has allowed me to do — in just the last year:

• Pay off debt I'd been carrying for years

• Start improving my fitness with a trainer, gym membership and a healthier lifestyle

• Take vacations with friends

• Buy my first house

• Start planning an international trip with my mom — a bucket list kind of trip

Those are just the tangible things. What isn't as easy to put on a bulleted list is the sense of peace I feel, relieved from the anxieties of life's next curveball. I'm able to plan for the future for myself and spend more time with the people I care about.

There's something to be said about betting on yourself, working hard (and I mean, really hard), and trusting that good people, and good business, will find you.

That's what happened for me, and it changed my life.

If you have a dream, I hope you'll chase it. You never know where one cookie might take you.