Priorities, Passion, & Profits with Leah Livingston

The Forrager Podcast for Cottage Food Businesses

Leah Livingston lives in Kenosha, WI and sells custom-decorated cookies with her cottage food business, Yaya’s Sweet Treats.

Unfortunately, Leah’s cookie business journey began with a miscarriage in 2019, which led her to do a lot of baking as a form of therapy.

But as her decorating skills improved, more people started to notice and request cakes and cookies for their events. Her business quickly took off and she hasn’t looked back since.

In fact, she started getting so many orders that she left her full-time job to focus on her business, and her cottage food bakery has already replaced her job’s income.

And now Leah is taking yet another leap and expanding into a storefront in a very unique way.

In this episode, you’ll hear how the personal tragedies in Leah’s life changed the direction of her career and guided her into doing something that she’s truly passionate about.

What You’ll Learn

• How Leah created a new career opportunity by reprioritizing her life
• When it’s time to leave your full-time job and go all-in on your business
• How to expand your business by networking and partnering with others in creative ways
• The time when Leah baked and decorated 600 cookies in one week!
• Whether the Eddie edible printer will devalue custom decorated cookies
• Why Leah’s “Instagram-worthy” photos actually do better on Facebook
• Why you need to focus on community and collaboration, not competition
• A unique way to host decorating classes without paying for the venue
• What you should look for when choosing a storefront location
• Why you should leverage local resources when transitioning to a brick-and-mortar
• Why your mindset and enthusiasm is crucial for growing your business

Resources

Yaya’s Sweet Treats website (Facebook | Instagram | TikTok)

Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC)

Eddie Edible Ink Printer

Wisconsin Cottage Food Law

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Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/90