Gregory Collie II knows that he's "sweet mouth" and to indulge his sweet tooth he started making cookies from scratch "just for the heck of it" to enjoy whenever he had a craving and especially to enjoy while watching football with family and friends. But five months after losing his job, and one month after the birth of his first child, he found that things were tight financially and he needed an income. Collie turned to the thing he enjoyed most -- baking cookies -- something he had only done for pleasure, but which people told him he needed to sell. Out of necessity, The Cookie Caterer was born in July 2012 as a way for Collie to generate income to pay his bills and find a way to live. Today, The Cookie Caterer is in high demand with Collie looking to hiring help to ensure that he can meet the demands placed on him.
Collie started The Cookie Caterer with just four flavors -- chocolate chunk, white chocolate, double chocolate and oatmeal raisin. Today his menu also boasts red velvet, and s'more cookies; and cookies can be customized, according to a customer's preference, meaning the combinations are almost endless. With the advent of the New Year, Collie said his customers could expect new flavors to the menu, as he will be experimenting with liqueurs to add to his cookies.
He hopes they're a big hit as were the red velvet cookies that were introduced for Valentine's Day and which became a year-round much-requested item.
On average, Collie's home-based cookie business churns out about 200 cookies daily. During December he averaged 400 daily; his orders more than doubled daily during the Christmas week. Christmas Eve and Valentine's Day are his busiest days during which he averages 1,000-plus cookies.
And he does all of this in a regular 30-inch oven with four cookie sheets.
In the two years that he's been selling his cookies, the growth he said has been staggering.
"I've become busier and busier, where it' to the point I'm going to have to start looking into expanding and start hiring some help," he said.
Currently Collie's day begins around 6 a.m. to bake off cookies to fill daily orders.
"To be honest, I don't set hours. I have to provide ... and that's the balance everyone struggles with -- the balance between the professional and the personal life. But I realize where I want to take the company, and how much time I'm going to have to put into it. " He likes orders to be in by 11 a.m. so that he can plan his day and work out his delivery route so that he can ensure he has time for his family in the evenings.
No matter how long he's in the kitchen for scooping, baking and switching out cookie sheets, Collie said he does not view it as a chore or work as he really enjoys baking.
"It's a labor of love and I enjoy doing it. I've been doing it so much to this point that it's almost second nature and I don't really feel it."
When you get a delivery from The Cookie Caterer, Collie says you can be assured that you're getting a product that has been made to order and won't be old or stale. And he assures that you will be getting the softest, moistest cookies possible, unless you decide to order your cookies with a crisp texture.
"The cookies are all homemade and handmade with love and care and tastes like the best homemade cookies you'll ever have," said Collie.
His cookies' shelf life he said will depend on how you store them after delivery. If you leave them in the original container, he says the shelf life may be two or three days. If you place them in an airtight container he says they could last up to a week. And if you refrigerate them he said they last even longer.
His top three sellers are chocolate chunk, red velvet and white chocolate. He says he finds people partial to his oatmeal raisin as well. Collie himself says the cookie he can't resist is his double chocolate cookie. For those persons who have not had one of his cookies as yet, he said it's hard to make a recommendation as people's tastes. He usually recommends they opt for a sample box of the basic flavors -- chocolate chunk, double chocolate, white chocolate and oatmeal raisin -- and depending on a person's budget he said they could throw in red velvet as well.
"It's tough to recommend because everybody's so different, but all the cookies are delicious," he said.
The Cookie Caterer's treats start at $10 for 15 cookies and $15 for 25 cookies, prices which he said is extremely affordable when they take in what they're getting and the quality of the product -- freshly baked and customized to each customer's needs.
Collie who says he feels "liberated and completely free" baking and selling his cookies because he's not tied to anybody, and doesn't have to ask anyone to take a break or vacation time, says he feels completely independent. He also wants to look into a brick and mortar storefront for his current online business, franchising opportunities and has a 10-year plan on taking his company global after he has received inquiries from people in other countries.

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