Today we’d like to introduce you to Lorena Rios.
Hi Lorena, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’ve always loved baking since I was little. I started watching Food Network and asked my parents to buy me baking books. I would make cakes, cupcakes, cookies, Oreo balls, and cake pops but only for my family and friends. When I got to high school, one of my friend’s mom had a decorated cookie business. I would always go to their house so I could decorate cookies with my friend and her mom. That’s kind of when I started becoming fascinated by decorated cookies. They were just so cute. I tried making decorated cookies by myself after that and they were not pretty lol but I kept making them because it was fun and I was determined that one day I would be as good as my friend’s mom. I started making cookies more often just to practice and I would give them to my parents so they could give them out to their coworkers. Every single time their coworkers would say how amazing they were and how talented I was. That, of course, gave me more confidence. One day I asked my little cousin what he wanted for his birthday. He said he wanted astronaut cookies. I was confused, like you don’t want legos or cars or something I can buy from the store? And again, he said he wanted astronaut cookies. Astronaut cookies it is. One thing you should know about my little cousin (his name is Lorenzo) is that he’s the first grandkid, nephew, and little kid in the family so we are all obsessed with him and do whatever he says lol. But he’s cute so it’s ok. Anyways, here I am trying to figure out how to make astronaut cookies. All I’ve ever made were simple things like flowers and smiley faces. I started looking on Instagram and came across some cookie pages with videos, blogs, and pictures. I can easily say I’ve read 3 different blogs about 10 times each. I watched their videos on repeat so I could learn new techniques. I finally decided to make a practice round of his astronaut cookies and they weren’t that bad. I gave him some to see what he would say and he knew exactly what they were (which I was worried about lol I didn’t want them to be so bad that he would be like “what is it?”). The smile on his face and his the excitement made me feel so happy inside. Like wow, I just created this thing that he loved. I have a second round of practice cookies and they were better. His birthday finally came and when I gave him the box full of cookies he was all excited and started showing his friends. All the little kids were saying “wow, this is so cool!”, “look, mom, it’s an astronaut”, “oh look it’s mars”. My heart was happy that day. I was so proud of those cookies. A few weeks later one of the moms from the party reached out to me and asked if I was taking cookie orders. I was in shock but excited that she liked them so much that she wanted to order cookies from me. I didn’t know what to say because I didn’t think my cookies were that good to sell or how much to even sell cookies for. I started asking my family and friends how much they would pay for cookies to try to come up with a price. I decided to take on her order because why not. I get to make cookies which is fun and get paid for it. This lady LOVED the cookies. She texted me after her party thanking me for the cookies, saying how beautiful they were, how everybody loved them, and that I should never stop making cookies because I’m going to bring joy to so many people with my talent. I got teary eyes from that text. Just thinking about it now and looking back at how much I’ve improved, where my business is now, and how mnay people I’ve made happy with my cookies, it’s honestly so rewarding. Never in a million years did I ever think I would have a cookie business. After that first order, word of mouth happened and I haven’t stopped taking orders since. It’s been the best 3 years of my life.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I haven’t really had challenges. I am a perfectionist so I always want my cookies to look perfect so I practice and practice until I’m happy with my product. I never let a cookie leave my house if I’m not proud of it. The only thing I would say is hard right now is trying to balance working my full time job and having a cookie business. The reason why my cookie business is called Late Night Baker is because I do everything at night after my full time job. I stay up until 3-4am doing cookies and waking up at 7am for work. I’m always tired but it’s worth it to me.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I specialize in decorated sugar cookies. Started my business 3 years ago unexpectedly and I’ve been busy ever since. I think what sets me apart from other cookie people is my eye for detail. I am a perfectionist so my cookies must look perfect. I bought a projector so I could make sure every single cookie in a set looks the same. I am not satisfied until the cookie looks exactly like what my customer sent me. I would rather not sleep than give a cookie that doesn’t look perfect. I am proud of how big my business has gotten. I never expected this to happen and the fact that people trust me to make their cookies, become repeat customers, and refer me is beyond me.
What does success mean to you?
I think being successful in the cookie world is when my calendar stays booked and people keep coming back for cookies. Like I feel like what I’m doing is working if people are trusting me. Putting in hours of work, learning, practicing, and constantly pushing myself to be better makes me successful.
Pricing:
- $50-65 per dozen depending on details/designs
Contact Info:
- Email: Latenightbakerhou@gmail.com
- Instagram: Latenightbakerhou
- Facebook: Latenightbakerhou