November 9, 2023 • 37 mins
Today's guest took their love of American pastires, moved out of the country and shared thier passion with everyone.Today we meet the owners Alicia and Sean of El Cookie in Alicante Spain.From Alicia's American roots nurturing her love for baking to Sean discovering his flair for the craft after marriage, they've whipped up a business that's a perfect blend of their two worlds.
The duo’s journey hasn’t been a piece of cake. Living with autism and ADHD, they've experienced unique challenges that have shaped their business operations. Hear their candid take on maintaining balance, managing sensory overload, and sticking to a schedule amid the chaos of a bustling bakery. It's a testament to their resilience, turning obstacles into stepping stones, with a dash of creativity and clear communication.
In a world that’s often too fast and too impersonal, Alicia and Sean have built a space that's more than just a bakery. It's a community that thrives on support, love, and the shared joy of good food. They are the perfect example that success isn't just about the destination, it's about the journey and the people you meet along the way.
In this episode we will cover:
- The importance of having a growth mindset when operating a business
- How to deal with the day to day operations of running a business
- How both Alicia and Sean manage their autism and ADHD while running a buisness
- How they use their shop to foster community in their area and so much more.
Love thier business? Check them out here for more info or to support https://www.elcookie-alicante.com/en
Two ways I help my students earn $2-10k monthly👇?
1.) Grow your home bakery business inside The Entrepreneur Community by clicking here
2.) Learn to sell digital products inside Digital Product Community by clicking here
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey, sweet friends, my name is Chef Schaumburg.
I started my baking businesswith the bottle of DeCerono and
one Bundt Cake Pan.
Fast forward to today, fromnews to magazines, speaking on
national stages and more.
I can truly say that baking haschanged my life.
So now, as a bakery businesscoach, I get to help others have
the same success.
I've helped hundreds of mystudents across the world in my
(00:24):
global membership program createsix-figure businesses, mainly
from home.
The Baking for Business podcastis an extension of that, from
actionable tips to valuabletools and resources that can
impact you as a business owner.
I truly believe y'all.
We would never have been givena gift if we couldn't profit and
prosper from it.
So come on, darling.
What are you waiting for?
(00:45):
Hey, what's going on, sweetfriends, and welcome back to the
Baking for Business podcast.
I'm super excited to have youguys here today.
I know you're like Chef you saythat every week, but I am I
really am excited because todayI actually have two of my
students and two really coolpeople.
(01:06):
These will actually be thefirst bakers who are actually
representing us from anothercountry, which is really cool.
So today we have Sean andAlicia, who are a married
company, and they're both theowners of El Cucque.
El Cucque, which is located inAlicante, spain, wanted to make
sure I pronounced that right,and so, alicia and Sean, how are
(01:30):
you guys doing today?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
We're doing good.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Thanks for having us.
Awesome, absolutely.
And so, alicia, I know I wantedto start with you.
Where exactly did your love ofbaking come from?
Where did you get bit by thebaking bug Straight?
Speaker 3 (01:49):
out of the womb.
My mom says she used to eat somuch cookie dough when she was
pregnant with me, so I thinksome of that just seeped in.
But my earliest memories arebaking with my mom Coming home.
Mom would always make cookiesand brownies, cinnamon rolls,
sticky buns.
(02:09):
She was always baking.
Her mom would always have rawcookie dough in the fridge for
us and that was like a specialtreat.
We went to go visit her andthen grandma on my dad's side as
well like to make treats.
She taught me how to make apulltaffy, so we would make
pulltaffy with grandma fromscratch.
(02:29):
So just a lot of cooks, a lotof bakers, and I think it's just
always been a part of who I amand what I've loved to do.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
I love that.
Yes, it definitely sounds likeit was born into you and Sean.
Did you catch the baking bugwhen you married this one, or
had you had any previous lovefor baking or eating baked goods
?
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Eating baked goods absolutely.
But no, my family was verycomplete opposite of Alicia's,
where my mom just always boughtlike I'm going to name drop
Entomans, donuts or just icecreams, like we never made
anything at home.
So I think that was one of thereasons why I was drawn to
Alicia was because I get thefresh baked cookies and the
cookie dough.
(03:12):
But since marrying Alicia,aside from learning a lot about
the science of baking and how tobake things yeah, I do, I do
dabble here and there.
We can get that a little bitlater.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
Sean is really, really good with coming up with
unique flavor pairings andputting that into our food, so
he's a flavor guy.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Okay, way to go, sean .
Well, yes, it's never too lateto catch the baking bug.
And so, alicia, at what pointin time did you decide that you
wanted to try to give this a goas a business?
Because I know you started outas a home-based business first.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
So even before that, I've been a teacher for the past
10 to 15 years and just alwaysbaking for friends and get
togethers and whatnot, bringingstuff into the schools.
And it was really during COVIDwhere here in Spain, we had a
very strict lockdown and forabout two or three months we
(04:12):
weren't allowed out of our homes, and that allows you to do a
lot of reflecting on your lifeor baking in general, and I had
just come to a point in my lifewhere I'm like, what can I do
that's going to bring me a lotof joy, what can I do that I
like and I feel passionate about?
And just doing a lot ofreflecting, I realized that was
(04:35):
baking and especially cookies.
These were a huge part of mychildhood just a lot of positive
memories and I realized thatwas the direction I wanted my
life to go, was something that Ienjoyed, bringing more
positivity around, and so westarted looking into how can we
make this a reality.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Well, I mean, I'm going to interject here Didn't
you start baking and you postedsomething on Instagram and
people are like, ooh, those lookreally good, can we order some?
And I kind of like that,spurred the idea, that kind of
like cemented you know.
Okay, maybe this could be anactual thing.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Yeah, I had posted some.
Looking back I thought theywere good pictures, but whoa, it
was a cookie on a paper towel.
I'm like, hey, I'm makingcookies, you know, is anyone
interested?
And we have a lot of interests.
You know, I made some bagelsand people like we can't get
those here.
We also can't get American likechocolate chip cookies here
(05:33):
either.
It's not like a thing, you know, that's commonly found.
And so people just startedcoming out of the woodwork going
, oh my God, I want some, I wantsome.
And right the idea of, wow, Ilike this.
And now there seems to be likepeople want this.
You know, let's, let's do it.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Let's see how we can make this happen.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Absolutely, alicia.
How much time did you spend inthe States, like, how were you
familiar with American cookiesper se?
Speaker 3 (06:07):
So I grew up in the States and so I was there until
I was 26, 27 when I left theStates.
So I mean, I grew up withcookies.
Mom would make cookies for mylunch.
I hope mom doesn't listen tothis, but I and I'm sorry, mom,
(06:28):
I love you so much but I wouldoften take some of the homemade
chocolate chip cookies she wouldpack in my lunch and I would
trade them for Oreos, because wedidn't have Oreos at home and
so I would trade it, and I'm sosorry, mom.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
But that sounds like the entrepreneur bug early on,
because you were bartering, youwere just exchanging one service
for another one, so that'spretty cool.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
I partnered so much with my cookies.
Like all through college, Ididn't have a car, and so I
would talk to roommates orfriends and say, hey, I need to
go to the store for somethingyou know I'll give you.
Somehow I always had theingredients for cookies lying
around, don't know, but I wouldbake them cookies and they would
bring me to the store.
(07:15):
Or hey, I need help with this.
You know, I'll bring cookies tothe study session.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Normally it's pizza and beer.
For helping moldies with Aliciawas cookies and brownies.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
Oh, that's like everything.
If you look at all my socialmedia memories, it's all like me
posting about hey, I need helpwith this.
I'll give you cookies, likethat's my thing.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
So cookies are definitely in your blood, which
makes sense as to why you haveyour business now, and so
growing up in America, though,but then going back to Spain,
how did you get introduced toSpain?
What made you want to hop overthere?
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Can I take that one?
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Yeah so.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
I mean, alicia and I met in South Korea of all places
, teaching English there.
We lived quite a distance apartand we met through Tinder, of
all things, and it was a matchmade in heaven, south Korea.
Eventually Alicia moved to mycity and we lived together for a
(08:17):
little while, fell in love,proposed, but we didn't want to
live in South Korea forever.
The work-life balance there isvery skewed to the work side and
not the life balance side, sowe also knew that we didn't want
to live in the States.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Just we like the expat life, we like exploring,
we like traveling.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
So Alicia was looking online naming places that we
could go, and one of thoseplaces happened to be Spain and
we both had a Spanish backgroundlike beating Spanish, and it
seemed like the move to makeSpain seem like the place to go.
So we started to get our ducksin a row to move to Spain.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
And we came here in 2018.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
That sounds so romantic, oh my gosh.
So you meet in South Koreawhile you're both teaching so
many similarities, and it'sdefinitely a match made in
heaven because you guys areperfect for each other.
But to meet on Tinder, oh thatis so adorable.
I love that.
All right, and so now, alicia,you actually brought up
(09:24):
something that I really wantedto share, because I know
building a business in itselfcan be tough.
But she said you made somecookies and they were on a piece
of paper towel.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Yeah, they were.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
And you were like looking back now I know that
that's horrible, but it's crazybecause there are so many people
who are beginning and they'restarting out and they're not
paying attention to things likethat, no matter how much I say
it, no matter how many people Ihire.
But I know there was a point intime, because you're actually a
member in the entrepreneurialcommunity, that you actually
(09:59):
shared.
This was something kind of hardmindset wise to get over to
literally pay someone to takepictures of your baked goods.
But once you decided you wantedthe business and once you
decided you were going for it,how did you overcome that
mindset hurdle of just investingin yourself?
Because now I know this is apodcast for anyone listening and
(10:21):
I'll link their page in theshow notes the imagery of their
cookies are beautiful.
They're always played it nice,they're with a craft beer.
Just imagine somewhere, justbeing in a corner of Spain in
this nice little quaint area andeverything is just so beautiful
now, but I know it took alittle while for you to get
there.
So how did you come over thatmindset of I really do need to
(10:44):
invest and wash it?
I listen to this crazy womanthat's always cursing all the
time.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
That was me and my stubbornness of like no, I can
take the photos, I can do it, Ican and eventually realizing you
know what I do a good job, butthere are people out there who
can do it better.
So part of it was me and mereally pushing that control of
wanting to be the person whotakes the pictures and set
everything up.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
And some of it was actually a lot of.
It was through you where wewere doing it and you know to
all our knowledge and resourcesthat we had prior to joining the
entrepreneur community.
We're like we got this, we gotthis, like it's not that
important.
You know, when someone triesour cookies, they're going to be
like wow they'll know.
(11:30):
But then we started learning andlooking and we would start to
see other people's Instagramsand you know I would look at
places and go I would definitelygo there because the picture
they're not going there.
And then we had talked to you afew times and you know you had
really talked about theimportance of imagery and how
(11:50):
people eat with their eyes andhow that's going to attract the
customers that we want Alwaystrying to attract your ideal
customer and I think we hadasked, like someone to take a
couple of professional picturesfor us and they did and we got a
lot of positive responses fromit because this person knew what
they were doing and it all justkind of clicked and it was
(12:14):
really hard because starting abusiness from scratch you know,
in terms of life in the world,you know we're in our early 30s,
so we're still quite young it'snot like we had when we started
.
When we started, so it's notlike we had, you know, billions
of dollars and investors linedup.
So it was quite scary using alot of our own money to be like,
(12:38):
you know, even if it was just$100 for an hour, that when
you're starting out, is a lot ofmoney.
And it wasn't until we said,okay, you know, chef's been
great to us this far, like sheknows what she's talking about.
We've had a couple of goodheart to heart talks, let's
listen to her.
(12:58):
And so we did it and we startedto see kind of that return.
You know a lot of positiveengagement and new people coming
to us and you know theincrease-.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Hey, we saw you on Instagram.
It was really good.
We wanted to come in.
Speaker 3 (13:12):
Yeah, we're getting that now.
All the time People are comingin saying we saw you on social
media and you know your pictureslooked amazing and we had to
make a stop specifically here tosee you.
So it's scary but it works out.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
That is so awesome.
You went from being the bakerwho looked at other bakers, like
you said, and you were like, oh, I would eat that, I would eat
that To now having customers wholiterally walk in your door
because they say, oh, I want toeat that because of how you
presented it, yeah it makes ahuge difference.
And it's not just the photos.
(13:51):
What I love is that you'realways telling a story.
On some of your posts You'realways talking about the flavors
, like Sean, why you came upwith it, but then also, even on
some posts, you're also speakingboth languages.
So you're really creating thissense of community out there.
And how important is it to youto have that sense of community
(14:14):
in your baking business.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
It's great that you mentioned that, because we have
on the window of our store it'sCooke's cafeteria community
cookies.
So that's the three things thatwe focus on as a store, and
community is very big whenbuilding up relationships with
our neighboring businesses, withour clients.
(14:38):
We do a lot of events cookiedecorating events.
I host a trivia every otherweek at our store.
We do yoga and brunch.
We're talking with someone todo a wine painting night and
cookie night.
So community is very, veryimportant to us.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
And to piggyback on that as well, part of the reason
it's so important as, like youmentioned, we are Americans who
are living here in Spain andwhen even if you move to a new
city, I think a lot of peoplecan relate that it's hard to
make friends as an adult, it'shard to meet new people, and we
struggled with that our firstcouple of years here and when we
(15:17):
wanted to open up this place,we had discussed that, while we
wanna provide delicious cookies,like that's a thing, but our
bigger focus is creating acommunity in a place where
people like us, who maybe aren'tfrom here, or even aren't from
here but wanna make new friends,can have that place to meet
(15:39):
other people in a safe,comforting environment.
And then recently we had thisreally fun interaction.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
Earlier in the summer , friends of ours were leaving
and were having a going awayparty and we went there and we
were all sitting at the tablehaving our dinner and whatnot.
We looked around and everybodyat the table knew each other
because of us.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
They'd come to one of our events.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
They'd come to our events and they had built those
friendships in those communityand there were like 10 to 15
people at this table that welooked and say, hey, we're the
common denominator.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
Yeah, so we've met a lot of people.
We also had very recently we doa board game night and we have
a group of people who are hereas refugees from the whole
conflict in Russia and Ukraineand I was talking to one of them
and he was saying how he had toleave his gaming community
(16:32):
behind when they left that areaand that because of us and our
board game night he was able toconnect and rebuild his board
game community.
And it's just, it's nice tohear that not only do we have
really good cookies, but, moreimportantly, people come to us
(16:53):
because they know we're theplace that hey, I'm new here, I
need information on places to go.
Or hey, I wanna make newfriends.
We've actually had people comein and say, like I'm new here, I
heard you were the place to goif I wanna make a friend, and
we're like yes, we are Like it'snice.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
That is such a blessing.
But also it speaks to just yourbrand experience as a whole,
and so I know someone listeningespecially someone who's
home-based is gonna say, oh well, you lost me.
I'm home-based, I'm not astorefront, I can't do that.
But yeah, you can.
You can foster communitythrough your email list.
(17:33):
You can foster communitythrough the people that you
partner with in your city andyour town.
You can foster communitythrough giving.
We have a student who's in thesame group, penny, and she does
what's called give a penny,where she gives a cookie to
every person and advises themfor them to give it to someone
else, to bless someone.
(17:53):
So creating community yeah,creating community doesn't just
have to be with brick and mortar, it can be with home-based too.
But I just love the fact thatyou guys are doing it and you're
just taking it up a notch andyou're really just becoming that
place that people really wannago to.
Another thing is that I knowyou had shared a while back not
(18:16):
that either of you guys have letthis stop you or hinder you in
any type of way, but I know,alicia, you shared that you
struggle with autism as well asSean, and Sean you struggle with
autism and ADHD also.
Yeah, that's a good combination.
They actually said to you guys,before we pressed record, alicia
(18:36):
said yeah, we're all thealphabets, just alphabet soup.
Now, adding that to the mix,with people now knowing that,
how did you focus or how didthat play a role in you opening
a bakery and getting it startedand actually going for it?
Speaker 3 (18:54):
Well for me, because we both are autistic in
different ways.
But I'll speak to my experiencefirst.
One of, I guess the greatthings about being autistic is
that you developed likesometimes very intense special
interests, and mine was thescience of baking, and for a
long time I would just sit andread all the books and watch all
(19:18):
the videos and read all theblogs and learn as much as I can
, like I love learning, and sothat was actually really, really
helpful because I now learned,like where do I get ingredients?
Because fun fact it's notalways easy to get American
(19:38):
ingredients or American styleingredients.
In a smaller city in Spain theyjust brown sugar.
You cannot get that in thesupermarket you have to hunt
that down.
And then in terms of likepaperwork there is a lot of
paperwork, not just in openingthe business but in terms of us
(19:59):
making sure we have the correctvisas and everything to legally
work and set up the business Afew other steps and so I
actually excel at organizationand research.
So being autistic has reallyhelped me in that way in the
business side of it.
(20:20):
But in terms of like peopleside, you know, we love our
clients, we love our customersand we love our friends.
But I do get very overwhelmedeasily and so when there's big
events and a lot of people alljust the people energy sometimes
is too much for me and I haveto actually step out and go and
(20:44):
kind of like take a breather inthe kitchen and be like we got
this, we can do it.
I have special earplugs that Iwear as well that can help dim
some of the sound when it getstoo loud and as well, just
trying, like when we're workingtogether, like doing a tag team,
and being like hey, look, Ineed to like step away for a
(21:07):
minute.
It's too much.
You know, can you kind of takeover and make the coffee as well
, I take a breather.
So communication is reallyimportant to understand
everything that's going on andthen for you as well.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Well, for me with my autism, it's very much getting a
schedule.
I need a schedule and owningyour own business it's.
We get to choose our hours, weget to make our own schedule,
but we don't because you know weset, we set our certain hours
and I guess for us Gotta stickwith it.
Gotta stick with it.
And for me it's really hardbecause there are those days
(21:42):
that I wake up and I just don'thave the spoons, which is a term
Like I don't have the mentalcapabilities, the energy to go
in.
So it's a lot of.
I guess it's communication.
But the schedule thing has beenbig for me because we've had to
change our schedule a bunch oftimes and every time we change
it it messes with my idea ofwhat needs to get done at
certain times and certain areasof the house and dinners, and
(22:07):
but now that we've gotten to,what?
and yeah, yeah, and working at astore, like I like working in
the service industry because, assomeone with autism, you
develop scripts for certainsituations in your life, things
that you automatically go to tosay, and as a server, you create
(22:28):
a script, you have what you sayto your tables every night, you
have what you say to yourcustomers.
So, working in the store, I canspeak Spanish pretty well in
the context of the store becauseI have my script and I can talk
to people at the store.
But once they go off thatscript, I start to get flustered
and I have to turn to my wife,whose Spanish ability is
(22:49):
significantly greater than mine.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
You guys, you actually you literally answered
my next question, which I thinkis so cool.
But one of the things that Ilove, even while you guys are
explaining your autism and ADHD,it wasn't like a well, I have
this and it hinders me, it stopsme.
It stops me, alicia.
You went directly into yourstrengths.
(23:14):
You said, yes, I have this, butI use these facts and I use
them for the greater good, and Iwish more people did that, that
, rather than you just reframedthe diagnosis and said, okay, I
got it, but I'm a role with it.
You know, I'm gonna turn theglass upside down.
Look for the positives, andit's nice that you use those
(23:37):
things.
And I was gonna ask you guyswhat are some tips and
techniques that you have to helpyou cope.
But, alicia, you said theearbuds, as well as scheduling
and breathers.
I love that.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
But Sean, crafting scripts man, that's so big and a
lot of it is also communicationjust being able to tell the
other person, hey, I'mstruggling right now, I need
help, and I know personally.
It's taken me a good two orthree years to get to the point
where I'm now comfortabletelling my wife and friends hey
(24:11):
look, I'm not doing good rightnow, I need to remove myself.
It's taken a lot to get therefor me.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
And just also being open and honest with yourself
and people about what's going on.
So, a little bit too, I hadmentioned that I was a teacher.
My background is a little bitalso like special education and
autism, so I used to work likeas a behavioral therapist.
I had worked in camps, likesummer camps and schools, and
(24:40):
got to meet a lot of like reallygreat families, and one of the
things that they taught me aswell was like if you think that
you've got something going on,always seek out a professional,
but then don't be ashamed of it.
It's like you've got alphabetsoup going on own it, be okay
(25:02):
with it and be like hey guys, Ihave alphabet soup and these are
the things that I need from youso that I can be the best that
I can be, and also being able todo that in a business as well,
like you know, like I'vedefinitely been.
Like if I've been on my own andI'm like, hey guys, hold on a
(25:24):
second, I need to put in myearbuds, it's getting too loud,
and so just being able to youknow you don't have to go into
your whole life background butjust saying like, hey, I need to
do this real quick and thencoming back and you know,
sometimes in our social mediastories and stuff we'll put
things about our life and belike you know, hey guys, it's
(25:47):
just us running the business andyou know this is mentally.
We need a little bit of a breaktoday because there's a lot
going on and you know weapologize, but thank you for
being understanding.
So I think that's a huge partof it is just being confident in
who you are and just being Okayto ask for what you need,
(26:10):
because people are veryreceptive.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
You definitely have that confidence, both of you
guys.
I follow Sean on TikTok and heis always doing the same.
He's always I don't, I don't,definitely don't want to say
making jokes.
He's always finding a smile inthe things that he's, that he
has, he's always sharing hey,this is how I see the world.
(26:35):
Maybe this is how I seesomething that other people may
not see, and I think that is sorefreshing, thank you.
And I never look like why isthis person sharing this?
If anything, it makes meconnect.
So when I think of cookies, ifI ever were in Spain, I'm like I
would have to go to Alicia andSean, because it makes the
person feel like they know you.
(26:57):
Yeah, what advice would youhave to anyone out there who is
listening right now, who maybehas autism or has ADHD, and they
feel I know you see it a lot,alicia, from the women.
I feel overwhelmed.
I'm doing all the things likewhat's going on?
Speaker 3 (27:15):
All the.
That's my life every day.
Yeah, my biggest thing has beenone to learn how to make
schedules and just kind of likeon my phone I've got so many
like to-do lists I come in I'mlike all right, bacon day, we
got to do this.
Or admin day, you got to dothis.
(27:36):
And it can get reallyoverwhelming.
And I think the biggest thingthat I've had to learn and the
hardest thing I've had to learnis how and when to ask for help,
because help is always there ifyou need it.
You know there's someday, oneday, fun little story.
We had a.
There's a trick or treatingevent on the streets and a lot
(28:01):
of little kids and very you canhear a lot of noise.
And very quickly, our smalllittle cookie shop was just
filled with kids and familiesand sounds and multiple
languages and me being autistic,I just got so overwhelmed that
I couldn't do it.
And so Sean was great and hekind of called some of our
(28:24):
friends and said hey guys, who'sfree?
We need your help now and acouple of friends showed up and
said hey, how can we help you?
And you know, one of my friendsliterally just kind of said you
sit in the corner, I'll washthe dishes, take a breath.
We got you and like it's justgreat because so many people
(28:45):
think and I included for thelongest time but I need to do it
myself and I still strugglewith I need to do it myself but
asking for help, you know,because we all have people who
will help us and just knowinglike that they will if you ask.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
And I would say for me is be open.
You know, tell people aboutyour experiences, because
they're not going to be able toknow how to adapt their behavior
, adapt their interactions withyou, if you don't tell them you
know.
So one of the first things thatI lead with when I meet people
is you know?
Hi, I'm Sean.
(29:22):
I'm autistic.
If I say something rude to youor if it looks like I'm not
paying attention, what not?
It's not because I don't care,it's not because I'm not
interested.
It's just because I sometimeshave difficulty showing those
types of emotions, interactions.
I'm not on this, I'm missingthe word right now, but you get
what I'm generally sayingAbsolutely and thank you so much
(29:44):
for sharing that.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
Those are definitely wonderful tips.
So now, knowing that you'reoperating the bakery every day
and you're not letting anythingstop you and you're bringing a
taste of all the American goodsto all these wonderful people in
your town, what has been yourbiggest accomplishments thus far
since opening El Cookey?
(30:05):
You can go first, okay.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Mine is the 25,000 followers we have on TikTok, but
that came from we mentionedearlier.
Like I'm the flavor master ofthe store, we have things called
experience cookies where wesell the cookie and flavorings
that I make.
So the most recent one we hadwas a Habanero cherry white
chocolate cookie.
I also have a cookie out therethat I call the sushi cookie
(30:36):
because I use all flavors thatare profiled sushi, but it works
.
In a cookie I somehow make itwork.
So for me it's a mango cookiewith candy ginger in the center,
soy sauce, icing and crushedwasabi peas on top.
Speaker 3 (30:58):
Whoa People love it.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
It's weird.
I think it's a little bit of asurprise that I'm not the only
one who is discovering howcreative I can be and I am with
flavors being like, hey, I thinkthis is going to work together.
And then it does.
I'm surprised myself.
Speaker 3 (31:16):
So I'm proud of myself and that's my biggest
accomplishment for sure.
Yeah, I think for me one justproving that, hey, we opened up
a business in a foreign countryin a language that we speak, the
fact that it's the two of usthat run it and anyone who's
married knows that being marriedis work Now being married and
(31:40):
running a business together, nowbeing married, running a
business together in a languagethat you both are learning to
speak, so we are still married.
So that's another hugeaccomplishment.
And I'd say my other biggestone would just be the amount of
people who come in and say thatthey've had such good
(32:02):
experiences at our place thatthey made friends through our
place and our cookie shop hasbeen just such a community hub.
To me that's even better thansaying you make a damn good
cookie, because, like I know, Ido, but it's harder, I think, to
make an amazing community, andthat's what I'm most proud of.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
I love that From the bottom of my heart.
You guys are both awesome andyou continue to kill it.
Thank you so much for showingup today and just being
transparent and being open.
I know you guys have beenmembers of our community for a
long time and you're always bothso kind and helpful whenever
you can, and it's just reallynice to just scroll and to see
(32:47):
your growth and there's a lot ofthat Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (32:56):
And we thank you for your role in the growth too,
because it has been instrumental.
The entrepreneur community hasbeen so key in our learning and
our growth as well.
We're so thankful for it.
Speaker 1 (33:08):
Well, I love you guys and we're so happy to have you.
But before I let you go, seanand Alicia, do you know what
time it is?
No, no, no, not in your country.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
We should be.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
It's time for lightning round.
Are you ready?
Speaker 2 (33:25):
There it is.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
Let's lay tonight, alicia, what is your favorite
color?
Speaker 3 (33:33):
My favorite color is purple and Sean.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
I'm a forest green kind of man.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Love it, and I'll start with Sean on this one.
Sean, what is a kitchen utensilyou cannot live without?
Speaker 2 (33:45):
My blender.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
Alicia.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
Oh, I don't know, probably a wooden spoon.
Speaker 1 (33:56):
And Alicia.
What is your favorite book or abook that you'd recommend?
Speaker 3 (34:01):
Oh, that is so hard.
Actually, we're going to go,because I collect it in every
language when I go to othercountries.
Alice in Wonderland.
That's so cool.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
And Sean Sean.
What about you?
Speaker 2 (34:17):
My favorite book.
Do comics count?
Because I have a lot of Calvinand Hobb comic anthologies.
They count, so I would say myCalvin and Hobb books.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
Okay, we'll take it.
Sean.
Who is your celebrity crush?
Speaker 2 (34:33):
Oh, I don't think you even know this one.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
I do not.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
Off the top of my head.
I always like Jessica Alba.
Speaker 1 (34:39):
And what about you, Alicia?
Speaker 3 (34:41):
Harrison Ford.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
He mouthed it while you were saying it.
That is so sweet, young.
Speaker 3 (34:48):
Indiana Jones.
Speaker 2 (34:50):
Harrison Ford or any male artist wearing eyeliner.
Speaker 3 (34:54):
Hey now, Girl likes what she likes.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
Oh my gosh, you guys are too cute.
You guys thank you so much forcoming on, for sharing your
story and your openness, and weappreciate you.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
Yeah, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
How refreshing were both Sean and Alicia.
Thank you guys so much fortuning into this week's episode
of Baking for Business.
I hope you learned a lot fromhearing their story.
More than anything, I reallyhope it inspired you.
I do appreciate both of themwith their transparency and
their authenticity of justtalking about the struggles of
(35:32):
day to day life as entrepreneurs, also the challenges and how
they face them.
You know, we are not designed todo business alone.
We're not even designed to dolife alone and if you are still
out there, hopefully maybe, likeAlicia and Shawn, you may find
your special person on Tinder.
(35:52):
But to everyone else whoalready has a spouse, it is just
always a blessing when you haveone that is supportive, both in
business and in anythingpersonally that you are going
through.
It's hard enough running anAmerican business in America, so
I can only imagine just thechallenges that they have with
(36:16):
opening and getting started andI've been blessed to have a
front seat to just watch them gothrough while they were
building the place, when theyput the things on the walls,
just sharing their journey.
They're two really nice, humbleand kind people and I'm so
blessed to have them in ourgroup in our community.
They're always there answeringquestions and providing support
(36:37):
whenever they can.
So I hope listening to theirstory motivated you, regardless
of if you have a storefront orif you are home base.
I hope you picked up on all thelittle extra nuggets and gems.
You know, sometimes businesscan be overwhelming for all of
us.
So, knowing that you have thatsupport system, that community,
(37:00):
that place that you can go toand, like Alicia said, asking
for help it is always, alwaysokay to ask for help and I'm so
grateful to have a front rowseat and get to watch them
continue to grow and I knowSpain is really the place that
is blessed to have these two intheir community sharing their
(37:22):
gift.
Thank you so much for listeningto this week's episode.
If you appreciated this episode, do me a favor.
Tag me on Instagram.
I love when you listen.
Tag me at bakingforbusiness.
I would love to give you ashout out, to speak to you, to
show you some love and Iappreciate you guys.
Take care and bye for now.
Hey, sweet friends, my name is Chef Schaumburg.
I started my baking businesswith the bottle of DeCerono and
one Bundt Cake Pan.
Fast forward to today, fromnews to magazines, speaking on
national stages and more.
I can truly say that baking haschanged my life.
So now, as a bakery businesscoach, I get to help others have
the same success.
I've helped hundreds of mystudents across the world in my
(00:24):
global membership program createsix-figure businesses, mainly
from home.
The Baking for Business podcastis an extension of that, from
actionable tips to valuabletools and resources that can
impact you as a business owner.
I truly believe y'all.
We would never have been givena gift if we couldn't profit and
prosper from it.
So come on, darling.
What are you waiting for?
(00:45):
Hey, what's going on, sweetfriends, and welcome back to the
Baking for Business podcast.
I'm super excited to have youguys here today.
I know you're like Chef you saythat every week, but I am I
really am excited because todayI actually have two of my
students and two really coolpeople.
(01:06):
These will actually be thefirst bakers who are actually
representing us from anothercountry, which is really cool.
So today we have Sean andAlicia, who are a married
company, and they're both theowners of El Cucque.
El Cucque, which is located inAlicante, spain, wanted to make
sure I pronounced that right,and so, alicia and Sean, how are
(01:30):
you guys doing today?
Speaker 2 (01:32):
We're doing good.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Thanks for having us.
Awesome, absolutely.
And so, alicia, I know I wantedto start with you.
Where exactly did your love ofbaking come from?
Where did you get bit by thebaking bug Straight?
Speaker 3 (01:49):
out of the womb.
My mom says she used to eat somuch cookie dough when she was
pregnant with me, so I thinksome of that just seeped in.
But my earliest memories arebaking with my mom Coming home.
Mom would always make cookiesand brownies, cinnamon rolls,
sticky buns.
(02:09):
She was always baking.
Her mom would always have rawcookie dough in the fridge for
us and that was like a specialtreat.
We went to go visit her andthen grandma on my dad's side as
well like to make treats.
She taught me how to make apulltaffy, so we would make
pulltaffy with grandma fromscratch.
(02:29):
So just a lot of cooks, a lotof bakers, and I think it's just
always been a part of who I amand what I've loved to do.
Speaker 1 (02:39):
I love that.
Yes, it definitely sounds likeit was born into you and Sean.
Did you catch the baking bugwhen you married this one, or
had you had any previous lovefor baking or eating baked goods
?
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Eating baked goods absolutely.
But no, my family was verycomplete opposite of Alicia's,
where my mom just always boughtlike I'm going to name drop
Entomans, donuts or just icecreams, like we never made
anything at home.
So I think that was one of thereasons why I was drawn to
Alicia was because I get thefresh baked cookies and the
cookie dough.
(03:12):
But since marrying Alicia,aside from learning a lot about
the science of baking and how tobake things yeah, I do, I do
dabble here and there.
We can get that a little bitlater.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
Sean is really, really good with coming up with
unique flavor pairings andputting that into our food, so
he's a flavor guy.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Okay, way to go, sean .
Well, yes, it's never too lateto catch the baking bug.
And so, alicia, at what pointin time did you decide that you
wanted to try to give this a goas a business?
Because I know you started outas a home-based business first.
Speaker 3 (03:49):
So even before that, I've been a teacher for the past
10 to 15 years and just alwaysbaking for friends and get
togethers and whatnot, bringingstuff into the schools.
And it was really during COVIDwhere here in Spain, we had a
very strict lockdown and forabout two or three months we
(04:12):
weren't allowed out of our homes, and that allows you to do a
lot of reflecting on your lifeor baking in general, and I had
just come to a point in my lifewhere I'm like, what can I do
that's going to bring me a lotof joy, what can I do that I
like and I feel passionate about?
And just doing a lot ofreflecting, I realized that was
(04:35):
baking and especially cookies.
These were a huge part of mychildhood just a lot of positive
memories and I realized thatwas the direction I wanted my
life to go, was something that Ienjoyed, bringing more
positivity around, and so westarted looking into how can we
make this a reality.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Well, I mean, I'm going to interject here Didn't
you start baking and you postedsomething on Instagram and
people are like, ooh, those lookreally good, can we order some?
And I kind of like that,spurred the idea, that kind of
like cemented you know.
Okay, maybe this could be anactual thing.
Speaker 3 (05:10):
Yeah, I had posted some.
Looking back I thought theywere good pictures, but whoa, it
was a cookie on a paper towel.
I'm like, hey, I'm makingcookies, you know, is anyone
interested?
And we have a lot of interests.
You know, I made some bagelsand people like we can't get
those here.
We also can't get American likechocolate chip cookies here
(05:33):
either.
It's not like a thing, you know, that's commonly found.
And so people just startedcoming out of the woodwork going
, oh my God, I want some, I wantsome.
And right the idea of, wow, Ilike this.
And now there seems to be likepeople want this.
You know, let's, let's do it.
Speaker 2 (05:54):
Let's see how we can make this happen.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
Absolutely, alicia.
How much time did you spend inthe States, like, how were you
familiar with American cookiesper se?
Speaker 3 (06:07):
So I grew up in the States and so I was there until
I was 26, 27 when I left theStates.
So I mean, I grew up withcookies.
Mom would make cookies for mylunch.
I hope mom doesn't listen tothis, but I and I'm sorry, mom,
(06:28):
I love you so much but I wouldoften take some of the homemade
chocolate chip cookies she wouldpack in my lunch and I would
trade them for Oreos, because wedidn't have Oreos at home and
so I would trade it, and I'm sosorry, mom.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
But that sounds like the entrepreneur bug early on,
because you were bartering, youwere just exchanging one service
for another one, so that'spretty cool.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
I partnered so much with my cookies.
Like all through college, Ididn't have a car, and so I
would talk to roommates orfriends and say, hey, I need to
go to the store for somethingyou know I'll give you.
Somehow I always had theingredients for cookies lying
around, don't know, but I wouldbake them cookies and they would
bring me to the store.
(07:15):
Or hey, I need help with this.
You know, I'll bring cookies tothe study session.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
Normally it's pizza and beer.
For helping moldies with Aliciawas cookies and brownies.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
Oh, that's like everything.
If you look at all my socialmedia memories, it's all like me
posting about hey, I need helpwith this.
I'll give you cookies, likethat's my thing.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
So cookies are definitely in your blood, which
makes sense as to why you haveyour business now, and so
growing up in America, though,but then going back to Spain,
how did you get introduced toSpain?
What made you want to hop overthere?
Speaker 2 (07:54):
Can I take that one?
Speaker 1 (07:55):
Yeah so.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
I mean, alicia and I met in South Korea of all places
, teaching English there.
We lived quite a distance apartand we met through Tinder, of
all things, and it was a matchmade in heaven, south Korea.
Eventually Alicia moved to mycity and we lived together for a
(08:17):
little while, fell in love,proposed, but we didn't want to
live in South Korea forever.
The work-life balance there isvery skewed to the work side and
not the life balance side, sowe also knew that we didn't want
to live in the States.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Just we like the expat life, we like exploring,
we like traveling.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
So Alicia was looking online naming places that we
could go, and one of thoseplaces happened to be Spain and
we both had a Spanish backgroundlike beating Spanish, and it
seemed like the move to makeSpain seem like the place to go.
So we started to get our ducksin a row to move to Spain.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
And we came here in 2018.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
That sounds so romantic, oh my gosh.
So you meet in South Koreawhile you're both teaching so
many similarities, and it'sdefinitely a match made in
heaven because you guys areperfect for each other.
But to meet on Tinder, oh thatis so adorable.
I love that.
All right, and so now, alicia,you actually brought up
(09:24):
something that I really wantedto share, because I know
building a business in itselfcan be tough.
But she said you made somecookies and they were on a piece
of paper towel.
Speaker 2 (09:36):
Yeah, they were.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
And you were like looking back now I know that
that's horrible, but it's crazybecause there are so many people
who are beginning and they'restarting out and they're not
paying attention to things likethat, no matter how much I say
it, no matter how many people Ihire.
But I know there was a point intime, because you're actually a
member in the entrepreneurialcommunity, that you actually
(09:59):
shared.
This was something kind of hardmindset wise to get over to
literally pay someone to takepictures of your baked goods.
But once you decided you wantedthe business and once you
decided you were going for it,how did you overcome that
mindset hurdle of just investingin yourself?
Because now I know this is apodcast for anyone listening and
(10:21):
I'll link their page in theshow notes the imagery of their
cookies are beautiful.
They're always played it nice,they're with a craft beer.
Just imagine somewhere, justbeing in a corner of Spain in
this nice little quaint area andeverything is just so beautiful
now, but I know it took alittle while for you to get
there.
So how did you come over thatmindset of I really do need to
(10:44):
invest and wash it?
I listen to this crazy womanthat's always cursing all the
time.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
That was me and my stubbornness of like no, I can
take the photos, I can do it, Ican and eventually realizing you
know what I do a good job, butthere are people out there who
can do it better.
So part of it was me and mereally pushing that control of
wanting to be the person whotakes the pictures and set
everything up.
Speaker 3 (11:08):
And some of it was actually a lot of.
It was through you where wewere doing it and you know to
all our knowledge and resourcesthat we had prior to joining the
entrepreneur community.
We're like we got this, we gotthis, like it's not that
important.
You know, when someone triesour cookies, they're going to be
like wow they'll know.
(11:30):
But then we started learning andlooking and we would start to
see other people's Instagramsand you know I would look at
places and go I would definitelygo there because the picture
they're not going there.
And then we had talked to you afew times and you know you had
really talked about theimportance of imagery and how
(11:50):
people eat with their eyes andhow that's going to attract the
customers that we want Alwaystrying to attract your ideal
customer and I think we hadasked, like someone to take a
couple of professional picturesfor us and they did and we got a
lot of positive responses fromit because this person knew what
they were doing and it all justkind of clicked and it was
(12:14):
really hard because starting abusiness from scratch you know,
in terms of life in the world,you know we're in our early 30s,
so we're still quite young it'snot like we had when we started
.
When we started, so it's notlike we had, you know, billions
of dollars and investors linedup.
So it was quite scary using alot of our own money to be like,
(12:38):
you know, even if it was just$100 for an hour, that when
you're starting out, is a lot ofmoney.
And it wasn't until we said,okay, you know, chef's been
great to us this far, like sheknows what she's talking about.
We've had a couple of goodheart to heart talks, let's
listen to her.
(12:58):
And so we did it and we startedto see kind of that return.
You know a lot of positiveengagement and new people coming
to us and you know theincrease-.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Hey, we saw you on Instagram.
It was really good.
We wanted to come in.
Speaker 3 (13:12):
Yeah, we're getting that now.
All the time People are comingin saying we saw you on social
media and you know your pictureslooked amazing and we had to
make a stop specifically here tosee you.
So it's scary but it works out.
Speaker 2 (13:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
That is so awesome.
You went from being the bakerwho looked at other bakers, like
you said, and you were like, oh, I would eat that, I would eat
that To now having customers wholiterally walk in your door
because they say, oh, I want toeat that because of how you
presented it, yeah it makes ahuge difference.
And it's not just the photos.
(13:51):
What I love is that you'realways telling a story.
On some of your posts You'realways talking about the flavors
, like Sean, why you came upwith it, but then also, even on
some posts, you're also speakingboth languages.
So you're really creating thissense of community out there.
And how important is it to youto have that sense of community
(14:14):
in your baking business.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
It's great that you mentioned that, because we have
on the window of our store it'sCooke's cafeteria community
cookies.
So that's the three things thatwe focus on as a store, and
community is very big whenbuilding up relationships with
our neighboring businesses, withour clients.
(14:38):
We do a lot of events cookiedecorating events.
I host a trivia every otherweek at our store.
We do yoga and brunch.
We're talking with someone todo a wine painting night and
cookie night.
So community is very, veryimportant to us.
Speaker 3 (14:54):
And to piggyback on that as well, part of the reason
it's so important as, like youmentioned, we are Americans who
are living here in Spain andwhen even if you move to a new
city, I think a lot of peoplecan relate that it's hard to
make friends as an adult, it'shard to meet new people, and we
struggled with that our firstcouple of years here and when we
(15:17):
wanted to open up this place,we had discussed that, while we
wanna provide delicious cookies,like that's a thing, but our
bigger focus is creating acommunity in a place where
people like us, who maybe aren'tfrom here, or even aren't from
here but wanna make new friends,can have that place to meet
(15:39):
other people in a safe,comforting environment.
And then recently we had thisreally fun interaction.
Speaker 2 (15:48):
Earlier in the summer , friends of ours were leaving
and were having a going awayparty and we went there and we
were all sitting at the tablehaving our dinner and whatnot.
We looked around and everybodyat the table knew each other
because of us.
Speaker 1 (16:01):
They'd come to one of our events.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
They'd come to our events and they had built those
friendships in those communityand there were like 10 to 15
people at this table that welooked and say, hey, we're the
common denominator.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
Yeah, so we've met a lot of people.
We also had very recently we doa board game night and we have
a group of people who are hereas refugees from the whole
conflict in Russia and Ukraineand I was talking to one of them
and he was saying how he had toleave his gaming community
(16:32):
behind when they left that areaand that because of us and our
board game night he was able toconnect and rebuild his board
game community.
And it's just, it's nice tohear that not only do we have
really good cookies, but, moreimportantly, people come to us
(16:53):
because they know we're theplace that hey, I'm new here, I
need information on places to go.
Or hey, I wanna make newfriends.
We've actually had people comein and say, like I'm new here, I
heard you were the place to goif I wanna make a friend, and
we're like yes, we are Like it'snice.
Speaker 1 (17:13):
That is such a blessing.
But also it speaks to just yourbrand experience as a whole,
and so I know someone listeningespecially someone who's
home-based is gonna say, oh well, you lost me.
I'm home-based, I'm not astorefront, I can't do that.
But yeah, you can.
You can foster communitythrough your email list.
(17:33):
You can foster communitythrough the people that you
partner with in your city andyour town.
You can foster communitythrough giving.
We have a student who's in thesame group, penny, and she does
what's called give a penny,where she gives a cookie to
every person and advises themfor them to give it to someone
else, to bless someone.
(17:53):
So creating community yeah,creating community doesn't just
have to be with brick and mortar, it can be with home-based too.
But I just love the fact thatyou guys are doing it and you're
just taking it up a notch andyou're really just becoming that
place that people really wannago to.
Another thing is that I knowyou had shared a while back not
(18:16):
that either of you guys have letthis stop you or hinder you in
any type of way, but I know,alicia, you shared that you
struggle with autism as well asSean, and Sean you struggle with
autism and ADHD also.
Yeah, that's a good combination.
They actually said to you guys,before we pressed record, alicia
(18:36):
said yeah, we're all thealphabets, just alphabet soup.
Now, adding that to the mix,with people now knowing that,
how did you focus or how didthat play a role in you opening
a bakery and getting it startedand actually going for it?
Speaker 3 (18:54):
Well for me, because we both are autistic in
different ways.
But I'll speak to my experiencefirst.
One of, I guess the greatthings about being autistic is
that you developed likesometimes very intense special
interests, and mine was thescience of baking, and for a
long time I would just sit andread all the books and watch all
(19:18):
the videos and read all theblogs and learn as much as I can
, like I love learning, and sothat was actually really, really
helpful because I now learned,like where do I get ingredients?
Because fun fact it's notalways easy to get American
(19:38):
ingredients or American styleingredients.
In a smaller city in Spain theyjust brown sugar.
You cannot get that in thesupermarket you have to hunt
that down.
And then in terms of likepaperwork there is a lot of
paperwork, not just in openingthe business but in terms of us
(19:59):
making sure we have the correctvisas and everything to legally
work and set up the business Afew other steps and so I
actually excel at organizationand research.
So being autistic has reallyhelped me in that way in the
business side of it.
(20:20):
But in terms of like peopleside, you know, we love our
clients, we love our customersand we love our friends.
But I do get very overwhelmedeasily and so when there's big
events and a lot of people alljust the people energy sometimes
is too much for me and I haveto actually step out and go and
(20:44):
kind of like take a breather inthe kitchen and be like we got
this, we can do it.
I have special earplugs that Iwear as well that can help dim
some of the sound when it getstoo loud and as well, just
trying, like when we're workingtogether, like doing a tag team,
and being like hey, look, Ineed to like step away for a
(21:07):
minute.
It's too much.
You know, can you kind of takeover and make the coffee as well
, I take a breather.
So communication is reallyimportant to understand
everything that's going on andthen for you as well.
Speaker 2 (21:20):
Well, for me with my autism, it's very much getting a
schedule.
I need a schedule and owningyour own business it's.
We get to choose our hours, weget to make our own schedule,
but we don't because you know weset, we set our certain hours
and I guess for us Gotta stickwith it.
Gotta stick with it.
And for me it's really hardbecause there are those days
(21:42):
that I wake up and I just don'thave the spoons, which is a term
Like I don't have the mentalcapabilities, the energy to go
in.
So it's a lot of.
I guess it's communication.
But the schedule thing has beenbig for me because we've had to
change our schedule a bunch oftimes and every time we change
it it messes with my idea ofwhat needs to get done at
certain times and certain areasof the house and dinners, and
(22:07):
but now that we've gotten to,what?
and yeah, yeah, and working at astore, like I like working in
the service industry because, assomeone with autism, you
develop scripts for certainsituations in your life, things
that you automatically go to tosay, and as a server, you create
(22:28):
a script, you have what you sayto your tables every night, you
have what you say to yourcustomers.
So, working in the store, I canspeak Spanish pretty well in
the context of the store becauseI have my script and I can talk
to people at the store.
But once they go off thatscript, I start to get flustered
and I have to turn to my wife,whose Spanish ability is
(22:49):
significantly greater than mine.
Speaker 1 (22:52):
You guys, you actually you literally answered
my next question, which I thinkis so cool.
But one of the things that Ilove, even while you guys are
explaining your autism and ADHD,it wasn't like a well, I have
this and it hinders me, it stopsme.
It stops me, alicia.
You went directly into yourstrengths.
(23:14):
You said, yes, I have this, butI use these facts and I use
them for the greater good, and Iwish more people did that, that
, rather than you just reframedthe diagnosis and said, okay, I
got it, but I'm a role with it.
You know, I'm gonna turn theglass upside down.
Look for the positives, andit's nice that you use those
(23:37):
things.
And I was gonna ask you guyswhat are some tips and
techniques that you have to helpyou cope.
But, alicia, you said theearbuds, as well as scheduling
and breathers.
I love that.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
But Sean, crafting scripts man, that's so big and a
lot of it is also communicationjust being able to tell the
other person, hey, I'mstruggling right now, I need
help, and I know personally.
It's taken me a good two orthree years to get to the point
where I'm now comfortabletelling my wife and friends hey
(24:11):
look, I'm not doing good rightnow, I need to remove myself.
It's taken a lot to get therefor me.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
And just also being open and honest with yourself
and people about what's going on.
So, a little bit too, I hadmentioned that I was a teacher.
My background is a little bitalso like special education and
autism, so I used to work likeas a behavioral therapist.
I had worked in camps, likesummer camps and schools, and
(24:40):
got to meet a lot of like reallygreat families, and one of the
things that they taught me aswell was like if you think that
you've got something going on,always seek out a professional,
but then don't be ashamed of it.
It's like you've got alphabetsoup going on own it, be okay
(25:02):
with it and be like hey guys, Ihave alphabet soup and these are
the things that I need from youso that I can be the best that
I can be, and also being able todo that in a business as well,
like you know, like I'vedefinitely been.
Like if I've been on my own andI'm like, hey guys, hold on a
(25:24):
second, I need to put in myearbuds, it's getting too loud,
and so just being able to youknow you don't have to go into
your whole life background butjust saying like, hey, I need to
do this real quick and thencoming back and you know,
sometimes in our social mediastories and stuff we'll put
things about our life and belike you know, hey guys, it's
(25:47):
just us running the business andyou know this is mentally.
We need a little bit of a breaktoday because there's a lot
going on and you know weapologize, but thank you for
being understanding.
So I think that's a huge partof it is just being confident in
who you are and just being Okayto ask for what you need,
(26:10):
because people are veryreceptive.
Speaker 1 (26:13):
You definitely have that confidence, both of you
guys.
I follow Sean on TikTok and heis always doing the same.
He's always I don't, I don't,definitely don't want to say
making jokes.
He's always finding a smile inthe things that he's, that he
has, he's always sharing hey,this is how I see the world.
(26:35):
Maybe this is how I seesomething that other people may
not see, and I think that is sorefreshing, thank you.
And I never look like why isthis person sharing this?
If anything, it makes meconnect.
So when I think of cookies, ifI ever were in Spain, I'm like I
would have to go to Alicia andSean, because it makes the
person feel like they know you.
(26:57):
Yeah, what advice would youhave to anyone out there who is
listening right now, who maybehas autism or has ADHD, and they
feel I know you see it a lot,alicia, from the women.
I feel overwhelmed.
I'm doing all the things likewhat's going on?
Speaker 3 (27:15):
All the.
That's my life every day.
Yeah, my biggest thing has beenone to learn how to make
schedules and just kind of likeon my phone I've got so many
like to-do lists I come in I'mlike all right, bacon day, we
got to do this.
Or admin day, you got to dothis.
(27:36):
And it can get reallyoverwhelming.
And I think the biggest thingthat I've had to learn and the
hardest thing I've had to learnis how and when to ask for help,
because help is always there ifyou need it.
You know there's someday, oneday, fun little story.
We had a.
There's a trick or treatingevent on the streets and a lot
(28:01):
of little kids and very you canhear a lot of noise.
And very quickly, our smalllittle cookie shop was just
filled with kids and familiesand sounds and multiple
languages and me being autistic,I just got so overwhelmed that
I couldn't do it.
And so Sean was great and hekind of called some of our
(28:24):
friends and said hey guys, who'sfree?
We need your help now and acouple of friends showed up and
said hey, how can we help you?
And you know, one of my friendsliterally just kind of said you
sit in the corner, I'll washthe dishes, take a breath.
We got you and like it's justgreat because so many people
(28:45):
think and I included for thelongest time but I need to do it
myself and I still strugglewith I need to do it myself but
asking for help, you know,because we all have people who
will help us and just knowinglike that they will if you ask.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
And I would say for me is be open.
You know, tell people aboutyour experiences, because
they're not going to be able toknow how to adapt their behavior
, adapt their interactions withyou, if you don't tell them you
know.
So one of the first things thatI lead with when I meet people
is you know?
Hi, I'm Sean.
(29:22):
I'm autistic.
If I say something rude to youor if it looks like I'm not
paying attention, what not?
It's not because I don't care,it's not because I'm not
interested.
It's just because I sometimeshave difficulty showing those
types of emotions, interactions.
I'm not on this, I'm missingthe word right now, but you get
what I'm generally sayingAbsolutely and thank you so much
(29:44):
for sharing that.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
Those are definitely wonderful tips.
So now, knowing that you'reoperating the bakery every day
and you're not letting anythingstop you and you're bringing a
taste of all the American goodsto all these wonderful people in
your town, what has been yourbiggest accomplishments thus far
since opening El Cookey?
(30:05):
You can go first, okay.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
Mine is the 25,000 followers we have on TikTok, but
that came from we mentionedearlier.
Like I'm the flavor master ofthe store, we have things called
experience cookies where wesell the cookie and flavorings
that I make.
So the most recent one we hadwas a Habanero cherry white
chocolate cookie.
I also have a cookie out therethat I call the sushi cookie
(30:36):
because I use all flavors thatare profiled sushi, but it works
.
In a cookie I somehow make itwork.
So for me it's a mango cookiewith candy ginger in the center,
soy sauce, icing and crushedwasabi peas on top.
Speaker 3 (30:58):
Whoa People love it.
Speaker 2 (31:01):
It's weird.
I think it's a little bit of asurprise that I'm not the only
one who is discovering howcreative I can be and I am with
flavors being like, hey, I thinkthis is going to work together.
And then it does.
I'm surprised myself.
Speaker 3 (31:16):
So I'm proud of myself and that's my biggest
accomplishment for sure.
Yeah, I think for me one justproving that, hey, we opened up
a business in a foreign countryin a language that we speak, the
fact that it's the two of usthat run it and anyone who's
married knows that being marriedis work Now being married and
(31:40):
running a business together, nowbeing married, running a
business together in a languagethat you both are learning to
speak, so we are still married.
So that's another hugeaccomplishment.
And I'd say my other biggestone would just be the amount of
people who come in and say thatthey've had such good
(32:02):
experiences at our place thatthey made friends through our
place and our cookie shop hasbeen just such a community hub.
To me that's even better thansaying you make a damn good
cookie, because, like I know, Ido, but it's harder, I think, to
make an amazing community, andthat's what I'm most proud of.
Speaker 1 (32:25):
I love that From the bottom of my heart.
You guys are both awesome andyou continue to kill it.
Thank you so much for showingup today and just being
transparent and being open.
I know you guys have beenmembers of our community for a
long time and you're always bothso kind and helpful whenever
you can, and it's just reallynice to just scroll and to see
(32:47):
your growth and there's a lot ofthat Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (32:56):
And we thank you for your role in the growth too,
because it has been instrumental.
The entrepreneur community hasbeen so key in our learning and
our growth as well.
We're so thankful for it.
Speaker 1 (33:08):
Well, I love you guys and we're so happy to have you.
But before I let you go, seanand Alicia, do you know what
time it is?
No, no, no, not in your country.
Speaker 2 (33:20):
We should be.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
It's time for lightning round.
Are you ready?
Speaker 2 (33:25):
There it is.
Speaker 1 (33:28):
Let's lay tonight, alicia, what is your favorite
color?
Speaker 3 (33:33):
My favorite color is purple and Sean.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
I'm a forest green kind of man.
Speaker 1 (33:38):
Love it, and I'll start with Sean on this one.
Sean, what is a kitchen utensilyou cannot live without?
Speaker 2 (33:45):
My blender.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
Alicia.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
Oh, I don't know, probably a wooden spoon.
Speaker 1 (33:56):
And Alicia.
What is your favorite book or abook that you'd recommend?
Speaker 3 (34:01):
Oh, that is so hard.
Actually, we're going to go,because I collect it in every
language when I go to othercountries.
Alice in Wonderland.
That's so cool.
Speaker 1 (34:13):
And Sean Sean.
What about you?
Speaker 2 (34:17):
My favorite book.
Do comics count?
Because I have a lot of Calvinand Hobb comic anthologies.
They count, so I would say myCalvin and Hobb books.
Speaker 1 (34:27):
Okay, we'll take it.
Sean.
Who is your celebrity crush?
Speaker 2 (34:33):
Oh, I don't think you even know this one.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
I do not.
Speaker 2 (34:37):
Off the top of my head.
I always like Jessica Alba.
Speaker 1 (34:39):
And what about you, Alicia?
Speaker 3 (34:41):
Harrison Ford.
Speaker 1 (34:45):
He mouthed it while you were saying it.
That is so sweet, young.
Speaker 3 (34:48):
Indiana Jones.
Speaker 2 (34:50):
Harrison Ford or any male artist wearing eyeliner.
Speaker 3 (34:54):
Hey now, Girl likes what she likes.
Speaker 1 (34:57):
Oh my gosh, you guys are too cute.
You guys thank you so much forcoming on, for sharing your
story and your openness, and weappreciate you.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
Yeah, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (35:08):
How refreshing were both Sean and Alicia.
Thank you guys so much fortuning into this week's episode
of Baking for Business.
I hope you learned a lot fromhearing their story.
More than anything, I reallyhope it inspired you.
I do appreciate both of themwith their transparency and
their authenticity of justtalking about the struggles of
(35:32):
day to day life as entrepreneurs, also the challenges and how
they face them.
You know, we are not designed todo business alone.
We're not even designed to dolife alone and if you are still
out there, hopefully maybe, likeAlicia and Shawn, you may find
your special person on Tinder.
(35:52):
But to everyone else whoalready has a spouse, it is just
always a blessing when you haveone that is supportive, both in
business and in anythingpersonally that you are going
through.
It's hard enough running anAmerican business in America, so
I can only imagine just thechallenges that they have with
(36:16):
opening and getting started andI've been blessed to have a
front seat to just watch them gothrough while they were
building the place, when theyput the things on the walls,
just sharing their journey.
They're two really nice, humbleand kind people and I'm so
blessed to have them in ourgroup in our community.
They're always there answeringquestions and providing support
(36:37):
whenever they can.
So I hope listening to theirstory motivated you, regardless
of if you have a storefront orif you are home base.
I hope you picked up on all thelittle extra nuggets and gems.
You know, sometimes businesscan be overwhelming for all of
us.
So, knowing that you have thatsupport system, that community,
(37:00):
that place that you can go toand, like Alicia said, asking
for help it is always, alwaysokay to ask for help and I'm so
grateful to have a front rowseat and get to watch them
continue to grow and I knowSpain is really the place that
is blessed to have these two intheir community sharing their
(37:22):
gift.
Thank you so much for listeningto this week's episode.
If you appreciated this episode, do me a favor.
Tag me on Instagram.
I love when you listen.
Tag me at bakingforbusiness.
I would love to give you ashout out, to speak to you, to
show you some love and Iappreciate you guys.
Take care and bye for now.
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