October, 2009

Entrepreneur Fridays: One Smart Cookie

WHO: Tina Corso-Hess

WHAT: Corso’s Cookies

WHERE: Syracuse, NY

WHEN: 2001

HOW: “I always loved to bake since my first easy bake oven and I also loved art. Once I combined them both into decorated cookies I knew I had found my niche,” says Corso. When Corso had trouble finding a unique gift to send to a friend who had a baby, she decided to take matters into her own hands. The result? A million dollar business. “I decided to send her some cookies decorated like flowers in a basket. She loved them so I started making them for thank you gifts…they created quite a buzz around town. Every time I sent cookies out the recipient would want me to make more to send to someone for them. It seemed to be a snowball effect,” says Corso.

Working as a real estate agent, Corso used part of her commissions to fund the start-up. “I would go to the store, buy a pound of sugar and ten pounds of flour pretty much every other day. Then I’d wait to get paid on one bouquet to go out and do it again,” said Corso. The fledgling cookie business received its biggest boost from its first large order. “One thing that really helped was an order for 5,000 heart shaped cookies from the American Heart Association. We didn’t have any equipment for this. We had to do all the rolling by hand. I called every relative I had, every friend I had to help. With that order, the money we made helped us get things really started,” says Corso. A new and improved website also helped Corso’s Cookies gain exposure. “Once we got a really good website up, other companies started coming to us wanting to sell the bouquets on their site,” says Corso. Today, Corso’s Cookies are sold on over 100 websites, including ProFlowers and Amazon.

As orders kept getting larger and more frequent, Corso decided to leave the real estate business behind and pursue her true passion. “Within 6 months of starting cookie bouquets, the cookies just dominated. The tipping point for leaving real estate was my getting three hours of sleep a night,” explained Corso. But Corso wasn’t the only one burning the midnight oil—her husband Peter Hess also worked overtime to get the business off the ground. “My husband worked a full-time job to support us and worked with me in the evenings and weekends to prevent us from having to hire an accountant, janitor or salesperson. He kept on top of business matters and I More…

Ask Jean Thursday: Choosing a Charity

Question: My wife’s birthday is coming up and she asked that I donate to a charity in her name instead of buying a gift. How can I be sure that the charity I choose is legitimate?

-Jack, Connecticut

Answer: Despite tough economic times, Americans are still finding ways to donate to charity. According to the Giving USA Foundation’s Annual Report on Philanthropy, Americans donated $229.3 billion in 2008.

Unfortunately though, there are a number of false charities looking to capitalize on the good nature of those looking to donate their hard earned cash. Thankfully, there are websites out there designed to help you vet charities you’re considering donating to. Here are a few of my favorites:

Charity Navigator: An independent charity evaluator, Charity Navigator offers information on over 5,400 charities in the United States. Charity Navigator assesses charities based on two factors: how responsibly it functions from day to day and how they expect the charity to be able to sustain their programs in the future.

Guidestar: Guidestar combines information provided by the actual charities with data from several other sources. More…

Listen Up!

Why should you “Pay It Down?” Last week I took part in Portfolio’s “Business Beat” podcast to answer that very question and talk about the new, credit crunch edition of “Pay It Down!”. Listen in on the interview below for my answer.

From Brokers to Bullion

What’s the best way to find a broker? Should you sell your silver bullion or hang on to it? We tackled these questions and more on this morning’s Money 911 segment. Watch the video below for our answers.

The Women’s Conference 2009

Tomorrow I’ll be speaking at The Women’s Conference 2009, a gathering of over 25,000 women with appearances and speeches by over 100 news makers and world leaders. Hosted by California First Lady Maria Shriver and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, the conference aims to inspire women across the globe. Take part in these days of empowerment and education by watching the conference live by clicking here.