“Wouldn’t it be so cool if we could open our own shop?” That was the thought percolating in Katie Louis’s head as she and her sister-in-law sent each other videos of people baking and decorating cookies. Louis had watched so many cookie baking videos that she felt inspired to try her hand at it. So she signed up for a class, kept watching videos to educate herself and began making cookies for holidays and events with her family and friends.
“It started to turn into a bigger thing,” said Louis, who founded Katie’s Kookies. As a mom of two, she specializes in homemade, hand-decorated sugar cookies— thick, soft, big and flavored with her homemade vanilla.
“The passion I put into the cookies really makes my business stand out,” Louis said. She pays a lot of attention to detail. If someone wants personalized cookies for a birthday party or baby shower, she’ll often want to look at the invitations to get as much information about the theme as possible, and match her cookies to that.
Women supporting women in business
Louis has worked in the mortgage industry for most of her adult career. She moved from Metro Detroit to Ohio about five years ago, and two years ago she was inspired to start Katie’s Kookies.
“I discovered a community of women supporting other women in business here,” she said. Louis has even traded cookies for services with business women in the area. “It’s not a competition, it’s women supporting women,” Louis said.
Louis’ husband, CJ, is a huge supporter of her business. There are nights when she needs to stay up late baking, and that can be overwhelming. Her husband will sometimes roll up his sleeves and pitch in, or sometimes just sit with her and keep a conversation going during those late nights while she works on her cookies.
Louis has a daughter, who’s a high school sophomore, and a four-year-old son. “It’s a big age gap but it’s so much fun,” Louis said. “They are the best of friends. I love seeing their relationship together.”
For fellow parents who are considering starting their own business, Louis encourages them to just go for it. “Believe in yourself and see where it takes you. Even if it’s a business that starts off really small, that’s okay! Be proud of your work. Don’t doubt that what you’re doing is amazing and it’s being done specifically by you. You never know what will happen, and what can turn it into something far bigger than you ever expected.”
248-824-5548, [email protected], Or “Katie’s Kookies” on Facebook.
Get to know Katie Louis
Fiction or nonfiction? That’s a hard choice. I’m torn–I can go both ways!
Fun hobbies: If I see something I like, I try it. I paint, sew, crochet, bake, scrapbook, dabble in leatherworking.
Favorite hidden gem in the Toledo Area? Moe’s in Rossford. That’s my husband’s and my go-to place. It reminds us of a place we went to back in Metro Detroit. We love the people there.
Fun item on the bucket list: To go to Alaska–maybe on a cruise. I want to see a moose in real life! Not too close, but out in the wild. That would be crazy.
