We had the good fortune of connecting with Collin Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Collin, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
We started The Cravory as 20-somethings and here we are almost 15 years later – all with kids and families of our own. All 4 of us owners have found out own ‘balance’ but for me it’s about building the right team around me so I can spend time with my family and not always have my phone on me. Balance in the beginning was a lot easier, but with a 4 year old (Rory) and a 1 year old (Ewan), and an amazing wife (Colleen), I have to be purposeful in everything that I do so that I can live life without regrets (and still have a successful business).

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
The Cravory has created more than 5000 unique cookie flavors over the last 13 years – I’d say that definitely sets us apart. With a Signature menu that includes Birthday Cake, Ultimate Chocolate Chip, Rosemary Balsamic and Lemon Bar, we also create 6 new flavors each month.

Yes there are/were challenges! Several aspects that include: ingredient supply/demand/cost fluctuations (think about it! 5000 different flavors all from scratch with unique doughs, mix-ins and toppings!), and right now the biggest challenge is the increase in cost of shipping cookies nationwide, as well as over saturation in the market with a cookie company explosion recently.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My best friend, Tyler, comes to town every January for the Farmer’s open.

Farmer’s usually buy Cravory cookies for the concessions, so some of the visit is filled with work/deliveries, but a ton of golf as well.

He lands on Wednesday morning and I pick him up in my Jeep – windows down / top off. First stop is Mitch’s Seafood for some fish tacos. This is a tradition and a ‘must’.

Next we head straight to the golf course. Usually Balboa or Admiral Baker. 18 holes and all of a sudden his 300+ yd drive is hooking left and right. I usually win by a couple strokes and we finish in time to pick up my 1 year old son from day care and pick up dinner for the Colleen and Rory. Dinner is take out from Hillcrest’s Arrivederci – Bolognese and Pasta Carbonara. The best.

Thursday’s first tee time at Farmer’s is usually 8:55am, so we arrive in plenty of time to see our favorite golfers.

The rest of the weekend is filled with as much golf and family time as possible. Other top spots are Rockys and 3rd Corner.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My wife, Colleen, deserves a lot of the credit! In 2014, we were living in Colorado and loving our community/work, but we decided to jump off a cliff and move to San Diego so I could take over Sales/New Business development for a small cookie company called The Cravory. It was a challenge financially, but we didn’t have kids at the time and it was such a great opportunity. Looking back, we are so glad we jumped off that cliff!

Website: www.thecravory.com

Instagram: @thecravory

Linkedin: @thecravory

Facebook: @thecravory

Yelp: @thecravory

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutSocal is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.