Meet Jaimie Wong | Cookie Decorator and Entrepreneur

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

Hi Jaimie, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
I am a cookie decorator, and I started my cookies business, Sweet Butter Coco, a little over 3 years ago. The most important factor behind the success of Sweet Butter Coco, is the pure happiness and joy that cookie decorating exudes. I am one of those who have many different hobbies, and I find joy in each one of my hobbies. From piano improvisation, to gardening, to biking, to dancing, to food art, I love doing it all. But I wanted one of my hobbies to be the money-maker hobby, which ultimately ended up being cookie decorating. I wanted to pick something where I can exercise never-ending creativity. I wake up every day looking forward to decorating more cookies, and that is the key motivation that keeps me going. If you turn a hobby into a business, you want to be able to sustain the happiness it brings you, even though it is now a ‘job.’

Cookie decorating is my happy place and my zen. When I decorate cookies, I have my me- time; my time to myself where I can do what I enjoy doing. It gives me a time to calm and relax, allowing me to focus on just one thing – so therapeutic. Being able to wake up every morning excited to do what I love to do for work, keeps me going and not give up.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Just like other fields, there are many cookie decorators out there who also decorate using royal icing, but each one of us has our own style. What sets me apart from others are 2 things. First, I make decorate shortbread cookies, instead of the usual sugar cookies. I love a good ole’ buttery cookie! I wanted to share my shortbread cookies along with the art I create, so that is why I chose decorated shortbread cookies as my sole product.

I think another aspect that sets me apart from others, is my ability to decorate cookies fairly fast, without sacrificing my attention to detail. I’ve learned to do this in the past 3 years in business, adapting to work faster and focused and still be equally as involved in my kids’ schedules. As my kids are getting older, they have more and more activities. I found myself having less and less time to engage with them, so I needed to adapt to faster cookie decorating skills.

It was not an easy path. Work life balance has been what I struggled with the most. It is a challenge to balance cookie decorating with family life. I never foresaw that my business would boom within a year. I remember in my first and second year of business; I would say yes to every order. I wanted to take on all the custom order requests, and every theme that came my way just seemed so fun. I have a bucket list of themes I wanted to get an opportunity to create cookies for, and my clients have naturally been helping me cross them off quickly one at a time. But there is only so much time in a day as a mom of 2 young children, where I can set aside time to decorate cookies, and that is when they are both in bed. Without my husband and my parents help and support, and my adaptation to decorating cookies faster, I would never have been able to build my business without keeping a healthy lifestyle and sacrificing lots of sleep. I have now also learned to say ‘no’ to many custom order requests. As much as I hate to turn down orders, I learned to put my own self as priority, but this also allows me to put more thought and attention to the custom orders I have on hand each time.

Amid continuing to build my business, I yearn to still be able to give my kids some undivided attention every day. Even if it is just a minute of my day that I put my phone down, not think about work, and look at my kids directly as they tell me about their day, that full undivided attention matters a lot and cumulatively has a big impact on our relationship and family life.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I don’t even know where to start with this question, because I love Orange County through and through.

I was born and raised in Orange County and absolutely love it here. After having moved away for a few years for college and work, I found myself back in Orange County soon after I had my first baby. I love that Orange County is not only ideal for raising a family, but also a great vacation spot. The weather is great year-round — mostly sunny with just enough coastal breeze. When you think of Orange County, you think beaches. There are so many amazing beaches. Amongst them all, my favorites are the beaches in Corona del Mar. I love a good balance of tidepools and large sandy areas to sprawl out and relax. Corona del Mar’s beaches also don’t seem as crowded as other beaches in the area.

Aside from beaches, Orange County has much more great fun to offer. Orange County has a fair share of wonderful outdoor shopping malls. One of the largest and best is Irvine Spectrum. It is a local favorite with so much to offer for all ages. With its large Ferris wheel and other attractions, wide array of restaurant selections, and frequent event offerings, Irvine Spectrum has something for everyone.

When my friends visit, I also love taking them to Balboa Island. Balboa Island has a very small beach town feel, with a fun strip of good eats and shops. Known for their chocolate covered frozen bananas, there’s now quite a few shops on the main strip offering that popular dessert along with other popular sweets like chocolate dipped frozen cheesecake bars. The little island also has an auto-ferry. Whether you are on foot, on a 2-wheeler or 4-wheeler, you can conveniently hop on the auto-ferry to cross into the Newport Peninsula, which also has a lot to offer. One of my favorite spots on the peninsula is Lido Village, a chic little shopping/restaurant district near the entrance to the Peninsula, a great place for a casual hangout or even a romantic date.

Of course, as an outdoor and fitness enthusiast, I always recommend a hike, run, or bike ride. With such great weather and beautiful walking/biking trails in Orange County, it is hard to say no to outdoor activity. My favorite bike trail is the Tustin Ranch trail, that starts in Tustin and leads all the way to Newport Beach, without any stops! A dreamy non-stop ride in dreamy weather, with lots of beautiful views along the way.

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?
You know the saying– it takes a village to raise a child. Well, to me, that saying stays true even in business. It takes a village to build a business. That’s not even adding in the part about being a mom and raising 2 young children while building a business from the ground up.

I would not be where I am with my brand and business if it weren’t for my family. My husband has been the rock in our family. Without him continuing to provide for our family every day, working hard and long hours as a nurse, I wouldn’t be able to make this career switch. After having had a stable job at large corporations for 8 years, as an environmental engineer and then a social compliance auditor, it was a big jump to start my own business from home in the artistic culinary field. During weeks where I find myself inundated with cookie orders, my husband comes home from work, only to continue working his full-time dad shift at home, He continues to always listen to all my crazy ideas, but will also remind me when I should take some time for myself and not take on too much.

My parents have helped me so much with taking care of my 2 young children as I built up my brand. Without them helping with the kids during the daytime, I would only be able to work at night after the kids go to sleep. With them around during the weekdays, I can perform the administrative and cookie decorating parts of my business during the daytime, and not be sleep deprived like I used to be when I first started my business.. My parents have also mastered the cookie packaging process and always help me package cookies, especially when I am inundated with mass orders. I cannot thank them enough.

I would also like to give a shoutout to my former vanpool buddy. During our long vanpool rides to our corporate offices, I would share with her the beginnings of my cookie journey, my thoughts, and ideas, and she was there from the start with her never-ending encouragement and motivation. To date, she is still continuously supporting my small business, and I am just so grateful.

Instagram: www.instagram.com/sweetbuttercoco/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/sweetbuttercoco/

Image Credits
Kenneth Pfeifer Photography for the family photo