Cindy,

Tell us about yourself.

I am driven by curiosity. I believe that the more curious we are the more we experience opportunities in life. I don’t believe that anything and everything is possible, but I don’t want to have regrets in life when I haven’t tried something and so I’m prepared to take risks, fail and dust myself off and learn from the failure. Along the way I have tried things that I had limited or no experience with in life. Of course, there are always naysayers. They would say, “Cindy, what if it doesn’t work out?” “What if it’s too difficult?”. That spurs me on and motivates me to even try harder when I get that kind of feedback.

Although there are rules in life and processes and procedure, I like to break rules. Sometimes I don’t understand the rules and that is why I never made a great employee. I believe that I failed as an employee because I just thought that there sometimes are better, more efficient ways of doing things. And I wanted to be able to be self-employed to be able to branch out that way.

From psychologist to top-level business advisor to cookie entrepreneur and best-selling author, where do you get the motivation to pivot into such diverse areas of business?

The secret is I am an overachiever. I am not a high achiever. I am an overachiever and the dynamics of people like me is that our resting state is agitation. I am never content - in the sense that I want more. And so after I have mastered something, I enjoy the fulfillment of that mastery but then I think of what else is possible. And so as I trained as a Clinical Psychologist I understand what motivates and what drives us. I come from a family of business entrepreneurs and so I thought that I could take my skill set and transfer it.

I focused on understanding human nature and helping leaders and teams with succession planning, talent planning, being the best leaders and getting the most out of their team in terms of employee engagement, productivity, morale and discovering how we can improve the world, through whatever the industry is that I am assisting with. The book is really based on everything my clients have taught me over the years about what great leadership is. So I took their learnings and their teachings around what works and what is effective as a leader. How do you influence?

How do you impact? How do you motivate others? How do you help people advance in their careers? I thought that it would be of tremendous value to put their thoughts and ideas into a publication that could be shared amongst those who are early on in their careers or, along the continuum, those who continue to want to enhance their careers.

Amazing and the cookies?

I needed something to feed my soul. I have always loved baking. The beauty of the cookies is that I get up super early in the morning at 4 am. It’s quiet time. It is just me and the dough that I create. I started with about 10 different flavors of cookies though I have now expanded to over 20 flavors. Beyond that I also do other baked goods as you can see from my Instagram page. These are just based on customer demands. They’ll call up and say, “Cindy, can you do this?” And I say “yes”, even though I think, Oh my God how am I gonna do this? But that is part of my overachieving - wanting to see if it is possible. This led to my branchingout into Cheesecakes, lemon bar squares, raspberry crumble, chocolate chunk cookie bars and many many other different options.

How did COVID affect your business and how did you react when it hit?

COVID was a blockbuster year for me. 2021 was exactly when I launched my cookie business. It was also when I published my book. I had more time and more flexibility because my schedule was, in essence, more efficient. Leadership coaching continued but I didn’t have the same travel time because everything was on Webex, Zoom and Teams. So I had all this time and, as I mentioned, I am not very good at being idle. So this was when I wrote the book and launched the cookie business. I thought that Bite.me.cookie would be a good way to take some risks in that time period.

In what ways do those close to you help you create challenges for yourself?

They’re extremely supportive and my family and friends are intrigued and sometimes they are in disbelief at how I push myself. It is about taking challenges but they are my greatest cheerleaders. They are super supportive. They help edit the book. They help test flavors and spread the message. They are enthusiastic and, most importantly, they aremy allies.

What relationship has been the most meaningful to you during your career so far?

My family relationship, of course. As I mentioned they stand stridently behind me. My son, for example, is the photographer for bite.me.cookie. He is very creative himself and he takes most of the pictures. He inspires me because some of the photos are incredible in terms of the concept and what goes on in his head and how he creates. In terms of leadership coaching the inspiration has to come from my mentors along the way, from schooling to business mentors. I have two or three mentors and colleagues who’ve been particularly supportive. I would say from the business community some of the senior executives have been my inspiration.

How did your friends and family react when you decided on bite me cookie?

They were stunned because it was such a change, it was such a pivot. They were gobsmacked. They looked at me and thought I was joking and that this couldn’t be true. How could you? How would you start? What was really overwhelming to me was that I didn’t have an Instagram account. I didn’t even know anything about Instagram and so I had to start from scratch. Everything from naming the business to being able to build an Instagram account to figuring out how to promote to the market and attain visibility in a very crowded space with other home bakers who do similar things. Everyone was supportive but also shocked at the same time.

What are you planning to do next?

I would like to continue to grow the business, create more visibility and, as customers ask me for products, expand my product offerings. So in terms of what’s next I will probably just continue to maintain consistency and have my brand out there.

How do you decide when it’s time to do something new or take on a new challenge? Is it because you are just bored or because you achieved so much?

That’s a great question. I am prone to boredom. I have a very low threshold for boredom. So when I thought about my leadership coaching and my leadership consulting business I thought it would be a good idea to put this in writing and share the wisdom. The feedback that I have received on the book is that it is extremely practical. It tells you what to do and what not to do. It is not theoretical and it is not academic. So that was a drive and the drive behind the cookies is that I always made cookies, for my family, my son and his friends. And, again, this was an opportunity to put this into a business even though people around me questioned it. My answer is always why not? Sometimes people project their own fears onto you. They’re scared. And so am I. But I want to go forward.

How do you think your childhood influenced your career and life path?

My family had very high standards. My parents didn’t tell me what to do or what not to do but there was an expectation that we worked hard, that we were humble, that we had humility and that we would find happiness in life. The path of how to get there wasn’t really prescribed, which was great, and which is probably why I get to do different things and have that fluid way of approaching the world. But I would say that my parents were optimistic. Positive individuals are part of my DNA.

What was the most significant moment with bite. me.cookie?

There probably are two or three significant moments. One was actually launching it. When it actually came to be and it was in the public domain that was significant. And then as orders came in that were beyond family and friends. Getting orders from outside of family and friends was pretty amazing. I now have a consistent core group of customers who continually purchase cookies and other baked goods. That is a huge endorsement. Those are the big moments.

Talking to you, being able to have the privilege and the honor to be part of STATELY Magazine is truly a treasure and something that I feel excited and proud of.

At what point did you realise it was more than just cookies?

The busier I got and the more exposure I received made me realize that this is not recreational. This is an actual business. When my baking hours went from one day a week to 5-6 days a week it dawned on me that this is absolutely a reality. The media coverage that I am getting from you and others absolutely confirmed that this is a significant opportunity and venture.

You said “it feeds my soul”. At what point did you realize it wasn’t just a business?

That’s another great question. I think, primarily, it has to do with being able to take raw ingredients and create magic. To me, it is magic. Taking raw ingredients and creating a finished product that has aesthetic appeal and which appeals to our other senses. That has beauty to it. The other thing is that it is wonderful to bring joy to people. It is not only about buying cookies - it is also about how we treat ourselves. Part of it is just enjoying what you feel is special to you and, to me, the cookies are special.

In what way or ways are you a different person now than you were when you first became a psychologist?

I think I always have that drive and I have learned that is never me. What has changed is my level of confidence and self-assuredness. Taking risks and being bold, as you say, has helped because it is not that I haven’t failed and it is not that I haven’t made mistakes. I have done all those things but I have been able to pivot and readjust from those mistakes as I learn. That has given me confidence. It allows you to connect differently with people because you connect on not just what you do for a living as your primary occupation. You connect on many levels. I think that has made me even more fulfilled as I have been able to attract people from different arenas who are not neccessarily doing leadership coaching but other corporate work. So I believe that it has made me more self-assured and hopefully taking me to a better place whilst making me more well-rounded. Overlla, I am just happier because I enjoy having different ways to occupy my time and that challenge me.

How have these experiences impacted the decisions you make today? You said that you started with cookies because it was something that made you happy so you essentially said “yes” to happiness?

I say yes to happiness. I always say yes to exploration. Yes to curiosity. Yes to happiness. Yes to risk. Yes to trying. Yes. What’s worse is that you don’t like something? The worst is that you failand so then I join a group of every human being who has failed. There isn’t one person that has not failed at some point, right? We all have.

Name the top two or three lessons you’ve learned from your experience.

This is fun. I am having fun. Be selective in terms of the feedback you receive from others. Be open to feedback. I don’t know everything. You are constantly on a learning curve and so you need to be open to feedback. The more people you talk to, the more they teach you, the more they mentor you the more they help shape your ideas. So being open to feedback, then being selective with the feedback, because it doesn’t mean that all of it is appropriate.

I guess it just sort of reinforces my mantra that I don’t want to have any major regrets in life and so that is sort of what this whole journey of switching from a clinical psychologist to doing leadership development, leadership coaching, writing a book, delivering webinars through to baking has taught me. I don’t want to have any regrets.

My biggest regret, and my dream way back when, was to be a saxophone player in a jazz club. But number one, I am not musically inclined, so I started with a guitar and it sounded exactly like I was playing out of a guitar book 101. That would have been my dream. That is why I don’t believe we can do everything and I don’t believe practice makes perfect either. There are certain skill sets that are innateand so instead I am a huge lover of jazz and attend many jazz festivals. I think that goes with my belief that there has to be a certain level of humility in how we see ourselves. There are certain strengths we have and others that we just have to accept are not going to be a possibility.

I think people who suggest things are limitless and that anything is pos - sible actually set up a level of stress on that person and it becomes defeating. We all have diverse talents and we all have different streams in which we can excel.

So what would you say to someone who is in the position you were in before Bite.me.cookie? You had already achieved a huge amount yet found youself feeling and looking for the next challenge.

I would suggest that people look at their skills in a very narrow way. I am a pianist. I am a botanist. I am a chemist. I am a software engineer. What we need to think about is that a lot of our skills are transferable. So (1) figure out what your skills are and (2) what do you care about? What are you passionate about? What do you dream about? And then start reading, researching and talking to people and, as you talk to people, you will start to see how you can translate some of your passions, some of your skills into the next stream whether it is a paid job, a consultant type of role or whether it is just a freelance hobby. I think a good percentage of the population falls into things kind of by accident. They didn’t start out to necessarily be a coder, an engineer or a musician. They fell into it by accident. It means that I think it is just a case of going out there and partaking in those risks.

A lot of us are plagued by self-doubt. We are the impostor syndrome, right? So we can’t, we won’t. It won’t work out. There are smarter, better, more attractive people. And that is true. But are you good enough? Are you smart enough? Are you compelling enough?

The other piece of advice that I would give is to stop comparing yourself because, when we compare ourselves, it is a losing proposition. Don’t compare and just be you. The huge media machine that is social media and how it compares and ranks you with other businesses - that is the unhealthy part.

What was the best advice you were ever given?

I guess the best advice I have been given is to maintain my passion and my intensity but, at the same time, make sure that I am thorough and have researched the subject or the area that I want to pursue so that I have an appropriate business case and business model to maximize my success.

Anything else to impart to our readers?

People who have energy are attractive. They are compelling. People want to be around others who have energy because it inspires and motivates them. It’s positive. It gets them to take risks. Part of my nature is to just naturally invest energy in social and professional situations and build those connections.

Thank you so much for taking the time, I can’t wait to see where your career takes you next.