Our guest this week was Mel Drewery who was asked to talk about how she has built a successful small business using modern tools and techniques that was able to thrive during lockdown.
Mel first outlined her background working for Barclays, as a Parish Clerk and then as the Service Manager for the CAB. When funding cuts at the latter forced Mel to make several staff redundant she became disillusioned with the situation, and, what began as a joke about partnering with a friend who was opening a tearoom, became a reality.
The tearoom didn’t take off as hoped, so Mel began catering functions etc and baking bespoke cakes trading as Holmestead Cakes and Bakes. In fact, Mel was commissioned by this club to provide the cake for our 40th anniversary.
A new line of hand baked and iced cookies were created and marketed under the brand Cookie Doodle Doo. The name was chosen to be memorable but also easy to search for online, as the cookies could be ordered via the website as a gift and posted directly to the lucky recipient.
Mel also started attending business networking events in towns like Boston and Lincoln, which helped her gain corporate clients, such as travel agents who arrange for their customers to receive a box of ‘welcome home’ cookies when they return from their holiday.
Then, with little warning, the world changed.
When the country was forced into a series of lockdowns, all catering and corporate client work stopped overnight. Networking events were not just cancelled, they were now illegal.
This is when Mel’s business shifted to a completely online model. With high street shops closed, the Cookie Doodle Doo website allowed people to send novel and personalised gifts to loved ones they weren’t allowed to visit. Promoting the site via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter brought a steady stream of new customers.
Meanwhile, the creation of online networking events meant suddenly Mel was able to make contact with businesses all across the UK, not just in our sparsely populated corner of Lincolnshire. As a bonus, each event no longer carried the overhead of a two or three hour round trip.
As the world returns to normal, Mel’s business has changed forever. Now employing one full time, and one part-time, member of staff and (almost) solely focused on selling Cookies via the website, promoted via social media and virtual networking events.
