Features

Valerie Welch and Mary Ann Kliegl are sisters, best friends, and business partners. They have differences that complement each other and similarities that drive them to success.

In the early 1990s, Valerie Welch was living in New York and Mary Ann Kliegl in Spirit Lake, Iowa, when the two sisters began talking about starting a business together. Because of their geographical separation, they needed a business that could share expenses but operate separately.

The sisters’ talks became more serious when Valerie’s family moved to Okoboji, Iowa. After much research and consideration, they decided they would focus on baking and selling cookies as gifts. In 1993, Hey, Good Cookies! was founded. Although Valerie and Mary Ann did not consider themselves avid bakers, they did have some great family cookie recipes to get them started. With six kids between them, baking was a business they could operate from their Iowa homes with minimal risk. They began by taking phone orders and making deliveries, much like calling a florist. They also targeted businesses that would want delicious cookies for meetings and to give as corporate gifts.

At the outset of doing business, the sisters divided their responsibilities according to their interests and strengths. Mary Ann, who has a business degree in marketing and management, handles the bookkeeping side of their company. With a degree in landscape architecture, Valerie handles the advertising and promotion of their business and products. While responsibilities are divided, they are very much a team. Every major decision is made together.

In 1994, with the business growing, they decided to move Hey, Good Cookies! to a retail location in downtown Spirit Lake. They presented a business plan to a local bank to receive financial backing. After buying equipment at auctions and constructing their new store on a shoestring budget with lots of elbow grease, they opened their doors to the public and started building a loyal following. In addition to their tasty cookies, they offered coffee, espresso, pastries and gift items.

Hey, Good Cookies! continued to grow with three expansions from 1996 through 2000 as additional space in the building became available. With each addition, more services and products were added. In 1996, they added seating and began serving soup and sandwich lunches. In 1998, they tripled their retail space and added their gourmet gift shop as well as an outdoor courtyard. With the Internet craze growing, they hired a company to develop a fully functional Web site, and expanded again with offices and a shipping and receiving area.

As it became clear that Hey, Good Cookies! was here to stay, they knew that ownership of their building would be a worthy investment. While Valerie and Mary Ann had enjoyed their downtown location, they had to look at all their options. After careful consideration, the sisters decided to build in a location that would allow them to add products and services not possible at their former locale. Their new 3,500 square foot store on Highways 9 and 71 in Spirit Lake opened in 2002. The new location offers more visibility to the public, the service of a drive-through window, and is custom designed to fit their needs. Their specialty gift store carries niche gadgets for the kitchen, dinnerware open stock, and gourmet foods. They’ve expanded their menu to include grilled panini sandwiches and wraps. The addition of Ashby’s hand dipped ice cream has been a popular choice for their customers as well. The new seating area is designed to be appealing to men and women and includes an outdoor courtyard for dining.

Living in a small community has posed its challenges along the way. An influx of tourists in the summer has been a benefit, but Mary Ann and Valerie knew that it would be the local people that would make their business a success. The sisters have built their business not only with great products, but by offering exceptional customer service. They depend on repeat traffic, so they go out of their way to make a pleasurable experience for their patrons, and never hesitate to let them know how appreciated they are. Today they hire a staff of 13 women. Because they need to know their business is in good hands when they’re out, they’ve chosen a great group of gals and make sure each one knows how much they are valued. The entire staff is trained to follow their example of providing great customer service and quality products.

Even with their success, the sisters continue to look for new ways to promote their company and increase sales. Since all their cookies are made from scratch, in 2004 they began selling their frozen cookie dough. It’s a scoop and bake product and has been a very popular item. The next step is to make it available to fundraising groups. Also this year they’ve added their Cool Cakes. They are custom ice cream cakes made with their own cookies as a chewy crust, and topped with various flavors of Ashby’s hand dipped ice cream. With their internet sales growing, they’ve also made their cookies available on www.amazon.com.

The constant challenge in any business is competition. Customers have choices, so Mary Ann and Valerie work very hard to make sure every customer is satisfied. Baking begins each day at 6:00 a.m. At 7:30 a.m. their doors open to the public, and cookies are baked fresh throughout the day. Even with the influx of traffic during the summer months to the Lakes Region, December continues to be their busiest month of the year.

After 11 years in business together, Mary Ann and Valerie still find pleasure in their work. They continue to enjoy each other’s company, and even take vacations together. They attribute much of their success to their great customers and their supportive families. Their husbands have always been enthusiastic about Hey, Good Cookies! and all of their children have been employed in some capacity over the years. When asked what advice they had for women wanting to start a business, they gave this list of suggestions:

• Choose a business that you can be passionate about.
• Don’t expect too much too fast.
• Be on a path of growth.
• Customers ALWAYS come first!

“Look for creative ways to grow” Welch says. “That’s what keeps it exciting for us. We still love coming to work in the morning — it’s like coming home!”