Craving Cookies founder Scott Davidson turned his College of Business vision into a reality. He celebrates the one-year anniversary of his cookie delivery service in September with a new store on South Main Street and the ability to say that he beat the odds going against him.
It is estimated that more than 50 percent of businesses fail within their first year according to JobBank USA, but Davidson’s drive and workaholic tendencies put Craving Cookies ahead of the curve.
After selling more than 40,000 cookies last year to the JMU and Harrisonburg community, Davidson decided it was time to take Craving Cookies to the next level by opening a new store.
“It’s worthwhile to try and risk it especially if it’s doing this well,” Davidson said. “Why not push it ahead and see what it can do?”
Davidson thinks his business has successfully survived the first year for two main reasons. First, people had already heard of and possibly liked the Otis Spunkmeyer brand that he works with and sells.
Also, more than 50 percent of his orders last year were made by underclassmen because of all the late-night calls from the dorms.
After weeks of taste testing new sweets around town, Davidson added new goodies to the menu including espresso brownies, caramel truffles and strawberry shortcake cookies. All pick-up orders are an additional five percent off the total price.
Besides seeking the thrill of the risk, Davidson’s landlord no longer permitted the ovens in his two-story apartment, leaving him no choice but to find Craving Cookies a new home. Previously, he lived in Hunter’s Ridge Apartments keeping all the ovens in the second story of the apartment, but all according to FDA standards. However, you could not go to it-it was only delivery.
After consulting three commercial realtors to ensure he got the best deal, Davidson settled on 1469 South Main St. located beneath Little Italy Pizza. Filled with futons and the sweet scent of homemade cooking, the location has the ability to lure customers inside solely to take a nap or escape for some rest and relaxation.
The new store will expand Craving Cookies’ hours, goodies and team members. Cookie lovers will be able to satisfy their sweet tooth from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., for pick-up only, starting Wednesday.
Open five days and nights a week, Davidson virtually spends the majority of his time at work. Up early and out of classes by noon every day, he enjoys one hour for lunch before heading to the store where he runs all aspects of the operation: marketing, management, finances, legal problems, and-if he has time-does his homework.
“I really can’t procrastinate on anything,” he said. “It’s just putting every hour of my life into work. There are so many things to think about that it can be overwhelming.”
But no matter how difficult things get, Davidson notes that he has never considered giving it all up for a less stressful, more typical college life.
When he wears his Craving Cookies shirt around town, he’s frequently congratulated and it is that positive reinforcement that keeps him from taking the easy way out.
“That’s what inspires me to keep going with it, one cookie at a time,” he said.
Not only do people want to eat at Craving Cookies, they want to work there too. One classified ad in the Daily News-Record seeking a delivery driver resulted in more than 65 interested candidates for four positions. It was the first ad he had put out and he received all those responses before he had advertised other places such as Facebook.
If Davidson markets as much to incoming freshmen this year, he hopes to eventually create Craving Cookies into its own brand.
