268. Baking it Down - Biting at the Bit for Bartering

Summary

Baking it Down with Sugar Cookie Marketing 🍪

Episode 268: Biting at the Bit for Bartering
Host(s): Heather & Corrie Miracle
Date: July 7, 2026

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Overview

In this episode, Heather and Corrie Miracle “bake down” the centuries-old practice of bartering—trading goods and services instead of cash—as it applies to cottage bakers and small business owners. Corrie draws from her recent, ground-level experiments in bartering, sharing both the rewards and challenges, and Heather adds structure and humor as they walk through lots of real-world cookie trading tales. Their aim is to help listeners understand when and how to swap cookies for everything from graphic design to lawn care—and what pitfalls to avoid. Whether you're barter-curious, already swapping sweets, or staunchly cash-only, this episode is rich with lived experience, practical tips, and classic Miracle sister banter.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What is Bartering and Why Does It Matter?

• Bartering Defined: Exchanging goods/services directly without money.
• Modern Uses: While ancient, bartering is alive and well in the sugar cookie world, often taking place in social media groups or local Facebook communities.
• Value Over Dollars: Bartering is about perceived value, not price. Both parties need to feel that they're getting something worthwhile, even if the trade isn't mathematically “equal.”
  • Quotable: “Trade is often unequal, but still benefits both sides, which is actually what most of this comes down to.” (Heather, 05:12)

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2. How to Get Started with Bartering

• Make It Public: Consider a social media post announcing you're open to bartering.
• Be Super Specific: List exactly what you want in exchange; vague posts invite mismatches (“If you're open-ended, you might end up with 52 custom tumblers you didn’t want.” – Corrie, 11:05).
• Join/Start Local Bartering Groups: Corrie highlights her experiment being one of the first in a new local bartering group—seeing both the challenge of group growth and the benefit in establishing early admin relationships.

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3. Bartering in Real Life: Cookie Stories & Community Examples

• Barter Examples Shared by Listeners:

  • Car detailing
  • Website development
  • Photography
  • Childcare
  • Dental work and Botox (!)
  • Haircuts/tattoos/oil changes
  • “Someone got a brick mailbox in exchange for a $1600 future cake credit.” (Heather, 17:20)
  • Even a kayak!

• Seasonal/Subjective Value: Value changes with context (landscaping trades are worth more in summer, snow plowing in winter, etc.).

• Awkwardness of Negotiation: The “car sales cubicle” effect—bartering is a dance, balancing needs, and perceived worth, so communication and transparency are key.

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4. Benefits of Bartering for Bakers

• Expand Your Client Base: People who may not buy become customers.
• Referral Potential: Barter partners often refer you to others.
  • “A tag is a tag, whether it be barter or not.” (Corrie, 19:23)
• Review Leverage: Soliciting reviews from barter clients bolsters trust—local, non-comped reviews are gold for small businesses.
  • “If you like what you got…a good review goes a long way, especially from somebody local.” (Heather, 20:29)
• Lower Ingredient Cost vs. Retail Value: You’re trading your cost, not retail margin.
• Relationship Building: Fosters ties with other small business owners, growing your network and support system.
• Potential for Repeat Paid Business: Once someone knows and loves your cookies, they’re likely to reorder with cash next time.

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5. Cons & Challenges of Bartering

• Uneven Trades: Sometimes the exchange feels lopsided (ex: graphic design file for hours of decorated cookies, but only getting two PNGs instead of editable files).
• No Legal/Financial Protection: No “chargeback” or arbitration if someone fumbles their part of the deal.
  • “You lose a lot of the protections that monetary institutions [give].” (Heather, 30:16)
• Social/Emotional Risk: Failed trades can sour local or group relationships, risking bad word-of-mouth or reviews.
• Awkward Negotiations: The negotiation dance can feel personal, especially if someone undervalues your work.
  • “If you cannot separate yourself from that, bartering is not for you.” (Corrie, 33:45)
• Scope Creep: Without clear boundaries, barter deals can balloon (“...it’s changed to a combined birthday order, way bigger than I wanted it to be.” – Corrie, 38:34).

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6. Best Practices & Pro Tips for Successful Bartering

(42:03–46:18)

• Set Clear Expectations: Detail what you want, the quantity, and the deliverables on both sides—and get it in writing if needed.
• Know Your Numbers: Reference your standard rates/products so both parties have a baseline for perceived fairness.
• Don’t Be Afraid to Say No: You are in control of what you accept.
• Negotiate Additional Value if Order Changes: If the barter size increases, ask for something additional or clarify limits.
• Look for Tertiary Benefits: Even if not a perfect trade, the new network and reviews can tip the balance in your favor.

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7. Listener Bartering Questions & Fun Extras

• Listener Q&A: Brief ear piercing tangent and recommendations for where to get cartilages done safely.
• House/Neighbor Anecdotes: They close with classic Miracle twin neighborhood stories—the relatable, quirky energy Sugar Cookie Marketing fans love.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Bartering is intrinsic to human nature. It is not weird, but it's a very interesting thing because we take away cost and price and we replace it with perceived value.”
  – Heather, 13:11

• “If you're open-ended, you might end up with 52 custom tumblers you didn’t want.”
  – Corrie, 11:05

• “You lose a lot of the protections that monetary institutions [give]. ...had the file been AI generated and Corey [didn’t] like that—we've got a problem on our hands. Bad reviews, bad juju.”
  – Heather, 30:16

• “If you cannot separate yourself from that, bartering is not for you.”
  – Corrie, 33:45

• “You gotta set expectations on both sides. You're in control… If someone comes back and wants to quadruple the order, you have to negotiate additional value.”
  – Heather, 42:03

• “A tag is a tag, whether it be barter or not... I want to be in rooms that I'm not in. When someone thinks of custom desserts, that is a pro that I'll always go for.”
  – Corrie, 19:23

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|-------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:54 | Corrie’s “ground-zero research” on barter—her motivation | | 06:03 | Bartering: cost vs profit mindset for bakers | | 09:44 | Cons: Not all barters are dollar-for-dollar | | 10:26 | How to get started: making a bartering post, group tips | | 16:16 | What bakers have bartered for—community member examples | | 18:34 | Primary benefit: new customers and referral potential | | 20:29 | Harnessing reviews from barter partners | | 27:26 | Cons: specificity, avoiding “bad trades” | | 33:45 | Emotional risk: separating self-worth & product value | | 34:31 | The “negotiation dance”—real barter scenarios | | 38:34 | Scope creep: barter deal grows beyond original scope | | 42:03 | Pro tips for bartering success, setting expectations | | 47:25 | Corrie’s bartering mindset “sea legs” | | 53:17 | Community group boot camp preview—selling in group settings | | 65:38 | End-of-episode banter and neighborhood stories |

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In Their Words: The Sisters' Barter Wisdom

• “It’s not dollar for dollar, it’s value for value. What do you value your thing at, and what do I value my thing at, and can they come together...?” (Heather, 21:50)

• On the emotional awkwardness:

  • “You’re essentially saying what you feel is valuable is not meeting my perception of value. So, let’s see what else you can do, sweetheart.” (Heather, 32:00)

• On setting boundaries:

  • “You need to be specific in your wants and in your needs and in what you’re willing to give, because they do not know… it is on you to protect your business and to protect your barter.” (Corrie, 37:28)

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Actionable Tips for Listeners

• Decide if bartering fits your business and personality.
• Start small: Try low-stakes trades before venturing bigger.
• Be upfront about your costs and what you’re willing to trade.
• Treat barters as business transactions: Contracts or emails help.
• Recognize the non-cash benefits: Connections, reviews, and referrals can be more lucrative than the original trade.

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Conclusion & Community

The Miracles remind listeners that bartering is a viable, vibrant option for cottage bakers—IF you go in with clear expectations, good boundaries, and a business mindset. While not every trade is a winner (and sometimes you lose on the cookies but win on the review), the upside is new clients, better community ties, and the flexibility to get what you want for your business—one delicious trade at a time.

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Want more?
Catch up on past Baking it Down episodes or join the Sugar Cookie Marketing Facebook group for more tips, templates, and cookie business camaraderie.

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“Bartering is a fantastic way to meet people in the community you would not have met before… to get something for something you were already going to do. And I saved the Virginia state sales tax!”
– Corrie (43:47)

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Next up: Boot camp on cracking community groups effectively for increased reach and sales—details at thecookiecollege.com/bootcamp.

Transcript

[A]

If anybody can resonate with a wedgie, it's this group right here, Corey. It is a podcast and I am leaving that pardon the wedger, the wedge. If you have a wedgie, listen to this podcast. Corey. It is Tuesday. It is slightly rainy here, but apparently where Corey lives had the worst thunderstorm in the history of ever. She said.

[B]

I thought it was the end of times.

[A]

The end Frightened.

[B]

I, I dare I not use that in my adult life that I've been frightened, but I was frightened. It was, it was as if the sky opened up right above our house and I was a fright.

[A]

It's episode 260 of the podcast and we're going to be talking about a topic. Corey has been doing some grab ground research, ground zero research on barter.

[B]

It's been around for a bajillion years. I've done it over the years. I've more recently purposed in my frightened heart to put myself out to do it more so that I could talk about it and see if I like it or not. Because you ain't never know if you like something unless you try it.

[A]

We'll talk about it. Cory. I also pulled you guys and said what did you guys barter for? And your answers were interesting. But before we get into that, of course, biting at the bit, I can tell. But bar biting at the bartering bit, maybe that's what I should name it. Of course that's going to be what

[B]

is biting at the battering man.

[A]

Focus on me. Focus on me. So we have with the sugar cookie marketing group all the stuff we talk about on this podcast, a reference you can find [e-mail] I update that website constantly. Corey has no idea. I'm constantly adding, tweaking, moving, updating because I want you guys to know what's on the cutting edge of the cookie cutter industry.

[B]

She's moving things on the website, picking

[A]

wedges in real life. She's always removing digital wedgies and real wedgies and they're both being removed. They're all being picked, picked up, picked out. What's coming? We have the community groups boot camp. You guys didn't listen. Last week I had a large bout of food poisoning. I think it was a parasite, said TikTok, my doctor. But who knows? It's coming from water on vegetables that maybe you didn't wash all the way or I'm lactose intolerant or I just had the stomach lining said that's enough Diet Coke for one day, for one lifetime. The community groups Boot camp is this Thursday and Friday. It sounds fun, it sounds easy. It's probably actually one of the most time intensive, effort intensive boot camps. But we'll talk about that in a minute. We also have the pipe. Your hobby cookie collab. I know there's a date discrepancy somewhere, but it's already booked out. Right. So wherever that date discrepancy is, it is July 17, not June 17. Sorry about that, guys.

[B]

We can't go back in time.

[A]

Maybe we'll do it June 17, 2027. We just don't know. And then Corey's working on the next class kit which is lemon themed. And I saw a preview of it and I thought it was cutie patootie. Yeah, cutie patootie.

[B]

And then the next one after that love bug.

[A]

You never guessed.

[B]

Ladybugs.

[A]

Ladybugs. Ladybirds. I thought when I moved into the house there was an insurgence of ladybugs and they were not very cute for some reason. And they were like, no, it's an Asian lady beetle. And I was like, oh, ladybugs.

[B]

That's like a government name.

[A]

They were like, yeah, they're not ladybugs. Ladybugs are cute. You have the ugly ones.

[B]

Oh no. Do you remember?

[A]

Yes. Dare I take you? Loudon? It was a hotel room. There was. We had to.

[B]

Hotel room.

[A]

The ladybugs had taken over this hotel room in a way I can't describe. There were so many of them.

[B]

A bajillion ladybugs literally everywhere. And ladybugs, I don't know. They do make me happy when I see them. But I do think they pee on you if you touch them. Is that correct?

[A]

Honestly, Branding. I'll tell you what, you know what? Butterflies. Ugly, ugly worms that got good branding.

[B]

Good market ladybug. And the Asian lady little. Let me tell you, anything that's circular, anything with circles on it, instantly cute.

[A]

Lightning bugs. Great branding. Lightning.

[B]

Oh, I was even delighted to see their butts light up. And I even asked Siri while I was on my walk, why are they lighting up? And it's. It's either to mate or to ward off prey.

[A]

Unfortunately, living here in the sticks, just maybe the temperature of the headlights of the Acura I have in combination with dusk and a lightning bug, it makes them just a sea of lightning boogs. They're just. Butts are lit and I'm plowing through these dudes.

[B]

Yeah, I.

[A]

Interesting fact, their butt paste stays lit even after death.

[B]

No way. What is in their butts? Speaking of wedgies. That makes it glow. What is glowing in their buns?

[A]

Whatever it is, it's really hard to wash off, let me tell you that. Especially after a few bakes in the 90 degree weather. My quote for today is I switched it up on Cori. I actually read her a different one and I switched it. Why she wasn't looking for barter to work. Two individuals do not need to offer things of equal value. Trade is often unequal, but still benefits both sides, which is actually what most of this comes down to.

[B]

Thank you, Matt Ridley for that. Except Matt is insightful and he is correct.

[A]

So to lay the groundwork on the bartering, what was it? Biting at the bit for bartering.

[B]

Biting at the bit for bartering and witches.

[A]

Corey, unlike me, we couldn't really think of an instance where I bartered. But Corey has all these instances where she traded skills of some sort for skills of somebody else. She bartered with Sephora for a corporate order. She, in exchange she got a bunch of Sephora product, which is funny, you guys. And we'll talk about that. You guys are working at your costs. What does it cost me to produce this and what am I getting? Sephora is not saying what profit did I lose here? They're saying what did this cost us to acquire an exchange? Right. So it. It's this whole sub pricing exchange.

[B]

Yeah. What the great thing about bartering is, is you're not priced for a profit. You're actually priced for an exchange. And that can actually benefit both parties because you have to do less. There's no. You got to keep the overhead lights on. It's literally labor ingredients. And is that worth it to somebody else to want what you're able to exchange there?

[A]

The reason is we price for a profit so we can take the profits and go buy the Sephora stuff. Right. So when you're not needing to buy Sephora, we're exchanging. We don't have to necessarily price for profit. We exchange for whatever the desire is. Right. Sequoria has Sephora. She has recently tested graphic design exchanges because apparently I did drag my wedgie but for that little cookie card. Although I did get roped into this for zero profit on my end, but she had exchanged somebody to do the backside of the garden and I was forced to do the front side.

[B]

I've done shows.

[A]

Oh yeah, photography. And you're really, really happy with that exchange? She did a really photo shoot of her and her son probably four or

[B]

five years ago now.

[A]

Could I have taken those photos? Yeah. Would Archer have acted like he did with a stranger. No, he'd have, like, more like, whatever you need. Yes. But with me, it'd be like, aunt Head.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And.

[B]

And there's underlying things like, Heather likes my cookies, but she's never screaming me out, always in groups.

[A]

I'm so sorry. I'm exclusively screaming around groups. Here's the thing. I don't personally. And you guys can do it differently. I don't like that covert, like, where you talk about, like, oh, let me give an example. Okay. Someone wants cookies.

[B]

And I'll be in the comment section. This is what Heather's referring to. And I kind of agree with Heather on this. Oh, you should try Mixing Bowl Cookie Company. I hear cookies are great.

[A]

When Corey's mixing bowl Cookie Company. And I'm like, yes. Like, we. I'm so sorry. I know. Maybe they like. I call it astroturfing. And somebody asked me yesterday, what do you mean by astroturfing? Grassroots is where you hit the pavement in your grassroots campaign. I'm. I'm dredging up business. You know, it's. It's more for, like, ecological stuff. But in this term, astroturfing is pretending to do that when in reality it's all manufactured. So Corey being like, I hear mixing bowl cookie companies are great business when she is mixing bowl cookie company is disingenuous in my eyes.

[B]

Well, it's slightly deceiving. And I like to end those with. In her hair. She's really pretty, too.

[A]

Out of his attic.

[B]

Also, she has great hair.

[A]

You should see her skin. So what I do. Because I even feel disingenuous to be like, you should use Mixing Bowl Cookie Company. I hear they're really good. Like, I'm clearly, literally at a hotel in bed with. Yeah. So I'll say, oh, hey, my twin sister actually does this, and I think she could nail this set. Now, what people are doing when they try to be that, like, we're so off topic. I should just.

[B]

Okay. Yeah, you're way too off.

[A]

That's social audit. Corey's been bartering for a social audit. That one's active for some reason. I'm also doing free labor for this. Not sure why. Okay.

[B]

And that also happens that it's good to set up the parameters beforehand and get into that. We're going to go.

[A]

We're fighting at the barter a bit. And then one time we were bartering with a client, a web client, and she did permanent makeup. And I fortunately dodged a bullet. If you did permanent makeup, are you happy with it? Because I see so many people trying to get it removed. And I know there's difference between microblading and the other one other stroke. And I don't know, it just looks like everyone's in line to get it removed. And apparently it's very painful.

[B]

Well, that it brings us into the. What it. It's not necessarily dollar for dollar. So what that one client wanted us to do was and she would tattoo our eyebrows. We didn't see the value behind getting our eyebrows tattooed. So it wasn't a good barter. But bartering is alive and well and has been for years upon years upon years. And if you have not opened your mind to bartering, I want to talk about the benefits. The pros and there are some cons when it comes to it. The pros definitely outweigh the cons. But you can actually set yourself up for success by making sure you set up your bartering self.

[A]

You are literally going to learn from Corey's bartering mistakes. Let me tell you about it, because that's what we talked about for the last hour. Starting with point number one, how to get into bartering. It's easier than you think. Number one, simple one. Make a post saying you're open bartering. I see this one do really well for the people that are into bartering. They'll go to their Facebook page and they'll be like, just so you know, I'm open to bartering, here are some

[B]

things I'd like to barter that I want to do. That asterisk right there.

[A]

I like that, that, that, that if

[B]

you, you like that, you can.

[A]

I like that. YouTube. YouTube. Only YouTube.

[B]

What you don't want to do. And the. The great thing about bartering is setting yourself up for success starts with this very first part of it. When you say you're open to bartering and you do not, you know, you're not specific with what you're looking for. Everyone's going to come and knock in. You might have. Someone said, well, I do sublimation on tumblers. You might have 52 tumblers. You don't need another Tumblr.

[A]

And now you're saying sublimation. Sublimation. To give you some backstory, Corey found the underbelly of Tumblr world and got really knee deep into it. So sublimation on tumblers is custom tumblers.

[B]

Yeah, custom tumblers. Here's the thing. Now you've set yourself up for an awkward conversation because you might not find the value in it. You already have 52 of them. So when you Go to create this first post in. A great place to do it is on your social media accounts. And specifically if you don't have like collect everyone as your friend, you might do it on your business page where you would actually do the exchange of cookies. Be specific about what you're looking for. Hey, guys, my lawn is out of control. I'm looking to barter lawn care services

[A]

for cookies and cakes. I like that one. Another one. And I thought this was pretty interesting. And this is where Corey is doing her. Her research is a local person started a bartering group on Facebook, which means you can also start one as well. Of course, the side clause of that is you're the admin, but you're also the boss. Yeah, yeah.

[B]

I want to tell you, I've. I was group member numero seven.

[A]

So I was group number seven. And Corey said to me, listen, I'm not big into bartering, but I want to test a theory that if I can be the first to barter with the admin when it comes time that somebody's looking for a cookie decorator, she'll recommend me. But I'm like, but then you're going to be embarrassing. Hell, I don't know. She's running the test. I'm in the test now.

[B]

Cookies are behind me. There's about 200 some odd. Now here's the great thing. Being group member number seven, I've been seeing the struggle of her growing this group. It's difficult to start a group from nothing and turn it into something. So when I saw the admin looking for an exchange of custom cookies, I said, this is my chance to one, get on the admin's good side. But two, also help the group because right now no bartering has taken place. At least no one has posted about

[A]

it using her own time. And I'm going to interrupt you because I want you to add kind of this to the next point because I think there is the mirror where you are member number seven, you have been the first barter and now we're seeing. We're going to see what the results are. So you. So the test isn't complete yet. In fact, it's almost complete. When it completes, we need you to come back and give us an update.

[B]

I will give you an update.

[A]

So she joined this bartering Facebook group where she's running this test and then also join any community group that's hyperlocal and right in there you're willing to barter. But again, the specifics, because if you don't get Specific, you're going to find yourself at 0.3, which is a cons. And Corey's going to give you her own baptism by fire on those. So getting into bartering, super easy. Bartering predates every monetary exchange ever in the history of the world. I had to Google that. So bartering is intrinsic to human nature. It is not weird, but it's very an interesting thing because we take away cost and price and we replace it with perceived value. So Corey could have bartered for graphic design, but to me, I would never barter for graphic design. It has very low value to me. I could probably do it myself. Well, Corey said, well, I tried to get you to do it and he didn't. So now it has a high value to her. She can't get her twin to do anything.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's the, that's the. The wild world of bartering is this song and dance because you don't want to undervalue the person who wants to barter with you. But also the is different for each person that they come into. If I had any knowledge about graphic design, that means the value of a graphic designer is less to me because I understand graphic design. If I wanted to go and mow my own lawn, there is less value into the lawn care person. But it comes down to an exchange of what value is. You have a lot of people who don't want to make custom cookies, but they want custom cookies. There's value there. And the exchange of value is where you get into this. And it almost feels like a car

[A]

salesman's room, which I think it's the most interesting one because car sales is bartering meets monetary value. We know, and carmax is the one who appended this. But carmax is also struggling. We know that the, the car salesman knows what the bottom line number is, but he's hoping that he's got to make his, his, you know, percentage, his commission. He's hoping that your perceived value is higher than what their cost is. And he's there to try to convince you of that.

[B]

And that's why you go on the test drive. He says, look, you have leather seats, you have, you know, dual air control system, you have heated seats. That's them trying to sell you on the value versus trying to sell you on the price.

[A]

I find that most car salesmen go into the negative like, this is the only one, this one will be sold out from under you either way to kind of apply that pressure that the perceived value is higher than what your offer is. So, so with bartering, we removed the bottom line number completely and now we're just in a house of cards.

[B]

House of cards. Did you write down the list I was, I gave you of what people have bartered? So we asked it in the sugar cookie marketing group, have you ever bartered your bakes for something? And so many people barter that I was like, wow, this is phenomenal. It opened my eyes to what you could actually barter. And here's a few from the list.

[A]

If you're new to bartering, you're going to be like, oh my gosh, maybe this is up my alley. It's also such an interesting way because perceived value for landscaping in the summer is much higher than perceived value for landscaping after snowstorm. Yeah, right. So it is ever changing landscape. Where there's no solid numbers, it's always shifting. Car detailing, snow plowing. Website development. Photography. Dental work. That's a good one.

[B]

Botox.

[A]

Sign me up. Haircuts. Absolutely. Child care. Good for you guys. Taylor Swift airs. Tour tickets. Crazy. An oil change. Yes, Great one. Tattoos.

[B]

Go ahead.

[A]

A brick mail. Mailbox.

[B]

She said she got a full brick mailbox and traded a sixteen hundred dollar cake credit for it.

[A]

So a future credit. Now she's out sixteen hundred dollars at a future date, but she's not out sixteen hundred dollars. She's out the cost that would have resulted in a 1600 sale. Something to consider when you think of the math. Yeah. And then oddly, a kayak.

[B]

A kayak was on there. The world of bartering comes down to what you want versus what they're willing to trade it for. And that's what's so cool about bartering because Heather said, yeah, the, you know, lawn care is. It's high value in the summer, low value in the winter, but it's what you value it as and what they value your thing as. So the song and dance is weird. It feels like you are in a car sales cubicle and someone's saying, what are you willing to pay? And then you're saying, well, what are

[A]

you willing to make?

[B]

Yeah, and that was weird. That's always been weird over the years that I've done bartering. That is the oddest part of it

[A]

because we're going to get to that part. But let's talk about the benefits first because I know you're kind of. And Corey's gotten bartering burned many times, but she's still pro bartering, so it must have a bigger payout. But she starts with someone gets to try your cookies that may not have normally ordered. And I think these two people you're currently in a barter with would never have ordered from you before.

[B]

I don't think I, I don't think custom cookies was necessarily on their radar of things. Obviously they asked for it. They asked for something, someone custom sweets. And I just happen to raise my hand and say I do custom cookies. But what I've done is getting two new people that aren't in my client base to try my cookies and potentially become lifelong fans of them.

[A]

And they can also become referral sources. So in terms of bartering and Corey said this is what happened. She's bartered with the group admin and then the group admin saw a post where somebody was asking to barter for bakers and Corey was tagged. So they become a referral source. Now there's the double edged sword. If you're not into bartering, then now you have a bartering referral source and they're going to tag you in bartering stuff. But if you're open to that, awesome. Because now you're reaching this whole new demographic of people who wouldn't have opened their wallets, but they'll open their exchanges. Yeah.

[B]

Listen, a tag is a tag, whether it be barter or not, that she even thought of me when someone was asking about custom cookies. I want to be in rooms that I'm not in. So when someone thinks of me, when someone thinks of custom desserts, that is a pro that I will, I'll, I'll, I'll be always for if you tag me and I'm not around you, that my marketing has done what my marketing needs it to do. You're tagging me in another life.

[A]

I used to sell reviews back when I was more kosher. Right. Now these AI filters can kind of see when the review isn't legitimate. Yeah. So they base that off of location and engagement.

[B]

Right.

[A]

All these things behind the scenes. Corey has asked these two people she's bartered with. She's like, you know, and I think Corey's like, I'm not sure that the value was there in the exchange, but the review would make it more valuable. So she has asked these people, hey, thank you so much. If you like what you got in the world of perceived value, a good review goes a long way, especially from somebody local where you can click on their Google review profile. This person's in Manassas reviewing Manassas businesses.

[B]

Oh, if I'm bartering, I'm squeezing every single drop out of that turn up. You best believe from start to finish, I'm going to get the most I can out of the barter.

[A]

So I like that one. Even see you could, you can see a more cohesive look. Well, I might have lost in the cookies, which I think Corey is saying I might have lost in these cookies. And she learned a lesson here. She said, but I'm going to get it back with this review.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I. A review is review. If you've tried my cookies, if you've been able to experience me in any form of business, that review is going to work for me years and years down the road.

[A]

Yeah. It really does convince new people to order from you. I know we mentioned this at the beginning. It works off of perceived cost, not price. So there's a lot more flexibility here in that whole convincing someone of the value of this should garner more of the return. In reality, you go to Sephora and the lipstick is an ungodly $30. It's $30 whether or not you want to pay it. In the world of bartering, it was priced at $30, but in exchange for six cookies, it's now free, technically.

[B]

Right.

[A]

It's the exchange of these cookies. Well, Corey's cost of six cookies is 78 divided by two. But no, she's not working off her profit anymore. She's working off of her cost and her desire to fill in this gap in her lipstick collection. Yeah, yeah.

[B]

So it comes down to it's not dollar for dollar, it's value for value. What do you value your thing at and what do I value my thing at and can they come together in the same room where we both feel like it is a fair enough trade?

[A]

I'll tell you, if you're a baker with an oven that needs repair, your perceived value is much higher than me. Who's turned on the seven ones.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yes. So it's all relative. Right. So there's a little bit more elbow room here to either get more of what you want or get something different. Somebody else is willing to play ball. You could really get, like we already said, Botox is expensive here. Yeah, I need to get Botox for my surprise at hearing the cost of Botox. Yeah.

[B]

Another pro is, is the person that you barter with can turn into a paying client down the road. The great thing is they're trying your cookies out for the first time and if they love them, the odds that they'll come back to you in the future are rather. I find that in this very fast paced world, people don't want to learn new people they want to have the comfort of things they've already tried.

[A]

Familiarity is so comforting. Even the thought, like, there's one restaurant that I like, but the thought. And I'm like, you should try out new places. But I'm like, but I know the parking spot and I know the waiter's name and I have my seat. I don't want to place. Yeah.

[B]

Rapport goes a long way.

[A]

I'm guaranteed to get what I want.

[B]

Want from. Yes. I traded photography years ago for cookies. And that lady and me have followed each other on social media for all these years. Granted, we've moved farther away. Now she doesn't live quite as close, but when we lived closer, she was tagging me. After all these times, she never bought one cookie from me. She's only ever traded and bartered, but she turned into a referral source over the years. That was fantastic. And it's because the familiarity. She tried my cookies. She didn't buy them them. But she's just as much as can tag me as someone who's tried my cookies as she can the next person, even though we didn't exchange any money.

[A]

The psychology of it, right? Okay. If I go and buy something from you, I do not feel inclined that I have to sing your praises. Right. Because I paid for this. But if somebody gifts something to me, I feel extremely inclined to sing your praises because I'm now biased. Which is why we don't allow sales for affiliate links in the group. Because when you're biased, you're no longer unbiased. Right. When you profit, there's no longer a clean line of. Well, I wouldn't buy this if I were you.

[B]

Or I would.

[A]

Right? Yeah.

[B]

The great thing about her, they're not getting kickbacks. I'm not saying, like, if you. If you mentioned me, you're getting $5 off your next order.

[A]

So back to my point. Let me just finish it. Is that she. You guys exchanged something, but in a way, she thought it was more valuable to her than what you perceived giving it up was. So in a way, she's got this, like, she almost. I feel like I got something for more than I should have. That's how that bartering thing works. Yeah.

[B]

I've tagged when someone needs photography because I loved my photo so much. I've tagged her over the years because she really specializes in, like, I don't know, family photography, I think is what her specialty is, if you had it on paper. So I think it's been. It has behooved us and the great Thing about bartering is you're dealing a lot with other business owners who get the insane path of business ownership and know the struggle that each business owner runs into, Whether it be getting new leads, cultivating a review, getting more referrals, having your name mentioned in group posts that they might not be in. That's another boon for it. When it's a business owner to business owner, I feel so much more comfortable because I'm like, they kind of understand it. It. They are in the same struggle bus as I am trying to. To. To win at these algorithms and getting these leads.

[A]

I agree. Your last point was it's flexible in terms of. I feel like I'm getting more for less than it costs me. Right. Again, the. The transaction, the exchange is made when Corey feels like she's getting more than she's outputting and the person receiving is getting more than they're outputting because it's a perception of value. Yeah. If we added a dollar amount to this, it quickly cleans up where those messy lines are. Because Corey's like, I'm at 78 and your audits are, you know, 50. So there's a discrepancy here of, you know, $20 or whatever. So now Corey's like, well, I. I mean, like, here's what. I know the cookies cost me, but I really want somebody to plow my law, my snow plow, Snow Creek. Whatever that exchange was, they needed to charge more. Right. Whatever it is, there's more flexibility to feel like you've got more than you should have and for the receiving party to do the same, because that's the only way it works. Oh.

[B]

That's when you both feel like you've got more than you should have. That's. That's where you both literally went. And with the photography, 1. Can Heather take my photo for free? Absolutely. But my son isn't gonna listen to Heather because it's Aunt Head. And we said that there was.

[A]

There was a benefit that Archer wouldn't. And when I'm like, stand up and smile, he's gonna be like, no. But with the stranger, he's gonna feel obligated to.

[B]

Yeah. And the. The photos looked a little bit more better. He's not making a goofy face at Heather. You know, Heather could always take the photos for free, but I was able to, one, meet a new business owner.

[A]

Two, hired help right over here. Yeah.

[B]

Two, I was able to get the recommendations of her over the years. And three, I really liked the photos I got of me and my son together. So in that realm, I felt like it was a fair trade. And that's the. The. The wonderful part about bartering is that you can feel like, wow, I really got something out of this. I squeezed everything out of this. And then there's the cons of it.

[A]

Which brings us to the cons of it. Thank you for that nice segue.

[B]

You're welcome.

[A]

Be specific about you one. I'm so sorry. That's your bartering tip? It is. Not every barter is a win.

[B]

Not every barter is going to be a win. Here's the thing. You'll see someone make a post and they're like, hey, I'm willing to barter. Here's what I do to win. Most recently. And I'm not saying this isn't a win. Graphic design is. It's like a moving line if. Are you a good graphic designer? Are you a bad graphic designer?

[A]

There's a lot of rules in graphic design, and I'm not a rule. I don't. The rules of, like, pixel and spacing, and that's like that. But then there's like, vibes graphic design, and now there's AI graphic design and canva graphic design. So it is. You know, Corey got this lady to barter a set of cookies. And I can feel that you're not thinking that the exchange was right. In exchange for this cookie care card that I refused to obviously do. So Corey says to me, what files do I need from her? And I was like, you know, eps, AI, png, PDF, jpeg. Just the ones you go through. Right. And the lady sent back two PNGs. They're identical, just so you know. You're saying one's a shade. There's no shade difference in either of them.

[B]

This.

[A]

There's no other files. It's not editable. You. It's not. It's compressed. It's png, but it's small. It will. I don't believe the ladies by trade. A graphic designer right now. Did she fulfill a need for you much faster?

[B]

She did. She did. She did. So that's where it comes. That's where the world of bartering feels a little different with the. With something that's physical for something physical, it's a little bit easier to see the value traded. If I got a painting done of my dog. Dog and I gave you a dozen cookies, we're able to physically hold the value in our hands. I love my dog. The value is there. When it comes to digital versus physical, that's where we enter this world. This weird World of did I get the value I wanted? I was. I was a little worried that maybe the graphic designer would have gone to AI Because AI it's in its boon right now. Everyone has discovered it. It's really a lot out there.

[A]

There.

[B]

I was worried that I was going to spend eight hours on these cookies, and then I was going to get something that I could have typed a prompt into AI and gotten myself. That is the. The gamble you take when you're entering this world. Now, here's the thing. If she sent me something AI And I'm like, I totally hate it, I'm gonna hold your cookies hostage. I've created a weird situation for me and my business and for her. That's what we don't want to do. Because that is also. You open yourself up to negativity in your business when you go through the world of bargaining. Just like when you sell cookies to someone, Someone might not have a great experience with you. They might not like what you made.

[A]

So I talk about some of the safeguards in here. Yeah, Just learn to kind of protect yourself. But back with the cons, you lose a lot of the protections that monetary institutions. Right. Like, if Corey. If I ordered cookies from her and I never get the cookies, I can go to Visa federal, file a chargeback. Same with PayPal. You send it goods and services. Anything where there's a. An exchange of money and it's not cash and you're exchanging it the correct way has a protection that bartering does not. Now, yes, Corey can withhold the cookies, and the lady can withhold the PDF AI eps, all the files needed that she ended up technically withholding. That's. That's the issue of that is there's no protection. So had the file been AI generated and Corey been like, I don't like that. And the lady's like, well, this is all I know how to do. We've got a problem on our brands. So we've.

[B]

We've opened ourselves up to bad reviews and bad juju. Between me and now another local person. That could have been the best boon for my business. But then they could be the arch nemesis for my business. And that is a. That is something that you open yourself up to. Did I like the file that she created? Yes, I like that she did not end up using AI she didn't have all the file types that I needed. She had the one that I needed to make it work. So I was totally fine. Never. I never brought up, like, where's all these extra file types? Types she did what I wanted. I was able to make the exchange. And it will help my business in the long run. And she'll help my business in the long run. That's what I'm taking out of that.

[A]

And what you made Heather.

[B]

I made Heather design the other side

[A]

of the file for free. Free. Imagine if you didn't have a Heather. You got only 50 of the deliverable. Okay. Bartering is just awkward because you're essentially saying someone, what you feel is valuable is not meeting my perception of value. So let's see what else you can do, sweetheart. Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

So I want to say with the photographer, that was an awkward situation because she wanted to be like, well, I think your cookies are worth five edited photos. But I'm like, I think there were six. I didn't say no. I think they're worth six. If I had one good one of my son actually making a smile, that wasn't goofy. It was going to be a win in my book. But you do have this awkward song and dance of. Of what you find passion in life. The thing that you've called your career, your job. I don't see it as valuable as what I've called my career and job. And you get into this weird bartering system. That's what bartering is. It is weird. And people. Some people barter all the time. They're really good at it. Some people, this is their first time. And then you might take offense when someone's like, I don't think I see it.

[A]

My grandmother lives on the street with somebody whose culture is bartering, and her name is Jeji. And she barter. It's just. It is her second nature to be like, there's your price. And here's where it ends. Her culture says, because everything's overpriced with the intention of bartering. My cousin is a hobby auto detailer. Yeah. And she. And him. He doesn't. He. He is. Has so much anxiety. He cannot stand bartering. He has anxiety in general, and bartering adds to that. So she was like, can you detail my. My car? And he's like, it'll be $300. And she's like, what about 250? But he's like, when I priced it. It fairly, but she's doing so. Some people are just great at barter. They're just great. They don't have the anxiety. They don't feel awkward. They're not undervaluing you. They're just trying to find your bottom line.

[B]

I. If you're thinking about bartering, you have to separate yourself, your self value from the cookies or cakes that you create. Someone can look at a cake and not value it as much. It does not mean you as a person are less valuable. And if you cannot separate yourself from that bartering, it's not for you.

[A]

What I thought Corey said was interesting is, you know, she's explaining this bartering thing she has going. She hired someone to do a social media audit to see what that was like. And Corey's like, well, I felt like, you know, I was like, well, what's the exchange? Was it two dozen or something? Yeah. And I was like, well, that sounds like you lost. And Corey's like, well, no, we went with a really more simplistic design so that within there, within the ball field, there's more ways to play ball than you even imagine.

[B]

Yeah. So with these, this flyer, the. The great thing was she needed these cookies last minute. So I knew that time and effort was on my side. So she said, hey, here's what I'm looking for and had just a picture of generic fourth of July cookies. I said, yeah, using your inspiration photo, I can create a dozen cookies for you for this flyer. She said, well, the party I'm going to, we need at least 24 cookies. I said, I can't do 24. What I'm willing to do is 18, but I'm going to decide the designs. She says, is there any way I can do custom designs in this order? I said, with the turnaround time you're looking at, unfortunately we can't. But if you can say like of that inspiration photo once you would really like to see in there, I can make that happen. So do you see where it was a back and forth thing. I could have gotten offended. Like, how dare you. I thought you're only worth a dozen cookies. Keys. It's all up for negotiation. It's car sales 101. Is what you're willing to offer, what I'm willing to give. And if we can come together in some sort of agreement, this back and forth thing, it makes the bartering work.

[A]

Okay, I'm just gonna. I just want a yes or no. I don't want an explanation. Do you think that you won or received of equal value in the cookie care card? Yes. Ah, the social media audit.

[B]

Not quite yet.

[A]

Sephora. Yes. The photography lady. We can all hear that. It's a yes. Actually. I almost think you think she lost.

[B]

Yeah, I felt like she lost because I like the photo so much.

[A]

And then the permanent makeup one. We obviously didn't do. So, yes, that was a win. No offense to people with the permanent eyebrows. I just know myself.

[B]

And that was fair. And you said, I just don't see the value for it. And that's why she didn't get offended when you said, I don't think that's a fair trade.

[A]

We see that cash money is really hard bartering tips. Now, this is where Corey has learned trial by fire. So you don't have to.

[B]

Yeah, you know, I'd been. I had not stretched my bartering legs in quite some time, and this past two weeks has shown me I've gone about it the wrong way.

[A]

Well, Corey said, I haven't said, I don't think you should do this. And Cory's like, it's not. I'm doing it for the podcast. Podcast only. I'm doing it to be able to report back that this bartering world is actually a big component of business ownership. And it's. It's an enigma of sorts. So she says, number one, be so specific with what you want. The worst thing they can say is, no, and you're out. Nothing. So what happened was Corey's like, yeah, I'll do a dozen. And the lady comes back. We're like, what about two dozen? Well, she doesn't know the time it takes in the turnaround. It's a cookie. To her, it's inedible. Right. But to Corey, like, Corey's like, well, that's a lot of time. And then you weren't so specific on, I need the front and back of this thing. Here's my color palette. Here's the hex codes. You didn't do that. At one point, you're like, she wants a graphic design. The logo found. I'm like, oh, you didn't even give it to her. Like, she's having to ask you.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

So what I've learned is you need to be specific in your wants and in your needs and in what you're willing to give, because they do not know. Just like your clients who are like, wow, Alma. All that for just a cookie. People do not understand what goes into making these cookies. Only you do. And if you keep that under lock and key and the biggest secret, all they have to go off of is, why would, like, 24 of them. They seem easy enough to eat. I'm sure they're easy enough to make. It is on you to protect your business and to protect your barter so that you don't feel like you've gotten taken advantage of in your bartering system with this social media audit. One thing did I need a social media audit. It technically know I know what I need to do in social media. What I wanted to do was to get expert eyes that were not me to look in on it and tell me hey, here's things I would recommend here's things I wouldn't recommend in the the best part is she's the admin of the group.

[A]

That was really Corey's goal was this is the admin of the group services that I don't necessarily need but I think it's a strategic exchange for me.

[B]

Yeah yeah. The problem was her original ask was for Father's Day cookies to which I agreed to and unfortunately from that it it's changed to okay I don't need Father's Day anymore. I ordered a gift I'm having now a combined birthday for my son and my brother. Okay the original thing was worth it to me. Father's Day, you know two or four cookies in exchange for a social media audit. Now it's ballooned way bigger than what I wanted it to you and here's the the con of it. She's also the admin of the group. So what I'm going to say now I'm not going to do it to you. I need to say that but I didn't say that I didn't set the expectations beforehand. So I feel a little bit like, you know gun to my head I've gotta have to make these cookies Even though I don't feel like the value I'm gonna get from them is worth it. And you could tell while I was making these cookies they're drying behind me. My heart was not into it so I did not like it. I definitely a little less puffy, a little less puff. There's not joy baked into Would you

[A]

recommend a terms and services of bartering?

[B]

Yeah, I would say if you wanted to on your own set your prerequisites for it. If you wanted lawn care then you need to be like okay, for the price of two dozen cookies for a lawn care set, I need someone to come out three times in the month of July. If they only want one dozen I need them to come out twice in the month of July. If you can can set that up beforehand when someone comes and presents to you their side of the barter you can say that fits what I need. Where that doesn't fit what I'm looking for right now. That's not a good partnership right there.

[A]

At any point did you tell them your cost per Dozen. Your price per dozen.

[B]

I. They have all checked out my website, so they knew what the cost per dozen was.

[A]

Assuming they read it. They did.

[B]

They know. Perfected it.

[A]

They did.

[B]

They did read the cost of a dozen.

[A]

And she.

[B]

And that is on me. That is a hundred percent on me to not guide her on my end of the barter. So right now, do I feel like she's getting more bang for the buck? Absolutely. Because it took me a whole day to make these cookies and it wasn't what I originally agreed to. I'm glad to be on the other side of it. So now it's her. She has to prove to me that what she's doing, this social media is going to be worth its weight in gold to me if we come out of it. And I don't find the benefit of that and she doesn't find the benefit of hers, which I think she will because she's getting more cookies than we originally talked about. We'll just not do bartering again. She'll. I'll just go off into the bish. She'll never hear me. My goal, though, was she's also an admin of a group. She understands how groups work, how groups grow, tagging people that, you know, it boons her to tag me in her trades group and into other groups because we've created a relationship.

[A]

I gotta say, you guys gotta compliment Corey because a lot of the stuff she does, she'll say, I know I'm at a loss here, but I'm doing it for the podcast.

[B]

Yeah. Yes. We'll never get the time back. No, I'm just kidding. I think it's going to be great. I am getting the cookie care card created and it's better than what I had, which was a generic one I printed off online because Heather want to get her bun of and make them. So I have a new relationship. I have a new cookie care card, vistaprint. Sending them in the mail. I'll show you when they get here. Heather did design the back on me for not asking, will you have a front and back design? I didn't even think about that. I just assumed I'd get a front and a back. My bad. I did not know.

[A]

So it really comes down to really setting expectations on both sides. Like Corey's second tip here. You're in control. You're the one who decides what you do and don't want to do. Now when the lady came back and said, I want to double, I want to actually quadruple my order. If you were initially at 6 and now you're at 24. Corey would say, hey, how can we quadruple my value? And that would have been like. And, you know, I know playing ball does take a certain, like, level of comfort. It would have been like, oh, cool, here's what else I'll need from you then. Like, can we audit something else? Or what else? Your options. And the more you feel comfortable with that time in, the more people will be like, oh, she's comfortable with playing ball here. Well, how about this? And then Corey would have been like, hey, no, no to the two dozen doesn't. The one doesn't. But we can change up the theme. Yeah.

[B]

In that it really takes someone who is well versed at separating themselves and their value from the value of things. For it takes two people who are good at bartering to realize that the worth of something is different for each person that they come in contact with. I have a small yard. Yard work is easier for me than it is for Heather. Heather has a larger yard. It is more valuable to her. But bartering is a fantastic way to meet people in the community you would not have met before. To get something for something you would have made. Like, I give cookies away free all the time and never get anything back. Maybe a pat on the back and thanks so much. But to get something physical, like, now I have a cookie care card. I have photos that are on my wall. I have skincare. I look younger. Those are great ways that I can get something for something that I was already going to do. And I saved the, you know, things. The Virginia state sales tax. I'm no longer having being charged for profit because we're doing this trading which makes the world go round.

[A]

So I'm don't let her. Don't let our accountant know that. I'm sure there's some law. I wonder what the, you know, the government's got to get it right. Absolutely. So I wonder what the true actual laws around taxation on bartered goods is. I'm sure it stays specific of it. Another one. The tertiary benefits outweigh the initial risk. You have a new referral source. Potentially err on the side of caution. They could also spread the word that you barter. If you're not big into bartering, then maybe don't join the bartering group. But if you are like, I'm not. I don't want to make bartering any part of my business except for, you know, I would like to see if somebody would do a brick mailbox. Then I go to my page And I'm like, I'm bartering for this one specific thing now. A lot of people were into bartering over the, like, I'm broad based bartering. Here's a, here's the things I'm open to.

[B]

Yeah, I think when you're specific with what you want, you won't get everyone knocking at your door, you know, for, oh, I do custom T shirts. Oh, I do custom tumblers. And you're like, well, I'm looking for a brick mailbox and a kayak. You know, we don't want to open it up for that way. A lot of people feel awkward approaching someone for a barter. And it's because it's weird. You're saying, I don't think I'm. You're worth the cash money, but I'm willing to exchange it. I find that business owners a lot more open to bartering than you think, because it's alive and well. I was telling my dad about this bartering thing and he says, well, you know, your aunt and uncle had a flower shop and they were able to barter so much with fantastic vacations. Fantastic vacations. They got memberships to country clubs, got involved, invited to golf outings and things like that. It opened up their world because they were able to see beyond the monetary value of just getting cash. Granted, he said they were audited by the IRS and it was a headache. So you do open yourself up for that. We're more small scale, especially if you're like a. A one person home baker. We're doing this more on a smaller scale, but it's definitely opening. I think the, the benefits outweigh the cons, and you can really outweigh your cons when you set yourself up for success by knowing what you're willing to do and what you're willing to do it for and separating yourself from the fact that maybe someone doesn't see as much value in your cookies for the fact they don't know what goes into them. You know, they see a price tag. They don't know that we sat in the kitchen for five hours trying to come up with the perfect colors. So being able to separate yourself from there can ruin, really add to your business. And fingers crossed that these people become lifelong referral sources for me. And my investment was fairly low. Time and ingredients.

[A]

Get those reviews, girl. That'll. That'll tip the scale quite a bit, I think.

[B]

Yeah. So when the first lady came and picked it up, the review wasn't on the docket. You know, it's that's a weird thing to be like, hey, and I want a radio from you. It's got to be five stars. That's a little weird. So when she came to pick up, she gave me a hug and she said, wow, I thought these were so good. They were going to be AI. And I was was like, I thought your graphic was so good. It was AI. And I was. She was like, is this a confident or not? Very nice. And I said, hey, I was actually looking up on social media. I actually couldn't find a Facebook page, but I wanted to leave you a review on there because I've enjoyed this experience so much. She said, I'm actually creating them. I said, well, let me know when you create those because I would love to leave review and I would love if you enjoy these cookies that you could leave me a review as well. You'll never guess she is creating those social media profiles today. It's popping up left and right following me on social media, which I appreciate.

[A]

So it did.

[B]

I felt out of body and I had to get myself in the right mindset to ask for those reviews. But it's going to help me and really squeeze the juice that we can both benefit from this short term trade, long term.

[A]

So it sounds like you are pro future bartering. You see yourself bartering in the future.

[B]

Yeah. And I can say now that I got my sea legs under me that I need to be a little bit more specific. I need to know what I want before I go into that. I just saw them saying that they wanted a sweets baker and I'm like, sure, I can find something that I need.

[A]

Graphic design.

[B]

It's not like my heart went in there. It's like, Corey, you need a cookie care card. I said, well, she needs something. And I, I could find something that I need, whether it be a business card, something like that. And I just happened to land on the cookie care card because me and Heather had talked about it one week prior on the podcast.

[A]

Right. So when you get them them, please show them to YouTube only. I don't want anyone else to see them. No one else shall see it. But yeah, that's a wild world of bartering. And you'll see some bakers that are just. That's all they do. That's what they're here for. They're eat, sleep, breathe bartering. I think of Lisa Q's. She's bartering all the time. I see her in the groups. And then you have bakers who are like, just give me the cash. I like to Keep it clean. I like to keep my record straight. I'll take my profit and I'll buy what I need. Need. Yeah.

[B]

I want to say when it comes to custom cookies, there's a lot of time in there hovering over colors and things like that. I would barter. Eddie printed cookies right and left. If. If I found a business that could do that, that would be a fantastic one because you're only having to pipe one color and you're printing them. Drop cookies. Insanely easy to do because you have a recipe that yields X amount of cookies. That's a great one to do. Cake a little bit easier than royal iced decorated cookies because people said you

[A]

transport it without dowels and come back to us and tell us it's easy.

[B]

A lot of people were doing barters for cakes in the comments, so I saw that there.

[A]

Yeah, it's a great. I wonder. It is. The heat index in. In West Virginia and Northern Virginia has been over 100 degrees. I went on a walk yesterday, and it was 75 degrees outside. So I was like, this is perfect walking weather. But you know when you get the sweat mustache.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

You know, you do. You lick your lip and you're like. It tastes like the ocean. Very, very familiar. Disgusting. Your everything is sticking to. It was 98% humidity. I could have swam back to my car. It would have been easier.

[B]

Me and Heather one time went to a. Like one of those. Like a Universal Studios of sorts. But we had the sweat mustache. But I don't know, I must have wiped it away, like, all throughout the day. So I had makeup that was no longer. And I said, I look like a

[A]

little kid who sucks off. Yeah. Just this weather is, you know, give me. Everyone said July 5th is the beginning of Halloween. And I couldn't be more into it at this point. It is so tremendously hot outside now. It's so tremendously soggy and hot outside. Even worse. It's.

[B]

It's just wet.

[A]

It's.

[B]

You can cut it with a knife.

[A]

Outside, bugs are thriving in this weather. I walked out to pick a weed, and just every step a thousand bugs flew from. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

What is up with, like, these bomber bugs that just aim for the face? Like, I was walking here. You can see me. I can see you. You're in my eyeball now. Why are you aiming for my face?

[A]

I think my theory. Unproven, unscientific. Is that the exhale of carbon. That's what I said.

[B]

Hurt. Red attracts them.

[A]

I think it's all they see. I Think they're like whatever that bomb I'm seeing, like if you could only see that, you know, like a heat sensor but you only see the exhale, you know

[B]

than a bug hitting your cheek and bouncing off.

[A]

I'm sorry, a bug doing a drive by of my ear canal. This like dude, there's the whole world for you. I got this one like square foot. Moving on. Here we have the Cookie college boot camps. The, the boot camps are two to three day marketing intensive on a very specific subject. In the past we've just like, here's a class on this, here's a class on this. These are intensives, meaning these are hours long people asked for. It covers everything, start to finish. And the one that we're, we're dropping this week is community groups. And I know it sounds like, how do you sell in community groups? Just make a sales post. Like if it was that easy, we'd all know we'd all just be selling in community groups. You wouldn't even need to listen to the podcast. So right now the. It doesn't matter how many years I've asked this, which is every year we've worked with bakers. What's your number one Legion source? It's Facebook community groups. So it's such a huge monster. But then the biggest complaint is that those community groups are oversaturated.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

How do you crack the community group code? The way.

[B]

Let me tell you, it is crackable and it can be the best thing for your business once you create, you know, hack the code and create the cheat sheet in those groups. But there's good ways to go about it and then there's bad ways to go about it.

[A]

And Corey and I are going to teach you the good ways and the strategy to implement this is exactly 31 days, which happens to be the number of days in a August. So we're going to tell you how to do this this week. In July, you're going to be able to think about it. Start getting your concepts, your content buckets together and then you're going to implement it all through August. Then you're going to see if you're going to implement it all through September. And then come October, November and December, you are going to be the top recommended baker in that group. Yeah.

[B]

When you'll know you arrived when the admin and mod team starts tagging you.

[A]

So how do you get the odd minimonte? We got to give him something. Absolutely not. You have to be a great member. So how to crack that magical gray member code is what this boot camp's about. I know it sounds like the easiest and it's also the low, the lowest attended one, but it's the highest payoff, which is always surprising to me.

[B]

Listen, I don't want my competition to take this boot camp because once you figure it out, I will have hell to pay and we can start fighting for it. So if you can get into this one and you can crack the code in the groups, it's going to be your number one lead source and it'll be the best 13 you've ever seen.

[A]

So day one, we're going to go through a slide deck. Corey and I, we're going to just tell you everything about the approach, why it's this way, how we do it, why we approach it this way. And then day two, it's going to be that 31 day challenge. I'm going to walk you through there and it's going to be walking you through a spreadsheet to track these community groups that we're going to focus on. It would be a lot of work. Let me tell you. I wish the boot camps were like, press a button and it happens for you. If they were, we'd all be pressing the buttons and nobody would need the boot camps. Yeah, but boot camps are the gameplay, the strategy that you implement that you benefit from. So yeah, it's funny, all these people took the recording cookie videos boot camp and now they're seeing the results from it. They're like, wow, it really does work. Me, myself included, Cor and I have a challenge. Two videos this week per twin. I've been working on it. So I've been coming up with some content and then we're talking about workflows and we're talking about funneling and implementation. Right. Just getting content out there, but making the content a little bit more valuable each time. Time no analysis. Paralysis good is good enough. Working towards great. Yes, Agreed.

[B]

The boot camps.

[A]

If you want to check out the boot camps, you can go to the cookiecollege.com bootcamp. That's going to tell you what the boot camps are, how they work, and if you want to purchase a past boot camp, which is in person cookie classes, or if you want to purchase the recording cookie videos, go to thecookiecollege.com boot camps. So that would be plural. And then you can purchase either this upcoming boot camp, you can purchase all the past boot camps. So July, we're doing cracking community groups. In August, I'm teaching you guys how to use procreate for Beginners to design a set of six cookies. And in September Corey's taking us through optimizing Google Business profile. Now Google released recently it's AI search engine optimization updates like so Google never tells you what the secret sauce is but it kind of gives you a hint. And one of those big hints is Google Business Profile.

[B]

Yeah, it's, it's a great. I mean that's where I get my corporate orders from. Uh, and I've built it into my business that I update it every Friday evening. So there's about roughly 2,500 photos on my Google Business profile.

[A]

Systematic approach over long periods of time is how you win long term races. Our past boot camps we did in person cookie classes in February again you can purchase all of these. March we did photography that sells. April we did pre sale start to finish May 3D printing cookie cutters. Love that one. July is community groups and again August is procreate. September's Google Business profile and Corey and I are arguing over October. Yep. Yes, yes. We'll fight for you guys by fighting each other. Cory, do you have anything for your. For the gossip column, for the goss call? I have one if you guys want to. I keep, I, I didn't really see the research. I saw it in another public facing group. Public facing like baking groups? Specifically public like I don't know, I think it was called Sweet treat Makers or something where it was like 250 billion members. Yeah, that cake pot drama from last week and you had the underdog creator and the bully creator. Apparently the underdog creator years ago had posted something politically leaning or had she shared it.

[B]

So it wasn't even of her own doing.

[A]

She had reshared it and it was

[B]

buried in a ton of these reposts. If you did not know sometimes and I've done it on accident in is clicked this little circular button and it's two arrows on Instagram and it just came up. It's one of their newer features. It's been around on TikTok for ages. You know Instagram is honestly a copycat of TikTok and you know the favorite features on there. If you like someone's content and you don't necessarily want to leave a comment or a like what you can do is hit this repost button and it actually just shares that content out to your followers. You didn't make the content. You probably don't even know the person of the content. You've done done it. I've dropped my phone on accident and have reshared some Random people's content. But I go to the reshares just to make sure that what I've accidentally clicked isn't there. But anything that you've liked on social media that maybe you resonate with like me and Heather, like to make baking memes all the time. I see a lot of people reshare them that way. It lives on the resharing part of your profiles. TikTok has its own little tab for it and now Instagram has its own tag for it. So you can always go and check what you you've shared over the years. Some people post repost exclusively. They do those reposts honestly more than they make their own content and it's just stuff that they think funny resonate with like want to come back to who knows?

[A]

Anyways, the underdog baker had done that and and you know, back to it again. I would never ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever mix politics and my business. Business. That's a part of the cracking community groups. In fact, it says what you share in your personal profile will be reflected in your community group engagement.

[B]

Yeah, unfortunately, if you never track what you've re shared, it gets buried because you've. That's from years ago. So she didn't know that this drama was going to fall into her lap two weeks ago. Who knows if she what she re shared two years ago. I can't tell you what I had

[A]

for dinner last week.

[B]

But the Internet, Internet, just like we said, when you get them with drama, they are hungry for it. Went and scrolled and found that on there and she's been losing followers ever since. I don't think she'll lose 700,000 followers.

[A]

So fascinating. She started with 20,000. By the time we done the podcast, she was 70. Now she had 750. But I'm not checking and I'm done with the drama. I think the story's a little bit old. That said, in those really popular wide open baking groups where anonymous nicknames reign supreme, I did find one common comment that made a ton of sense and it said, I don't believe the audience that was created through the drama is the audience you will want to cultivate your business. And it's back to that. How you get them is how you keep them there. And feed me, feed me. Like don't feed the audience after midnight. You know, they'll turn into monsters. So again, that drama, that high engagement, like it was easy to look at the one creator and be like, oh, if I could only get involved. That drama could get 700. But again, the whole thing that started is she couldn't have handled the drama the first time. That's why we all felt bad for her. And now the drama keeps coming. I couldn't. I'm not cut out for it, at least. No, no.

[B]

Not at this rifle. The age of 9.

[A]

Not enough Botox in the world, not enough bartered Botox for me to be able to handle that kind of Internet. Judge, jury, executioner.

[B]

I think there's people built for that. They're able to separate themselves.

[A]

Anybody on reality tv. I'm like, wow, Kardashian family. Impressive. I couldn't handle one of those.

[B]

Could you say one thing to me and you're like a little pee on on the Internet.

[A]

And you said everything I've ever done and cry. Our upcoming collab is the cookie that hobby club. This is our first collab where we're limiting engagement.

[B]

We'll.

[A]

We'll report back on that. We have a 50 participation rate. Last time we had 63% participation rate. I'm hoping that the limiting this to 30 participants will change that engagement rate. The participation rate to closer to. To shooting for 85 would be cool.

[B]

I mean, I'm with only 30 people participating. We should have a hundred percent participation rate. It's on us though, to remind the folks.

[A]

I remind them. I remind them a week out. I remind them a day out. Yeah. Yeah. But Heather is trying to think about her hobbies to pipe. Yeah.

[B]

Gosh, I'm a hobby person. I've had hobbies all my life.

[A]

Or he did the rock painting thing. She plunks around on the piano. You go on a lot of walks. A lot of walks. The gym, I guess.

[B]

I mean, yeah, I guess I'm in a hobby low.

[A]

I like cars. And you kind of are getting into that.

[B]

Not really. I'll sit in yours.

[A]

Pipe it.

[B]

I'm a good sitter.

[A]

Sitting is my favorite hobby. You used to kind of be in the cats, but now you don't have any because you killed them all.

[B]

I know. I do like shows. Maybe I can do.

[A]

You love Frasier. You've been big enough.

[B]

Frasier has been top of the list

[A]

for quite some time. You could do the grandpa's chair. That's typical.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Marty Crane. His chair's falling apart.

[A]

Literally. His mistake would be apart. A piping mistake would add to the.

[B]

Except for I'm at the one where Frasier throws his chair off the balcony and gets it redone.

[A]

Can you do that fancy chair that Frasier has which is that Chair that's like a design. You know what I'm talking about? It has that name. Francie the Chase. No. Yeah, but his couch is also famous. It was from a remake Coco Chanel. Yeah, but it's his chair. But the chair has a very specific name. It is called the. I can see. Oh, Eames Lounge. It's a very famous chair. And he has one and he wants to fight the Eames Lounge with the dad's chair. And then, yeah, they have the couch. I don't know. It would just be something that you can't have too many chairs. But then what was the name of the dog? Not Freddie. Eddie. Eddie, Connie.

[B]

Freddie, Eddie, Connie the Cookie.

[A]

That hobby club is July 24th. And then our next collab I'm still coming up with. It'll be the third Friday of August. Our events, the midsummer membership sale. Cory and I have decided to give ourselves some more time to promote it. So we're putting it in the first week of August. Vegas. Which is only a week later than it was last year. Yeah, because I really wanted to focus on that, but we needed to get the cookie class kids out. Corey's getting another class kit up. And then I got to get this boot camp up, and then we got to teach class on Saturday.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Vendee Blendies in 20 weeks. They've actually opened up the group to Pendi. So if you want a pendy before you blendy and then we spendy, you can join the group. Comprendi?

[B]

Have you seen that I've been posting some funny reels to the Bendy Bundy Facebook page.

[A]

I was wondering, is it notification from the Bendy Bundy? I was like, no. People are desperate for the same. I'll have to go check that out. National Cookie Days in two days. That's July.

[B]

It's not cookie day.

[A]

Let me tell you why. Because that's such a long name. It's throwing off my grid. My call it scd.

[B]

Sugar Cookie Day.

[A]

National Sugar Cookie Day. So it's not even National Cookie Day, which is a different day. It's National Sugar Cookie. National. National Cookie Day is National Cookie Day. Not this one is 12-4-National Sugar Cookie Day. Say, yeah, back to school. It feels weird to say only seven weeks. I know. Relative to your already open area. Is that long or short? Seven weeks is not eight weeks, which makes two months. So it's less than two months. But it's still. Because we're one week in.

[B]

I. I mean, a lot of people

[A]

go the end of August. This is. I have it set to August 24th for our area. Labor Day, not a cookie holiday, but just the start of the cookie rush is September 7th. That's in nine weeks. NFL. It actually starts on September, September 10th, which is nine weeks away. If you're not a self printer, it'd be time to order those cookie cutters.

[B]

Unfortunately, US lost out of the FIFA World cup last night.

[A]

Were we in the final?

[B]

We got very, very far.

[A]

But I think that's really great. This is the first time I was ever in the US or something. Why it feels like I'm seeing more soccer than I've ever seen.

[B]

Yeah. So it was the first time it was ever hosted by the US So a lot of people came over to support.

[A]

Oh, very fun. I've enjoyed the tickets talks. So I don't watch the sport. They came out with a jelly cat line of red card, yellow cards. Oh, that's so funny. Yeah. Canadian Thanksgiving is in 14 weeks and then Halloween is in 17 weeks. So it's still a while away. But we, we're in the doldrums of the J months. But now is the time to kind of set the groundwork. Cor and I were talking about that yesterday in our Monday morning marketing menu with America Miracles. That what we said was what you do today will set the temperature for what happens in the Q4 Super bowl for cook years.

[B]

It's going to be stressful, but it

[A]

can be super stressful if you don't

[B]

set yourself up correctly now. Or it can just be mildly stressful with a lot of last minute orders but cash raining down on you like rain.

[A]

What you don't want to find is that in the rush of cookie season, your autoresponder still says you're out for vacation in July. Like that's typically when I find those mistakes. Mistakes. But if you focus on them now and what you gonna. What you're gonna call it is is auditing the customer journey, which might be a decent barter for you. Have somebody go through the ordering process and say what they like and didn't like and what was confusing. I'll give you one singular cookie for that.

[B]

If you say anything mean and take

[A]

a new cookie bag. Our STL me about it sponsors Cookie Design Lab. I think they've recently had a rebrand I'm gonna be making. Since Cory and I are doing a video challenge, I'm gonna be making how to design a video cookie cutter using Cookie Design Lab for one of my videos.

[B]

It's so easy.

[A]

That video will be 2 seconds long. Use code Twins to get 15% off. And check them out at cookiedesignlab.com we have one texting question, so you're the automatic winner. 281 Email me at heather sugarcookiemarketing.com and I'll send you pictures of being m lunch and how to redeem howdy from Texas. This isn't a marketing question or a cookie question, but it's also kind of not even a question. But, Corey, I'm watching the reel about your order that you took.

[B]

Took.

[A]

That took a year that was transfixed. Transfixed, I tell you. On your earring stacks. Can you tell me where you got your dangly earrings?

[B]

This dangle thing.

[A]

I was on an ear journey. She's been on an ear journey for a couple years now.

[B]

Yeah, a couple years and years. I had to look it up. I want to say I got it off of Etsy, but let me see if I can't find where I got it from. But it's this. It's called a threader. And there's a lot of places that sell these threaders. You can get them longer, short, short. And it's threaded through two different holes. So it's for my first.

[A]

Yeah, let's see your stack. YouTube wants to see the. The full. So what are they? Not really good with the piercing names, you think?

[B]

I don't know him either. These are just three on the lobe. And this guy, I actually had one up here. You know, the lady did wrong, and I closed up. I had to take it out, close it up.

[A]

Here's my big thing. Well, basically based off of Corey's experience is if you want to get these upper lobes, these cartilage piercing, you can go to these tattoo parlors. I know a lot in Northern Virginia. We have these new businesses where they're just piercing studios with nurse practitioners. However, I'm still going to advocate for the piercing tattoo parlor, the tattoo parlor that offers piercing, because those people have been doing it for so long.

[B]

The tattoo parlors are out of body experience to go to. And listen, my entire back is a giant tattoo. But people look at me and they're like, that girl doesn't have any tattoos on her body. So they treat me a certain way. So I understand walking into a tattoo shop and someone feels like, hey, you clean cut girl. What are you talking about?

[A]

Maybe the one thing the tattoo parlors need to kind of figure out is how to book with the specific person. They're always like, find them on Instagram anyways. You can kind of. Yeah. Create the relationship On Instagram with a piercer. If you.

[B]

But I don't. I. Let me not do that. My song and dance. I want to. You literally told me you found some

[A]

piercing tattoo parlor lady that I should go to.

[B]

No. She was really nice, but I didn't know who she was. When I walked in, I said, who's working? Can I get an ear? I got lucky. And then this side, I got. Whatever this circle guy is. Heather said, people think that's neat to have this tall one up here. He's got a backstory and a half,

[A]

and he wants that here. These piercings. I've never slept good a day in my life. I need to go back. When you get a piercing in a cartilage, it naturally causes swelling. Right. So you need these barbells that allow for the ear to swell and then heal again. And then you're supposed to go back and get shorter flat backs, which means there's no barbell in the back.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And they're shorter, so they're not like, in and out of your ear. I just honestly feel real anxiety walking into tattoo parlors.

[B]

Yeah, the tattoo parlors. If they were just. There's. Don't get me wrong. Back when I got this giant tattoo on my back, tattoos weren't as popular as they are now. There's a lot of shops that are a little bit more like.

[A]

There's.

[B]

There's light coming in. You know, they have plants in the window.

[A]

Is that a biker bar out front?

[B]

Yeah. Back in the day, I was like,

[A]

ah, please don't steal my money. So I don't know. You could go to those. What do they have? The one just open at Tyson's, where you can.

[B]

They're called Rowan. That's the one I went to. I would not go back. And that's because she pierced it at an angle and it grew this. It's called a friction bump. And the only way to get rid of it is to pull out the piercing and let it.

[A]

Piercing. Yeah. And then you're could be left with a. Like a keloid. Scarlet. Yeah.

[B]

So I said, wow, that was not good for how much money that was. The place, though. Super inviting.

[A]

Like, I mean, I'm so sorry. It was like walking into a candy store. It was the most bright. They. Whatever that business model is. Bright and inviting people get their ears pierced. Yes. It's like the Claire's and then. But they have a nurse practitioner. The thing is, the piercing guns that they use at Claire's actually destroy the cartilage instead of pushing the Cartilage away. I don't know if this is a load of.

[B]

Well, Rowan, though, offers both. You can ask for the gun or the. The knife, whatever they do the little pole puncher.

[A]

So I don't know. I guess if from. If you're interested in getting your ear journey going, what I would do is do it. They said the ear. I'm sorry, I found a subreddit. This is where all these facts are coming from. For piercing. They said at any given time, the body can only really focus on healing three piercings. So it might be tempting to get your whole ear done, but you're asking a lot of the white blood cells.

[B]

So they say most good piercers won't let you do a ton at once because they know that. That the. The rejection is higher when you're like, I want to get a whole stack done because if I can't sleep for now, let me not sleep all together at once.

[A]

Then there's piercings. They have to be in an anatomically correct or your body will reject them. So a lot of this, the date piercing seems to get people in trouble because it's not pierced the correct area. And so the body's either rejecting it or going berserk.

[B]

Maybe we need to work on your ear stack. You don't get comments on it. You get, like, how many holes you have in your ear, but they're not necessarily, like, pretty. You could have such pretty earrings.

[A]

So ugly. You ugly earring holder, you know? You know, it's just a pin cushion. I try not to even make direct eye contact with these piercings for fear I won't be able to sleep. I need to go back and get. And get it all redone.

[B]

This. When I had that cancer treatment surgery last year, you could not go in with anything metal. So to take those out and replace

[A]

them with plastic because that was the

[B]

only thing to keep it open. That was the worst idea ever. It made me not want to even have them anymore.

[A]

That's what I fear. That's what I fear. Once I tasted the sweet nectar of sleep, I'll be like, close my eyes

[B]

to replace this guy. It's swelled up again.

[A]

I know.

[B]

Just to replace this thing.

[A]

Right. I went to some plastic surgeons and. And he. I was like, fix my face or something. And he was like, do you want me fix your ear? I said, I'm not here for that. And he's like, my job is when he's like, not if. When you're tired of this crap on your ear, I will fix it. He's like. But just so you know, this is what I do mostly. And then he calls in the nurse and he's like, look at her ears. Her ears look like they. She'd just been born. And he was like, her ears looked like yours until I got to to him.

[B]

But so like if you took all the little heather hat. If you're not on YouTube. I'm staring at her ear right now. Large and in jarred and on the side of red. She just has these little circle piercings throughout. If you took those out, I honestly don't think I would notice a hole in your ear. They sound like you're. You're growing. What is it? When you. The gauges, it's not like your ears.

[A]

But it wouldn't close. That's a goal is that you get them to the. They never close again. So you can always re. You know, put new jewelry in. But he was like, you will not want that. And I can fix it. Fix it.

[B]

I wonder if you'll care about your

[A]

ears in 20 years. I hardly care about them now. So I was like, listen, fix your face. I'm not really here for the year. I just don't care. I don't care about my ear. Our sponsors. Without these sponsors, there's no podcast. Our sponsor is Cookie Design Lab. Use Code twins to get 15% off. Bakety bake. Use code twins to get 10% off. We'll have to try to bully her into the venicle Lindy as we do. Daisy makes. Code twins. 10 gets you 10% off. Daisy makes is those cake pop. I was trying to explain it to the whole family. One I said, do you guys know what cake pops are? And they're like the cake pop drama. And I was like, yeah. Anyways, here's the system and why it's different than the balls. The. The system is a different. So Daisy makes went to Cookie con and the tagline was cake pops for cookie people. Because it's a better, better approach.

[B]

It's so similar to what a sugar cookie baker would use.

[A]

I, I like the invention there. And then Primera Eddie, the edible food printer. I gotta reach out to them to do a podcast this month that they can. They requested to Eddie, Freddie and now Connie, which I saw a couple people place the pre orders for Connie, which is a. What was it?

[B]

It's a cake printer. But it, it's, you know, printers for cake people in, you know, the wafer sheets and the edible printer paper and is. Is a wild, wild world because it's you. It's like a necessary evil. People want the little images on top, but then your printer decides to not work mid print. And this is supposed to be way better. I've not had my hands on one to be able to talk about it, but people seem pretty excited about it.

[A]

I don't think they've sold them yet. I think they're under pre order. But we'll try to get Jennifer from Primair on here and then tell us more about it. I would also just like to know her history in general.

[B]

I would love to know her history.

[A]

Yeah, I did look her up on LinkedIn. I think she's worked for them for 24, 25 years. Years.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Which is a tremendous amount of time to spend with a single company. Yeah. Bosch Nutra Mill. The code is sugar cookies to get $20 off. Now, I know you did a video.

[B]

I did a video. And I'm gonna actually divide the video into two. I show you how I make a triple batch. But what I've learned from really, you know, I. Because I have two. I have the Artiste and the Bosch Universal. I do six at a time, but three in each. I'm going too easy on the universal because people said, fit either one or two more.

[A]

What's a quintuple?

[B]

I think a quadruple is probably where it caps out for me just with how much dough is in there. Life. Life changing. If you're like, I need to become more efficient in my business. You can't create one batch of dough at a time because that's not efficient. That's taking you way too much time. But when you can stock up on dough. And I got an upright separate freezer from Walmart to really make these two things work together for me, I just have dough ready to go so I don't have to tell my customers, no,

[A]

get the dough that's ready to go in time for the ho, ho, ho. Like a Christmas is coming. That upright freezer, they're not the most expensive. It's not chump change either. It was like 3. 200. 300. I want to say it was 250.

[B]

Mine does not have a light in it. It's in the storage area of my basement.

[A]

So I do have to grab to

[B]

down with a flashlight. Feel around. Game changer, though. When I. I have dough days is what I call them, and I hate them because there's not a cute picture after it. But when I stock that freezer up, I feel just so accomplished because I know I am ready.

[A]

It's like meal prepping for a cookie business.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

Yes. Very nice. My twin terist is this YouTube I'm going to show you. It's this.

[B]

I don't have a needle.

[A]

I don't know. I don't have kids, so I don't know what needles are. From what I can see, they're just little squish squares. I don't get why some are rare.

[B]

Have more toys than a child does. So I don't like that you're acting like you don't know the world of toys. You're buying them all the time.

[A]

I buy them for my sons, Munch and Bean. Anyways, Ash bought this one from Specs and it said, it's neato, but it's better. I don't know. I don't know the world of neato. I really didn't like these squishy things because I feel like they get like, clammy. But this guy is fun because he kind of relax. He kind of has like some flex to him. Anyways, it's this little speck heart. That's my twin T this week.

[B]

I don't know if I would like that. Bring it on Saturday. Let me touch on it.

[A]

I will.

[B]

If you get it dirty, I might drop it.

[A]

You can wash it. And the literal instructions were like, if you wash it, it'll get tacky, so just put some cornstarch on it. And I was telling. I was like, this is how you get your Eddie cookies not to stick to the cellophane. That's true.

[B]

That is very true.

[A]

Do not put flour on it. It will create a paste. Oh, that's so disgusting. That. That's disgusting. Washing it again.

[B]

My twin dress is not really a twin. My neighbor moved about a month ago and instead of renting it out to someone new, they're actually selling the place. And it has been so insanely stressful. I do not understand why my little townhouse has the spots. Every townhouse I've ever lived in, the spots have been two in front of

[A]

it in Cory not configuration of these townhomes. To maximize the buildings, they've extended them them beyond the sidewalk and the pavement. Meaning everyone's spot is shifted two away from where they're supposed to be. Because they've had these houses go into the crevasse to maximize profit, I guess.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So the.

[B]

The last guy who I can't even see his house when I walk, it's behind my house. Needs a spot somewhere nearish his home. So he has one spot. Because he has one spot. It's Scooched everyone else's one spot. He has two, but one super far away and one's relatively far away.

[A]

But yours are not. He's gotten separated because this. Okay, yeah, yeah.

[B]

It must have been a cheaper house just for the fact that you're not close to your spot and you have one across the street from it.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Mine, I have two together, but they are off centered. So my two spots actually are in front of the house that's for sale,

[A]

which would make you feel that if no cars are, that's where you park to go toward the home. So of course having this map, massive battle and has gotten signage I got.

[B]

I said, wow, am I that neighbor? What was funny is my other neighbor has actually lived in this community for over 18 years. So she is the head bastion of the neighborhood. What she says actually goes. So when I first moved in, I could tell she was judging me. Now we talk all the time. So when I went out, she's like, saw your two signs. I said, is it too much? She said, no, I wish I had one. I said, you'll never guess. I got three. What am I spot on Netflix.

[A]

I've been watching these two series. Mom said they've just been adapted. She's seen them somewhere else. But it's called the Worst Roommate Ever. And then there's another series called Worst Neighbor Ever. There's only five episodes in each. But the Worst Neighbor Ever shows you the anxiety. I mean the concept of neighborhoods is wild. Like your grandmother has lived next to a lady named Joanne for 40 years. Like for 40 years you're with this stranger that neither of you pay picked. They just.

[B]

And you don't know each. What's even more bizarre than that? At least there's land in between a townhouse and an apartment you're sharing.

[A]

Apartments are wild, but apartments are typically leased. Now buying a condo, paying to be to other boxes. I've lived in apartments most of my life and it's a wild world. And I always would try to shamoose my new neighbors. I'd leave them a little gift. Say if there's a problem, just send me a text. But you just know my crazy story is I had this neighbor in apartment. Was there a next door neighbor, really quiet guy, older man, kind of. You can kind of tell that they were retiring but didn't want to spend the price of those retirement communities. Great idea to move into an apartment. So he was there and then he. He gets a traumatic brain injury. I think he had brain cancer. So they had a tumor and the reason why they found out is he was acting strange. He ends up leaving his wife of the 30 or 40 years he has adult kids. He moves in this woman my age and at this time I'm in my 20s, so. So she and him were like walking around holding hands. I was like, that's so crazy. I thought it was his daughter. Good thing we weren't close. So I didn't sing. I'm just like, oh look, holding hands with your daughter at that age. Weird. Do you if you like to hold hands with your grandpap. But no, it was his girlfriend. He ends up not wanting to be with her and anymore and locks around. Right. So this is a digital keys because it was a new apartment. Yeah. She starts knocking on my door to get intel about him. But she started knocking all the time, just pounding. It was like she was very. Something was a little amiss. But finally like she was putting on his door. Welcome back from the hospital. He did get the brain tumor removed. And I was like. I'm like they're not together and she's decorating his door. But when I come out because I'm addicted to I'm looking through this keyhole of my own apartment to get any scoop I can on these people. Right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

He took off all the stuff and didn't let her in. Started knocking on my door again. And I had to say sweetheart, honey, baby girl. Because I don't want her to be weird to me. I was like, we can't knock on my door anymore. And she's like, okay, okay. And I was like, right, we're not going to knock on my door. But if you can't find him, you

[B]

know, because she had to break into

[A]

the building first of all. So she was.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

On the final day I'm moving out and I've got Corey and Nate lifting up my. My pet to this. She's coming up to the U Haul.

[B]

Walking into the U haul.

[A]

Sarcasm is not even here. She is walking and asking for intel on this man again.

[B]

For some odd reason with my neighbors, no matter where I've lived, they've all asked me to come and do something in the their house and mostly watch pets water thing. I whenever my face is. It must be like invite that girl into your home. Like I've never invited. I've never invited someone else into mine to do anything. Like. Like I'll, I'll feed my dog. I'll water my own pets. But they look at me and they're like, yeah, we're gonna bring this lady

[A]

you have a dressing face. Yeah, you have a dressing face. One apartment I lived in, this lady had left everybody on our hallway cookies. And I thought that was so nice. Right? And then she wrote, like, a thing. And I think she was a. She was from some religious thing. I think it might have been Mormon. And she was like, you know, a really nice thing. So I had. I. Maybe I didn't know she was religious. Anyways, about her. A bottle of wine. I'm not a wine drinker. I just went to the wakes, and I left it at her door. And I was like, thank you so much for the cookies. I never heard back from her.

[B]

Probably a week later.

[A]

The b. The bat. I know I put it in a bag. Yeah. If the trampled bag is back on my doorstep with the wine bottle on it. But also a note out and said, what?

[B]

I don't drink wine.

[A]

Husband had passed away, and the fire department. He had passed away of a sudden heart attack. The fire department stepped all over it. But also, she didn't drink wine, and she was moving away. So she moved in between that and. I got that. I think there's a last stop on her move out was this note. That was devastating. So a couple weeks later, you know, I. There's like a.

[B]

You know when.

[A]

Like, really sensitive packages, they have to deliver them to your door, which is hard and complex. It has so much security or any.

[B]

Yeah, whatever.

[A]

I see this guy, and he's holding this box, and he's trying to knock on the door, and he's like, I have to get a signature delivery. I hate to tell you this. He actually passed away, and she moved out a couple weeks ago. And he's like, they must. These are Florida oranges. They won't last. And I said, I don't know what to tell you. And he's like, do you want them?

[B]

They were the best oranges I had. You took her floral.

[A]

I did. And I thought of him the whole time. And I said, that was such a sad story. Orange are great.

[B]

I love going into someone's house to

[A]

see how they like. Well, that's why, Cory.

[B]

That's why they're inviting me. No, I don't ever say, I want to go into your house. But if I'm in there, note, I'm watering your cat and your plant, and I'm looking around towards getting a big

[A]

old scoop of eyeball.

[B]

It's just.

[A]

It's just interesting, you know, I had Corey come to my apartment. I was like, what. What are my blind spots? It's so Easy to have a blind spot where you live.

[B]

Oh, where you live.

[A]

Because I'm like, this is normal. And gord be like, that's weird. And I was like, oh, I guess. You know what? That is weird. I just thought it was normal when I was by myself.

[B]

I think if you came into mind, you'd be like, this is weird that you're doing this. I like, I, I know I do

[A]

weird things, but it's functional for you.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

Sees it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

When you have somebody come in. Like when I'm at people's house, I'm like, what in the heck? One time house. His wife had recently left him. I'm sorry. His wife had left him two years ago. But he, he, he stayed in the house, and I think she moved away. He had no furniture in the house. And I thought that was so weird. But now look at me. I have no furniture in the house. I'm like, well, see, yo. Yeah, you're so weird because you have less houses. We live in, don't we? And there is no seating whatsoever.

[B]

I don't know why she referred.

[A]

I said, I said, how many seats do I need in this thing? It's just me and two cats. And the cats are just rambunctious.

[B]

Well, that's a problem when you have pets. It's not like you can converse with a cat and say, please don't use your nails on this. They're going to use their nails on anything.

[A]

Let me tell you exclusively, this nice bed frame I bought has just been the scratching pad of the century. It's technology. Rad land. Yeah. It's almost a, like, please don't get on that. Oh, I should get on this.

[B]

I, I think it's so entertaining. I, I, there's this one lady who lives next to us. Her name's Kim.

[A]

Known.

[B]

I just said, I said, nate, if her name isn't Kim. I've called her Kim for four straight years.

[A]

Ears.

[B]

Because I'll be like, hey, Kim. She always says hi, so I just assume it is. I am so curious about how she, she always has her windows and doors shut, but she doesn't have any pets, no kids, isn't dating anyone from what we can tell. I said I would love to walk into her house, just see how she lives and be like, okay, I'll never interrupt your life again. I've, I'm fulfilled with my curiosity. Have a great life. See you on the road.

[A]

Next door neighbors who I lived with next to for quite a few years, they, you know, they, that okay, the Weird thing is, where my grandmother lives is next door to where we grew up. They lit. My parents and my grandparents lived in adjacent houses. They weren't adjoin, but they were.

[B]

You could throw one stone and do.

[A]

You could trip and hit your head on. So my dad had planted this tree. I don't know. He had a bout of landscaping fever, I guess, when we were probably 12. And he. We called it the miracle tree. It. It was a terrible tree. And it died. Died. So. But it had such a thick trunk. And I'm sure you'd know what that. But the trunk was so thick, it stayed its whole life. The new neighbors. Everything's cut down. The tree. Okay. Which it needed to. It was just a hollowed trunk. The miracle tree.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It was dead. They gave Ruthanne part of the trunk because they were like, if it's a miracle tree, here's a piece of it.

[B]

That's so funny.

[A]

So funny. And then I go the other day and I look and I say, what's going on with that corner? And she's like, they're growing their own wine. Grape.

[B]

Grapes. Wine grapes. And they were vining.

[A]

And so we were there for the 4th of July, and I was like, do you want me to go press some. Some wine? What did they get?

[B]

How many grapes takes to like. Do you need five.

[A]

Corey.

[B]

Bushels of grapes.

[A]

I'll tell you, the wine vine was at my ankle. It's not going to beat out the winter. It's just not going to beat out the winter. It's been growing for two months. And it was at my ankle, but it was growing.

[B]

Here's my last thing about. The neighbor that just left had grown a fig tree. Listen.

[A]

They cornice. Fig tree lore go way back.

[B]

Fig tree. They never grew an ounce of grass. But their green thumb for this fig

[A]

tree need be studied. This thing. Fig trees want to live.

[B]

Oh, he lived and prospered. The problem with this fig tree is they're ginormous and they floof off. Their leaves will literally detach at the sign of the first fruit.

[A]

Frost.

[B]

Jack Frost walks by.

[A]

Oh, yeah. You see a fig tree.

[B]

Massive.

[A]

Then you see fig tree post one cold night. And it's this carcass.

[B]

Yeah. So they grew it. Okay. They've left. When they were leaving, they were like, we are not taking this fig tree with us. Which I assumed because it was in the ground. She's like, feel free to either take the fig tree and put it in your own yard or cut it.

[A]

Would that be a tremendous venture?

[B]

Yeah. I have no idea. Fig trees are tiny. System was crazy. And I didn't want a fig tree because I don't like fig Newtons. So I can only assume I don't like a fig.

[A]

As soon as the U haul door

[B]

shut on their truck, I said, nate cut her out.

[A]

Did you get rid of the root system?

[B]

Well, yeah. He actually got as much as he could, so he couldn't regrow. But when I ran into her last night at the grocery store, the lady who used to live there, she saw they cut my fig tree down.

[A]

I said, saw it too.

[B]

Girl saw it.

[A]

If she gave you the option to. To keep it, she also covertly gave you the option to kill it.

[B]

Yeah, she was just like, I saw that.

[A]

And I didn't.

[B]

I didn't have the heart to be like, we cut it down. I started looking at it and cleaning

[A]

up anything that produces fruit. One My next door neighbors, they said they were so excited to tell me they'll be planting. You are.

[B]

They have quite the contraptions going out at B. I have to say to

[A]

myself, you know what? I didn't pay for their yard. It's theirs. They can do what they want. I kind of. That's like watching them. They're doing some interesting planting. There's a lot of stuff sticks from a tree. Like, they're not even sticks from.

[B]

And they have, like, overhangs, like, for shading.

[A]

Did I tell you? I asked them, I said, what is the white things for? Yeah, boards and. No, they trimmed the. The community had a landscaping company cut all the weeds down. But the suction of the commercial mower was so strong that it sucked in their tomato plants and cut them. So the white board was to prevent the suction. And he was like, but I'll take the whiteboards down. I was like, okay, you can. It's your yard, dude. Do what you want.

[B]

Because he thought you were complaining about his.

[A]

I don't know. I was just. I said, I can't figure out what the white boards are for because I just watched them.

[B]

The one thing about Heather's house, it's on Mount Olympus. As far as the wind tunnel goes, ain't nothing surviving that swoop off of the road there.

[A]

They're. They're little whiteboards.

[B]

Would be in your yard at some point.

[A]

Point. And how they weren't. They've already taken them down. Well, one is a fawn, but they've taken them down. Yeah. I don't know. I'll be curious. But anyways, they're planting an avocado Tree, a lemon tree and a peach tree. And they're like, we'll give you some. But I'm like, I think. But that'll be in five years from now, Right? Long time. I said, whenever you're ready, I'm ready to receive.

[B]

Can I give one closure to my. You know, I made those cookies for the dog that passed.

[A]

Oh, yeah, please do.

[B]

I come outside and it was almost like, this is the man. Can't talk about the dog. But I come outside, he has a bag in his hand, and he says, have you ever heard of the peach truck? Yeah, I'm sorry.

[A]

He's coming. The peach truck is coming.

[B]

No, his peach truck guy already came, and he gave me six peaches. And I said that coming to Burke.

[A]

And I didn't place an order. Were they good? I don't know how to describe it to you. Virginia and peaches just don't get along. So there's this Georgia peach truck, I think, and it tours northern Virginia, and you place your pre order for bush and it comes and you pick them up like. It's like this roving peach tree. Yeah.

[B]

So he gave me six of those, and I said, nate, that is the thank you one that I wanted.

[A]

That. That's the.

[B]

The quiet, the forget head.

[A]

Not. You know, we're good. Yeah. And in a weird way, bartering because we gave him cookies. But it's dog and dine. I get.

[B]

I know. And I had peaches. Oh, good peach.

[A]

A good peach will change.

[B]

Good, good.

[A]

It's no dead man's orange, but it'll do. It's no. It is no dead man's orange.

[B]

You steal her.

[A]

I know. I think about it all the time. The best oranges ever. I even think about, like, where did I find this orange? Okay, Cory, I'll see you next Tuesday. Goodbye.

[B]

Goodbye, you bing baby. Goodbye.