Michelle Stading, MOT, \u201919, has always loved to bake. When she found out her hours as an occupational therapist would be reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she thought back to the new sugar cookie recipe she had recently tried out. She began making smiley face-shaped cookies to share with family and friends. The cookies went over well and requests for more started to come in. In need of some additional income and with plenty of time on her hands, Stading decided to take her cookie baking to the next level.<\/p>\n
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Over the course of a week, Stading came up with a company name, drew a logo on her iPad and created a website and social media channels. On March 1, Grateful Goods was officially in business. The name of her company came from how Michelle was feeling.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was so grateful that people were even interested in buying my cookies and even more grateful that baking was able to provide me with a source of income during this difficult time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
After graduating in May of 2019, Stading passed her board exams and began working at Shriners Hospitals for Children \u2014 St. Louis and at First Steps Missouri. \u201cI was just getting used to the transition from college into the working world and my hours were starting to ramp up when the pandemic hit,” she said. \u201cI knew I needed to find another way to have an income.\u201d<\/p>\n
In just a few weeks\u2019 time, Stading went from baking small quantities of cookies for family and friends, to receiving orders from all over the United States and fulfilling orders of more than 500 cookies. A recent order was from the owner of a company who was looking to spread a little positivity to his employees. He ordered cookies from Grateful Goods with messages like \u2018#workingfromhome,\u2019 \u2018stay healthy\u2019 and \u2018thank you\u2019 \u2014 and, of course, Stading’s signature smiley faces but with the addition of face masks.<\/p>\n
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Stading noted that this process has involved a lot of learning. \u201cGrowing up, I\u2019d be the one to make the family birthday cakes. I have always enjoyed baking, but I hadn\u2019t done anything on this level,\u201d she said. Some parts of the process are completely new to her, like decorating with royal icing. \u201cI\u2019m figuring out what works and what doesn\u2019t as I go.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Stading isn\u2019t alone in figuring out her new business. Her fianc\u00e9, Mark Cohen, \u201918, also started his own business during quarantine, a marketing agency called 212\u00b0. \u201cSix months ago, neither of us would have thought we\u2019d be running our own businesses,\u201d Stading said.<\/p>\n
The couple credits much of their success to the values they were taught while students at Maryville. \u201cFaculty and staff members, like Kathy Quinn, associate vice president of strategic projects, and Stacy Donovan, PhD, associate professor of biology, instilled in me a drive and desire to belief in myself,\u201d she said. \u201cTheir examples of leadership have helped make me into the person I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though Michelle will return to her role as an occupational therapist as soon as she\u2019s able, she plans to continue the work of Grateful Goods. \u201cI might not be able to accept orders of 500 cookies once I\u2019m back to my regular work schedule,\u201d she said, \u201cbut this is something I definitely want to keep doing.\u201d<\/p>\n