By: Andrea Mac | March 6, 2024

If you can only handle me in small doses:

Today is my birthday.
Intentionally coincidental, it’s also Prequal’s birthday. I incorporated my business on March 6, 2020, and officially launched the following September. She is the big 4.
Have some cake today to celebrate us, or better yet, have some cookies. You know which ones.

Building Prequal Vol. 30: A Cookie Season Q&A with Beaux

Girl Scout cookie season is officially over. If you’ve been following my cookie series, you’ll know that my daughter Beaux embarked upon her second year selling cookies as a Girl Scout. And because I’m her mom, we had a whole cookie season strategy. We set goals, we worked on messaging, and we had a whole go to market strategy.

Today, I want to hand the mic over to Beaux and let her tell you what cookie season meant to her.

Here's our conversation (edited slightly for clarity and 6-year-old speak):

Me: What was your favorite part about selling cookies?

Beaux: That I got to go around and see what cookies people like, and what they're interested to buy from me.

Me: Interesting. So, the customer Intel - that you were interested in knowing their selections? Why do you like that part?

Beaux: Because I just like seeing what different types of cookies people like, and see if they're similar to what I like or different to what I like.

Me: What was your least favorite part about selling?

Beaux: That I had to walk out in the cold. It was cold and then I was really hot when I stepped inside the house. I was like hot and cold, hot and cold.

Me: What did you learn during this cookie selling season? Tell me tell me two things or three things you learned.

Beaux: To Inform the people what cookies you recommend and what cookies are good and how much of them to get.

Me: You did get a lot of questions about what you like and what other people like. What else is something you learned?

Beaux: The prices...the amount of cookies and what the prices are...so if you're buying three cookies and each of them are six dollars so then you have to do the math, three times six...

Me: So you learn math. One more thing. What else did you learn?

Beaux: That cookies are good to share with your family and everyone likes to eat them, and they’re sweet.

Me: Are you going to sell cookies next year?

Beaux: Yes.

Me: What do you think you will do differently in your sales plan next year?

Beaux: Maybe tell them ones that they might like and then also tell them some ones that I like.

Me: So you’re going to double down on recommendations?

Beaux: Yeah.

Me: Wouldn't it be interesting if you found out what kind of cookies famous people like and use that in your marketing?

Beaux: Yeah, that would be cool.

Me: Why do you think selling cookies is important for Girl Scouts?

Beaux: It's important so that they could donate money to make things and then we could do fun stuff. And whoever buys it supports girls, so I just like how that works.

Me: Do you think that sales skills are important for girls to know? Now that you know how to sell something, do you think that's important?

Beaux: Yeah, because if you're in like a troop, then you're supporting whatever the troop is doing or it's just on your own if you want to make money.

Me: Love it. OK. awesome

Some Parting Thoughts From Me on Cookie Season

I love cookie season. Beaux is my child who does not crave the spotlight. She tends to sit back and observe, and watching her step into her own in cookie season has been interesting. She likes it, and she takes the lead. This also happened last year, and it turns out, after our second season, that it's not a fluke. She enjoys participating in this for many reasons. But, as her mom, I liked watching her be confident in a particular skill, how she communicated, and how she looked people in the eyes when she talked about her favorite cookies.

This whole experience instilled confidence. Beaux learned more people skills, management skills, and about setting goals and deadlines. She learned that goals are hard but that it is important to have a plan and keep working on it.

There was only a short season to sell face-to-face and in person. She went out on the coldest January days to sell door-to-door. It was the holiday season when people were out of town, and she kept going because she had a goal. She learned that putting it on a vision board isn't enough. You have to take steps to reach it.

For the second year in a row, she was the top seller in her troop. She sold 280 boxes but fell short of her boat ride goal. She needed 500 boxes for the boat ride, so it's on the vision board for next year. I like that she was the top seller, and I also like that she didn't achieve her ultimate goal. It gives her something to keep working toward and helps her understand the value of hard work and commitment.

So, until next year, I will just eat all of these cookies in my house. For the record, I am torn between Tagalong and Samos.

Thanks for following Beaux and me along this journey. It's been a fun cookie season.

-A.

P.S. My dinner party for badass women is tonight. I'm getting my makeup done and everything. I might even post a get ready with me type video on Prequal's Instagram. It's what the kids are doing these days (that's what my team tells me). If you don't already, follow Prequal on Iinstagram here to see my Kardashian transformation.

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