We were lucky to catch up with Vanessa Cangley recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Vanessa, so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?
I was definitely one of those shy/somewhat quiet kids growing up. Even as I got older, I’ve always tried to stay low-key, under the radar, never really wanted to push myself to take any kind of risk. For fear of what others might think. Would I be any good? Is it worth me putting myself out there? It wasn’t until recently where I broke out of that mold and decided to open up my business: Cookie Kraze By Nizz LLC. Opening up a business itself is taking a huge risk. Will I fail? Will the effort I’m putting into opening this small business be a waste of time, money, energy, patience? What about the baked goods that I’m creating for my customers. Will they enjoy my creations? All of these negative thoughts pour through my mind constantly but I’m able to now push those aside. I’ve come to realize I am my own worst enemy. If I don’t put myself out there, take this leap of faith, I’ll never know what could be. The constant outpouring of support that I’ve been receiving from family, close friends, and even the positive reviews from customers, THIS is what keeps me going. This is what continues to drive me to move forward. I find myself getting excited to create new monthly flavors, always planning ahead. Offering taste -testing samples to folks and seeing their faces as they enjoy what I’ve created. All of these things fuel my passion more and more.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Born (and raised) in Hoboken, New Jersey to Puerto Rican parents, I developed a passion for two things from a very young age, Fitness and Baking! I developed the passion for fitness after being dragged to take Jane Fonda classes with my mom. (Does anybody remember Jane Fonda?) I started watching the popular Israeli-born fitness coach on ESPN, Gilad Janklowicz, and following along to all of his workout shows. (Okay, does anybody remember who HE is?). Fun fact: Gilad is actually known to have the longest running fitness shows in the U.S., Bodies In Motion, and Total Body Sculpt with Gilad. Food is another passion. I’ve always been an avid Food Network viewer growing up. My absolute favorite time of the year to bake would be during football season through the holidays and into the new year. I’d always find myself baking some kind of crazy brownies or cookies for family football gatherings, and baking even more gourmet cookies/pies through the holidays. In January 2024 I officially opened up my cookie business, specializing in Gourmet/Artisan cookies. Each month I will be offering a different flavor menu to keep everyone’s tastebuds intrigued and always coming back for more! Come Spring time, I’m hoping to become a vendor at multiple farmer’s markets across New Jersey.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Time; Health; Happiness. These three things literally tie into each other so perfectly and truly are our most precious commodities. As a parent, my eyes have become so much more open. I find that I’m constantly wishing I could slow down the hands of time. We need to be able to take a pause and enjoy in all of life’s most beautiful moments for as long as we can. What truly matters is the time we lose when we focus on the materialistic things in life. Health is another huge factor. Maybe because it’s been instilled in me from such a young age, but our health is something that we should never neglect or take for granted. Embrace the body we have. Fuel your body with the right foods and just get moving. Get that exercise in however you can. Let’s take the time to focus on our bodies and even our minds. And above all, Happiness. Feeling content. Being able to stop for a moment and just take it all in. Smile at your accomplishments, your hard-work, no matter what it is.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
My biggest challenge has always been the confidence to be able to put myself out there more. Even creating a public social media profile was a huge step for me! Being in the public eye will always be a challenge for me, I don’t think I’ll ever overcome that 100%, but it’s definitely becoming easier. The more exposure I’m getting with my little bake shop, the more I continue to break out of that thick shell!
Contact Info:
- Website:cookiekrazebynizz.com
- Instagram: cookiekrazebynizz
- Facebook: Cookie Kraze By Nizz LLC
Image Credits
Alyssa Marshall
