Check Out Fran Thomas’ Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Fran Thomas.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I have never been one for thick chunky cookies. So in 2007, I started experimenting on how to make them, thin, crispy around the edges but moist in the middle. I used my husband and daughters as my taste testers and they really liked them. I would make them for gatherings sometimes but I never thought about making them for anyone else on a large scale.

Until one day I brought them to a potluck at work. They disappeared so fast and so many people loved them that I started bringing them in every week for my workmates. One day, one of them told me” you need to sell these”. So when I offered them for sale, sure enough, I started to get orders and since everyone I worked with called me Ms. Fran, the name Miss Frans Cookies was born. But I still was not convinced that they would sell in the public domain.

So my husband encouraged me to start off at a local pop-up event as a vendor to see how they would do. We sold out of what we brought and people were amazed at how thin and good they were. I then became involved with several other local festivals and events around the Raleigh area to continue to test market them and there were positive results every time. I had so much encouragement from the people I worked with, They and my husband inspired me to keep going.

The signature cookie that started it all was the Walnut. We now have over 15 flavors to choose from. There is nothing as gratifying as watching someone take their first bite of one of Miss Frans Cookies and loving the taste and texture to the point of dancing. That is why our slogan is “Just One Bite Is Pure Delight ”

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, it has not been. I had been trying since 2013 to get started. However, there were a few major bumps along the way. There were health issues within my immediate family that had to take priority. I was still holding down a full-time job and had a few health issues of my own. Every time I thought that it was the right time to really dive into my dream, something would seem to come up that would put it on hold. When I was laid off from work in 2019 I decided that this was the time to really take off.

Then my husband became extremely ill where we were told he would probably not make it. I was going to lose him. Thank goodness he pulled through. Then, I had to have surgery that put me down for 8 weeks. During that time I planned for opening up in the fall. I had found a commercial kitchen to rent and was ready to go when my father had to have open-heart surgery and I had to leave for California for most of a month losing the kitchen. Then everything stalled again when Covid-19 hit. At that point, I thought that this was not meant to be so I decided to retire and enjoy my family. I would still make the cookies for friends and past customers who would request them but that was it.

Then one day in May 2021 my oldest daughter asked me to make a few dozen for her potluck at work. Before I knew it they were asking for orders. With the persuasion of both of my daughters, I thought maybe I should try again. We found a great partner in Jason Johnson of HUBBS kitchen as our advisor and my youngest daughter and I went into a partnership together. We have had a few hiccups along the way, but we are moving forward with getting our products on the market and into the public eye. Finally!!

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
For over thirty years, I have been a mortgage professional. I started off as a Mortgage Processor from 1986 t0 1996. In 1996 my husband and I opened a mortgage company that we ran successfully for 11 years in the Raleigh area. Since that time I worked with Wells Fargo bank as a Reverse Mortgage Specialist and then for SETERUS/IBM for 7 years as a foreclosure Specialist and Compensatory fee analyst.

I was most proud of being a Mortgage Broker, helping people to reach the dream of homeownership, and later on at IBM, the work was satisfying however the people I worked with became family. I don’t know if this necessarily set me apart from others, but I loved the people there and looked forward to starting each day off with a morning hug. Those hugs made my day and hopefully, it did the same for them.

Now, I make cookies that are just as satisfying for me as those hugs back then because I love seeing people happy after they taste one and I feel like I am giving them a huge hug when I see how much they enjoy them.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I feel that to be a true entrepreneur you have to be a risk-taker. I have taken so many risks to develop my cookie. Sometimes spent money when I really could not afford to. I had no guarantee that people would love them. There are so many cookie companies out there how did I know that mine would be successful? I didn’t.

I put money into ingredients, equipment, advertising, gas, and time not knowing if this would work. But if you believe in what your doing, do your best, do your research, ask for help where you may have a weakness, and not let fear of failure hold you back, risks can be worth every disappointment because the more you fail, the closer you are to achieving your goal and dream.

No matter what happens, I am so happy that I started back to fulfill my dream of seeing Miss Frans Cookies in stores and becoming a household choice.

Contact Info:

• Email: msfranscookies@gmail.com
• Website: www.missfranscookies.com
• Instagram: @missfranscookies
• Facebook: Miss Frans Cookies