The Side Effect

    

     It's just amazing. The paperwork, thought and planning that one must go through to launch a business.  There's the LLC  (Limited Liability Corporation) paperwork, business insurance, business license,  health inspection, Food Handlers certification, trademark filing, truck registration, truck insurance, truck storage, and minor truck modifications.  On top of that there is equipment purchases which of course requires "shopping" for the best price and value.  There are marketing plans, marketing related purchases, business cards, business stationary, business equipment, and office supplies.  There are tax considerations, tax implications, and taxation of my brain . . . . . . .   Sound like a lot?  I haven't even scratched the surface.  So much to consider, plan for, and implement.
     OK; let me break it down a little.  We have to put Baby Fat in storage, because our Homeowners Association doesn't allow commercial vehicle's to be parked in our driveway. Well that's not a problem, because we pretty much knew that, going into this.  We cant put Baby Fat into storage unless we have proof of insurance.  Insurance for our 1984 commercial vehicle $265.00 up front and then $95.00 a month.  Storage fee is $119.00 per month.  OK  so not a problem, but think about this;  Between insurance and storage we're paying over $200.00 a month.  Our business plan calls for our first event to take place at the end of October.  So lets do some math; $200.00 a month for 5 months, equals $1000.00 and we haven't even sold a single cookie.  I've eaten a few but those don't count.  Add in all those other expenses referenced above and your head starts to spin faster than a lime in a margarita machine. 
        I call my wife, the "Reluctant Entrepreneur." If there was ever a person less inclined to start a business it's Donna.  Her lack of desire has nothing to do with laziness, a skill deficit, or fear of failure, it's just that the "business" part of this endeavor is not where she finds her challenge or reward .  If she could park Baby Fat on a corner and give these cookies away that is what she would do.  The thrill for her or the passion comes from people enjoying her culinary creations.  Like a great artist or Broadway performer, or talented pianist, the "thrill"  has nothing to do with money; it has nothing to do with business at all. 
    What she does with these cookies is an art.  You can't describe a My Big Fat Cookie cookie any more than you can describe Andrea Boccelli's voice, or the smell of a rose, or the sound of a baby cooing to someone who has not experienced these things.  You see for Donna it's about the way the flavors all work together.  It's about the texture of the cookie and the gooey feel of the confections on the pallet.  Its about the aroma and the appeal to the eye.  Its about creating a unique flavor or flavors which lead to a sensory experience so profound that it defies description.  For her, its about all those things coming together in one explosive moment of flavor which overloads the brains ability to maintain molecular control .  It is in this instant; this absolute moment when the Brain overloads where we begin to understand her motivation and her art. During this moment of a moment something happens which can only be described as a........ tastegasm!
     This is why Donna does what she does.  Her happiness comes when a patron buys a cookie, tastes it, and then buys three more.  Trust me; it's not about the money going into the cash register, its about the joy she was able to bring to someone else.  For Donna its about the taste and flavor experience.  The money? Well that' just a side effect.    Do you need a Big Fat Cookie?

What the Tongue Tells the Brain about Taste

1. Marion E. Frank and
2. Thomas P. Hettinger
   

The tongue translates a chemical taste signal into a neural code that the brain can interpret. How it does that is still a mystery, but the key elements are known. Specific molecular taste receptors on taste receptor cells located in the taste buds bind taste stimuli. Through complex transduction schemes and synaptic activation of neurons, stimulus information is sent to the brain by peripheral neurons. There is a close correspondence between the stimulation of particular types of taste receptor cells, the activation of classes of peripheral taste nerve fibers and the evoked taste qualities. In humans, these perceptions are defined as sweet, umami, salty, sour and bitter. Incomplete homologies may exist for other species. The tongue tells the brain about taste quality, but the brain bypasses the quality assignment in brainstem reflexes and assesses the qualities for hedonic value.