Kristin Gambaccini knows it's all about presentation when you're trying to sell a product, and her cookies are no exception. The 25-year-old Akron mother of three is the owner of The Cookie Mama, a local licensed home bakery that's been in business for four months. She said the name came from her 8-year-old son, who always calls them ''my mama's cookies.'' She and her husband, Ed, also have a 2-year-old and a 1-year-old. Gambaccini said she started baking as a child. ''It was the one thing I knew I was allowed to do in the kitchen without any questions.'' She said she started with one basic sugar-cookie recipe but added twists throughout the years to develop her own. Since her family prefers chewy cookies, that's what she makes instead of the crunchy ones. ''I know my cookies are good, but I'm not good at decorating them. Baking has always been my thing, but putting fancy frosting and decorations on the things I baked was not my forte.'' Her husband said it was the numerous calls his wife received from family and friends asking her to bring her cookies to every gathering that made him suggest selling them. ''When he suggested I start selling them, I just laughed,'' Kristin Gambaccini said. ''Yeah, right, I'm going to sell cookies because I don't have anything else to do.'' But she said she could tell he was serious. ''Everyone loves her cookies, and they're the best I've ever had,'' her husband said. ''So I thought, let's try it, why the heck not, and it would bring in a little more income without her giving up time with the kids.'' Kristin Gambaccini said the more she thought about it, she liked the idea. ''It was something I wanted to do for me. It's just me and the kids a lot at home so I don't have a lot of social time,'' Kristin Gambaccini said. ''I wanted something flexible that I could do when the kids were napping or asleep at night. Something that didn't place a lot of limitations on me with the kids and something that would be up to me as to where I wanted to go with it.'' Her family is a good taste barometer. ''I'm the guinea pig; when she tries variations on her recipes I get to try them first,'' Ed Gambaccini said. ''I give her the thumbs up or thumbs down. She will let her mother or a friend taste them next, but she is too self-critical to go with her own taste buds; nothing is ever good enough.'' Kristin Gambaccini said it took several months to research how to start a home-based company. ''It was a little easier because Ed is a science teacher and he loves that type of work, starting with the objective and developing the idea. He's a big planner,'' she said They started with the Internet. ''You can find everything there,'' she said. ''I learned what not to do because people wrote about their mistakes and got some good ideas on what does work. ''I needed to find my niche.'' While clicking on various Web sites, she also discovered ''photo cookies'' — printing photos and putting them on cookies for decoration. She invested in a special printer with edible ink and frosting sheets. ''That was it. I didn't have to worry about fancy
decorating any more, and it was a way to personalize my cookies,'' she said. ''Who doesn't enjoy seeing the face of a loved one? The smile on someone's face when they see their special person on the top of a cookie is heartwarming, and the look on a child's face when they see their own picture on a cookie is priceless.''

The couple planned their own marketing strategy. ''We tried to do things that were sensible and reasonable,'' she said.

Although Kristin Gambaccini said she is not computer savvy, she created her own Web site: http://www.mycookiemama.com.

Her father-in-law is an accountant, so he helps with the books.

They put magnetic signs on their van doors and got a yard sign that circulates throughout the family. A friend works at a print shop, so they got a discount on the T-shirts she wears when she makes deliveries.

''I want people to know who I am when I go to their door,'' she said. ''I'm hesitant to answer the door if I don't know the person. For me, the shirts help for peace of mind.''

The couple also placed a few classified ads in several papers to see if people would respond.

People called and orders started coming in.

''Word of mouth is really our best advertisement, and my husband and family are really good at that,'' she said.

Her mother suggested she do more than just sugar cookies, so she expanded her products to include peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies, snickerdoodles and buckeyes. She also bakes brownies, cakes and cupcakes.

She has taken orders for Rice Krispie treats and banana bread.

Each cookie is wrapped individually to keep it moist. Gambaccini said she can take rush orders but prefers a week's notice.

She bakes for birthday and holiday parties, weddings, showers, anniversaries and get-togethers. For businesses, she can add a company name or logo as decoration.