Down the checkout lane at the grocery store comes junior Macey Miller with a cart full of almond flour and a smile plastered on her face. Macey has found a way to turn a hobby she’s passionate about into something she can profit off of.

“I started a macaron business because I love to bake and it’s a way for me to make easy money,” Macey said. “Apparently macarons are pretty hard to make, but it’s always come easy to me.”

Macey makes the little French cookies using almond flour and a cream cheese filling. She uses almond flour as opposed to regular flour to get the perfect airy exterior for her cookie. When it comes to what flavors she makes, Macey says she makes whatever her customers request. The popularity of Macey’s macarons comes in waves.

“I’m not currently busy right now, but at Christmas time I sold around 100 dozen macarons, so I had my hands pretty full,” Macey said. “I made $2000 to $3000 around Christmas, and since I started 2 years ago, I think I’ve made over $6000 to $7000.”

Because of her avid involvement within her church, Macey has been able to promote her business by word of mouth throughout her church community. 

“I know a lot of people at my church and we all like to support each other, so I’ve been able to sell a lot that way,” Macey said. “People who have already bought my macarons also refer me to their friends and that gets the word around too.”

Macey’s parents are immensely supportive of her trade and have always encouraged her and her siblings to foster their entrepreneurial skills, hence the many lemonade stands she had when she was younger.

“My parents help me with the marketing, finances, and a lot of the baking,” Macey said. “I think more students should take a shot at starting a business because a lot of us need the skills, as it’s something that’s not really taught at school.”

The greatest obstacle that Macey has stumbled upon is time management. Having to find time to engage in her business along with spending eight hours at school and still having homework and activities to devote her time to is the most challenging part. But nonetheless, she continues to stick it out.

“I’m still figuring out where I want to go to college, and ironically enough, I want to do something completely unrelated to baking,” Macey said. “I plan on going into international relations, and that also involves a lot of business application skills, so my current endeavors help me get a better grasp of what I’m going to be doing in the future.”

Follow Maceys_Macaroons on Instagram for business inquiries.