Lisa He lives in Orlando, FL and now runs multiple businesses, including Borderlands Bakery where she sells custom-decorated cookies and cookie decorating supplies. She also has an online course business called Baking with Borderlands, and a software business for cottage bakers called My Custom Bakes.

Lisa’s journey began back in college when she started making custom-decorated cookies, a hobby that ultimately completely changed her life. Her cookie business quickly became quite successful, leading Lisa to appear on cooking shows on The Food Network and Netflix.

Her Instagram page for Borderlands Bakery now has over 175k followers, and she is one of the top influencers not just in the cookie decorating world, but now in the cottage food industry as a whole.

This episode is Part 1 of Lisa’s interview, where she shares how she started and grew her cottage food bakery into a massive success that not only led to many opportunities, but also some very serious consequences as well.

3 Key Takeaways

• Build skills and confidence, then raise your prices: Lisa started selling her decorated cookies for just $1.50 each. Over time, as she improved her craft, refined her brand, and built trust online, she confidently raised her prices to $100+ per dozen. Her reminder: your worth grows with your experience. Don’t be afraid to charge for it!
• Marketing isn’t magic, it’s consistency: Lisa spent years showing up every day, posting content, engaging with her audience, and giving out cookie samples at local shops. That consistency helped her turn a side hobby into a full-fledged business and brand.
• Protect your peace as much as your profit: In her early years, Lisa worked nonstop, baking after her 9–5 day job and staying up till 3am. It eventually led to burnout. Her advice today? Build your business around your life, not the other way around. Sustainable success beats fast success every time.

Resources

Borderlands Bakery website (Blog| Shop | Instagram | Youtube | FB Group)

My Custom Bakes (Instagram | FB Group)

Episode 150 (features Lisa)

California Cottage Food Law

Cottage Food Pro

Host David Crabill’s Cottage Food Pro membership is a great opportunity to get personalized feedback directly from David and other members.

The membership includes monthly group calls, plus tutorials designed to grow your business without breaking the bank. Learn more at cottagefoodpro.com

CottageFoodieCon 2026

Next year, in April 2026, get ready for CottageFoodieCon — the first ever, in-person, nationwide cottage food conference!

Lisa will be co-hosting the conference and you should get your ticket now, since prices will be going up very soon.

To learn more about the conference and to get email updates when registration opens, go to cottagefoodiecon.com

Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/151