Eleni Gianopulos likes baking cookies—always has. But she never imagined that her whimsical treats shaped like designer shoes and baby carriages would morph into a multi million-dollar business. The sweet secret to her success: “I didn’t overthink it,” says Eleni, who had worked briefly in the publishing industry after college. “Sometimes people get stopped in the process by too much planning, not enough doing. I wanted my own business, but I didn’t have a long-term plan.”

Get Eleni's fudgy walnut cookie recipe and more here! It turns out she didn’t need one. Eleni launched her company out of her kitchen in 1996, five years after she married Randall Gianopulos, a Wall Street trader. She turned a profit almost immediately. Her journey over the past 14 years has been one of managing the growth of her unique dessert business, Eleni’s New York (elenis.com). In recent years she happily adjusted her 12-hours-a-day, six-days-a-week schedule to accommodate the highly anticipated arrival of her two children, William and Sophia. Today, Eleni oversees 65 employees (including an icing manager) who work in her headquarters in Long Island City, her store in Chelsea Market and a new shop on the Upper East Side. With celebrities like Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas serving her cookies at their parties, it’s not surprising that Eleni’s company keeps growing. “I wasn’t scared to try,” she says. “I took a small first step, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t worry.”

It All Began with Baklava Eleni didn’t start out baking her signature sugar cookies. At first, she wanted to sell baklava, the sweet, layered pastry, using her mother’s traditional recipe. Her mother had taught Greek cooking on a local TV program in Oakland, CA, and, says Eleni, “I learned from her that food could be a career.” So she launched her own by whipping up some baklava along with a batch of oatmeal cookies and bringing them to a neighborhood gourmet shop in New York City to see if there was interest. The baklava didn’t sell, but the cookies took off. “People don’t eat baklava every day,” Eleni realized, “but they do eat cookies.” She soon developed more recipes; along the way, art classes—including color theory, drawing and computer graphics—helped her evolve to her unique sugar cookies cut into fanciful shapes. If she imagines a cookie shape that doesn’t exist—say, designer gowns, school pencils or umbrellas—her father makes the mold. “I have a creative father. He works for free—always has,” she says, laughing. “We have a lot of fun.” Eleni’s now features more than 1,000 cookie designs—with a distinctive icing palette. “We blend our colors like a fine artist,” she explains. The result: baby pinks, turquoises and rich reds you don’t typically see on cookies. “I love being in charge of the whole operation,” says Eleni, who brings her Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Chester, to the office every day. “I have worked in every capacity of the business, and I’m never bored.” Along with her enjoyment, though, is an acute sense of responsibility for her employees—a feeling heightened in the current economic downturn. “I truly care about my staff,” she says. “They’re family.”

With Kids Comes Flexibility Being the boss meant her maternity leave with William “just really didn’t happen,” she says. But she did reduce her work schedule to four days a week after he arrived. “We waited a long time to have a baby, and the pleasure now is that I can be there for William and Sophia,” she says. Her advice to women thinking about putting off starting a family: Don’t wait. “If you feel torn between your career and having kids, and you have the means,” she urges, “have children when you’re younger.” When it was time to find a caregiver for William, Eleni drew on her business hiring experience. “I interviewed forty people,” she says, “and the person we selected, Ewa, is still with us after three years.” She wanted to find a good personality fit. “Many people have the right skills, but you can’t get along with them all,” she says. “You don’t want to drive each other crazy.” Having kids has streamlined Eleni’s style. Before, she tended to micromanage, but now she focuses on managing her schedule efficiently. “I have a finite amount of time with my kids each day,” she says, “so meetings run faster.”

It Begins and Ends with Family Most workdays, Eleni makes a breakfast of yogurt and berries, or pancakes and scrambled eggs in cookie-cutter shapes. “William doesn’t eat that much, so I let him decorate his breakfast with jelly,” she says. Eleni and Randall drop off their son at preschool on their way to work, while Ewa stays with Sophia. Back home in the evening, Randall steps up in the kitchen. “He’s an amazing cook,” Eleni crows, citing favorites like soy-marinated salmon, lemon-stuffed chicken, roast turkey and creative pastas. Then there are games, baths and bedtime stories. “My children help me keep my sense of humor,” Eleni says. “If William doesn’t want to get dressed, I’ll say, ‘Let’s put on your magic sweater.’ I make a game out of it.” At home, as at work, Eleni’s ability to find the fun is a recipe for sweet success.

Eleni On Starting Your Own Business Do your homework. Research your product, the marketplace and why your product will be successful. Be realistic.

Accept the risks. You can’t launch your own business without taking some risks. That’s part of it. You also have to make sacrifices. But don’t be afraid to try.

Make a mom-friendly choice. If I were starting today, I wouldn’t go into baking or manufacturing because they’re so time-intensive. With a service company—like a children’s clothing boutique— there’s an end to your day.

Shore up your support. You want to have a good support network standing by. This could be a husband, friend, parent or mentor. You’ll need moral support. It helps to have someone going through the ups and downs with you.

Eleni’s Picky-Eater tips (Inspired by her son, William)

• Incorporate fun shapes. I use cookie cutters and cookie molds to shape scrambled eggs on toast or cheese sandwiches into perfect circles or hearts.  
• Let kids decorate their food. We have a children’s pastry squeeze bottle that’s used to teach kids about decorating. We put in ketchup instead of frosting. William squeezes dots of ketchup all over chicken or meatballs. He can put sprinkles on his broccoli if it gets him to eat it all. It’s win-win.  
• Encourage helping hands. My son uses an eggbeater with water to “help cook.” He likes to feel involved. Give them control. William eats more when he chooses what he wants to eat and decorates to his tastes.