Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Vicdaly Williams, CEO of Chocolates Dalila, located in Katy, TX, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We specialize in making exceptional, high-quality chocolate, from bean to bar, using ethically sourced cacao. Our customers are those who appreciate and seek high-quality products without additives and artificial flavors and value knowing where their food comes from.
Tell us about yourself
My story starts back in 2002 when my husband and I moved to the US from Venezuela with our newborn son. At the time, I was 21 and didn't speak English, but I was full of energy and determined to succeed in this country and break through any barrier in my way. After my husband left the military in 2007, I started going to college while raising our son and daughter, who was born a year earlier. I graduated in 2012 with a degree in Chemical Engineering and began my first career in the oil and gas industry for a large corporation.
As we built our life here in the US, the situation was not so great back in my home country, and the economic situation continued to deteriorate year after year, which led to the latest chapter in my story as a Chemical Engineer turned Chocolate Maker. My business, Chocolates Dalila, was born in late 2018, and we started operation in January 2019. The inspiration for the business came about after my husband and I traveled to Venezuela in the summer of 2018 to visit family and friends.
For my husband, it was his first time traveling to the country in six years, and he hadn't witnessed firsthand the challenges the country was experiencing. The trip was so impactful that we started contemplating various business ideas that would include Venezuela as the focus and the goal being how we could create a positive economic impact and fund outreach programs. We started brainstorming the products that Venezuela is best known for and ultimately decided that we would make craft chocolate, from bean to bar, using cacao we would import from Venezuela, and at that moment, Chocolates Dalila was born!
Venezuela is known around the world for its fine cacao. We purchase raw cacao from Venezuela at a fair price, roast our own beans, and stone grind our cacao for a smooth, high-quality chocolate bar. Our company motto is "Let's make the world a little better one bar at a time." Since starting the business, we have funded several outreach projects, such as school supplies for children, athletic equipment, food, and medicines.
At the time we started the business, I was still working a full-time job in the oil and gas industry. It wasn't until the third quarter of 2021 that I decided to take a leap of faith and make Chocolates Dalila my full-time job after 10+ years of working in corporate America. I am now pursuing my purpose of growing the business so we can impact more people and continue to positively impact the cacao community in the area we source our cacao from.
We have been very fortunate in that we have developed a great relationship with our cacao producer in Venezuela, Cacao Marquez, and have a fantastic community that supports our business, especially in Tomball, TX, where we really got our start at the local farmers market. I am passionate about the craft chocolate business, and every day I am turning the wheels in my brain, thinking of new ways I can make the business grow. Every day I try to be better than the day before and continuously strive to better myself and the business.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
My biggest accomplishment as a business owner so far was opening our first store in Barcelona, Venezuela. This was a huge effort and mostly coordinated from my home in the Houston, TX area.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
One of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner is taking time to work on the business and less time working in the business. We now have one employee, which allows us to focus less on production and have more time to do strategic business planning.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
The three tips I'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today are to not let your fears stop you, get out of your comfort zone and let the world know about your business, and most importantly, go ahead and get started now, don't put off working on your dreams.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.chocolatesdalila.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chocolates.dalilaofficial/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chocolates.dalila/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vicdalywilliams/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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