Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Ella Livingston, founder of Cocoa Asante, located in Chattanooga, TN, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Cocoa Asante is a chocolate company that handcrafts beautiful bonbons and bars using cacao from my home country Ghana. Our goal is to become bean to bar and source our cacao beans directly from my family's farm.
Tell us about yourself
I was born in Ghana, the country where the world's best cocoa beans are grown, and my family has been a part of the cocoa industry for several generations as farmers. Cocoa Asante is my way of extending my family's legacy to include making chocolate products in addition to cultivating the beans used. I was inspired to start the company after I experienced Nama chocolate in Tokyo, Japan. I used to travel two hours by train just so that I could purchase one box. Before then, I had never tasted chocolate so fresh and decadent that it melted in my mouth. Each bite was like an out-of-body experience. In creating Cocoa Asante, my goal is to bring to my customers fresh, exquisite chocolate that will allow them to experience what I did all those years ago.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
One of my biggest accomplishments so far is being able to share my story through a TEDx Talk.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Building my confidence as an entrepreneur was one of the biggest challenges I faced. This was because I lacked experience as a chocolatier and as a business owner. What helped was diligently working on my craft as a chocolatier and surrounding myself with a supportive entrepreneurial community that I was able to utilize whenever I needed help.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
As an entrepreneur, sometimes believing in yourself and your idea/product is the only thing that'll keep you going, especially when you are continuously told no. Please continue to be motivated, don't be afraid to ask for help, and understand that failing is an integral part of the process because it allows you to learn.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
Follow us on all social media platforms and subscribe to our YouTube channel! I drop monthly videos diving into my journey as an entrepreneur.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.cocoaasante.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cocoaasante
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cocoaasante/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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