Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Danielle White, Co-Owner of Chocolatay Confections, located in Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
At Chocolatay Confections, we handcraft chocolates and confections using traditional candy-making techniques and mindfully sourced ingredients. Our customers range from children to great-grandparents who love chocolate. We also have a considerable number of customers seeking peanut-free, all-natural, ethically-made chocolates and confections for personal enjoyment or special events and celebrations.
Tell us about yourself
My name is Danielle White, and I am the Chief Chocolate Officer and co-owner of Chocolatay Confections in Chapel Hill, NC. Chocolatay was born as a response to my eldest child having a severe peanut allergy. Over the years, our company has evolved into a confectionery that makes a variety of chocolates that are peanut free and made with local, organic, and ethically sourced ingredients. At the beginning of this journey, my motivation was to be a source of chocolates for individuals with peanut allergies. Today what motivates me each day to do what I do is my love of chocolate, people, and celebrations. Through chocolate, I found community as well as professional and personal growth.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
As a business owner, my biggest accomplishment is to be the recipient of three Good Food Awards (Coconut Bliss Bar 2022, Coffee Caramel Bar 2021, and Sunflower Crunch Cup 2018). Being the recipient of GFA is an incredible accomplishment because the Good Food Foundation is a nationwide organization that honors social and environmental responsibility as well as craftsmanship and flavor. When we started Chocolatay Confections, we had a very limited understanding of the sustainable food movement and the importance of knowing where your ingredients come from. Throughout the years, we have made it our mission to put our energy and resources into our ingredient sourcing and our craft, and it is an incredible honor to be recognized for it by this foundation.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
One of the hardest things that come with being a business owner is being confronted with the widely accepted misconception of a work-life balance. Life and work do now exist in a vacuum. A healthier alternative to this belief, which only feeds insecurities and self-doubt, is to strive for a balanced life with an acceptance of the reality that our energy and time will sometimes lean more towards work and at other times more towards our personal life, depending on what is going on at that particular time. Being a business owner requires a considerable amount of fluidity and compromise.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
The first tip is that self-care is a must; I cannot stress this enough. In order to be able to meet the demands of starting, running, and growing a business, we must ensure that we are mentally, emotionally, and physically taking care of ourselves.
The second tip is to be very intentional with who you partner or do business with. Dominique Ansel once said, "Sometimes the people you do business with are more important than the business you do."
The third tip is to have a North Star, a mission/value/purpose that can serve as a guiding principle when making decisions about your business; this will help keep you in alignment, especially when faced with difficulties or setbacks.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.chocolatayconfections.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chocolatayconfections/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chocolatayconfections/
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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