Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Dave Burton, founder of The Capital Candy Jar, located in Washington, DC, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are Washington DC's hometown candy company. We make a wide assortment of candies and chocolate in our kitchen on Capitol Hill. Our customers are anyone who loves candy. After school each day, our store is flooded with children spending their lunch money on sweets. On evenings and weekends, we have families stop by the store for ice cream and sit out on our patio to enjoy it.
We also sell our products wholesale to hundreds of gourmet grocers and gift shops all over the US. We do a strong corporate business with organizations looking for special treats to give to their customers and employees for special occasions or events. We ship our products all over the US with the long-term goal of becoming a national brand.
Tell us about yourself
I started my first candy company when I was 14 years old. My mother gave me a recipe to make lollipops, which I sold at school each day. After a few months, I was the richest kid in school until the principal shut down my business because I took too much revenue away from the vending machines. Several years ago, I was looking for a career change. I remembered how profitable candy had been for me when I was a kid, so I decided to try it again, and I haven't looked back.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Navigating the business through all of the challenges of Covid-19 has definitely been the biggest accomplishment to date. It was a tough two years for many small businesses, and there was a point when I thought that we would be forced to shut down. We just kept pivoting and pursuing every opportunity we could find. We got creative in how we did business, and we survived. Now we have entirely new business channels, and the old ones are coming back too, and that's really helping the business to thrive.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Managing the stress and anxiety of knowing the buck stops with you. When sales are slow and cash flow is tight, you've got to figure out how you're going to pay your employees and your other bills. You don't have a boss or larger company to fall back on. You have to figure out the solutions yourself.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- You're going to be working incredibly long hours, so make sure to find elements of your job that you really enjoy.
- Get as much training in accounting and some sort of spreadsheet and reporting software as you can. Numbers are the heart of every business. If you don't have visibility to them and understand them, you're going to be in trouble very quickly.
- Hire good people. Your life will be so much less stressful if you have good people you can rely on to help you execute your goals.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://capitalcandyjar.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/capitalcandyjar/
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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