Being a good chocolatier

Well one of the many challenges of running your own business is finding time to do some of the little things…like writing a blog! Even though the summer months tend to be the slower months for chocolate sales, there is tons of planning to do for the fall and spring seasons-kind of like working at the Gap! Even though the store is brimming with all of the summer items, you are already thinking about winter and the following spring-it is enough to make one’s head spin. But, like any good Scorpio, I keep pushing on!

I have also had lots of encouragement from a friend who owns The Flirty Bride (www.theflirtybride.com) who is a blogging queen as far as I am concerned…not to mention very talented at everything she does! I just love her website.

One of the great things about writing a blog, it that I am able to be more informal than if I were drafting a marketing email to send out to my customers. I also get to share ideas and tidbits about myself that might not fit into an email newsletter. One of the interesting things I have noticed is that I will be doing something or talking with someone and will think-“that would be a great topic for my blog”…then I forget to write it down. I think I need to carry around one of those digital voice recorders that I am always seeing advertised on TV-you know, the ones where you remind yourself that you need milk, eggs, dog food, or where you parked the car.

As you will come to learn, I have a varied work background-I have worked in the banking industry (Bank of America-no, this is not a plug), telecom, retail, restaurants, coffee salesman, natural foods (Buffalo Whole Foods in SF)-yes, this is a plug! (http://buffalowholefoods.com)

I remember thinking when I worked at “Buffalo”- “geez, I would never want to run my own business”. This thought was prompted by the fact that I would see my boss, who was (and still is) the owner of the store (Rob Mitchell) working long hours, 5, 6, and 7 days a week and would think that what a horrible life!

Don’t get me wrong, working at Buffalo was one of my favorite places to work and I made many friends, some of whom I still keep in touch with. I have found myself thinking about Rob lately and comparing my management style to his and pondering the things I learned while working there. Rob always said “Thank you” when his employees left for the day or when he left for the day. I also say “Thank you” to my employees and it is nothing I thought consciously about, but something that I think was instilled to me by working for Rob.

Wow, if all business owners did this one simple thing every day, I think it would change their business. I know it sounds like a little thing, but those little things add up to a lot. Hmm-Thank You Rob!