Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chelcy Hunt. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Chelcy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the best thing you’ve ever seen (or done yourself) to show a customer that you appreciate them?
To me, the best things I’ve done for customer appreciation were my $100 grocery giveaway and school supplies giveaways. For the $100 grocery giveaway, a customer received an entry for every $25 they spent. When I reached out to the customer that won to let her know she was so happy. It came at a time when she really needed it. It made her feel good that she won but also that it came from supporting a small business.
The school supplies weren’t strictly for customers but it was one of the ways I wanted to give back as well. I was able to supply a decent amount of school supplies to ONE HUNDRED students. It meant a lot to make a difference. I may be one person but even a pebble can make a ripple in a pond.
Chelcy, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Chelcy but I go by CeCe. I started Hunt for Variety in 2016. I was working in the bookkeeping department of a family owned bank that was purchased by a larger bank. Due to the fact that they already had their own bookkeeping department, I was laid off during the merger. I spent the first few months catching up on time with my daughter. Then the thought popped into my head that I didn’t want to give anyone else the ability to fire me. I wanted to work for myself. With my work experience and degree in accounting, I believed I could do it.
The original goal of Hunt for Variety was for people to be able to find everything they were looking for in one place. The funny thing is I originally started on the food side! Over time as I added the soaps, scrubs, candles, etc, I started to remember that I hate cooking. 😂😂😂 I am extremely good at it but I’m not a fan. When you don’t love what you do it becomes work and it’s just another job. That’s not what I wanted. The more I did the other things the more I realized it was my lane. I enjoyed it and I was good at it. As time went on the amount of things I offered snowballed. I had to remove some things because it became overwhelming. I made tweaks to my catalog and now I’m happy with it.
My products tend to vary by event and season. I make a wide variety of products including teas, poop sprays, room sprays, incense, candles, wax melts, clay masks, face cleansers, lip scrubs, lip oil, lip gloss, body scrubs, bubbly bath salts, bath milks, bar soap, body oils, teeth whitener, hair masks, hair creams, perfumes, colognes and more.
The goal is to give customers high quality products that take care of them inside and out without them feeling like they have to break the bank. Customers like more natural ingredients and I like to provide nice experiences for them without the concern of “what am I putting on my skin, in my body or in the air around me?”
When it comes to what sets me apart, I try to let my Hunters judge for themselves. I take the time to heavily research ingredients, plan my products and test everything before I make a batch for sale. I have been working since I was 15 and volunteering since I was 8. My work history includes a lot of retail, customer service, childcare and mentally disabled along with the elderly. I am very customer oriented and my history helps my ability to interact with all types of people. To me you’re not just another sale, you’re a member of the Hunter family and that means you should have a pleasant experience.
I am most proud of the fact that no matter what has been thrown at me, I’ve continued to persevere. There are bad times and things aren’t perfect but I’m still fighting. It’s ok to get knocked down as long as you find the strength within yourself to get back up. I want my future Hunters to know that their products are made with love and with the goal in mind of making them feel better inside and out. My goal will always be to find a way to make their lives better. To make sure their interaction with me results in a smile because they are all appreciated so much!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
A story from my journey to show resilience would have to be the last two years. My health took a turn. It was already deteriorating but it began to take a faster decline. It was to the point that I was using a cane and could barely move around. During an MRI, it was discovered that my spinal cord was severely compressed, one of my vertebrae had slipped out of place along with some other issues. This led to the x-rays of my hips where they discovered I had stage 4 osteoarthritis, avascular necrosis, bone spurs, hip dysplasia, the ball joint had collapsed and my ball joint was popping out of the socket. For about a year I had been pushing my bone back into the socket and didn’t realize I wasn’t going crazy. I was told that I would have to have a double hip replacement. So for numerous events for years, I was going through these things while still smiling and giving amazing customer service to all of my Hunters. That’s why I’m kind to everyone. You never know what someone is going through. A smile can hide a lot. On August 26th I was packing up at an event when that really bad storm rolled in to Minneapolis. Out of nowhere before it hit, there was a lot of wind. Many vendors saw the funnel above and we’re all pretty sure a tornado touched down for a moment. My daughter and I were thrown into the fence. It was a scary and traumatizing feeling. Attempting to get to safety and you can barely walk let alone run will get to you. The last two days of the fair, I couldn’t have caffeine, anything for pain not even herbal types due to the fact that it was within the seven days before my surgery. I was and am so proud of myself for making it through that obstacle.
On March 1st I had my first hip replacement and on September 6th I had my second. This summer was very light compared to last year when I only had 17 non event days from June to August. This year I only did a few markets, the Stone Arch Bridge Festival, the Pride Festival, two county fairs and the Black Entrepreneur State Fair. A fair which I’d like to add gets a lot of unnecessary hate each year. Only 3% of small businesses are black owned compared to 85%. That’s a HUGE gap. The goal is to bridge that gap and help businesses like mine stay afloat. It definitely helped cover these few months I’ll have to take off again while healing.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
A big lesson I had to unlearn was that I was good enough and I could do whatever I set my mind to. This next part is slightly graphic but it needs to be told because others need to know there’s light at the end of the tunnel. When I was 12, my stepfather at the time grabbed me by my neck, dragged me to the bathroom mirror and told me you are nothing, you will never be so don’t even bother to try. When I was 17 I was told I would just be another high school dropout on welfare and just another statistic. I AM NOT! I have been on the news, in articles and I have done so much! I have touched many lives and Hunt for Variety continues to grow even with the challenges I have and continue to face. I had to unlearn that even if I failed at least I tried but I’m still here. I know that the only person that determines where I’ll end up is me. Yes, words can and do hurt but they need my consent to keep me down. I learned in that process that I am amazing and I deserve to take up space. That’s why I love uplifting my Hunters. We all have a story and I love making sure my part in theirs is written with kindness.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.huntforvariety.com
- Instagram: @huntforvariety
- Facebook: https://Www.facebook.com/huntforvariety
- Twitter: @huntforvariety
- Youtube: @huntforvariety
- Other: TikTok: @huntforvariety
