Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chantelle Marie. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Chantelle, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

” You are going to sell slushies”? ” A slushie bus”? These are the comments I heard when I first told a few people about my idea! Each time I would respond with” Yep, and it’s going to be so cool”! No one really believed in my vision when I first started out. When I attended college at North Carolina A&T I was a sports reporter and media host, killing the journalism game! I should be doing that, not dreaming of making slushies! I grew up in a middle class family with traditional beliefs. You go to school, graduate, get a good job, and be a good person! And I did exactly that. I was offered a job with Southwest Airlines, and two years into my airline career I was presented with the opportunity to work for the Atlanta Falcons! My life was amazing, free flights and I’m working my dream job in sports! One day I remember receiving accolades, gift cards and more for my great work performance with the Atlanta Falcons, to a year and a half later being told that the position I was working so hard for all this time would be given to someone else. I was devastated, I felt blind sited, most importantly I felt used, especially when I saw who they gave it to. It was like a heart break, because I couldn’t understand why they didn’t chose me. Strike one. I still had my job at Southwest Airlines then covid hit! Everyone shutdown except essential workers and the airlines. My work load increased, customers were meaner, supervisors were under a new pressure that would pour down on us employees. I began to hate my job, I felt like I was in a hamster wheel daily. I eventually caught Covid-19 during Christmas of 2020 and my job gave me hell about being off and threatened to fire me. I kept thinking to myself ” Ater a 5 year commitment you are penalizing me for being sick? This can’t be life”. That was strike two and three. I decided that if I was going to die, the last thing I wanted to be doing was building up another corporation that was not mine! I prayed for months, I began going to therapy just to help me understand why I was so scared to make myself happy and bet on me. A few months passed and I said ” I’m going to do it, I am going to quit my job and start my business.” All my life I need a safety net, multiple jobs incase anything ever happened to me, but this time I chose no net. Just faith. I left my job, my financial stability, health benefits,401k, free flights, and most importantly my comfort zone. This was one of the scariest decisions I had ever made, and I’ve done some wild things! But this was the risk that changed my life, I took a chance on myself for once. I am going to create something no one can take away from me. There were days that I did not sleep while putting my idea together. This plan had to work, I didn’t have a backup plan. I took the last bit of savings that I had purchased my bus, machines, and everything that I needed to make it fully functional slushie bus! Don’t get me wrong, I’ve almost drowned a couple of times on this journey, but I’ve always resurfaced! This risk is definitely worth the reward.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Growing up I would use all the little quarters I had to go to the sno-ball stand up the street on the weekends. Although they had about 15 flavors to chose from i would get the same three! I fell in love with sno-balls, I can honestly say I had an addiction as a child. As I got older my mom would make us virgin daiquiris in the blender which created a new obsession!! Once I turned 21 I took a trip down to New Orleans with my mom and aunt, and on every corner that had these big daiquiri machines inside the restaurants and bars I had never seen anything like it. So the seed was planted in my head many year before I could act on it.

I am a creative with a servant’s heart. When I thought of the way I wanted people to feel about my business and products, I knew that I wanted to create an experience. The food truck industry is where you will find very unique individuals. These business owners serve products that represent their passions. Your truck/ mobile unit/product represents you! So I knew that I wanted something that screams” This is so Chantelle”! Fun, cool, colorful, party girl so instead of the standard truck I wanted people to feel like they are walking up to an attraction, therefore I bought a bus! Just like the party busses in New Orleans! My bus is what sets me apart first, then what I serve. Where else in the world can an ice cold tropical flavored slushie come to you? No where! I chose to serve what people don’t often have access to! Each cup is served with a smile, great taste & cool decor.

If you ever see my bus in person you will see the imperfections of when I painted it myself. I am so proud of that because it’s a part of my dedication story. I couldn’t afford a real paint job so I did what I could to get my business started and sometimes that’s just what you have to do!

I want my followers to know… sometimes you only have a little bit to start but use the little bit and JUST START!!

Can you open up about a time when you had a really close call with the business?

This past year I had just invested more into my bus and had a big event coming up in five days…. I decided to park my bus at my apartment complex in the garage where all the other over sized vehicles would park. I got a call at 6am front the Maintenace staff, asking me to come down to my bus. Nobody calls that early if its good news! I knew in my heart that something was wrong, when I got down to by bus the Maintenace staff was just standing there near the driver door, I noticed the glass was shattered. I thought “Well, we can fix that”. It was weird because there was a pillow inside, so i figured a homeless person crawled in or something. But when I walked inside my bus I realized I had been robbed. My hear dropped, they not only stole everything off my bus, they also trashed it. I had just paid $1000 for a brand new generator. GONE. Machines broken, trash, glass everywhere. I just cried, I was so hurt by these actions of these criminals. It made me hate Atlanta and so much more. I cleaned the bus and just cried. I felt so violated. They took my means of making money and destroyed it. It took months to get back on track.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

My reputation is helped by the amazing people that help me operate! Customers that I serve get smile, laughs and good drinks. If something is not to their liking I will not stop until I find something they do enjoy or give them money back! My staff – I connect with youth couselors & they send me amazing youth that are not always exposed to positivity. My family and friends come to help operate the bus and they give great customer service!
My product tastes great
all of these things contribute to the great experience people have when they come to the bus and this has helped build my reputation.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.coolcharliesdrinks.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ci-xjBIA-BN/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link