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

Mary, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

When I hit those early years of adulthood, I knew I wanted to pursue entrepreneurship of so kind. I love cooking and baking actually became a passion of mine. I was baking French macarons, cakes, and pastries at this time and wanting to open up a bakery myself. A family member of mine gave me the opportunity to take over their lease at 3500 East Colfax and I was to do anything I could have imagined. And as I was seeking a opportunity, I was given a chance to start my very own business on the streets of Colfax. The first vision was to start a bakery but because the cost was so high, my savings was not enough to allow me to pursue this dream. However, as my hopes were low, a family friend presented to me the idea of Thai-style rolled ice cream. “Why not try this new trend right here in Denver?” This trend was booming on social media at that time and it would be the perfect start-up since our sweet game in Colorado was not strong. We drew out a plan, found an architect, and started construction. After months and months of anticipation, we finally opened our Colfax location on July 16, 2017 with a 2-hour long waiting line to give our ice cream concoctions a try for the very first time in Denver.

So that is where it all started. Thanks to a family friend and we (as in everyone that has helped me along the way from family to friend, to suppliers and customers) have created a successful, known ice cream destination.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hello everyone,

My name is Mary Nguyen and I am the owner of Milkroll Creamery in Denver and Aurora. At the start of this entrepreneurship, I was college student enrolled in Health Care Management at Metropolitan State University of Denver, Colorado. I had no experience in entrepreneurship but was willing to take a risk to follow my dream. I loved cooking, especially baking but ended up rolling ice cream. This unique business allows me to provide the community with a new vision of what is true ice cream. Fresh ice cream made from start to finish. It sure is a show! I still get BUTTERFLIES when I see children smile or is at awe when we are making ice cream right in front of their eyes.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Know your cliental and know what they want to see from you. At the start of Milkroll, I personally did not use much of social media because I didn’t want to publicize my life. However, for the sake of the business, I started to learn more tools and skills to help me build up an audience on social media. What I would tell others when working with social media is know what service or good you are selling and who it will attract. With Milkroll, in the beginning, we wanted to attract the younger generations, mainly teenagers, that are going out and about to explore the world. But over time, our audience increase through word of mouth and now we have two-years-old up to eighty-years-old coming into our ice cream shop to experience this new style of ice cream. You need to start somewhere and then learn who your actual audience is–which can change over time–, from there you can change your marketing strategies to cater towards that group of people.

Another aspect of building an audience on social media is to provide something that people who scroll through pages and pages of different account, but still will stop and be at awe with your post. Making your pictures pretty, colorful, eye-catching are keys to success. But always make sure your good or service is up to standards, because even if it looks great but when customers purchases it and are unsatisfied then the word of mouth to spread a negative way.

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

From my perspective, I feel like that aesthetics of my good has helped build my reputation. Because not only is it a cool experience to see someone make your own personalized ice cream right before your eyes, the taste and looks of the ice cream creations gives us a double thumbs up which then spreads through word of mouth.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: instagram.com/milkrollcreamery/
• Facebook: facebook.com/milkrollcreamery