We were lucky to catch up with Nicole Stevens recently and have shared our conversation below.
Nicole, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love for you to start by sharing your thoughts about the pros and cons of family businesses.
I’ve personally built my entire business around family. My 10 year son, Joesepi, is a huge part of Dipped Chocolate Creations. He attends every event with me, assists tremendously with setting up our event spaces, and stocks stores with me. He now has his food handlers card, so he dips many of the pretzels we sell, and being perfectly honest, he’s a far better salesperson than I am! When we’re out and about, it isn’t uncommon for him to have a pocketful of our business cards to hand out. My parents have been, and continue to be a great help as well. They help me with making my labels and putting them on candy boxes. They also have helped in a huge way by purchasing my candy refrigerators for me. They even place orders of their own, and insist on paying for them. They have continued to offer their support every step of the way.
While my business is often thought of as “Nicole’s business”, it is really OUR business. I couldn’t have started it, or kept it going, without them. They each are a huge part of my success.
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.
When my son was very small, I taught myself to make chocolate candies and other treats. As a single mother, it was a way for me to make the extra income we needed. I kept this going as a side project up until last year. I really wanted to have more quality time with my son and more time for my faith. I quit my full-time job, and on May 1, 2022, Dipped Chocolate Creations became an official business. We make chocolate candies, candy bars, dipped pretzels, graham crackers, and marshmallows. We also recently started to sell baklava from my Yiayia’s recipe.
We’ve met many wonderful people along the way that have been so willing to help us and give us opportunities.
Our local winery, Antelope Valley Winery, has been amazing to us. We sell at their farmers market each Saturday morning.
We’ve also been blessed to meet Brenda of Pretty Little Poppy Marketplace. She was so willing to give me advice and brainstorm with me. She gave Dipped Chocolate Creations a place in her store and so much more.
We also sell in our local Antelope Valley Mall in another store named Just the Little Things Boutique. They’ve also been so great to us, and provided is with opportunities we wouldn’t otherwise have.
What I’m proud of is the relationships I’ve been able to create with my customers. This isn’t just a business to me, it’s what I’ve built for my son and I, so the support of customers means much more than dollar signs. I appreciate them, and I know they feel that.
What’s been the best source of new clients for you?
For me, being able to meet people face to face has been very helpful. By doing pop-up events, meet and greets, farmers markets, ect, I’ve been able to expand my customer base. When they meet the person behind the logo, they see they are doing more than buying a box of candy. They are supporting a single mother, a local member of their community.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I think face to face interactions at events and consistency in my products have contributed to my reputation. My customers know where to find my products, they know the quality they can expect. Social media has also been helpful. Through live videos and posts, it’s very clear this is a family business with my son, and that we are very hard workers.
The consistency in everything we do definitely has built our reputation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://g.co/kgs/DLN2mX
- Instagram: Dipped Chocolate Creations
- Facebook: Dipped Chocolate Creations
- Other: [email protected]