We recently connected with Randy Page and have shared our conversation below.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My mother was an amazing cook, and I grew up on scratch cooking in North Carolina during the 70’s and early 80’s. At a very young age I wanted to emulate the great things that I watched her make, and I started playing around in the kitchen. As I grew older my interest in cooking grew, and my first job as a teenager was in a family-owned, scratch-made fast food restaurant. I progressed into the kitchens of full-service restaurants, classical French, fine dining, hotels, and country clubs, and I learned as much as I could from everyone around me. In 1988 I began my formal training at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, and I graduated in 1990. From then to now I have lived and worked in 11 states from coast to coast, and I have done just about everything one can do in the foodservice and hospitality industry. My comprehensive knowledge of food and service, combined with the work ethic that my parents taught me and the pride I take in a job done well has all led me to Cricket and Fig Chocolate! We are a very small operation almost hidden in a historic Tulsa neighborhood, but we do what we do with great emphasis on quality and service. Our little shop is immaculate, and the products we serve are consistently scratch-made from the highest quality ingredients that money can buy.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I had a friend who was self-employed and encouraged me for years to start my own business. “I don’t have any money to start a business” I would say, and his idea was that I should get as many credit cards as I possibly could while my credit was good, and build a business with the credit cards. “Believe in yourself”, he said, “and you’ll be fine. You’ll make the money you need to pay the bills”. So I did that. I do not recommend this method at all. I think that it’s horribly reckless advice. But I did cash in my 401K, and amassed about $250K in credit cards, which I used to remodel my space, buy equipment and inventory, and open my business. Then COVID came along. I got some amnesty and some grace on repaying the debt that I accrued. I got some SBA money, as well as some money that was made available to small businesses here in my local area. I learned how to manage my business tightly, and I found ways on a daily and weekly basis to stretch my thin revenue and keep the doors open. Still, business grew slowly. The grant money ran out, and I was declined for more funds. I was on the precipice of bankruptcy, and my mother passed away. What she left to me was just enough to pay off all of the credit card debt, and today my business is thriving, but more importantly debt-free!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I am a drug addict and an alcoholic. Starting in junior high school and progressing steadily with my age and means I always looked for the easy way out and the quick fix––and I spent a lot of time looking for ways out of “right here and right now”. I had some skill and some talent, and I was able to learn my craft fairly quickly. It just came naturally to me. And it turned out that I chose a profession that more or less allowed the social behavior that I had adopted. As my addiction progressed my career became less and less bright, despite my background and ability. Through a series of events and great spiritual upheaval I found sobriety and a new life in my early 40’s. At time I really felt defeated professionally, and I had a hard time seeing a future in the only career I had ever known, but it’s all I know. I didn’t have a choice! I had to dust myself off and try again. Might have to move. Might have to go into a sector of the industry that I’ve never worked in. But no matter what I had to press on and find my feet again. No one was going to do it for me. Besides, what could possibly happen that could cause my life to get any worse. I had nothing to lose. By the Grace of God I did find a great job, and that job taught me a lot of things that I’d never known. One very important lesson was to always be learning and seeking. That great turning point in my life gave me the great theme of my life, and that is this––anything can happen, you have nothing to lose, and no matter what just keep moving forward and find a way. No one is going to do it for you. I reach that fear point on a regular basis in my business and in my life. When I do I pray and I keep moving. An old friend used to say “what’s the worst thing that can happen? They can’t eat you!”

Contact Info:

• Website: CricketAndFig.com
• Instagram: CricketAndFig
• Facebook: CricketAndFig
• Other: Cricket and Fig Chocolate on Google Business and Apple Business