Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Terry Nichelle White. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Terry Nichelle, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a time you helped a customer really get an amazing result through their work with you.
When I began my journey at the Saint Petersburg Pier, I presented my customers with handcrafted, traditional cashew brittle. One of my repeat customers asked if I offered a vegan brittle, my response was no but let me investigate this. I went back to the drawing board with my recipe, it took me several months to develop a vegan cashew brittle that has the appearance and taste comparable to my traditional recipe. As of today, many vegan and non vegan customers enjoy the new vegan option.
A simple suggestion from a repeat customer has allowed me to add to my product line and build a broader customer base.
Terry Nichelle, 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?
As a purveyor of delicious confectionary treats, I have always created handcrafted sweets as my way of decompressing,and a way to provide wholesome natural alternatives for my family and friends instead of preservative loaded deserts. During my time as a dedicated social worker/child protective investigator, I found my treats also helped to ease some client distress and awkwardness. Consequently, when I put my company together, I continued to express my love in using only natural and wholesome ingredients..
Son’ni Boi & Petal is very dear to me, because growing up “Son’ni Boi” was my father’s nickname and “Petal” was the nickname affectionately given to me in college. The name honors my past experiences and encourages me to love the future by providing my customers with delicious confection’s that bring a smile to their heart and soul.
What am I most proud of…..the Saint Petersburg pier was only a few months away from completion. They advertised, if you are interested in becoming a vendor, attend an interest meeting and apply. The city had a committee that selected the venders. I was still a full time social worker during this time but I was ready to leave the field. I applied and turned in several pouches of my traditional cashew brittle. Several months later, I received a congratulatory email from the Mayor stating that I was selected as one of the original 17 venders for the new pier. I saw this opportunity as “now I can give my dreams a chance”. As we say, the rest is history.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
As a year round marketplace vendor in the southern portion of the state of Florida, the temperatures get pretty hot, often with humidity combined we face triple digits. Battling the elements and keeping the quality of my cashew brittle intact has proven to be a daily challenge from April to October. To take on this battle I learned to be creative by using ice packs to preserve the quality of my cashew brittle. Next, I recently purchased a portable A/C unit for my tent with the goal of maintaining an intact product, customer comfort and in addition to promoting self care.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
Once my business was chosen, I used my own money to fund the initial start up. The organic growth of my business has allowed me to stay debt free. I have progressed from purchasing my materials retail to wholesale in bulk which has helped with my bottom line.
Contact Info:
- Website: sonniboiandpetal.com
- Instagram: sonniboi_npetal
- Facebook: sonniboiandpetal
- Linkedin: N/A
- Twitter: N/A
- Youtube: N/A
- Yelp: N/A
- Other: https://www.orlandomagazine.com/florida-travel-the-new-st-petersburg-pier/ http://theweeklychallenger.com/entrepreneurs-help-make-the-piers-marketplace-a-success/ file:///var/mobile/Library/SMS/Attachments/9b/11/1DD3EAD3-4A63-4CE1-9C76-995169213027/CASHEW%20BRITTLE.png https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2022/02/08/a-pie-with-a-two-ingredient-filling-offers-light–sweet-taste–in-the-chef-s-kitchen-with-son-ni-boi-and-petal-s-terry-white
