Small Business BC

Description

Kelley Geisler always knew she would run her own business one day"”just not what kind, or where it would be. Generous with her baking, Kelley began making her signature "thin and innocent" Chocolate Peppermint Bark as Christmas gifts in 1980 for friends and family, and someone suggested, "this is so good, you should sell it." After her chocolate treats were a sell-out success at a local craft fair, Kelley knew she had found her business niche and a fun, relaxing outlet for her creativity. She retailed her specialty chocolates on the craft fair circuit and through phone orders, initially manufacturing from a home-based facility and renting a larger commercial kitchen as demand increased. Kelley had experimented with retailing her specialty chocolates at other outlets, but found that her specialty chocolate goods needed a more climate-controlled retail environment. She subsequently opened her own store, voted "Best New Business" of the year in 2008 at the Port Hardy Chamber of Commerce Gala, but found the store a tough juggling act with her additional family and business commitments. Kelley's Chocolates are currently available through phone order and can be found at craft fairs and through several local businesses, including a partnership with For Scrap Sake, a scrap booking store at the local Thunderbird Mall where customers can work on crafting projects while enjoying specialty Kelley's Chocolates treats and gourmet coffee. Kelley plans to sell her product online in the very near future through her own business website, and recently took a Small Business BC videoconferencing seminar "Getting your Business Online: A Website" toward achieving this goal. Kelley found it an easy decision to open a business in Port Hardy because her family has roots in the community, having already established a local construction company business. Kelley feels that small communities are great places to raise a family and that they offer great potential for business growth. With the current level of software and communications technology available to business owners and consumers alike, Kelley feels she has proved that you can successfully run a specialty chocolate manufacturing and retail sales business from a small town: "If you have access to a computer, you have access to every opportunity to make your business a success. And if you have a quality product and make it easy to access, you have a successful business."

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