Jacek Chocolate offers me a chance to be fashionable.  Yes, me!  Fashionable!  While fashion to me has generally meant getting a new pair of jeans or updating my t-shirt collection or the truly  fashionable art of draping a  Pashmina over a t-shirt for that wow factor, I DO absolutely love  anything chocolate.  White, milk, dark, filled, unfilled – it doesn’t matter, it’s all wonderful!  And  now, simply by eating chocolate, I too, can be fashionable! A love of haute couture and fine  chocolate were combined when Jacqueline Jacek began the business of Jacek Chocolate.

Jacqueline’s chocolate collections are exquisite (not to mention absolutely delicious!), they are  introduced several times a year and I’m sure each collection will never be repeated.  And so, I am  introduced to fashion in a medium I can relate to.

We planned to meet in a local cafe and I arrived first.  I looked around, and then asked the person at  the till whether Jacqueline was there yet.  “Oh no, but you’ll know her as soon as she walks in, she is  always dressed exquisitely!”, I was told.  And she was.  Instantly recognizable.  Utterly fashionable.   And yet, completely approachable and instantly likeable…kind of like chocolate!  She also came  bearing samples, a guarantee that we would get along just fine (I may have mentioned to her before we met that I would probably work for chocolate if given the opportunity!).

I had a lot of questions for Jacqueline, and I regretted not having a recorder, because I’m sure we  talked about great ideas that I didn’t manage to get noted down.  So here, in a quick overview, are  some of the things I learned from Jacqueline.

It is imperative to follow a dream.

It’s perfectly possible to have a great job and be doing  interesting work until it’s time to follow the dream (and sometimes you can do both), but it is also  unlikely that you will plan ahead financially for the dream while working.

Jacqueline had a good paying job that was interesting, and she has made really tough  choices between doing interesting and lucrative work for someone else, or following a dream that  has no guarantees.  While doing that interesting lucrative work, fashion was a high priority and very  little money was set aside for chocolate-covered dreams.

No matter how much planning goes into a dream there will always be surprises.

Jacqueline planned a lot of aspects for her business, but when I asked if there was  anything she would have done differently she said she would have appreciated having more  accounting education so she understood the numbers better.  In hindsight, she doesn’t think she  could have done any better in forecasting her financials, because the reality is never going to be the  same as the plan.

Entrepreneurs tend to show their “true colors” early.

Jacqueline’s first entrepreneurial venture was Jax Hats.  She was about eleven, and  designed and sold enough hats to pay for her first sewing machine.  A true entrepreneurial approach:  ideas plus research plus action equals goal reached.  She always knew she wanted to be a business  owner, and she has always loved chocolate.

Do things because you love to do them, regardless of whether you will ever use it to earn money.

Jacqueline trained to be a chocolatier while working at other jobs, simply because she  loved working with it.  It seems natural now to have turned this into a business, but at the time she  chose to simply learn how to do something she was interested in.

Support in the form of family, friends and partners is essential.

Jacqueline’s family and friends have pitched in with time and ideas and emotional support  while Jacqueline was getting started, and they continue to offer encouragement and support freely.   Well, why not?  There’s chocolate to be sampled!  Actually, I don’t know whether they work for  chocolate, but still, another good lesson.  It never hurts to spoil your supporters a little bit!

Jacqueline has also partnered with other business owners and they offer support to each  other in various ways.  Cafe Haven in Sherwood Park, where we met, offers Jacek Chocolate as  part of their menu as well as selling the chocolates in their distinctively elegant packages.  Cafe  Haven is a part of Original Fare, a group of restaurants in the Edmonton area that have officially  created a partnership of sorts.  I admire them for the work they can do together, and Cafe Haven’s  owners have extended that sense of partnership to Jacqueline.

No matter how many hours you think you’ll need, a few more hours would always be nice!

Jaqueline works a lot of hours in a day, especially just before launching a new collection.   She has a strong schedule that works for her, and there is always time for family, friends, and  physical activity.  While there are days (and nights!) when she works more hours than what might  be good for her, the result is well worth it.

Mentoring is good.

Jacqueline is excited to be training someone this fall to become an integral part of her  business.  She has found someone who shares similar interests, has a strong background and ability to  do what Jacqueline needs, and will eventually be a huge asset for the business.  Jacqueline believes  mentoring is an important part of success for both mentor and mentee.

The entrepreneurial lifestyle includes a different budget.

When I asked how her lifestyle has changed since becoming a business owner, Jacqueline  said she is much more conscious of how they shop and how they entertain themselves.  She is far  more conscious of where their money is spent and they have cut back on their spending significantly  in many ways.  When I asked if it was difficult to do this, she said it really wasn’t.  She added that  she is really happy every day, because she is living her dream.  Money (or lack of it) is not an issue.

Jacqueline and her husband are still a two-income family, however Jacqueline’s income has  changed quite dramatically.  It isn’t easy to cut back, but it’s also not impossible.  Because they are  both committed to seeing this dream come true, it is far less of a hardship to do without that  second income.

It is essential to prioritize the needs of the business and understand where the money will be put to  best use.

In the starting stages of any business, there are a lot of expenses. Jacqueline had a very  strong vision for Jacek Chocolate.  Because of her fashion instinct and marketing background, she  focused a lot of time and attention on her branding.  It was money well spent, she says now, because  Jacek Chocolate has a strong brand which will never be muddled in a rebranding scenario.

Another essential expense was to renovate her studio space and ensure that it was fully  inspected and certified.  Whenever food is prepared commercially, these licenses and permits have  to be in place.  This was not an option, and the costs had to be covered.
Supplies are high grade.  Jaqueline uses only fresh ingredients for her creations, and she is  not willing to compromise on quality in the packaging, studio space, or chocolates.

In the end, Jacqueline’s fashion instincts, attention to detail, and unwillingness to compromise on  quality are what make Jacek Chocolate stand out from all the rest.  Move over, Bernard Callebaut!   There’s a new model on the chocolate runway!