In Depth: The Makings of Chico's Cheesecakes
Although National Small Business Month has passed by, we would like to take the opportunity to share with you the intimate and intricate makings of Chico’s Cheesecakes. Our C.E.O. and Chef Baker Jasmine L. Williams takes us for a ride as she goes into details about the highs and lows of establishing and maintaining a family business. By the end of the read, we hope you’ve learned a bit more about Chico’s Cheesecakes and also take away some words of wisdom you can apply to your own business or dreams!
1. What circumstances led you to create the infrastructure (website, social, recordkeeping) of Chico’s?
When I realized Chico’s was becoming more than a hobby but an actual sustainable business that could possibly last for generations, I chose to take Chico’s to the next level. I also knew that for people to be attracted to the business, they had to have visuals and to be able to find us. That’s why our social media started first. Most people eat with their eyes first, so the food has to be attractive! Then once they see what they like, they’re more likely to go search for that food. So social media was absolutely the first thought, starting with our Facebook Business Page followed by our Instagram then our Twitter. I knew I needed somewhere for people to place orders besides calling or texting my phone so we decided to create our website. Got tons of help from one of my co-workers (Shoutout to Will!) and he was able to bring my vision to life. Usually, most bakeries just have a list of products with a phone number to call and throw out there “Hey, place an order!” What sets our website apart is that you can see what each flavor looks like and what you should expect when you receive your order. As far as recordkeeping, we began with QuickBooks because I needed to figure out exactly how much damn money I was spending on different products, expenses, and costs of goods. Also needed a way to track our figures for tax purposes. Small things that you realize you need evolve into giant things in order to make the business legit and sustainable over years.
2. Describe where you were when you realized Chico’s Cheesecakes was gaining attention?
When we started receiving orders on our website, I knew we were catching people’s eye but there’s one moment in particular that I’ll never forget. I was working at my 9 to 5 when I got a call from someone in California that wanted us to ship some cheesecake jars to a friend for their birthday. Mind you, this was prior to us shipping our orders across the country. My first thought was “ We don’t even ship yet!” which quickly turned into “How did you find us?” The answer: Google. Oh!, another moment comes to mind. Someone from Canada emailed us wanting to ship one of our cheesecakes to a relative. They knew we weren’t shipping internationally yet, but they were willing to pay whatever cost to get that order to their family. I thought to myself “Wow this person has never tasted our product before, but was willing to cash out based on our online presence and customer reviews!” Yeah, that was a super dope feeling to experience.
3. What did you do when Chico’s was presented with the opportunity to wholesale?
We jumped on that thang, what you thought?! While at home, we received an email stating they googled the best cheesecakes, saw our company, and wanted to order ten cheesecakes for their employees to try. Come to find out the restaurant was located in South Carolina and they wanted Chico’s to ship multiple cheesecakes weekly to sell to their customers! At first, I felt pretty overwhelmed thinking about the shipping process for such a larger order at the time. Then that feeling quickly shifted to amazement because they actually wanted us to send them cheesecakes. In hindsight, I’ll admit I jumped into this opportunity too fast. In being eager to expand our brand and increase our sales, I didn’t do my due diligence and research the company thoroughly to see whether our companies were a good fit for each other. I saw this as a great opportunity which in turn became a great lesson: when you know the value of your product, never compromise that value just for accessibility. We partnered with this restaurant for half a year, shipping six whole New-York style cheesecakes weekly. We made the choice to discontinue our partnership and we do wish them the best of luck in the future. Moving forward based on what I learned in this experience with wholesaling it is crucial to determine whether that company’s values align with your company’s values and if the partnership would be profitable for both parties involved. There were situations throughout the partnership that could have been avoided if we would have done our research prior to signing that contract!
4. How were relationships important to the beginnings of Chico’s?
Chico's is a family company and it all began with my relationship with Papa. Growing up I sat with him and watched him make cheesecakes then eventually started helping him, so yeah, relationships are near and dear to my heart. The beginning of Chico’s started out with the power of word of mouth and building upon relationships with family, friends and people I’ve encountered throughout my day. Once they experienced the cheesecake, they began telling their family and friends about the cheesecakes so things began to grow from there. It's important to note that everyone that has a role within the business whether it’s marketing, our sou chefs, or HR department are all relatives. Relationships are the backbone of our company!
5. In what ways did those relationships help you or create challenges for you?
I’ve come to the conclusion that everybody can’t be apart. Although the foundation of our company is family-oriented and ideally you want all of the family to be a part of the infrastructure of that company, yet everyone’s vision and passion may not align with your own. I understand that some may be happy and supportive from a distance and others can only go so far with you in the process. Also, I’ve realized that it’s okay to hire and trust those who aren’t related to the family to fulfill a need within our company. To be honest, it’s far more difficult to hold a family member accountable legally than a third party. Regardless, familial relationships will always be a part of the foundation yet understanding that business relationships outside of family bring a totally new perspective to the table.
6. How has this experience impacted the decisions you make today?
Officially, we became a business in October of 2018. Over the years, we’ve been busy, blessed, and grateful for all the obstacles and accomplishments. This experience has taught me so much. Everything from teaching us how we can grow, how we can move forward, how we can do something better the next time. It helps me scale where I see Chico’s growing in the next five years, in the next ten years. What do I want the business to look like when I’m ready to retire and pass down the company to the next generation. This experience has given me a lot of perspective and a fair balance of experience between close family, friends and outsiders that would give you the real and not spare your feelings. I believe the best is yet to come.