“Who can take tomorrow, drop it in a dream, separate the sorrow and collect up all the cream?”
The Candyman can! Or in the case of Shana Elson, CEO and founder of Top This Chocolate, The Candywoman. I had the privilege of speaking to Shana on the latest episode of the Doorward Thinking Podcast.
Shana was a real estate litigator who felt like her work drained her emotionally. She viewed her job as wearing down her opponents in court in order to get the best possible outcome for her client and became disgusted with the way the justice system handled these cases. She was even told by a judge, “The legal system is designed to have both parties leave unhappy and hopefully never turn to the legal system again to solve their problems."
Yikes! (Sidenote, if you ARE in real estate or looking to start investing, make sure you are legally protected just in case. You can find information here.)
Shana needed something to give her joy in the midst of long weeks of working a job she hated and she turned to pastry and confectionery classes on the weekends. She was encouraged by friends to start a bakery, but was wary about starting her own business.
“I had no business backgotound, I didn't know anything about business. Lawyers are very risk averse so I was incredibly afraid,” Shana said.
Eventually, her need to leave the legal profession and her fear of entering business was tempered. She went to business school at USC where the idea for Top This Chocolate was born.
Shana won a pitch competition and $25,000 in seed money to start her business. She made it her life’s work to open her chocolate shop, but it wasn’t easy. In fact it was quite a rocky road.
If you’ve ever looked into real estate for fine minutes you’ve no doubt heard the maxim “Location. Location. Location.” It holds true in just about everything, from where you purchase your Airbnb short term rentals to where each brand of beer is placed in the liquor aisle. (Seriously, Anhauser Busch has teams of people playing 12-pack Tetris on computers based on the latest sales trends.)
Location also impacts chocolate sales.
Shana first started out with an online store and confectioner’s equipment in her Los Angeles apartment. She was struggling to get enough orders and even had to go back to the law firm to make ends meet. She tried a few locations in the big city that didn’t work out - her dream looked like a bust.
That all changed when her real estate agent found a commercial property in Ventura Harbor. It’s a quaint shopping center right on the water full of sailboats and next to a beautiful state beach.
It was the PERFECT location for Shana to sell her customizable chocolate.
People at the harbor go there to shop and eat, take leisurely strolls on the beach and have plenty of time to kill. As soon as she opened, the customers poured in and so did success. Shana’s dream was reality.
Fast forward four years and she’s getting ready to franchise Top This Chocolate! Maybe one will pop up in your hometown soon.
So what does Shana’s story have to do with us here at Doorward?
There’s a lot of places we could go with this, from sticking with her dream to trusting the gut of her honest agent, but I’d like to focus on the importance of finding the right location.
Finding and developing your presence in the right spot to connect with your customers is ESSENTIAL for doing good business.
Shana’s got a killer concept that is ready to take the nation by storm, but she was only able to get to this point AFTER she was in the right location. Chocolate is an impulse buy. People have to be looking around for something to do and buy and they need the time to savor it. You buy it in the stores during your holiday shopping trips for gifts (okay let’s be honest, for yourself too) and very rarely if ever purchase it online for sometime in the future. You want chocolate NOW.
When it comes to doing business in Real Estate, you need to put your efforts in the right location - with the right communities of people - to be successful.
We suggest going to your local Real Estate Investment Club or Association. These juggernauts have plenty of experienced men and women to network with, coach you, and to put on your speed dial. They put on regular events where everyone gathers to learn and network and it’s an all around good time with hard working folk looking for financial freedom for their families.
Your local club is a great place to start, but at the speed of 2023 you also need to invest in your online presence.
But where is the best place to do that?
If you’re trying to connect on traditional social media platforms you’re in a place designed to sell your data, clutter up your screen with ads, where half of all profiles are fake and the almighty algorithm shows just 10-20% of your audience what you’re up to.
You’re a knowledge expert turned into a user and a product for someone else. It’s not a good use of your time and money, and it’s not a good investment.
The Doorward App is a Real Estate market network DESIGNED for your business! It’s the best location to connect you to serious investors, trusted vendors, and the freshest deals to facilitate rapid Real Estate commerce.
It’s spam free, doesn’t collect your personal data, and rewards you for the business transactions of you and your connections!
Make the right investment and Download Doorward on the app store or Google play store today.
Be sure to use Promo code DOORWARD for FREE lifetime access (limited time only)! Don’t wait, invest in the best location for your online presence in Real Estate today!
The first rule of Real Estate is "Location. Location. Location." But have you ever stopped to consider where you are building your online presence to network and generate leads? From Real Estate Investing to Chocolate, we're talking about the best locations to meet partners and clients.
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