Habits of Happy People – A Perspective

A recent column from INC. Magazine provided a “scientific” view of what made people happy. It is an entertaining read: “9 Daily Habits of the Happiest People You Know According to Science.” While we don’t necessarily concur or embrace all of them, several did resonate with us at The Happy Chocolatier:

#5 They give their time and money away.

We think volunteerism and donating to good causes does indeed make one happy. In our experience it is always a good feeling to help another. So, we try our best within our means to give back to our community.

#6 They are grateful.

Focusing on what we are thankful for – even the small things – does indeed make us happier. Starting a small business and growing it despite many challenges makes us happy. Instead of focusing on the challenging problems, we think about the things that have gone well. From that, we have the energy and focus to work through the problems that inevitably arise.

Nothing brings us a smile – and consequently some happiness – than a short anecdote from a customer about how our chocolates brought someone a little bit of happiness. We are indeed grateful for the comments.

#7 They are more physically active.

While we aren’t out there running any marathon, we do believe that activity is good for the mind, body and soul. There is definitely a link between activity and happiness. Activity can express itself in many ways…from a nice relaxing walk in the woods to running around the shop during the busy season!

One more for good measure.

We would add one more “habit.” A small treat – in our case a truffle Cubze perhaps – each day can be a little respite from a busy day and provide a small bit of happiness.

Why Do Businesses Only Give Gifts at Year-End?

Businesses have reasons throughout the year to express thanks to business associates. Yet, generally businesses only send or give gifts at the end of the year. Why? This seems like a disconnect.

There are many reasons to give chocolates at various times during the year. Here are some ideas from our customers:

A professional services firm sends a box of chocolates along with a thank you note to clients who have recently completed a project.
A contractor sends a box of chocolates along with a hand-written note to customers at the completion of large jobs.
A designer/contractor personally presents our truffle Cubze to new customers at the initiation of a job.
A large corporation ordered chocolates to present a large chocolate buffet to employees. They chose a variety of chocolates and set them out on a buffet for employees during lunch. Employees were able to enjoy the chocolates and mingle with co-workers.

What we’ve heard from our business gift customers:

“My clients love your chocolates & so do I! I dropped off the chocolates at a few of my clients & received a call the same day saying how delicious they were!”

“Thank you – I’ve already received some great compliments.”

“Absolutely awesome … people loved them, as always!”

“I know for sure your chocolates will bring smiles!”

Why wouldn’t businesses want to have customers or employees feel this way throughout the year?

Here’s what we offer at The Happy Chocolatier:

Ongoing Mailing Program: Businesses provide us note cards which we keep on file. Once a week, we receive an email with a list of contacts to send the notes and chocolate selection. This is a very easy and affordable, yet memorable, way to say thanks to customers or a referral source.
Chocolate Buffets: Businesses work with us to develop a chocolate selection they think appeals to their employees. We provide the chocolates in bulk and they are set out in a common area for employees to enjoy. Or, we can take care of the whole process by bringing the chocolates and setting up the chocolate buffet.
Customized Chocolates and Packaging: To mark a milestone like a new product launch, company anniversary or sales achievement, businesses work with us to develop either a custom chocolate piece or a customized box of chocolates. These chocolates are presented to business associates at events or on a launch day.

So, if you really want to stand out and spread some chocolate happiness, give business gifts throughout the year. We’re happy to chat with you about what you can do and create customized gifts to meet your needs. You can reach us at (978) 429-8485 or info@thehappychocolatier.com.

Why Not Host a Chocolate Buffet at the Office in the Early Spring?

Everyone loves a great ice cream buffet in the summer. So in the winter and early spring when everyone’s cooped up inside and wishing for summer, why not surprise employees with a chocolate buffet? Choose some chocolates, spread them out in a common area and let employees enjoy. Or, surprise employees by placing small chocolate selections on each employee’s desk. These are both great low cost ways of spreading some cheer at the office or simply letting employees know you appreciate them.

Here are some ideas from our customers:

A large corporation ordered chocolates for a large chocolate buffet for employees. They chose a variety of chocolates and set them out on a buffet for employees during lunch. Employees were able to enjoy the chocolates and mingle with co-workers.
Here’s what they told us: “Everyone loved the chocolates and was excited to be able to pick out what they wanted. I think it was a big hit!”

A small office came in and purchased petite boxes of chocolate to leave on every employee’s desk.
Here’s what they told us: “The office loved the chocolates!”

A mid-size company worked with us to develop a custom box of chocolates and they then strolled around the company with a cart and passed out the chocolates to employees at their desks.

Here’s what we can do for your business at The Happy Chocolatier:

Chocolate Buffets: Businesses work with us to develop a chocolate selection they think will appeal to employees. We provide the chocolates in bulk and they are set out in a common area for employees to enjoy. Or, we can take care of the whole process by bringing the chocolates and setting up the chocolate buffet.

Customized Chocolates and Packaging: To mark a milestone like a new product launch, company anniversary or sales achievement, businesses work with us to develop either a custom chocolate piece or a customized box of chocolates. These chocolates are presented to business associates at events or on a launch day.

If you really want to let your employees know you appreciate them and spread some chocolate happiness, give us a call. You can reach us at (978) 429-8485 or info@thehappychocolatier.com.

Corporate Gifts Aren’t Just for the Holiday Season

A Box of Chocolates is A Great Way to Stand Out

Every holiday season business gifts are sent and received. Generally they are appreciated. However, if you really want to stand out from the crowd, you should give business gifts throughout the year. We all get busy with projects and deadlines, and often miss an opportunity to mark some milestone. Celebrating something that may have been mentioned in passing can show your clients, customers and employees that you are really listening and appreciate them. There are many reasons throughout the calendar year to send or give a business gift:

A deal closing
Acknowledgement of a referral
Introduction of a new product or market
Reaching a business milestone
A job promotion
Celebration of life events such as a new baby, a wedding or even birthday

And of course, there is always the simple “thank you for your business” gift.

We are not suggesting extravagant gifts. Many times a small box of chocolates is appropriate and will communicate the value you place on your relationship. A small but unexpected gesture during the year will be appreciated by your client, customer or employee and remembered.

Celebrating Five Years of Spreading Chocolate Happiness…Despite the Odds

Based on statistics from the Small Business Administration, The Happy Chocolatier is in the 50 percent of businesses that make it this far. Yes, half of all small start-up businesses don’t make it to year five. We are proud that our simple idea has matured into an established business in our community. It hasn’t been easy. There have been many challenges – some we should have anticipated and some we couldn’t have

Nagog Park Location

imagined. We’ve reached the five year milestone thanks to the hard work and commitment of our team, continued support from family and friends, learning from all of our challenges and successes, and persistence.

It seems like we were just writing a business plan, thinking through the chocolate line and deciding on packaging. It all started with a conversation about making a cubed truffle and sharing some “chocolate happiness.”

Acton Woods Plaza Location

Launching and managing a small
business has been the toughest professional challenge we’ve experienced. No longer were we focused on performance reviews and promotions to measure success. Now, continuing to pay our bills and the mortgage, while investing in a new business defined success.

We are very pleased with what our dedicated team has accomplished in five years:

Created a new brand and built solid consumer awareness in our market area
Opened and then moved a local retail store, and developed a local following
Expanded our corporate gift business by providing “chocolate solutions” for business needs
Increased the number of gift, specialty food and fine wine shops that sell our signature truffle Cubze
Broadened our product line (and had fun doing it)
Employed members of our area communities including over a dozen high school and college students
Hosted fun, educational chocolate making events for moms’ nights, scouts, school groups, clubs and birthday parties
Supported our local community through donations to: Household Goods Recycling, The Miracle League of MA, Acton Food Pantry, Beacon Santa, United Way, Girls Inc., area elementary, junior high and high schools, local houses of worship, The Discovery Museum and too many more to name.
Created a fun video with our truffle Cubze dancing to Pharrell Williams – take a look, it’s fun!

Our competition is fierce. People can purchase chocolates at the grocery store, drug store, specialty food shop and the mall. People can also choose to buy mass produced chocolates simply because the products cost less. Yet, we are still pushing ahead. We remain focused on our mission: “To offer consumers an indulgent and affordable chocolate experience that makes them happy and enables them to pass the happiness along by sharing.”

We deeply appreciate all of our customers. We thank you for shopping locally, because it enables us to continue supporting the local community and economy. And, that makes us happy.

Corporate Gift Choices: Unique is better than Ubiquitous

Many times a well-known brand signifies quality. However, a nationally branded product is ubiquitous – available at all types of outlets from department stores to warehouse clubs. These products by virtue of their wide-spread availability aren’t particularly special. If you want a truly memorable gift that demonstrates how much you care about your relationship, then searching out a unique gift is something to think about.

There are many choices for local, hand-crafted or artisanal gifts. Food is a particularly fun way to present a unique gift that isn’t readily available on the mass market. Whether it is hand-crafted chocolates, or locally made wines or cheese, you can choose a special gift that will demonstrate the extra care you put into the selection and complement your message of “thanks.”

Going the extra step in choosing your corporate gift will remind your customers, clients and employees how important their relationship is to you. Instead of going online to the “gift basket” Web site or dropping by the local warehouse club, contact a local business.

Many small businesses, like The Happy Chocolatier, offer a complete corporate gift service creating a customized gift collection and shipping the gifts.

Corporate Holiday Gift Planning: 4 Simple Steps

It doesn’t have to be a stressful experience

Giving gifts is a perfect way to show appreciation to customers, clients, referral sources and employees. A quality business gift provides a memorable means of making contact or staying in touch. This is the time of year when many businesses start the “fire drill” of figuring out what the company’s corporate gift program will entail for year end. It can be a very simple process. Here are four steps to get you started:

Determine the budget and gift recipient list
Start with the budget. When determining a budget, evaluate the size of your list of recipients and plan for quality. Sending a cheap gift tells the recipients you don’t really appreciate them. A budget will also help focus the types of gifts you consider. No sense looking at a particular item if it is beyond your budget. Some smaller companies will work with you to develop a spending plan and possibly segment the recipient list by size of client/customer and provide you a customized spending proposal.
Research: look online AND poll your network
The Internet is helpful and a great start. However, word of mouth is even better. Poll your network (business associates and family) and find out what company others may have used. Ask about their service experience. Ask about the feedback from recipients. Better yet, look around town and find a local supplier that isn’t just some anonymous online Web site. Like anything else, word of mouth is the most meaningful recommendation. If the gift you choose is a food product like chocolate or cheese, be sure to check out customer comments about the quality of the company’s offerings.
Choose a partner that provides value-added services
Make your life easy by choosing a corporate gift partner that not only provides quality gifts, but also provides additional time-saving services for you:
– Utilizing your recipient list in the way you wish to provide it (e.g. print or spreadsheet) vs. how it fits into their online system
– Developing custom gift selections to meet varying budgets linked to different segments of your gift list
– Personalizing your gifts through inclusion of your greeting card, business card or marketing materials
Ask who will work on your order
You want to be confident that your order will be handled professionally and with attention to detail. If you can’t get the name of a key contact (i.e. not customer service), then move on. If the contact name you are given is the business owner, then you should feel confident placing the order. It is critical to have a contact person who will be responsible for ensuring that your order is completed on time and that each gift is packaged with care.

Follow these four simple steps and you will choose a partner that will make you and your corporate gift program a success. In the holiday season, you want to hear kudos from your customers or clients, not complaints about the quality of the gifts.

Why Think About Corporate Gifts Now? Avoid Pain Later!

In New England, the leaves are just starting to fall. But if you are giving corporate business gifts this holiday season to clients, customers or employees, now is the time to start planning. Beginning the process early results in less pain and stress when December rolls around.

Now is the time to develop a budget, compile lists and research a proven partner to handle the development and delivery of gifts comes December (or even late November for some). Gaining internal consensus on a budget takes time. Compiling lists of customers, clients or employees takes time. Segmenting the list of customers by gift size takes time (and quite possibly consensus). Most importantly, researching a partner takes time (especially if you use your personal or business network to get first-hand recommendations).

By finalizing a program and choosing a corporate gift partner in October, you can avoid all the last minute rushing and related confusion. You will have plenty of time to work with your partner to develop a something customized to your needs. Also, you can reserve the time that you want your gifts should be sent, instead of waiting until the last minute when you are at the mercy of a hectic business gift delivery season.

(Graphic courtesy of classroomclipart.com)

One Year In The Chocolate Business – Are We Still Happy?

This October marked the one year anniversary of the public launch of The Happy Chocolatier. It seems just a short time ago that we were developing our signature Cubze and writing the business case for The Happy Chocolatier. Now, a year later, we have a lot under our belt – not simply the extra few pounds, but the valuable learning from our mistakes and successes.

This first year has been a great learning experience. As we pause to think about what has happened vs. what we have yet to achieve, it is hard to believe all the items on the long list of new experiences and projects that the team has accomplished. After building the plan, securing financing and building out the facility, we then tackled the development of a full line of chocolate products and gifts. We didn’t just hire people, we created a culture and developed team of associates who work together to provide high-quality products and a memorable experience. And none of the team ever worked with chocolate before. On the back end, we mastered a variety of new software programs to run the business and developed processes to make the business run smoothly (or as smoothly as one can in a few months’ time). We learned very quickly which marketing levers were most effective and now understand first-hand the power of social media. We’ve had our share of mistakes, yet we’ve managed to learn from them and move forward.

It has been very satisfying. We had an idea and brought it to life. We built a business from nothing. And it is clear others appreciate what we’ve done. That appreciation has been expressed in many ways:

Many repeat customers who not only frequent our shop, but recommend The Happy Chocolatier to friends
Consistently positive comments about our products from our signature Cubze to our boxed assortments to fun items like chocolate covered pretzels and peppermint bark bars
Many followers on Facebook and Twitter plus those who’ve signed up to hear from us through our newsletter. People want to talk with us and hear from us about chocolate. How great is that?
Compliments about The Happy Chocolatier team and the experience that they’ve help create for our customers
Continued support from our local community

So, yes we are indeed happy with our venture!

As we move into our second year, we want to build on the strong foundation we’ve created despite the economic uncertainty. We know first-hand that people love chocolate. Many view chocolate treats as affordable indulgences that might even have some health benefits. Well, we want to continue serving our customers today and new customers in the future. We will expand our product line, streamline the ways in which we do business, and reach out to new customers by marketing our retail store, highlighting our mail order services, selling our chocolates through other outlets and providing a first-rate product for corporate gift giving.

Many, many thanks to our employees, family, many friends (new and old) and our loyal patrons for their support! We sincerely hope that The Happy Chocolatier is indeed bringing some bit (or bite) of happiness to your lives as it has to ours.

Recognizing Those Who Make Our Businesses Run Smoothly

This week is National Administrative Professionals Week and Wednesday marks the 60^th anniversary of the holiday. According to Wikipedia, the most popular ways to recognize administrative professionals are chocolate, lunch, flowers, gift cards and even professional development courses.

This week presents us with an opportunity to do a least a little something to recognize those who enable our organizations to run so smoothly. Many times the tireless work of these people is taken for granted or over-looked. It’s a great time to not only recognize those administrative professionals on your staff, but also to change habits and begin recognizing them – even with a simple thanks – more regularly.