1. What made you open B.CANDY?
Ever since I was a little girl and saw Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory it became my dream to open a colorful and delicious world of sweets.
2. Does your family help out with the business?
My oldest and only daughter, Bayleigh, has coined herself the Lollipop Princess. She created our logo and now works full time on our social media, advertising, graphics and does a lot of crafting for the store. Bayleigh and the eldest boy, Briton, work in the store together serving ice cream and helping out wherever needed. Once football is finished, Barry might take a stab at it as well. Brennan, my youngest, is our official taste tester and a true candy connoisseur. He takes great pride in his job. My loving and patient husband, the dentist, puts in his two cents as well: always floss.
3. If so, what kind of responsibilities do you give your children and how do you get them involved with the business?
Getting a child of mine to work in a place as happy, colorful, and yummy as B.CANDY isn’t very hard. They tend to want to be there and always work for their share of ice cream, cupcakes, and candy. Not to mention, they get a roof over their heads.
4. How would you like to get your family further involved in B.CANDY?
Perhaps they end up taking over one day and I go on a long vacation with my hubby. Now, wouldn’t that be nice.
5. Is it difficult to balance the demands of owning your own business and parenting? Any advice or tricks you can share with other parents in similar situations?
Allowing the children to feel involved and that their work is important is necessary. Showing appreciation means everything, even for all the little things.
6. What’s the best thing that has come out of the experience of starting B.CANDY?
My family has the opportunity to see and be apart of something we are all proud of. It’s a group effort for all of us. My wish is that they, too, learn to follow their dreams.
7. What are your plans for the business going forward?
Eventually, we would love to branch out and have multiple stores but we love the close-knit environment our flagship location currently has. We will have to wait and see what the future has in store!
8. What is your favorite candy?
My favorite candy would have to be chocolate covered gummy bears but, really, my favorite sweet treat would be our Chocolate Covered Potato Chips & Caramel ice cream.
9. What is your children’s favorite candy?
The only candy Bayleigh likes is candy corn, Briton’s is licorice rope, Barry loves Snickers, & Brennan’s favorite (this week) is Sour Punch Punchies!
10. Any tips to share with parents for a fun Halloween candy treat?
Every Halloween our family loves to make gingerbread haunted houses. We decorate them with extra large gummy tarantulas, marshmallow peeps, candy corn brick walls, layers of licorice, and you can’t forget about the gummy worm graveyard. It makes a great centerpiece and tastes yummy too!
