The New England Chocolate Company is a delightful oasis in the midst of the busy beach town of Salisbury, MA (north of Boston). In 2002, Jayne Murray, owner & entrepreneur extraordinaire, decided she was ready to leave 22 years of being a speech pathologist. But what could she do or want to do? A delicious idea began bubbling up . . . she and her husband, Les, really like (love) chocolate especially fine Belgian chocolates. In their many travels over the years, they have always gravitated to the chocolate shops in every city and village. But they couldn’t get that quality of chocolate in New England. An idea . . . could they make and sell fine chocolates themselves? The answer was yes.

Chocolate making it was. One year later Jayne & Les were in business making Belgian chocolates from their kitchen and selling it out the side door. In time, they rebuilt their property to accommodate a 750′ sales and kitchen area with their living spaces custom built above it. It all worked out and now Jayne & Les make undisputably the best Belgian chocolates in all of New England.

So what can we learn from the New England Chocolate Company? Jayne is my twin sister, Diane, favorite breakfast buddy and fellow twin mom. Just last week I had the chance to join them for a early breakfast in Salisbury. I asked Jayne the secrets to her success as a Chocolatier and a successful small business owner. With her wonderful laugh and savvy business sense, Jayne shared several tips for the new business owner. The first I want to share with you is the best . . . love what you do!

You Have to Like (Love) Chocolate!

To start your own business you have to like (preferably love) the product or service you are providing. Sounds so simple but it’s amazing how often this idea is overlooked when entrepreneurs start their own businesses. Loving what you do and what you provide will sustain you both during the prosperous times but, more importantly, during those tougher economic times. If you’re not very excited about the actual work you do then the work will become drudgery and you will quickly lose your interest, passion and commitment to making your successful.

So think about the work you do, or would like to do. Do you like it as much as Jayne likes her chocolates? Can you work day after day, month after month and year after year in this kind of work? If the answer is yes, you are well on your way to creating a business that truly fulfills you and that is profitable and fun to boot.

Now go celebrate with a piece of chocolate. Order direct from Jayne www.newenglandchocolatecompany.com or just stop in and see her when you are next in the New England area. You’ll be glad you did!