We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jackie Rome. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jackie below.
Jackie, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
There’s an old saying, “Leap, and the net will appear”. It reminds me of my younger self when I first moved to LA at age 22. I only had $2k in the bank and an interview. I didn’t let all of the what ifs stop me. Frankly, at that age, I didn’t even know what all of the what ifs were. Now many years later, I’m all too aware of the what ifs. But if you spend your days thinking of what can go wrong, you might just never take that leap. When I’m in doubt, I try to remember my younger self when throwing caution to the wind wasn’t the most practical decision, but the necessary decision. I have found more often than not, that when I take a chance on myself, good things will happen.That is so important to believe. Once you make a decision and see how the outcome affects you, your confidence begins to grow.
Owning your own business means you are solely responsible for every decision. It can feel overwhelming. When I made the decision to pursue my chocolate business, I honestly didn’t know where to start. It seemed that all of my years in the corporate world left me ill-prepared for such a monumental endeavor. But I was wrong in thinking that. I had cultivated years of client relationships, time management skills, clear and concise communication, ability to problem-solve and so much more. It was time to put these skills to work. I knew there was a mountain of tasks I had to complete, but starting was so intimidating. I came to the decision that I would take control of one single task that I could bring all the way home. That one task was creating my logo. I believed that if I could create and finalize this piece of my business, it would give me the confidence and self-esteem to move forward. And it worked! I challenged myself to take on this one important task and when I came away with a logo I’m still proud of today, 5 years later, I felt empowered to tackle the next task.
Building confidence and self-esteem takes time. Believe in yourself and the skills you have acquired. Don’t let self-doubt control how you move forward. Be bold! The net will appear!
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
Hello, I’m Jackie Rome, and owner of Cocoa Rome Chocolate Company. I’ve been a chocolatier for 5 years now. After leaving the corporate world for good 6 years ago, I wanted to focus on something where I could express myself more creatively. After taking a course in chocolate making, I found my new passion. It’s exciting to come up with new seasonal flavors. I love getting feedback from customers and seeing smiles when they taste my handcrafted treats. You will often find me at local wineries in LA and Ventura county where we pair a flight of delicious wines with chocolates that accentuate the nuances of the varietals. It’s always a fun time to experience wine with chocolate!
My chocolates are made from ethically-sourced, fair trade chocolate from Central and South America. Working with chocolate companies that are in direct partnership with cacao farmers ensures that my chocolates are of the very highest quality. For my seasonal designs, I use only natural colors and I go to great lengths to avoid anything artificial.
One of the more unique ideas I offer to customers is a customized chocolate with their logo right on the chocolates! These are so fun for for corporate meetings and gifts. I also have wedding couples who put their names and wedding date on chocolates to give away as favors. They are a memorable and tasty way to thank your guests for coming.
You can order my chocolates online from me directly at jackie@cocoarome.com or you can find me on the West Tenth App. I’m often at community and pop up events and you can pick up my chocolates at the following retail locations: The Cave and Vom Fass in Ventura, Strey Cellars in Oxnard, The Wine Closet in Camarillo, Nabu Wines in Westlake Village and Vom Fass in Coronado. I hope you will give them a try!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Looking back at the evolution of my chocolate company, I know that cultivating relationships was an important part of my journey. It’s important to be reliable, to follow up, to reach out, to befriend those that you work with as you create your business. I also think having a mentor is a smart move. I chose someone that I respected so much both professionally and personally. I knew she would give me honest opinions and share her knowledge with me graciously. It’s also super important to be organized. There will be a mountain of tasks. Staying organized will help you achieve your goals as you knock off these tasks one by one.
My advice for those just starting out on their journey is to take advantage of any and all opportunities that come your way. When someone wants to take your picture at an event for publicity, go ahead and take the picture! These often get added to Instagram to promote the event which means you will be in front of a new audience. When you are asked to participate in a contest, go for it! You might even win. And even if you don’t, your business name often gets promoted. Always be thinking about ways to entice new customers. Don’t let these great opportunities pass you by.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I love to collaborate with other businesses! It’s a great opportunity to reach new customers as well as bringing something new to current customers. In the past, I have worked with event planners, photographers and Festively.com to create picture perfect settings for photo shoots. I’ve paired with other local businesses, like Cakes By Christina, to offer delicious Mother’s Day baskets of cakes and chocolates. I’ve also partnered with candle makers and executive gifting companies like Celebrate Sweetly. I even paired up with a local ice cream company, Little Calf Creamery, to create a fun Father’s Day gift set. Pairing up with local wineries for chocolate and wine flights is something I love to do and I do it often! If you are interested in collaborating, I would love to hear from you. Please reach out to me at jackie@cocoarome.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cocoarome.com
- Instagram: @Cocoa_Rome
- Facebook: www.Facebook.com/Cocoa Rome
