Meet Amanda Bonds

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amanda Bonds a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Amanda, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.

I kept pushing my self and practicing. I also had advice from an amazing chef and teacher. She was my mentor from school and on the days I felt like quitting she pushed me to keep going. Her voice is now ingrained in me. She passed away last year but she has a forever impact on my career since she knew me from the beginning of my pastry journey.

Now what keeps me going is knowing, I’m not a famous chocolatier but I’m good at what I do and I love it. My competition is hard but I get to do what I love and people love my products. So I can’t go anywhere but up unless I quit and this is not the season for me to quit.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’m a Artisan Chocolatier, Pastry Chef and a Mom-Trepreneur. I graduated in 2014 with my Pastry Arts and Business Arts Degree. I continued my study of chocolate by attending the Ecole Chocolat School of Chocolate Arts and Barry Callebaut Chocolate Academy in Chicago.
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After years of studying and working in the pastry industry, I made my dreams a reality. In 2017 Cocoa Sisters, LLC was created and iv been mastering chocolate since.
Cocoa Sisters received it’s name in thought of family and unity. The support of family and friends; both men and women coming together to make a dream possible. I’m always grateful for all the support I’ve had through my journey.

The most exciting thing is I get to be creative and show people chocolate in a different view along with sharing the amazing flavors that some have never tried. Chocolate is art!

I’m also a mom of 3 boys, 1 being a heart warrior. It’s tough running a small buisness with littles but I have alot of family support to help me. I’m grateful I’m able to own a buisness doing what I love all while being a mom.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

My advice is “just go for it.” If you have something in mind that you want it to be a buisness, go do it. Don’t let fear stop you. Create a plan, do your research, figure out all the small details. Set up a portfolio like your about to convince a bank for a loan. It’s a hard journey, but definitely we’ll worth it. You may feel like giving up sometimes and if you decide to, that’s fine you gave it a shot. I mostly work at night because of my kids. There been so many thoughts of quitting but I’m blessed to be able to close my doors for a much needed break during the summer months. I also have a good support system. I have so many cheerleaders behind me. Without my mom and my husband this wouldn’t have been a thing.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

My biggest challenge is running a buisness with littles. I’m a SAHM, so sometimes my work suffers because my kids need me. Some days my kids suffer because my work needs me. This is the life of a small buisness mama. I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was hard, but I’m very blessed to have an amazing family.

Creating orders, emails, production and marketing is a huge one. This is where my support system helps tremendously. If my boys are with their abuela during the day, I’m able to get so much more done.

Also having a heart warrior son is tough, your constantly on edge. We’re blessed that he’s making the best recovery. I shut my buisness down longer this summer for him and our family. Now the challenge I’m facing is, “do I want to continue my buisness or focus on my family.” So for now I’m enjoying my family and as we get closer to fall I will figure out my re-opening steps and gradually get back in the groove. I’ve learned from my heart warrior and our journey is to take everything, “breath by breath” instead of “step by step.” Sometimes step by step is too much to handle.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

A good friend of our is a amazing photographer. She’s does it by request from her family and I’m honored that I get to work with her.

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