We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ines Rehner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ines, so happy to have you with us today and there is so much we want to ask you about. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others developed certain skills or qualities that we are struggling with can be helpful. Along those lines, we’d love to hear from you about how you developed your ability to take risk?
I grew up on a farm in a communist country (Yugoslavia, now Croatia). I learned the importance of taking and managing risks because of the inherent challenges of farming.
I was eager to visit America. I came to New York city to visit relatives, and I realized then that America is where I wanted to live. After college, I fulfilled my dream, and began working at a chocolate shop and learned the basics of the chocolate-making and business.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
My family made everything from scratch on our farm – from cured meats and cheeses to wine and fresh produce. The term “organic” didn’t exist- organic farming was just our way of life.
When I grew up, I went on to study business and had a dream to move to America where entrepreneurship is encouraged. With the support of my family, I bought a one-way ticket to New York City. I gained experience working in a chocolate shop, but I always thought chocolate could taste even better. So, at night I would experiment making my own blends of chocolate in my small home kitchen.
Fast forward to 1995, when I unexpectedly met the love of my life- John- while visiting relatives in Cleveland. John was supportive of my dream to start my own chocolate shop and the rest is history. I said goodbye to New York City, and moved to Cleveland to open my shop in Lakewood the same year.
My gourmet chocolate shop, Sweet Designs Chocolatier, has provided gifts and gourmet European-style chocolates for over 28 years. But my love of organic food and healthy eating never waned, so in 2013 I became the first and only USDA Certified Organic Chocolatier in Ohio. I developed smartBARK! Organic, a dark snacking chocolate that is vegan, gluten free, soy free, and certified Fair Trade. It has been my passion project, and we continue to grow the brand, which can now be found in specialty groceries across the region, such as Whole Foods, Kroger, and Heinen’s.
Our newest creation launched just last year is CHOKOLATINE, a gourmet line of hand-painted chocolates inspired by famous artists.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Tenacity, flexibility and problem-solving.
Building a successful, long-term business is a roller-coaster ride. It takes experience, so I always recommend working for another business for at least 6 years, rising through the ranks, to get a sense of what it takes to manage a successful business.
Virtually every day in business is an adventure. No matter how well you have laid out your plans, reality intrudes. You have to be prepared to move quickly, be decisive and take action. Flexibility also means adapting to changes in customers’ tastes and preferences so you can continue to delight your customers.
Launching a business might not be what most people think it is. You’ll discover that 10% of your time is spent on your passion – chocolate-making in my case – and 90% on problem-solving across a wide range of challenges. So you have to love solving problems in addition to loving what you do.
What is your biggest challenge?
Managing growth is our number one challenge, but it’s a wonderful problem to have.
Every business needs to reach for growth in order to be sustainable, but growth is not something that you can easily manage. With growth comes challenges with managing inventory, staffing, space and process. So you must constantly adapt your day-to-day operations to keep up with growth.
Thankfully I have a great team, and here are a few things we are working on to manage growth successfully: staffing, process improvement, inventory management, website improvement and social media presence.
One final thought – we are having a ball with the launch of CHOKOLATINE, which is off to a great start.
Thanks for giving us the opportunity to tell the Sweet Designs story.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sweetdesigns.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweetdesignschocolatier/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SweetDesignsChocolatier
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sweet-designs-chocolatier/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@SweetDesignsOH
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sweet-designs-chocolatier-lakewood-2
Image Credits
John Rehner
