Candace Nelson - Sweet Success: A Simple Recipe to Turn your Passion into Profit

2022 Candace Nelson

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ISBN 978-1-4002-3153-9 (eBook)

ISBN 978-1-4002-3150-8 (HC)

Epub Edition OCTOBER 2022 9781400231539

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022943561

Printed in the United States of America

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TO CHARLIE AND HARRY:

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I love the feeling of possibility that comes with starting something new. Whether its creating a modern take on a classic recipe or dreaming up an innovative new venture with loads of potential, a fresh start lights me up. When someone tells me they have a new idea, Im all in, ready to roll up my sleeves and figure out how to help make it a reality. If a friend is pondering leaving their stale, yet stable, career to pursue a passion, Im basically writing their resignation letter before theyve fully made up their mind.

This is because I was once at a pivotal moment myself, and entrepreneurship catapulted me down a new path I would have never thought possible. I now know, firsthand, the immeasurable joy that comes from pushing past a confusing crossroads and discovering what you were born to do. Today, I can speak to the pride and confidence that comes from taking what was once just an inkling and boldly bringing it to life.

I turned my passion into profit by starting smalllike, palm-of-your-hand small. It began with a cupcake and grew into an empire. These days, I hear from so many people who want to start their own business too. They are dreamers who want to make their mark on the world and carve out a piece of the economy that is all their own, yet they dont know how to begin. Without a road map, the idea of starting a business for the first time seems unattainable, so instead they hit the pause button on their dreams. Well, failure to launch no more! Im here to tell you that the path to entrepreneurship is yours for the taking. Sure, its intimidating when founders are glamorized as the subject of feature films and steal the spotlight on hit shows like Shark Tank; they may even seem mystical, when billion-dollar start-ups are referred to as unicorns. It can be easy to forget that entrepreneurs are just regular people. Speaking as one of them, I wont sugarcoat it. Building a business from scratch is not for the faint of heart. But I do believe that anyone can be an entrepreneurall it takes is a proper plan and the right attitude.

This book is about just thatgathering the ingredients to start baking the business of your dreams.

One of the reasons I felt compelled to write this book is to dispel the myth that entrepreneurs have something that the rest of us dont. One of the most valuable lessons Ive learned is that you dont need an exceptional IQ to create something exceptional. Believe me, I wasnt exactly top of my class in high school.

When I was growing up, my family moved every few years, including internationally, for my fathers job as general counsel for an American multinational corporation. I know it may sound exciting to travel the world as a child. And as an adult, I can now appreciate the deeply diverse cultural experiences I encountered at such a young age. But moving often during my school years was tough. As a lanky thirteen-year-old American girl living in Indonesia, I longed desperately for a sense of home and belonging.

It wasnt much better when I was sent back to the United States to attend a rigorous boarding school. I was the youngest in my class and my family was still on the other side of the globe. A comforting phone call home was hard to come by: There was only one pay phone in my dorm, and between the time difference and poor international connection fraught with static, calls to my family were often dropped.

Despite the schools accolades and reputation for academic excellence, the learning environment was all wrong for me. The school days were tightly structured, which clashed with my creativity. The emphasis on high achievement in a traditional curriculum made it difficult for me to find success, and I wandered in search of other interests. I refocused my efforts on fun: finding a ride to the next Phish concert and playing pranks on my dormmates instead of getting good grades. Needless to say, I received my fair share of detention for my wayward ways.

I suppose my reputation for being middle of the road during high school stuck around because at an alumni event a few years back, a former classmate approached me with a decent amount of disbelief while congratulating me on my success with Sprinkles. Sure, I was a little offended, but after years in the public eye Ive learned not to take things personally. Mediocre classmate turns her life around and makes something of herself? I guess all the misplaced creativity, resourcefulness, and rebelliousness that sent me to detention are the building blocks for what have made me a successful entrepreneur.

The road to entrepreneurship will look different for everyone, but the ingredient connecting all founders is a great idea that we cant stop obsessing over until we put it into action. Regardless of how you got here, or the type of business you want to create, I can help you. In this book, I will be your mentor, guiding you from career crossroads to new business launch. I will empower you by giving you the actionable tools and information you need to listen confidently to your inner voice and take your big idea from passion project to business venture, first by dreaming it, then packaging and building it, and finally, protecting it.

But sometimes, even with all the planning in the world, you still wont feel ready. Making the leap to entrepreneurship is ultimately about taking the first step, then the next. I call it following the bread crumbs. I wrote this book to encourage you to go for it, so think of this as your first crumb.