Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Elizabeth & Matt Cross, Co-Founders of Harvest Chocolate, located in Tecumseh, MI, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Harvest Chocolate is a bean-to-bar chocolate company that handcrafts seasonal chocolate bars and Snacking Chocolate for everyday moments. We use simple, organic ingredients, source fresh cacao seasonally, using local fruits from the season to add unique flavors to our chocolate. We make chocolate that anyone can enjoy, regardless of allergies or dietary restrictions, and support farmers locally and abroad by using only the season's best harvest—from cacao beans to local fruits.
Tell us about yourself
Our story starts well before Harvest Chocolate ever came to be. We're Elizabeth and Matt, a wife and husband who spent years working in the fine-dining restaurant industry, from San Francisco and Napa Valley to Chicago and New York City. We both worked in some of the top Michelin-star restaurants in the country, myself on the pastry side and Matt on the savory side of the kitchen. Together, we made a great duo in the kitchen. But something was missing, and after spending years moving around, we went back to our roots and moved home to Michigan.
My husband and I have been talking about a business for as long as we've known each other. There have been so many ideas over the years, but chocolate is the one that feels right. Chocolate has such a long and rich history and story behind it. It's an agricultural product that starts as a fruit and is harvested and produced by farmers in beautiful locations across the world. I love being able to work with such a wonderful product and show people a new experience of something so familiar.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Chocolate makes people so happy. I would say my biggest accomplishment is making people happy each day.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Getting started is what I always see business owners struggle with.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Do it.
- Be authentic, and be yourself.
- Often, doing something is better than doing nothing, even if it's not as good as you'd like it to be. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://harvestcraftchocolate.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HarvestCraftChocolate/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harvestcraftchocolate/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-cross-/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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