Success Stories: Training
After living in Costa Rica where they owned a cacao farm and ran a cafe and dessert shop, self-taught chocolatiers Jael and Dan Rattigan moved to Asheville in 2006. Honing their trade from home and selling chocolates online and at tailgate markets, Jael and Dan decided they were ready to grow into a retail location. In 2007, they took Mountain BizWorks' Foundations training course, which helped them to write a business plan. In 2008 they opened the French Broad Chocolate Lounge in Asheville, featuring handcrafted artisanal chocolates and pastries, hot chocolates, and local beer and coffee. A popular downtown destination, today they have 14 full-time and 11 part-time employees.
Bryant Belin owns VP Music Studios in Hendersonville, which provides individual and group music instruction, audio production classes, and Kindermusic Classes to the Western North Carolina area. Bryant took advantage of the Foundations business planning course and one-on-one coaching to learn the “ins and outs” of business and marketing tactics before opening his doors in 2010. Today, VP Music Studios has 5 part-time music instructors and recently launched a sponsorship program, enabling community members to sponsor individuals who want to take lessons but do not have the resources to do so. Plans are also underway to build a production studio which will be available for the community's recording needs.
As a teenager, Sally Lyndsay-Madrid taught herself how to paint faux finishes. Over the years, she continued her self-taught journey in Florida and WNC. She founded Opulent Wall Designs in 2006 in Hendersonville, and today offers a range of upscale interior services, including faux painting, custom wallpaper, cabinet finishes, and artistic plaster. Sally’s all-female work crew impresses clients with their precise, professional workmanship. She recalls that while others doubted the success of a “non-essential” service during a recession, Mountain BizWorks was always supportive. Sally returns to Mountain BizWorks for business coaching every time she hits a roadblock or has a new idea for growth. With work featured in interior design magazines, Opulent Wall Designs is now poised to expand from WNC to the greater Southeast.
