Every Woman's Delight
By Carla Arpin

**Special 10% off coupon offer for SUITE MAGAZINE subscribers, only, is included in our exclusive interview with Lori, owner of Chocolate Fantasies. See if you can find it! ::wink::

Lori, first of all, thank you so much for taking time out of your extremely busy schedule to spend a little time with SUITE MAGAZINE!

Q: Lori, what kinds of jobs did you hold before you became interested in owning your own business?

A: Do you have a few minutes? I have had so many jobs, but these are just the ones that I have had on my own. I think I’ve always owned my own business, even as a child. If it wasn’t selling lemonade on the curb, I was making crafts and trying to sell them to my family for quick cash to use at the ice cream truck. My grandmother had a home business and made decorated cakes for people. I learned how to decorate too, and at age thirteen starting sharing the profits with her up through the end of high school. I made crafts and jewelry and sold them at art fairs and farmer’s markets during college. I was a manicurist for ten years and had my own business at home for many years until I retired at the ripe old age of thirty. I had a captive audience with the manicuring clientele. They would come to their appointments, smell my baked goods and I’d sell them on the spot. That got me into the pastry business, and I sold gourmet cakes and desserts around town to restaurants, taught cooking classes, and that merged into a catering business I had up until three years ago.

Q: What made you decide to go into manufacturing erotic-shaped chocolates - did you somehow know there might be a market for “adult” chocolates?

A: I made truffles for the catering business and was prompted by a friend to sell them on line. In early 1998, there was already a lot of competition, so I decided I needed a gimmick. I had one penis lollipop mold (that’s the Penis Pop on my website) and I would make green penises for my friends on St. Patrick’s Day. There weren’t too many businesses selling erotic chocolates at the time, so I obtained a few different molds of naughty and nice chocolates.

Q: What kinds of research and marketing strategies did you have to seek out before start-up?

A: I didn’t do too much, I just thought it was a good idea as a side business and I just got the basic set up of it and taught myself how to make a website. Through trial and error, I found companies, hosts, etc,. that worked well for the business.

Q: Did you make your own chocolate from the beginning, or did you order it from somewhere else?

A: I always have made the chocolates to order myself. It was out of the question to have it made by anyone else because it is so much fun to mold. I like the kind of chocolate I mold with too. It also tastes pretty good. ::grin::    more >>