FOXBUSINESS.COM PROFILES ENTREPRENEURS AGE 35 AND YOUNGER

Alison Nelson was sitting at a dinner party in New York City—eating, laughing, and discussing what you would do if you could do anything in your life. That was the scene when Nelson met the investor who would help reach her dream of opening a high-end, low-key chocolate shop. "I had the experience and he had the finances."

Six years and $4 million later, Nelson attributes the often-recited phrase of “being at the right place at the right time” with the start of Chocolate Bar. “It was funny, two days after that dinner party, I was walking down 8th Avenue from brunch with my husband, and there was a “for rent” sign on a window. I called the landlord…and oddly he knew a friend of my husband’s, and it was just kind of kismet at that point.” She had found the perfect place to open up shop.

Chocolate Bar is a hip take on the chocolate industry. Nelson has enlisted artists--from painters to toy designers--to craft innovative packaging for her different lines of chocolate. “There are graffiti bars—guys from the 60s and 70s doing the art--one is now a Pulitzer Prize winner,” according to Nelson.

She isn’t the only one excited about these collaborations. “I’d ask [the artists], ‘Would you like to design a label for a chocolate bar?’ And their response was, ‘Do I get to choose my flavor?’”

She credits her New York roots with many of her personal connections that have helped her along the way. And with three stores under her belt—two in Manhattan and one in Long Beach Island, N.J.—she seems satisfied with all that she has achieved since starting 6 years ago.

But Nelson has no intention of slowing down. In fact, today she is taking a huge leap, clear across the other side of the globe. 

"Opening up a shop in the Middle East has been an amazing process. It’s an emerging market, there is a strong economy, and I think the consumer there definitely needs a product like Chocolate Bar…and the people there are so excited that is comes from New York!”

To learn more about Nelson's story, check out “Destination: Dubai” and scroll down for the Six Shooter Q&A…

THE SIX SHOOTER

1. Where were you the moment you decided your business plan?

I was 25 in my apartment on St. Nicholas Avenue and 153rd Street in New York City.

2. What was the one thing you didn't know that you had to bluff your way through? 

How to do the financial stuff. I hate math. I don't like projections. But once I decided it was like a mystery novel, I could live with having to work through it.

3. What one life lesson did you learn that helped you build your business?

If it feels right, it is--just like friendships

and love. You feel it in your gut instantly.

4. Who is your role model or inspiration?

Heidi Klum. She is smart, talented, saw opportunity and went for it. But what I admire most is her obvious commitment to her family and marriage. I know how difficult it is to balance both.

5. What do you wish you had more of: time or money?

Time! I could have all the money in the world but not having time to enjoy my work, my family, the city, my friends--the money would be pointless.

6. What is the one word your employees would use to describe you and why? 

Caffeinated

 

Want to know who's next? Check back every other week for more Young Guns...And if know a young entrepreneur with an interesting story, e-mail us at youngguns@foxbusiness.com.

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