It was 1995. We were at a crossroads in life. My husband, Jim, had recently sold his interest in a car wash venture, while I was working in the hospitality industry. Jim knew that working for someone else was not an option. I just wanted us to be happy and to start a family.

We agreed we would look for the perfect business opportunity; one that we could both share in, allowing us the flexibility we required in raising a family, and one that hopefully would give us some degree of financial security. But little did we know that the sweet smell of success was right under our noses. Literally.

And so the quest for the right business opportunity began. With Jim's prior business experience and degree in marketing, and my background in management and degree in business administration, we were confident in our abilities. But we both felt trepidation knowing we would be putting everything on the line financially.

What if we failed? How would we ever pay back the loan we would need in order to start this business? How would we keep a roof over our heads? It was a risk, and we knew it. It became imperative that we do our homework and make our choices carefully and deliberately, for there would be consequences we would have to live with well into the future.

Starting a business from scratch was not our first choice, and for a time Jim even considered going back into the car wash business. Purchasing an existing business was a possibility, but we felt that would limit our choices and possibly require relocation.

Franchising seemed the best alternative. With the help of publications like The Franchise Handbook, we learned how franchising could be the safest, fastest and most affordable route to our goals. Having an existing business model that we could touch and feel greatly increased our comfort level significantly. Plus, with the hundreds of franchise opportunities available, we had a virtual smorgasbord of choices.

Although initially we felt the entrepreneurial urge to create our own business, we were willing to give up some of the control and creativity in exchange for the years of experience, support and management systems that only a franchise could offer.

Years before our search began, while traveling through the Southwest United States, we discovered a charming little chocolate shop off the beaten path. During our stay, we found ourselves returning every day to satisfy our sweet tooth with caramel apples, fudge and chocolate-dipped strawberries.

As self-professed chocoholics, we had found the ultimate chocolate experience, not knowing at the time that Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory was a franchise chain. To our delight, we stumbled on another Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory shop on a subsequent trip. From then on, we began to seek them out whenever we traveled.

Near our home in Ontario, California, a large shopping center project was under construction. Wondering if there was a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory going in, Jim was immediately on the phone to their headquarters in Durango, Colorado. The corporate office had indeed secured a location there, but was looking for a franchise operator!

The timing couldn't have been better, and the possibilities seemed delicious. But keeping emotion out of it (which my husband is good at), Jim now focused due diligence on Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and its business proposition. In the end, we knew in our hearts this was the opportunity we had been searching for. It was a company that we were familiar with, a product we loved, and it certainly looked like fun.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory’s business proposition is fresh, gourmet chocolate candies. Caramel apples and fudge are made in full view of the customer, introducing an element of entertainment. Six months after signing on, we had completed training and opened our doors. Out of the chutes we hit a grand slam.

During the early years we found ourselves continuing to work seven days a week, including holidays. We remembered the promise we made to ourselves that when it was no longer fun we would make changes or get out. We knew that we had to develop a management team and trust them to care for our store just as we would if we were ever to take any time off.

Also, being a married couple and working together all day became extremely difficult. We knew that we would have to delineate our responsibilities as partners and learn to communicate what was going on in our respective corners if this was going to work.

We both gravitated to our natural strengths. My responsibilities became the day-to-day management of the business and employee development, while Jim managed supplies and finances, and our accounting, legal and franchisor relationships.

A few years after entering the chocolate business we were blessed with a son, and balancing work with family became a new issue. Noah, now five years old, is our priority, so we balance our work and family time by working mostly while he is in school. We switch off as much as possible caring for Noah so that one of us can always be with him. Having a partner, family support and a trusted management team are our keys to balancing work with family.

It has been said that in business, location is everything. To a large degree that is true. The greatest location in the world, however, will not survive under poor management. Our challenge is, and always will be, finding great employees and then being able to keep them. When hiring, I look for people who have outgoing personalities, have a lot of energy and aren’t afraid to speak up.

We find most of our employees through people we know or employees already on staff. When we are looking to hire, we just put the word out with our employees and they let their friends and family know. We keep good employees by catering to their work schedules and by trying to compensate them commensurate with the responsibilities their position requires. As is the case with most retail businesses, we tend to attract mostly students and young people just entering the job market. As a result, the potential for turnover is high.

Maintaining a low turnover among employees is top priority and one of my strengths as an owner-operator. Having employees continually leave within weeks or months after we have invested a considerable amount of time in training can be a drain on us and other employees. When employees have been here for a long time there is continuity; they know their products and can educate the customer.

My rule of thumb is to do things for employees that I wish my employers had done for me when I was younger and first entering the job market. When asked why they stay, our longer-term employees reply because of our scheduling flexibility, not because of the pay (because our pay seems to be lower than that of other retailers). If they are exceptional employees, I work around their schedules and offer them shifts they really want.

Another important part of our success with retention is offering rewards and incentives. We provide daily, weekly and monthly rewards based on increased individual average transactions. We offer a SEP (Simplified Employee Pension) retirement savings program to employees who have been with us more than two years and who are over 21 years of age.

To show our appreciation for our employees, we celebrate employment anniversaries and host periodic employee parties. Over the years we have sponsored a number of employee retreats, and even a five-day cruise.

Today, seven years later, we are still having fun. Our goal of being the best that we can be has been realized. In fact, each year since we opened our doors we have achieved the highest sales volume of any store in the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory franchise system.

We have also won awards for excellence in candy-making and the coveted President’s Award for excellence in all areas of operations. We have been blessed with a great location, great employees and a great franchisor. Certainly all three have contributed to our success.

Recently we expanded, taking over an existing Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory location in the area, and we have plans to open another franchise later this year. If we had it to do over again, would we do anything different? Absolutely not!