Quitting My Job to Make Chocolate Racing Helmets

Two days ago I left my job working as Sales & Marketing Director for a motorsport electronics company to focus all of my energy into a new startup called Racing Chocs and today was honestly the first time I sat down and almost had a minor panic attack after fully comprehending just what a mammoth task I have set myself. I have a ￡350K mortgage, two children under three, a wife who is still on maternity leave, not much disposable income and here I am, quitting my well paid job and risking everything to go and make chocolate.

AM I NUTS??!!??

It is a fair question and one I have flip-flopped on for at least the past 15 years, but I do have a lot going for me with Racing Chocs and below I have set out the reasons why I think I may be on to a winner here.

IT'S A UNIQUE PRODUCT

Firstly, my idea is pretty unique. The chocolates I'm creating are shaped like racing helmets and I hand decorate each one so that they either resemble famous racing helmet designs or carry company branding. This is something that no one has done before and as such, people are sitting up and taking notice. Decorating filled chocolates is important as the external design can be used to determine the filling and taking inspiration from the world of motorsport just felt right.

I HAVE THE RIGHT AUDIENCE

I'm lucky to have worked in motorsport ever since university and last year launched the highly successful 'Pitlane Industries' motorsport recruitment website. This means I have managed to build a large network of contacts and connections to whom my product has direct relevance, making social promotion a lot more direct and straightforward, especially when it comes to corporate gifting possibilities.

WHO DOESN'T LIKE CHOCOLATE?

I'm selling high quality Belgium chocolate, which was always going to be a winner for a lot of people, and by focusing on offering a range of classic chocolate/filling combinations, no one is being put off by the flavor options available.

I CONTROL THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS

I'm not just buying in a product from China, marking it up and selling it on. I am personally creating each chocolate racing helmet, which means I have full control over the manufacturing process and can therefore offer a wide range of varying options to people based on budget, taste or decoration requirements. This can range from offering 10,000 boxes of undecorated chocolate racing helmets filled with caramel for an international racing series' hospitality gifting program or 2 boxes of 6 fully custom creation which will be given as a Christmas present to a current F1 driver.

CHRISTMAS IS COMING

Speaking of Christmas, every chocolatier I have spoken to over the past few months has repeated the fact that 70% of a chocolate companies annual turnover will be achieved in the months of November and December due to both corporate and personal gifting habits. It's certainly going to be interesting to experience the Christmas rush for the first time. I just hope I am sufficiently prepared to handle the expected influx of orders.

EXPERIENCE IS EVERYTHING

I am not very experienced when it comes to working with chocolate. I've only been doing it for a few months, although I did train at the Chocolate Academy in Banbury, UK. I am however very experienced at Sales and Marketing, which has helped me to create a great eCommerce website, engage with potential customers via social media and secure a number of decent orders within my first few months of operation.

SO WHY AM I CONCERNED?

Money of course. I've bet big on Racing Chocs being a success by investing in custom moulds, equipment, ingredients. I've given up my well paid job so that I can do what all the chocolatiers advised and start building up stocks for Christmas, but what if the orders don't come? What if the money runs out before the orders arrive? What if I get so swamped with orders I become overwhelmed and have a nervous breakdown...

HOW YOU CAN HELP

If you would be interested in ordering some chocolate racing helmets, either as a special treat for yourself, a gift for a loved one, or as a corporate gift to colleagues, suppliers or customers, please either email me your requirements or place an order online at www.racingchocs.com

I guess if you see me at the Autosport Show handing out CV's instead of chocolates, you will know how the story ended.

Matthew