Six Years and Counting

Part of Happy Occasion Lolli Series

People often ask how did I become the Candy Man. Let me tell you this was not what I had planned on when I was growing up. I rode the dot com wave only to be unemployed and then I worked in a municipal government position prior to owning Illinois Nut Outlet with my wife which we renamed to be Illinois Nut and Candy.


The life of a candy man is at times truly sweet but it takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears. So here are some examples of the blood sweat and tears that I have shed.

Blood -- When I thought about blood the first thought that came to mind was the red chocolates that symbolized blood in the chocolate ten plagues. The plagues are very poplar Passover confection, but then I realized that I had really bleed. Being we make our own confections we have numerous pieces of equipment. As a owner I have two choices pay to have them fixed when they break or repair them myself. As every mechanic will tell you you need the right tools. Unfortunately I do not always have the correct tools the end result is a cut so yes I have bleed for the business.

Sweat -- As a small business owner you wear many hats; custodian, chocolatier, stock boy, sales person, HR you get the idea. Well all of the those jobs can make you sweat but the one that truly causes one to get a workout is unloading a truck . Can't decide which causes you to sweat more unloading  a truck in the heat or unloading a truck in sub zero temps -- yes you can sweat even when the thermometer reads below zero.

Tears -- Sometimes this job makes you laugh so hard you cry and other times you simply cry. This past year I admit I sat at my desk and cried numerous times. It all goes back to a little boy named Carter who we donated over 8000 gumballs to. Carter was dieing and his dream was to have it rain gumballs. We made this dream come true. As a result I followed his Dad's blog for the better part of a year and a bit until unfortunately Carter passed away. The day that I read his eulogy I cried.

So as I/We celebrate our 6th year in Business and my 6th year living the Life of the Candy Man I know I will bleed this year because something will break, I will sweat because we will get deliveries, and I hope the reason I cry is because I am laughing so hard.

Have a sweet day!