Over the Christmas holidays I did some baking. I know, that's what a lot of people do during holidays, but baking isn't my gig anymore. Seems like a lifetime ago, when I was raising my four children, but back then I cooked three times a day, almost every day.
I cooked every day of every month: for decades! I cooked and prepared meals for babies, for growing children, for teenagers. I organized, planned, cooked, prepared, arranged, purchased, baked...for every holiday, every graduation, for scout events, church events, school events; for everyone's birthday, made school lunches....whew! I could only take so much. Now my brain sends this warning message when it comes to any of that:
"Run, Cathy! Do. Not. Look back!"
But during the Christmas holiday I managed to escape that sharp warning message when the thought of baking cookies came to me. And since the baking thought rarely passes through that protective anti-baking shield I decided to do it up in a big way: I bought a giant package of Hershey's Kisses designed to feed an army of royal children!Since it is the beginning of a brand new year I decided that with baking a little rearranging in my baking cupboard was also in order. That's when something else hit me (besides the bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips!)
What hit me was a memory. The souvenir spoon that my daughter Amanda brought back from Hershey, PA for my mini-spoon collection when she was on a high school mission trip quickly came to mind. Retrieving the spoon with the miniature Hershey Kiss I thought: these Hershey's Kisses are truly unique!
Not only are they delicious, but Kisses, along with the milk-chocolate recipe, foil wrapping with the little plume, have survived for over 100 years as one of the most beloved treats in America.
However, there's more, much more about the Hershey Company than unique packaging and branding.
The Hershey's company was founded by Milton Hershey who early in life apprenticed for a chocolate maker. Hershey went on to start several more companies on his own...all of which quickly failed. Despite the ingenuity of his ideas, his first businesses just never seemed to take root.
But being the entrepreneurial that he was, he decided to attend the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Happening upon a German chocolate company's display, Mr. Hershey promptly fell in love. So impressed with the German candy-making equipment he knew he had to have it and bought the entire display. Before this Mr. Hershey's main product had been caramels, chocolate had been secondary to the caramels. Suddenly chocolate was the deal!
Usually on these pages of my blog you'll find ideas and stories about dyslexia...and while nothing in Mr. Hershey's history states that he was dyslexic, the ingenuity of his ideas is really the important point here. [Consider that he did poorly in school -though that could be attributed to the lack of stability his parents displayed in his youth. He seemed to inherit his father's genetic inclination for entrepreneurial tendencies. All which can go hand-in-hand with dyslexia.]
No matter, the point is because one man did not give up, a brand, a city, a theme park and more continue to bear his name. Millions of dollars of profit have been made because of one man's dreams. Dreams he never gave up on.
Have you almost decided something was too tough to do? thought you could never accomplish it? gave up on? Where could your dreams have taken you if you hadn't given up? A KISS is a simple confectionery concept that changed more than one person's life?
What can you use your entrepreneurial ideas to accomplish?
For more information on OnPoint Learning and Cathy Cook go to https://www.facebook.com/OnPointLearningCenter or www.onpointlearning.org
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