UCEDC - News Item
Recession-preneurs? Who's Actually Starting a Business in this Economy, and Why?
A candy store is a magical place where parents and children can put aside generational differences and come together in a wonderland of truffles, candy canes and toffee – one living in the moment, the other returning to a happy past. For Diana DiMonda, it’s this magic that she cultivates in her Montclair candy boutique – Dulce.
DiMonda and her sister, Melissa Tripoli, opened Dulce during the closest thing to a Depression most have ever seen. “There were a lot of raised eyebrows during our grand opening, for sure,” DiMonda recalls. But the sisters were not living some childhood fantasy – a fact that became obvious when they shopped their business plan over to UCEDC for a microloan.
Although they had no business background to back up their application, they had done their homework. “UCEDC was very excited and supportive.” DiMonda and Tripoli had worked eight months on their business plan but despite a ton of data, they really had nothing to base financial projections on.
“We gave them (UCEDC) three scenarios – best case, worst case and what we thought would be reality.” Dulce got the smallest loan they could from UCEDC and DiMonda is proud of the fact that “we were able to get up and running – from soup to nuts – for the smallest amount possible.”
Today, sales are trending slightly higher than the “reality” scenario. Why candy, why now? DiMonda’s research found candy is almost recession proof: It reminds people of better times, it’s a low price point, and “you can walk into a pretty shop, make a small purchase and come out with something tangible.”
DiMonda, who has a business degree, is the financial driver of the business, while her sister, a former publishing executive, is the marketing arm. For business advice and mentoring, they turn to Paige Sato at UCEDC. Business mentoring is a service provided to clients. “We definitely take advantage of that service,” DiMonda said, from learning how to use Quickbooks to day to day business operation questions. “They were tremendous through the whole process. They were constantly in touch with us.”
Walking into Dulce is taking a step into a different time: 85 penny candy jars, apothecary jars and galvanized tins dance with lemon drops, cinnamon sticks, cotton candy and red licorice sticks. In fact, walking was a big part of the reason they selected Montclair for their boutique. “We would only have opened this store here,” DiMonda explains. “It’s a walking town. This is the perfect environment for this kind of store.”
So perfect that Dulce is looking at some expansion this year, potentially offering e-commerce on their website (www.dulcenj.com) for some special packages that could be shipped nationwide. Riding a wave of good publicity including a piece in Montclair Magazine and a mention in a February edition of The New York Times, Dulce is taking a sweet ride through bitter times. “We couldn’t have done it without the support of UCEDC. Having them as a support system is tremendous.”
Posted: 02/08/2010
Dulce
UCEDC microloan client, Dulce Candy Boutique, of Montclair, NJ
