448 Lincoln Boulevard, Suite 203, Lincoln, 916-203-8892, blabbermouthchocolates.com

Describe your business. Did you find it, or did it find you? 

We offer seven (soon-to-be eight) different coffee chocolate bars, as well as coffee caramel and chocolate caramel for wholesale, retail, corporate gifting, and online customer sales—from Lincoln to New Jersey. We also operate a small retail store where we manufacture the bars, caramels, and other confectionery products, in addition to hand wrapping and shipping direct. Our business definitely found us. Darlene completed a professional chocolatier course and her final class project was to create a specialized confectionery product; after receiving overwhelming response from neighbors and friends on her creation—an espresso coffee bar—we developed two other coffee bar flavors (Guatemalan and Columbian) and went to work creating new business relationships, setting up customer accounts and our home kitchen, and obtaining a Placer County Cottage Food Operation permit. Within our first six months, we established enough customer base to move into a rented space, trade in our permit for a California food license, and register our name and logo.  

How are you involved with both the community and your customer? 

We donate gifts to the Lincoln Potters baseball team, sponsor Lincoln High School’s football team, are a member of the Downtown Lincoln Association, and attend local church events and races. We’ve become so involved with our community that many of our customers have become friends as well. 

Who is your role model in business or in life, and why? 

Travis Boersma, the co-founder of Dutch Bros. Coffee. We love his philosophy on life and business. 

What’s your favorite place to eat out locally? 

Mikuni. 

And finally, customer service is…? 

Creating a fun buying experience that brings customers back for life.