Confectionery Franchise A Sweet Business In Great Falls

Who doesn't like chocolate? Mike and Stephanie Wier got the idea that not many people wouldn't after happening on a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory outlet in Seattle.

The gleaming cases of sweet treats that tempt thousands to the retail confectioner's many locations in larger airports and big city malls now have a home in the Wier's outlet in Holiday Village Mall. The Great Falls couple sells the range of sweets that the Durango, Colo.-based Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory is known for "" including sugar-free items. Also popular in the store are dipped dog biscuits "" chocolate-free, of course, in light of canines' inability to tolerate chocolate "" because who doesn't like dogs? To round out the treats, the Wiers also sell Big Dipper Ice Cream, a Montana favorite from the Missoula frozen-confection maker (some may know it from the Last Chance Gulch location in Helena).

Stephanie Wier, 46, provides a peek at running the franchise.

How long have you been in business? Almost a year. We opened around Labor Day 2011, but there was a 10-month process of getting approval from the SBA (Small Business Administration) and the build out of the store. We also did training in Colorado. We were able to make a small profit in our first year by watching our budget and keeping costs down.

What is your work background? I worked in a title insurance office and raised our kids and Mike has been the manager of Northern Directory Publishing.

Do either of you still work outside this business? Mike (48) still has his regular job. I work here full time, cooking, doing the books and ordering. I do the shopping. We do local shopping for things like strawberries, sugar and butter. We do about 10-15 hours of cooking a week. We cook in large batches. We do two batches of caramel apples a week of 300-400 apples each time. We also make brittle and bark type candies. Anything that we make or decide to offer, such as the Big Dipper Ice Cream, has to be approved by the corporation.

How did you pick this franchise and location? Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory guides you in that. You have to have foot traffic so we knew we had to be in the mall. We do not have the right volume downtown. For years we talked about starting a business, mostly talking about starting an ice-cream store. We came upon a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory in Seattle on vacation and ended up pursuing that. Both of our kids work here during the summer. They are 18 and 20 now, so they will go off to college. We have four to five employees.

Did you require financing? How did you do that? The SBA process was tedious "" but we're very appreciative of having that loan. It's not easy getting a loan these days.We had to write a business plan and that takes time but it helps you think through what you're going to do. We were determined to keep costs down. We bought used equipment and that saved thousands of dollars. The refrigerators are used. The candy cases are used.

What's your favorite part of running this business? My favorite thing is meeting people. So many people are happy when they come in and it's good to see them enjoy our products. Based on sales, 50 percent of what we sell is made in the store and 50 percent we order from Rocky Mountain in Colorado. People really like what we make. Holidays are the biggest time of year. Christmas brought in the most money. It was our first year and we didn't know what to expect. We ran out of some items and found there was a lag, about a 10-day lead time. Valentine's Day was our single largest day out of any other day of the year. Mother's Day and Easter also were busy. It's a fun business to be in.

Online ordering from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory website does not compete with local franchises because if there is a store near the person who is placing the order, that store fulfills and mails the order. Orders are usually shipped overnight to maintain temperature. There is a waiting period before new stores can fill online orders. We started Aug. 1.

What do you like least about running this business? Like with any job, there are tedious things that you have to do. But it's a fun job even when you're tired. (Mike said) the hardest part is getting the word out that we're here. We have used newspaper, radio and TV. A phone-book coupon has worked well. We do get graphic support from them (Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory).

How did your previous education and employment prepare you for this? My first job was in fast food. I started out at McDonalds. I grew up in Madera, Calif. and went to high school there. Mike is from Billings and went to Billings West and MSU. He has an engineering degree and worked for Dow Chemical in L.A. (Los Angeles). Then we came to Helena where he got a job in the MSU Extension Center and used his engineering background to help businesses around the state improve operations. Northern Publishing offered him a job when he was consulting with them. My first job in fast food long ago taught skills in customer service and how to treat people "" and the importance of cleanliness that are valuable anywhere.

What's your biggest-selling product? Peanut butter bucket. They are quarter-pound chocolate-peanut butter cups similar to Reese's but four to five times the size.

What's your favorite product? My favorite is caramel apples and anything dark chocolate.

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