Claudia studied international business and worked six years at a Swiss perfume and flavors company. She liked her job, but there came a moment when she asked herself: "so what is next?". An ice cream in Cuernavaca changed her course. She fell in love with the product, the service and the concept, and ended up opening Helnie stores in Toluca and Metepec.
Today she is the brand's ambassador in Mexico. But the road was no bowl of chocolate ice cream: there were tears when she quit, a pandemic that nearly broke her and a pile of lessons about teams, delegating and reinventing herself. These are the challenges that weighed on her most.
The problems she faced
1.Letting go of the security of a paycheck
Quitting was very hard. The company was good, her coworkers were her friends and she was happy, but she knew that was not what she wanted to do forever. The day she left, she cried holding her box of belongings while her husband came to pick her up.
Her family did not see it as easy either. Her grandmother, who always ran a business, told her: "do not quit, you do not know what it is like to have a business". Claudia admits she had no idea of everything that was coming, and she still says she does not regret it.
2.Not being able to handle two things at once
Before quitting she had already opened her first store, and someone else was running it. Still, she realized you cannot be in the office and keep an eye on the business: she got distracted, took calls and her performance dropped. If there was an emergency at the store, she could not handle it from a meeting.
Her solution was to make the leap in stages: she left her job and her husband kept his for a good while so there was balance. He also quit later, and today he works with her in the business.
3.Moving into a mall right before the pandemic
Opening in a big mall was a big bet: contract, renovations, investment and a lot of nerves. At first it was a boom and the store was packed. Then COVID came, and the store was closed for five months while expenses kept running.
When they reopened, sales were still very low. The first year of recovery was minimal and in the second they sold less than the one before. One of the stores had to close completely.
4.Getting through the pandemic, and what came after
Claudia says she almost threw in the towel, but there was a signed contract and they knew the business did work. What helped them was forming strategic alliances with other entrepreneurs: for example, a bakery came in to share their store. She learned so much from that experience that she says it was like getting a master's degree.
She also learned that her business is a luxury, not a necessity like bread, and that it is affected by what happens in the economy and in the world. When things get tough, people stop buying ice cream before they stop buying milk.
5.Delegating and taking care of the team
Delegating was very hard for her because "you do everything well yourself". To delegate she learned you first have to teach, and teach well. She spends time training, even though it sometimes gets tiring, and sometimes the person she trained leaves and she has to start over.
For her, human capital is a challenge: not everyone wakes up happy every day, but in an ice cream shop the show must go on.
6.A seasonal business and the need to innovate
Ice cream sales drop when it rains and gets cold, so Claudia has strategies for that season: holiday flavors that come out only once a year, like Day of the Dead bread and Three Kings' bread flavors. She has also launched new products, like ice cream sandwiches, popsicles and ice cream cake, so she does not stagnate.
She admits that what has been hardest is innovating within the same business and standing out without losing the brand's essence.
What she learned (and it can save you years)
1.Test before you make the full leap
Claudia did not quit blindly. First she opened, validated that the concept worked and kept a stable income at home for a while. Letting go of the rush makes the leap less scary.
2.Surround yourself with the right people
Her main advice is to spend time with people who add something. Nobody starts a business knowing everything: you learn as you go, and someone who already has experience in a business can save you mistakes. The entrepreneurs she met at bazaars and in the shared space where she opened are now allies and even partners.
3.Treat your team well
Besides choosing carefully who you hire, you have to give them time to teach them how you want things done, treat them with respect and remember that they are people who get sick and have problems. If your team feels good, it shows in how they serve customers.
4.Do things right with the tax authority and permits
Opening a business involves permits, signage and tax matters. At first she was afraid of the SAT, Mexico's tax authority, but she learned that nothing happens if you do things the right way: register properly and do not skip steps.
5.Sometimes a good name changes everything
Claudia had a chocolate milk ice cream that was not selling. The boyfriend of a neighbor at the mall suggested calling it "Turín bunny", after a popular chocolate brand in Mexico. The product was the same, but today it is the one that sells the most. She says that at the time she did not have the vision to give it that name.
6.Vent with your people
When self-sabotage hits, Claudia gets everything that is in her head out with her husband, her mom or her brother. She says 99% of it is usually nonsense, but she needs to air it out to get back to her center and keep going.
“Nobody starts a business knowing everything. You learn it all as you go.”
Is something like this happening to you?
If you are at the point of leaving your job or your business is going through a rough patch, go through this list:
Listen to the full episode
This is only a summary. The full conversation has many more details, stories and tips. Watch it in full on YouTube (it is recorded in Spanish; turn on the captions and choose Auto-translate to read it in English) or find every episode on the Pandas Creativos podcast page (in Spanish).
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