When we decided that the theme for the 19thissue of WomenandBiz.com would be on Change – how internal and external changes
Fany Balabram
affect your business; I could not think of a better example than of my family business. Therefore, I decided to interview my mother, Fany Balabram, for this issue, so that you can learn from her experiences being 25 years in business and running Fany Bombons. She is a role model to follow, and during the interview she shares many strategies to pursue Change, adapt, innovate and thrive in order to grow a business.
The business has her name, Fany and “Bombons” means candies in Portuguese. Fany Balabram has always loved to cook, and she had often cooked delicious meals for her family, but she did not know anything about chocolate candy making. This is how the business started back in 1983 – Fany Balabram had been managing her husband’s [my father – Moysés Balabram] Construction company for several years, when she read an article in a National magazine talking about the business of chocolate and how it would grow in the next few years. Around the same time, Fany learned about a course teaching candy making that was being offered in her neighborhood. She decided to take it. Although it was a good course, it only taught her the very basics. She then registered to take another course and learned a little more. She saw the opportunity, and soon she was ready to start her home-based chocolate candy business. She attended many courses thereafter, tried many recipes and improved her baking style. She also owns a collection of over 400 national and international cooking, baking and chocolate books.
Although Fany had no retail experience, she intuitively knew how to get the business off the ground. When I asked how she promoted the business at first, she mentioned that she called her friends and acquaintances to let them know about it, and she also offered free samples to key players in the community. The business grew exponentially mainly through word of mouth and cold calling, and the construction business was closed a few years later and Moysés continues to work with Fany in the chocolate business. They also decided to create a brochure and mail it to all their contacts, and the campaign achieved great results.After a few years of selling candies at their living room, with their children [yes, me too!] helping out, they decided it was time to build a storefront from the garage of their home, and after that, the business really took off. With a storefront and a new factory, more clients were coming in and more products were offered, such as gift baskets. The main business came from gifts that people could use after eating the chocolate, such as wooden trays, specially made baskets, cans and a lot more.
Unfortunately, as the business grew and became well known, the interest for home-based chocolate making also grew, and the competition kept taking a big chunk of FB’s market share. The business faced a plateau and finally with a lot of perseverance and hard-work, the partners decided it was time to open a new store at a food court of a new mall that was being built just a few miles away. Since the business was going to be located at the food court, Fany Balabram decided to include in the contract with the mall, sandwiches, cakes, pies, crepes, cafés, hot chocolate and tea. This change represented a major step for the continuance of the business. The mall store although still selling chocolate and gift baskets, it was now a Café offering many additional goodies. The Café opened its doors with the mall in July 1995.
Eight years later it was time to change the original home store into a Café, and this transformation has allowed the business to offer cakes and additional products in their neighborhood store as well.
When asked about the challenges Fany faces, she mentioned the fact that she loves creating new recipes and cooking, but she does not enjoy so much the ins and outs of running a retail business. Another challenge is managing staff and staying ahead of the competition. Many competitors claim to offer semi-home-made candies, and such a thing does not exist, but it still harms Fany Bombons since it is one of the few businesses still offering 100% home-made products, which helps the organization maintain the quality and flavor of its products.
Fany Balabram enjoys the freedom the business provides, and she also loves the opportunity she has to create new and innovate with old recipes. She offers the following advice to aspiring business owners: “If you have a vision of the big picture, and you combine it with quality and creativity, you will succeed.”
Her future plans include launching new products and growing the delivery services, and of course, never being apart from the company’s values and commitment to offering quality products and excellent customer service. By remaining open to new opportunities, listening to their clients, paying attention to the changes in the marketplace, and constantly innovating and adding new products, Fany and Moysés Balabram have been able to succeed in this competitive industry for the last 25 years.
As for their four children, none works at the business at this point, however, they are all confessed chocoholics and fans of the company’s products.
For more information about Fany Balabram and Fany Bombons Ltda, please visit http://www.fanybombons.com.br/. The website is in Portuguese though.