????手工藝創(chuàng)業(yè)者

????很多手工巧克力作坊的創(chuàng)始人，包括米米?維勒在內(nèi)，最初的動力都是出于對巧克力，而不是對商業(yè)的熱愛。維勒辭掉干了25年的社工工作，在密歇根州艾姆派爾創(chuàng)辦了一家巧克力店，名字叫雜貨商老板的女兒（Grocer's Daughter）。她有很多定期光顧的老客戶，有些人來免費幫忙，也有些人成了店里的雇員。

????她說：“很多人不求回報，慷慨相助?！彼堰@些朋友編成“巧克力品嘗團”，其中有個人說服她將這家租來的鋪子涂成亮綠色。這些朋友還幫助她聯(lián)系到了第一個批發(fā)客戶——Zingerman's Delicatessen。

????維勒的店一周營業(yè)七天。去年，店里的銷售額增長了40%。維勒在店里種了很多花草，有薰衣草、羅勒、迷迭香和薄荷，這些都會成為巧克力中的配料。維勒說，雜貨商的女兒會雇傭一些“非常有創(chuàng)意的巧克力制造者”，其中有些只有十幾歲。他們最初只是店里的顧客，后來卻變成了員工。他們發(fā)明了一種香辣巧克力包裹的腌肉，還在巧克力中嘗試加入茶葉。維勒說：“人們通常來店里都會問：‘這個星期又有什么新花樣？’”

????Artisanal entrepreneur

????Many of those who launch artisanal chocolate shops, including Mimi Wheeler, are inspired by a love for chocolate, not business. Wheeler left her 25-year career as a social worker to create Grocer's Daughter, a shop in Empire, Mich. Customers come by regularly, some have turned into unpaid helpers and some joined her staff.

????"I saw an immense spirit of helpfulness and generosity," she says. She enlisted friends to join "tasting teams," and one of them convinced her to paint the leased shop a brilliant green. Her friendships also helped her land her first wholesale account: Zingerman's Delicatessen.

????Her shop is open seven days a week, and sales increased 40% last year. Wheeler grows herbs there, which show up in the chocolates: lavender, basil, rosemary, and mint. Grocer's Daughter employs some "very creative chocolatiers," Wheeler says, including some teens who started visiting the shop and ended up working there. They've developed a chocolate chili rub meat marinade and started using teas in chocolate. "People come and say, 'What's new this week?' says Wheeler.