Jacqueline Jacek

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[00:00] SPEAKER_00: It's Edmonton's podcast on the Canada's podcast network.
[00:15] SPEAKER_01: Hello, this is Mario Tonoguzi coming to you today with Edmonton's podcast, a member
[00:21] SPEAKER_01: of Canada's podcast network, where we talk to the entrepreneurs who are making it happen
[00:26] SPEAKER_01: in Edmonton, Alberta.
[00:28] SPEAKER_01: So you can listen, discover and engage.
[00:31] SPEAKER_01: Today's guest is Jacqueline Jasek, Kokonista at Jasek Chocolate Couture.
[00:37] SPEAKER_01: Thanks for joining us today, Jacqueline.
[00:40] SPEAKER_00: That was my pleasure.
[00:41] SPEAKER_01: Okay, first question, what is a Kokonista?
[00:46] SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's a really common question because it's not a super common word.
[00:50] SPEAKER_00: So I developed this term, Kokonista, because it didn't really describe what I do best.
[00:57] SPEAKER_00: So a chocolate tier is not really describing what I do.
[01:01] SPEAKER_00: I'm a fusion of fashion and chocolate.
[01:03] SPEAKER_00: So Kokonista kind of fuses fashionista and chocolate tier into one word.
[01:08] SPEAKER_01: Okay, tell me a little bit about the Jasek Chocolate Couture.
[01:13] SPEAKER_01: What do you do?
[01:14] SPEAKER_01: And maybe a little bit of the history behind setting up that company.
[01:18] SPEAKER_00: For sure.
[01:19] SPEAKER_00: So I had my first business actually when I was 11 years old.
[01:21] SPEAKER_00: So I've been an entrepreneur for a long time.
[01:23] SPEAKER_00: And my favorite thing is combining creativity and salability.
[01:28] SPEAKER_00: So building something that's salable, but using creativity.
[01:31] SPEAKER_00: So I thought long term, what do I want to do?
[01:33] SPEAKER_00: Well, my ultimate career goal was to bring joy.
[01:35] SPEAKER_00: And so for me, it was very much an exploration of what is joy.
[01:38] SPEAKER_00: Enjoy to me is fashion and chocolate.
[01:41] SPEAKER_00: So I thought, how do I combine those two to create my ultimate job as a Kokonista?
[01:46] SPEAKER_00: So I decided to train in chocolate and use that as fabric in fashion.
[01:50] SPEAKER_00: So we actually run a chocolate business on a fashion business model,
[01:54] SPEAKER_00: meaning that we launch a collection seasonally like fashion.
[01:58] SPEAKER_00: So the summer collection, spring collection, fall and winter collection.
[02:02] SPEAKER_00: So fashion is really thread throughout our whole business,
[02:05] SPEAKER_00: which is a really unique concept.
[02:07] SPEAKER_00: And what's really, really cool about it is the way it helps us attract staff.
[02:12] SPEAKER_00: We're not building the same things, creating the same things all the time.
[02:14] SPEAKER_00: So we're not a factory.
[02:15] SPEAKER_00: We'll very much a studio approach to chocolate.
[02:19] SPEAKER_01: Tell me just a little bit about the benefits of doing business in Edmonton.
[02:24] SPEAKER_00: There are so many benefits to doing business in Edmonton.
[02:27] SPEAKER_00: I often joke that I'm not sure that this concept of fashion and chocolate
[02:31] SPEAKER_00: would have worked anywhere else.
[02:33] SPEAKER_00: I really feel it.
[02:34] SPEAKER_00: Edmontonians are incredibly supportive and really willing to support local entrepreneurs,
[02:39] SPEAKER_00: especially when they have kind of a very unique concept they're really willing to give us a go.
[02:43] SPEAKER_00: And are pretty forgiving as we learn.
[02:45] SPEAKER_01: Okay, and what about challenges?
[02:47] SPEAKER_01: What about challenges of doing business in Edmonton?
[02:50] SPEAKER_00: Well, I think one of the challenges,
[02:53] SPEAKER_00: and actually it might be a blessing as well as being an emtion is weather.
[02:56] SPEAKER_00: So being in chocolate, we do get some very hot summers.
[03:00] SPEAKER_00: So that's pretty challenging an emtion.
[03:02] SPEAKER_00: But I guess on the flip side, the glorious thing is we're, you know,
[03:05] SPEAKER_00: covered in snow for eight months of the year.
[03:06] SPEAKER_00: So that's a blessing as well.
[03:08] SPEAKER_00: So I say that's a bit of a blessing.
[03:11] SPEAKER_00: A small thing with Edmonton is, I guess, the slowness with the municipal government
[03:16] SPEAKER_00: in permitting for building new stores and things.
[03:20] SPEAKER_00: So that's been a bit challenging.
[03:21] SPEAKER_00: Not a showstopper by any means, but I would say that would be a challenge.
[03:24] SPEAKER_01: Why would you recommend Edmonton entrepreneurs who are looking to start a business?
[03:30] SPEAKER_00: I think you, Edmonton is a really unique entrepreneur culture here.
[03:34] SPEAKER_00: There's not a whole lot of competition within industries.
[03:37] SPEAKER_00: Everyone is super amicable and willing to help each other out.
[03:41] SPEAKER_00: And I think that's pretty unique to Edmonton.
[03:43] SPEAKER_00: We hear a lot that Edmonton is thriving in entrepreneurship
[03:47] SPEAKER_00: because of this sense of community, even within industry.
[03:52] SPEAKER_01: Now some of the best things that we come up with on ideas come in kind of weird places,
[03:58] SPEAKER_01: right? Whether it's in the mountains or whatever.
[04:01] SPEAKER_01: Is there anything that you'd like to do or places that you go that you like to disconnect,
[04:08] SPEAKER_01: you know, recharge and get inspired about your business?
[04:13] SPEAKER_00: Of course, and I think that's super important.
[04:15] SPEAKER_00: I do it a couple times a week at Moto Yoga, which is a hot yoga studio.
[04:19] SPEAKER_00: I think it's a great opportunity to disconnect from the rest of the world.
[04:22] SPEAKER_00: And you're literally forced to because there's no phones allowed, no, you know,
[04:26] SPEAKER_00: watches or anything like that.
[04:28] SPEAKER_00: So it's an opportunity to really disconnect and reconnect, I guess, with yourself or myself.
[04:33] SPEAKER_00: So I find that extremely valuable.
[04:36] SPEAKER_00: Weekly, I go for long walks in the River Valley, which is just great to get out
[04:41] SPEAKER_00: and fresh air in space.
[04:43] SPEAKER_00: And I'll go with my dad and my husband.
[04:45] SPEAKER_00: So just a good chance to connect and share ideas.
[04:48] SPEAKER_00: And then one of my favorite vacations in Edmonton has been at the Fairmont hotel.
[04:54] SPEAKER_00: So it was a 20 minute drive away for a weekend, but our team bought us a weekend
[04:59] SPEAKER_00: at the Fairmont locally.
[05:01] SPEAKER_00: And it was fantastic because we felt like we were on vacation.
[05:05] SPEAKER_00: But we didn't have to travel, which was pretty cool.
[05:08] SPEAKER_01: I thought you were going to say West Edmitt and more.
[05:10] SPEAKER_00: No.
[05:12] SPEAKER_01: I did that once, actually, spend three days in the mall.
[05:17] SPEAKER_01: It was a great vacation, actually.
[05:21] SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
[05:22] SPEAKER_01: Tell me a little bit about what you're most excited about these days with the business.
[05:27] SPEAKER_00: Oh gosh, there's so much to be excited about.
[05:30] SPEAKER_00: I mean, for us, if I go back to our B.
[05:32] SPEAKER_00: Hey, you know, the Jim Collins term of the big, Harriet,
[05:35] SPEAKER_00: they just go.
[05:36] SPEAKER_00: Are there's to bring joy to a million people by July 31, 2024.
[05:41] SPEAKER_00: So next week, we'll have five years left to go.
[05:44] SPEAKER_00: And I guess we really excited is all the ideas that'll help us get there.
[05:47] SPEAKER_00: And we have to think big because we're currently sitting at about 20% of our goals.
[05:51] SPEAKER_00: So we have five years to do 80%.
[05:53] SPEAKER_00: So I find it really exciting to think bigger and to be so around myself.
[05:58] SPEAKER_00: The people that can help you do that.
[06:00] SPEAKER_01: When you look at the challenges that you've faced recently,
[06:04] SPEAKER_01: or not recently, but in setting up the business, what has been the biggest challenge
[06:08] SPEAKER_01: to date in being an entrepreneur?
[06:11] SPEAKER_00: Cool.
[06:12] SPEAKER_00: I mean, this challenge is all the time.
[06:15] SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't say there are ever any show stoppers.
[06:18] SPEAKER_00: I think it's really helped in being creative to find solutions to things.
[06:22] SPEAKER_00: I think the biggest challenge we're seeing right now, especially in the food sector
[06:25] SPEAKER_00: is change in legislation.
[06:28] SPEAKER_00: This new safe food for Canadians act, meaning that anybody wanting to sell food
[06:32] SPEAKER_00: or manufactured food outside of provincial borders have got to go through
[06:36] SPEAKER_00: really strict food safety regulations, which I'm all for.
[06:40] SPEAKER_00: I think a food safe food line is incredibly important, obviously,
[06:44] SPEAKER_00: but it's a lot more documentation and traceability and recall.
[06:48] SPEAKER_00: And so we're actually having, we're going through a massive renovation of our
[06:52] SPEAKER_00: production space to comply with these new rules.
[06:55] SPEAKER_00: Because, you know, we're going to achieve our beehive.
[06:58] SPEAKER_00: I'm bringing joy to a million people.
[06:59] SPEAKER_00: We can't just sell with an Alberta market.
[07:01] SPEAKER_00: It's just not big enough.
[07:02] SPEAKER_00: So I think that's one of our biggest challenges is investing in really solid
[07:06] SPEAKER_00: systems and renovating our space for compliance.
[07:11] SPEAKER_01: In hindsight, what do you know now that you wish you knew when you first started?
[07:17] SPEAKER_00: Oh gosh, so much.
[07:19] SPEAKER_00: I think for sure, one of the things would be to hire slowly and carefully.
[07:25] SPEAKER_00: And let people go when they're just not a good fit for your, your culture or your values.
[07:31] SPEAKER_01: What's the best piece of advice you've ever received for being an entrepreneur?
[07:37] SPEAKER_00: The best piece of advice would be that sometimes 80% is okay.
[07:42] SPEAKER_00: Being a perfectionist, that was a hard lesson for me, is really to identify
[07:47] SPEAKER_00: what things are non-negotiable.
[07:48] SPEAKER_00: They have to be 100% in which things can be get away with 80% and being okay with that.
[07:53] SPEAKER_00: So being okay with 80% is the best advice.
[07:56] SPEAKER_01: Now everybody these days seems to have a personal bucket list.
[08:00] SPEAKER_01: What sits atop your bucket list these days?
[08:03] SPEAKER_00: Well, at the top is something that I'm doing next month, which is actually part of my
[08:07] SPEAKER_00: desk bucket list, which was also online, but it's been accelerated because my dad asked
[08:11] SPEAKER_00: me to do it, but we're going to be walking a portion of the Spanish communal next
[08:15] SPEAKER_00: month. So in six days, we're going to walk 175 kilometers.
[08:19] SPEAKER_01: Oh, and why, why is that important to you?
[08:22] SPEAKER_00: Well, it feels important because A is one of my dad's dreams, so to be there with
[08:25] SPEAKER_00: him for 65th birthday is being there and walking with him.
[08:29] SPEAKER_00: And I think the things we're doing in life are the hard things.
[08:33] SPEAKER_00: And for me, this is not going to be an easy thing.
[08:35] SPEAKER_00: So for me, it's just challenging myself and seeing how mentally tough I can be.
[08:40] SPEAKER_01: If you weren't doing what you do now for work and as a career profession,
[08:46] SPEAKER_01: any thoughts or ideas of what you would be doing instead?
[08:51] SPEAKER_00: For sure. I think if I wasn't in chocolate design, I would probably be in fashion
[08:55] SPEAKER_00: design. I'm still very much in love with that idea of fashion.
[08:59] SPEAKER_00: So that's something I'd love to do and fashion in the eco space.
[09:03] SPEAKER_00: So, you know, really paying attention to the environment to sustainability,
[09:06] SPEAKER_00: sort of really put my heads at and it's, I mean, my head's there in chocolate as
[09:10] SPEAKER_00: well, but I think in fashion, there's a lot of ideas I've had.
[09:13] SPEAKER_00: So that's where I would love to be if I wasn't in chocolate.
[09:16] SPEAKER_01: Okay. What book are you currently reading?
[09:19] SPEAKER_00: I am reading the culture code right now.
[09:22] SPEAKER_00: So really understanding culture and it's by Daniel Coil.
[09:26] SPEAKER_00: I'm really loving it and it's important for me right now just as the business
[09:30] SPEAKER_00: grows and we move into this new facility for food safety.
[09:34] SPEAKER_00: We're going to be divided on a side that's incredibly food safe.
[09:38] SPEAKER_00: And then the admin side will be a lot less crossing over slides.
[09:42] SPEAKER_00: So I'm really worried about our culture and division and how to really mitigate that.
[09:47] SPEAKER_01: Okay. Now if you had to pick one word to describe yourself, what would it be and why?
[09:55] SPEAKER_00: I love that question.
[09:57] SPEAKER_00: Lots of words come to mind, but I think energetic is probably an accurate one.
[10:02] SPEAKER_00: And the reason being is I love what I do and that, I mean, that truly gives me energy.
[10:07] SPEAKER_01: Okay. Is there anything keeping you up at night these these days that you're
[10:12] SPEAKER_01: worried about, concerned about?
[10:13] SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't say there's anything necessarily that I'm concerned about.
[10:17] SPEAKER_00: What keeps me up at night though is ideas.
[10:20] SPEAKER_00: I'm scared to forget them or lose them and it's just so much opportunity that for me,
[10:25] SPEAKER_00: that's what keeps me up is which ideas to pursue, which ideas do I need to park?
[10:30] SPEAKER_00: I guess idea generations, what keeps me up at night.
[10:33] SPEAKER_01: Now outside of Edmonton, is there a favorite place that you have in the world that you like to go to and spend time at?
[10:40] SPEAKER_00: Well, I've only been once to this place, but I still think it's my, when my favorite places in the world and it's
[10:46] SPEAKER_00: Kusko in Peru.
[10:48] SPEAKER_01: Ah, yes.
[10:48] SPEAKER_00: I love it for the culture.
[10:50] SPEAKER_00: It's so different for its history.
[10:52] SPEAKER_00: And it's also the first place I traveled to with my, well, at the time, boyfriend now has been.
[10:58] SPEAKER_00: It's the first place we went to together and, um, yeah, I just have really great memories.
[11:03] SPEAKER_00: Even despite the altitude.
[11:06] SPEAKER_01: I understand actually I was there as well back in the late 80s and, uh,
[11:11] SPEAKER_01: phenomenal place, phenomenal place.
[11:13] SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
[11:14] SPEAKER_01: Brought back a lot of Koka leaf tea actually.
[11:18] SPEAKER_00: And it's necessary once you're there, right, to deal with that altitude.
[11:21] SPEAKER_01: Yeah, exactly.
[11:22] SPEAKER_01: Do you have a daily routine that you, uh, follow every day that, uh, that's almost you don't deviate from?
[11:30] SPEAKER_00: Well, I wish I could say yes, but the truth is no.
[11:33] SPEAKER_00: Um, I would say every day is completely different depending on the demands of the day.
[11:38] SPEAKER_00: So there, I have no real rhythm.
[11:41] SPEAKER_00: Um, I don't even necessarily wake up at the same time or go to bed at the same time, which I know is terrible for your body,
[11:45] SPEAKER_00: but it really depends on the rhythm of my family life and business.
[11:49] SPEAKER_00: So every day is quite different.
[11:51] SPEAKER_01: Okay, then now I'm going to tell you, uh, give you a scenario that's kind of different here and, uh, see what you think about it.
[11:59] SPEAKER_01: Okay, just imagine a small, beautiful tropical island that's in the middle of the ocean with only one foam booth
[12:06] SPEAKER_01: and no internet, no technology whatsoever.
[12:09] SPEAKER_01: We're going to drop you off there.
[12:11] SPEAKER_01: Now, anytime you can use that phone to make a phone call and we'll come pick you up.
[12:18] SPEAKER_01: Uh, now how long do you think it'll take you to make that phone call?
[12:22] SPEAKER_01: And what do you think you'll be doing while you were there?
[12:24] SPEAKER_00: Oh, hilarious.
[12:26] SPEAKER_00: So I watched that show alone and so they're left on, you know, in a place to live.
[12:30] SPEAKER_00: And they have to challenge themselves to see how long they can make it.
[12:35] SPEAKER_00: So I actually think about this question a lot.
[12:37] SPEAKER_00: And for me, I think a week would be perfect.
[12:40] SPEAKER_00: I love being surrounded by people that gives me energy,
[12:42] SPEAKER_00: but I also love being alone and solitude is something I really love as well.
[12:47] SPEAKER_00: So I'd say a week and then in that week, um, I would find food.
[12:51] SPEAKER_00: I'd build a shelter and I would explore.
[12:54] SPEAKER_00: I think and after a week, I would feel like I've satisfied my alone time.
[12:58] SPEAKER_00: I've managed to survive the food and shelter and explore it enough and be ready to head back into society.
[13:05] SPEAKER_01: Super. Is there anything you'd like to add before you leave us today?
[13:09] SPEAKER_00: Uh, no, um, I think one question I love,
[13:12] SPEAKER_00: or I was asked in a previous podcast, um, was if I could put anything on a billboard,
[13:18] SPEAKER_00: what would the message be?
[13:20] SPEAKER_00: And one thing I think about often is, you know,
[13:23] SPEAKER_00: what we do is so simple, uh, at J.S.A.C. is to bring joy.
[13:27] SPEAKER_00: So I guess my challenge to people would be if everyone can make somebody smile
[13:31] SPEAKER_00: that they don't know every day whether it's at the supermarket
[13:33] SPEAKER_00: or thanking somebody for their service, at the gas station or anything like that,
[13:38] SPEAKER_00: then we would have succeeded at J.S.A.C.
[13:40] SPEAKER_00: So I guess my billboard would say make someone smile.
[13:43] SPEAKER_01: Super. Thanks for joining us today, Jack one.
[13:47] SPEAKER_00: Thank you. Have a great day.
[13:49] SPEAKER_01: Hey there. Thanks for taking the time today to listen to Edmonton's podcast on Canada's podcast
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[14:17] SPEAKER_01: See you next time.