Today we’d like to introduce you to Aspen Calhoun.
Hi Aspen , please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
As parents of a special needs kiddo and now an adult as life progresses and time passes you come to know that there is a life transition ahead for your child as the get older. We began transition planning for Shane in middle school, into high school and now continue it while he is in school transition or work training. What the planning does not address is the decision you will have to make if your family member is not capable of college or working on their own as an adult. There are some amazing day hab programs in the area where adults of all ages can spend their days in group activities, outings and learning with full time care. There are waiting lists for programs like this and need for more like them. The other option is to simply keep your adult at home with you. When looking at these options we’ve always known we wanted more for Shane. While we love for him to be with his special needs peers we have grown tired of the separation. He and his friends deserve and love to be part of our typical community, they long to have connections, friends and a life outside their special needs world. Knowing this and wanting more for Shane and others like him led us to creating a place where the community is actively invited into our world. Shanes world. Where connections, kindness and awareness can grow and thrive in a community not only for Shane but others like him.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Because the idea of a shop, booth, storefront or even mobile retail has been on our horizon for years we have worked through literally dozens of ideas before arriving at our decision to open a gourmet chocolate shop. We struggled finding a place to lease as most want an established company or a proven income not a start up. We are still in the beginning phase of our business and story, we dont know what tomorrow will bring or what to expect. This makes ordering and preparing for seasons very difficult. We continue to rely on God to guide and keep us and our business thriving.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’ve been in sales most of my working life. As a mother of 2, one special needs I needed to work from home to support my children and their needs, it’s what worked best for us. I have and continue to own a direct sales business with Scentsy even now and am surprised every day how much the last 20 years of being an entrepreneur have helped me with our current business. I am proud of our community connections and look forward to nurturing them into the future. We are a military family, my husband is retired from the Marine Corps. As a family we are driven in all we do, we set our minds to whatever journey we embark on and trust that God will guide, provide and even when we dont have the answers we know they’ll come.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
As our community shares their experience in our shop and love of our product, we anticipate sales growth that will eventually be able to support more than just our son as a volunteer. We are thrilled at the idea of someday having a full staff of special needs friends and a community that shows up without fail to support us.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://especially-sweet-gourmet-chocolate-boutique.myshopify.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/especiallysweetchocolate
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61582490232774
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/especially-sweet-gourmet-chocolate-boutique-keller
- Other: https://share.google/sTyQnBXwBHUpBuhij
