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More Than I Bargained For [SkIP 2020]

Mackenzie Brennan (BSBA '22)
August 10, 2020
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My name is Mackenzie Brennan. I am a junior at Washington University, studying Marketing, Organizational & Strategic Management, and Business Analytics. This summer, I have had the pleasure of working for Honeymoon Chocolates under Cam Loyet. Honeymoon Chocolates was founded in 2016 and specializes in bean to bar craft chocolate sweetened solely with raw honey.

When I attended the networking event for the Skandalaris Summer Internship program, I distinctly remember a chart displaying the areas in which each company was looking for help. I spoke to the companies who had checked off social media & marketing, thinking I would be working only within these areas; little did I know just how wrong I was.

When I began working with Cam, I had a narrow view of what projects and pieces of the business in which I would be involved. On the first day of my internship, Cam gave me all the materials I needed to run Honeymoon’s social media accounts, but what struck me was the other materials he provided. I was given all of their sales information, past attempts at getting the product in stores, information on how the chocolate was actually made, industry podcasts and articles, as well as transcripts of correspondence with an agency creating some product packaging. It dawned on me then: no successful entrepreneur can work on one piece of their business in a vacuum. Perhaps, my experience would involve more than I bargained for, and that excited me.

A giveaway IG story

On my second day, I was told that I could get involved in anything I wanted as well as start my own projects. I took this opportunity to do more than just run an instagram account (@honeymoonchocolates) over the next 10 weeks. First, I began to introduce giveaways, weekly fun facts, as well as propose an email newsletter. Next, I searched for ideal target cities for our product as well as looked for stores in those specific cities. Throughout the summer I observed how to work with an agency to create packaging that not only aligned with our branding on a visual level – but also in a material sense. I learned how to cold call, follow up and create lasting connections to small businesses. I figured out how to distinguish between instagram influencers that would further our brand and get us to our target audience and ones that would not.

Beyond those individual projects and takeaways, I observed that a successful entrepreneur is someone who can bring all aspects of a business together and make it one cohesive company. During my time at Honeymoon I observed just how important each and every facet of the business was and how they interacted with each other. The more places I got involved, the more my view of an organized, compartmentalized company, felt so wrong. I began to experience the distinct feeling that a company was more a spider web of tasks and goals. I remember Cam proclaiming he was “switching hats” occasionally when we’d jump from one task to another, but what made Cam someone who I admire is that each hat seemed to be his style and live in the same closet. He knew his brand, his goal, his mission. Though multitasking was sometimes difficult, getting to work in each aspect of the business and see the reward of each task contribute to the larger goal of getting Honeymoon Chocolates off and running was an experience I will never forget.