Sweet Business Success

Maribel Lieberman is a fashion designer and chef from Hondouras who, as a child, always had a special place in her heart for chocolates. She started her business Maribelle New York in New York City in 2000 and has seen incredible growth ever since.
 
She credits a few business tactics for her success:
 
* Take advantage of your location. She set up shop in an affordable area in Soho and created a “destination” for her confections.
* Exceed expectations. Her chocolates are made with 60% to 75% cocoa liquor, and infused with flavors like cardamom and lemon.
* Give them what they want. Each chocolate is designed with the ingredients in mind, and Maribel caters to her customer’s likes.
* Send out samples, preferably to big names. When Maribel received attention from Oprah, her business skyrocketed.
* Go to your customers. She opened another store further uptown in New York City because she realized many of her customers lived in the area.
 
Maribel has seen her sales increase by nearly 70% since she opened, so she has to be doing something right. [CNN.com]