Students in Michelle Jackson's college and career readiness class at Siloam Springs High School tasted their way through a lesson in entrepreneurship last week.
Rick Boosey, founder of Kyya Chocolate in Elm Springs, talked to juniors and seniors on Sept. 23 about his company and the career path that led him to become an entrepreneur.
Boosey has visited Jackson's classes in the past, but this year's presentation looked a bit different as he spoke to students via Zoom while Jackson handed out pieces of chocolate to students using gloves and a mask. As they listened to Boosey's presentation, students got a chance to try flavors that ranged from white chocolate, the sweetest form of chocolate with no actual cocoa, to 100 percent dark chocolate with no sugar.
Jackson often teaches her classes through experience, inviting expert guest speakers and taking students on field trips to local businesses. This year, in-person guest speakers and field trips are not allowed because of the covid-19 pandemic, so Jackson is improvising .
She has already hosted an online presentation by Joe Rollins, workforce development director for the Northwest Arkansas Council, who spoke about careers and opportunities in Northwest Arkansas, and is planning several more guest speakers this semester. Boosey will also be back to present to Jackson's economics classes about globalization.
Jackson said it is important to continue interactive learning experiences based on real-life businesses despite the pandemic.
"I just want (students) to know it goes beyond what we are talking about in the classroom," she said. "It's happening right now in our own region. I don't want them to be so focused on just what is happening in the school, it's a real life experience."
Boosey told students he started his career as an electrical engineer before moving into sales and business. The skills he learned in sales are helpful to him as an entrepreneur because no-matter the career field everyone is selling ideas and because great salespeople are actually problem solvers, he said.
Kyya Chocolate makes small batches of bean to bar chocolate using single-source, fair-trade cacao beans, Boosey said. The company works directly with farmers and has built its own supply chain, he said. Most larger chocolate companies source beans from only three countries, while Kyya Chocolate sources beans from 29 smaller countries, he said.
Craft chocolate only accounts for about 1 percent of the chocolate market and while thousands of companies buy chocolate and make it into a dessert, there are only about 400 to 500 bean to bar chocolate companies, Boosey said.
When looking for employees, Boosey told students he values soft skills as character traits such as being coach-able and being a hustler more than knowledge about chocolate.
Since it was founded in 2012, the company has grown to include three retail locations and Kyya chocolate is sold at a variety of retailers, from small coffee houses to larger retailers.
Kyya Chocolate had to close for several months because of the pandemic, Boosey said. The company created Hope Bars, which were delivered for health-care workers. Supporters could purchase bars online to be delivered to front-line workers and $2 from each sale was donated to hospitals.
"Chocolate is the easy part," Boosey said. "Running the business is incredibly challenging."
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