時事新聞:巧克力曲奇女王的創業故事
【英文原文】
Building a Chocolate Chip Empire
Bite into a Tate's Bake Shop chocolate chip cookie and you'll quickly realize that butter is the not-so-secret ingredient. The thin, crispy, caramel-tasting treats are the signature product of Kathleen King's Southampton, N.Y., bakery and the guilty pleasure of beach-bound Manhattanites, celebrity fans such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Rachael Ray, and cookie lovers around the country. Growing up on a Long Island farm, Ms. King began baking as a kid and now some four decades later sells her confections in 40 states to the tune of $6 million in annual revenue. Her wholesale facility in nearby East Moriches churns out 24 million cookies each year, sold in clear plastic bags for $5 a dozen at retailers such as Whole Foods, Gelson's and Central Market. Ms. King, 50 years old, today has 55 employees, two cookbooks and an ultimate plan to sell her company for a sweet price, of course.
Edited interview excerpts follow:
Q. What inspired you to start your own business?
A. I was baking and selling cookies at my dad's farm when I was 11. He said, 'You have to buy your own clothes for school,' so I said, 'OK.' When you grow up on a farm, you start working the day you start walking. We were raised in an independent self-sufficient way so it was just incredibly natural for me to finish college and create my own job. My mom told me about a fully equipped bakery for rent in Southampton. When I was 23, I bought the location I am still in today. At the time, it was just putting one foot in front of the other. I lived at home; I didn't have any major responsibilities. That's the beauty of being young and naïve I didn't know what to fear.
Q. Did you work hard to make your cookie stand out?
A. I honestly never had a plan. The chocolate chip cookie was always my specialty. My dad said. 'You can't just have a store selling chocolate chip cookies.' So I made other American things apple pie, cakes and muffins. But the bottom line is that I still make my living off chocolate chip cookies the rest is fluff.
Q. Are you surprised at how many fans you've won?
A. Sometimes it's a little overwhelming! It's rewarding because we're very strict on our quality control. My staff takes tremendous pride in the product. If someone has a complaint, we take it to heart. We try the best we can to stay on top of our game, because there's always someone trying to compete.
Q. How have your marketed your business?
A. When I first got into the wholesale business, I literally went into Manhattan with a shopping bag and walked into stores [like legendary market Balducci's] saying: 'Can I sell some cookies?' We got orders. Then our reputation started to spread. We do a lot in the community, such as donating to fundraisers, and the community has been good to us. As far as celebrities, they just find our products on their own. You get a lot of exposure here in the Hamptons you never know who's coming in or who you're selling to. That's one of the reasons for my success.
Q. How did you grow your business beyond the Hamptons?
A. I have an amazing business manager who's been able to help me reach this level. He meets with distributors, negotiates deals and then we open up territories and start shipping. We do tastings and in-store specials, then we go to another territory and do the same thing.
Q. How has your company fared during the recession?
A. We've done relatively well. It makes us all work smarter. We watch everything closely and we cut where we can. We never cut on quality but if I can buy a paper bag cheaper, we do that. My retail-store business isn't growing because rentals (in the Hamptons) are down, but the wholesale business is growing. People tend to eat more sweets when stressed.
Q. What's been your biggest challenge?
A. Breakage and shelf life is a constant challenge. People want an all-natural product, but they want it to last 6 months. We just keep trying to create a better mousetrap.
Q. What are your long-term plans for the company?
A. My long-term plans are to continue to grow the business and to be the best chocolate chip cookie in the country and to eventually sell the company. I don't have any children and there is no niece or nephew that can't wait to run Tate's. I'd like to sell when I'm young enough to climb up the highest mountain.
Q. What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs just starting out?
A. As you try to make decisions, take the emotion out. When we start a business, it's like raising a child. You start from nothing; you put everything into it; and you watch it grow. But it's not a child. When you take the emotion out of decision-making, everything is clear. Your business will grow, and everybody will be better for it.
【中文譯文】
咬上一口Tate's Bake Shop的巧克力曲奇，你會很快意識到黃油就是這家烘焙店的“祕密”武器。這種香薄酥脆的焦糖味點心是凱思琳•金(Kathleen King)在這家位於紐約南安普敦的烘焙店的拳頭產品──也是讓紐約曼哈頓區居民、格溫妮斯•帕特洛(Gwyneth Paltrow)和雷恰爾•雷(Rachael Ray)這樣的名人以及美國各地曲奇愛好者欲罷不能的美味。凱思琳•金在美國長島的一個農場長大，從孩提時代就開始了自己的烘焙生涯，如今──四十年之後──她的點心暢銷美國40個州，年收入達600萬美元。她位於紐約附近東摩裏奇斯(East Moriches)的批發工廠每年生產兩千四百萬曲奇餅，這些產品以一打5美元的價格、透明塑料袋包裝在Whole Foods、Gelson's以及Central Market銷售。如今50歲的凱思琳手下有55名員工，還出版過兩本烹調書，她最終的目標是賣出自己的公司──當然要賣個能嚐到甜頭的價錢。
採訪內容整理如下：
問：是什麼讓你產生了創業的想法？
答：當我11歲的時候，我就開始在父親的農場裏烘焙和銷售曲奇。他說，“你要自己買校服”，然後我說，“好啊”。如果你在農場長大，那麼從學會走路那天起，你就開始工作了。父母一直要求我們要自食其力──所以讀完大學後自己創業對我來說是再自然不過的事情了。我的母親告訴我南安普敦有一家設備齊全的烘焙店要出租。23歲那年，我買下了那家店，至今我仍在經營它。那個時候，我就是一步一步按規矩來。我住在家裏，沒什麼大的負擔。那就是年紀輕輕和未經世事的好處──我什麼都不拍。
問：爲了讓你的曲奇與衆不同，你是否曾付出過很大努力呢？
答：老實講，我從沒有什麼計劃。我對做巧克力曲奇一向很在行。我的父親說，“你開的店裏不能就賣巧克力曲奇呀”。所以我也做一些其他的美國特色食品──蘋果派，蛋糕和小鬆糕。但是，歸根到底我還是靠做巧克力曲奇討生活──其他的東西都是擺設。
問：你的曲奇贏得了那麼多人的喜愛，你對這一點感到吃驚嗎？
答：有時候我確實覺得有點兒受寵若驚！這是對我們重視質量的回報。我的員工對我們的產品深感自豪。如果顧客有什麼不滿，我們會非常認真地對待。我們盡最大的努力保證我們的高標準，因爲我們的競爭對手總是存在。
問：你的營銷策略是什麼？
答：當我最初進軍批發市場的時候，我真的是拿着一個購物袋來到曼哈頓，走進商店（比如久負盛名的食品商場Balducci's），然後問，“我能在這裏賣點兒曲奇餅嗎？”我們得到了訂單。然後我們的名聲開始打響了。我們在社區作了許多事情，比如向籌款人捐贈，而社區也回報了我們很多。而至於那些名人，他們都是自己找上門來的。我們在漢普敦有了很多亮相的機會──你永遠也不知道誰會光臨，或者誰是你的顧客。這是我成功的原因之一。
問：你是怎樣將業務擴大到漢普敦以外的地方的？
答：我有個很棒的業務經理，他幫助我達到了這個目標。他和分銷商見面、談判，然後我們就開拓了新的市場，開始了運送。我們搞些免費品嚐和店內特價，然後我們進入另一個市場做同樣的事情。
問：在經濟衰退的這段時間裏，你的公司經營狀況如何？
答：我們做得還不錯。衰退讓我們所有人工作起來更用心了。我們密切關注着一切事情，並儘可能削減成本。但我們從不會在質量上打折扣──不過如果我們能夠買到更便宜的紙袋子，我們會去做。由於（漢普敦的）租金下降，我的零售商店業務沒什麼進展，不過批發業務正在增長。人們在有壓力的時候通常要吃更多的甜食。
問：你最大的挑戰是什麼？
答：破損和保質期一直是我們不斷要面臨的挑戰。人們喜歡全天然食品，卻希望保質期能夠達到6個月。我們一直在努力經營出自己的“一招鮮”。
問：公司的長期計劃是什麼？
答：我的長期計劃是繼續擴展業務，製造出全美國最好吃的巧克力曲奇，最後賣出我的公司。我沒有孩子，也沒有什麼外甥侄女等不及要經營Tate's。我希望能夠在還算精力旺盛的年紀賣出我的公司，來攀登更高的那座山。
問：對於那些正在創業的企業家你有什麼建議嗎？
答：不要帶着情緒去做決定。創業就像撫育孩子：從零開始，投入全部，看着它成長。不過企業不是孩子。當你不帶感情地去做決策的時候，一切都變得清晰。你的生意會不斷壯大，每個人也會因此而受益。
