Heather Stobo and Lisa Casoni, Co-Founders of Beato Chocolates. Photo by Erin Ellwood.
Lisa is an idea person. I’m a numbers person. She chases butterflies; I squish joy. My role in both our business and marriage is to keep her in check. On day three of being evacuated from our home during the Thomas Fire, Lisa came up with a plan to create a line of chocolates. Thankfully, I had strategies in place for her random schemes. I could tell from her enthusiasm that my “say ‘yes’ and hope she loses interest in the idea” tactic was too risky. Confusing her with numbers wasn’t going to pack the punch I needed. Logic was best suited for plans that included farm animals and motorcycles. If I was going to block Lisa’s idea to side hustle in chocolate, I had to pull out a combo move. I smiled and told her, “That’s a good idea. The equipment is probably going to cost at least $20,000. We are going to have to sell at least 100 bars a week for 20 weeks before we make our money back. Also, we own an art gallery, selling chocolate will dilute our brand.”
I went to bed that night confident in my success. The next morning, Lisa had that “I have an idea” look again and I knew I was in trouble. “We could name the company Beato Chocolates after Beatrice Wood. It’s chocolate AND art.” She had found the loophole. I was playing checkers…Lisa was playing chess.
Stay tuned,
Heather
Co-Founder of Beato Chocolates