She was the only child of parents who were amazing entrepreneurs. Her mom owned a small health food store in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Her dad, was founder of Cape Cod Potato Chips. Ever since her mom put the first carob covered rice cake in her lunch box as a kid, she has had a passion for making healthy food taste amazing. Fast forward to 2003, when Nicole was pregnant with her son and was craving salted crackers, but couldn't find any that were organic. She started working on recipes for an organic cracker that tasted great. Before long she created the perfect cracker, and with that, her company Late July was born. She is Nicole Dawes; mom, entrepreneur, empire builder, and champion of healthy living that tastes great. All Late July snack foods are made with organic and non-GMO ingredients and today a variety of multigrain tortilla chips account for more than 80 percent of their sales. It all started in her kitchen 12 years ago, mixing ingredients for salted crackers and today she is running a $70M empire.
The name, Late July, came from the idea of capturing a perfect moment in time, like one can often do in late July. Nicole has built her life and career around capturing perfection. Here are her five simple steps to capturing perfection in business, in life, and in Late July.
You Are The Best Salesperson: Nicole says that one key to her success has been in the realization that she's the best salesperson for her brand. She says that this is always true for every business, especially in the early years. Nobody has the passion, conviction, and determination to sell the brand better than the founder. Nicole says that even now that Late July's momentum has snowballed, tripling their sales volume over the last three years, she still remains the best advocate for the brand. Even though many entrepreneurs hate selling, Nicole says that nobody will ever sell your brand better than you can, especially in the beginning when the brand has yet to be heard of. Today, Nicole says selling the Late July brand is much less complicated, since her products can now be found in grocery stores across the country and there's sales data to support the value proposition. However, in the beginning, there was one person and one person only who could effectively communicate the void that Late July was filling in the marketplace, and that was Nicole.
Include the Family: Nicole grew up in an entrepreneurial family where she was very much included in the businesses from a young age. Her ideas and input were considered. She got to try out products and watch her parents navigate the world of launching businesses and growing them. Late July is a family affair. Nicole runs the business with her husband, Peter. As well, her two kids are very much involved in offering input. Nicole says that she remembers her own childhood well, where her lunchbox was packed with healthy food that tasted bland. Her goal has been to create products that their consumers buy for taste, not just because they are healthy. Nicole's kids are on the frontline trying out the new products and offering advice and genuine feedback. Nicole says that when the kids pick a Late July snack because it tastes better than traditional snacks, she knows she's on the right path. Capturing perfection often requires feedback from the fam.
Innate Optimism: Building and running a massive organic snack food business sometimes involves wading through imperfect moments and massive challenges. Their biggest challenge has been in sourcing food ingredients at times. For example, you probably didn't even know that there was a massive lime panic in 2014. Lime inventory was sparse. Not good when your products depend not just on lime, but certified organic lime. As Nicole points out, even when organic lime might make up only 2 percent of the ingredients in your product, it's a big deal when you can't find them, or when a huge shortage means that lime prices go through the roof. I asked Nicole how she copes with overcoming these types of obstacles and she said that her secret is "innate optimism." Nicole says that she's never had a doubt that Late July was going to be huge. As well, she has never for one moment doubted she would find a way to overcome a challenge. "There are organic limes somewhere in the world...even during the panic." Nicole says that it is these times of intense challenge when she is even more convinced that her company is going to crush it.
Don't Believe Your Own Hype: Yes, her business is growing by leaps and bounds. Yes, she has tripled her revenue in 3 short years. Yes, she's the fastest growing tortilla chip brand in the country. Even though the going is great, Nicole says that she never really buys into her own hype. She says that she has learned to be really careful when she's succeeding. She says it's easy to get comfortable, rest on your laurels, and just breathe a little. But, Nicole says that this is when your business is also most vulnerable. She says that there is always a competitor coming up from behind and they are simply waiting for you to get comfortable in your own success so that you let down your guard. It is for this reason, Nicole says that she will never let herself feel like she's made it. Entrepreneurship is a journey and success is always about being better tomorrow, irrelevant of what you've done today.
The Perk of Giving Back: One of the things that Nicole is most proud about is that her success in business has allowed her to give back to charitable initiatives she cares about. Nicole says one of the best perks you can give to your employees and to your customers, is to be more than just a company. She says it's important to be a business that makes the world better. By doing so, your employees become more than just employees, and your customers become more than just customers, because everyone involved in the product becomes a catalyst for creating a better universe. One of the organizations that Nicole is a huge supporter of is the American Camp Association. She's an advocate of summer camp for kids, because it allows kids who would normally sit at home all summer, to get out and explore, learn, and make lasting friendships. Therefore, Late July, has been an advocate for programs like this which allow organizations to sponsor kids for summer camp programs. Nicole says that it doesn't necessarily matter what kind of organizations your business supports, but she says one of the best gifts you can give to your people, is the gift of standing for something.
A great business, like a great life, is a series of perfect moments. Nicole Dawes and Late July have simply figured out a way to capture them.