2. Why Every Entrepreneur Needs Feedback w/ Nicole Haney

As an entrepreneur, when you build something you love, getting feedback can be scary. But today’s guest, Nicole Haney, Founder and CEO of Boho Bake Shop and Boho Bars, knew that feedback would be what could make her product even better. So she embraced it.

Nicole played around with recipes in her kitchen hoping to create an energy bar she could take on work trips. She knew she’d discovered something great when other people loved them as well. So she quit her job and went all in. Nicole started by selling her bars at a farmer’s market. The biggest piece of feedback she got from that crowd was that they wanted the bars to be more accessible. So she set out to persuade local markets to carry her bars. The next piece of feedback she received came when she noticed people weren’t interested in her free samples.

When she asked why, someone told her they didn’t like energy bars because they typically didn’t taste good. That’s when Nicole realized she’d been focusing the marketing too much on the clean ingredients and not enough on the great taste. So she adjusted. It’s really easy to get bogged down on all of the feedback you get in the early stages, but sometimes it’s what takes your business to the next level. On today’s episode, we discuss when to listen to feedback and when to just keep moving.

The Ivey Entrepreneur Podcast is sponsored by Connie Clerici, QS ’08, and Closing the Gap Healthcare Group, Inc.