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Fast growth for your small business isn’t always good

Nick LaCava and his two business partners got sweet news this spring: O, the Oprah Magazine planned to tout their candy bars in the June issue.

The ensuing write-up was a mere 30 words. But its description of Chocomize’s "luscious chocolate" whetted the appetites of thousands of people across the country. The small, New Jersey-based confectioner was hit with a dramatic rise in orders and an influx of calls and e-mails. Before the article, "we were probably getting around 15 e-mails and 15 phone calls a day," LaCava says. "After the magazine came out, we would get anywhere from 50 to 100 e-mails and phone calls a day, which made things really stressful."

The founders of Chocomize had anticipated a sales uptick, but they weren’t prepared for the fivefold increase in orders. Then one of their chocolate-making machines gave out.

"It was like, ‘Oh my God, we’re not really sure about what we’re going to do,’ " LaCava says.

By Laura Petrecca, USA TODAY

Full Story: http://www.usatoday.com/money/smallbusiness/2010-09-10-growing-your-small-business_N.htm

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