Today we’d like to introduce you to Francisco Sanchez.
Hi Francisco, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Francisco – also known as Paco. My brand is Paco Pops, in short – the name symbolizes Francisco’s Popsicles. I grew up in Mexico and was offered an opportunity to work at my aunt’s business making popsicles and ice cream. This is where I developed a passion for the ice cream and popsicle business. I always had a dream of opening my own ice cream shop and over the years I experimented in the kitchen and handwrote my own personal popsicle and ice cream recipes. It was not until I suffered a terrible car accident that led me to realizing my dream. While recovering from various surgeries caused by the car accident, I faced the reality that I could not return to my job in construction. I could not meet the demands of the job due to my mobility limitations. The long months of recovery at home and knowing that I could not return to construction led me to dusting off my recipe book of popsicles and ice cream. I reignited my dream and with my spouse and family’s help, I planned, researched, built, and in April 2019 opened Paco Pops.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Opening a business is not easy. I did not have any knowledge on where to begin. I researched online and discovered a few good sources. The local SBA office and SCORE in Houston. SCORE helped me to connect with a local mentor. The mentor met with me and we went over my “business idea.” This was very helpful because I was able to get many answers and also discovered that I had a lot to accomplish before I could open my dream business. I wrote a plan, developed a business plan, made calls to vendors, contacted the permitting department in my county, and reached out to a CPA. After making the many calls I felt overwhelmed. My dream business was not going to be cheap – I had to obtain funding for the machines I needed to create ice cream and popsicles, there is inventory costs, kitchen equipment, tables and chairs, freezers, marketing, signs, a point of sale machine, county fees for licenses, CPA fees to get set up correctly as a business, insurance, and a lease. After speaking to a few lenders I kept getting discouraged, but I did not give up and eventually was able to obtain funding and continue my dram business journey. I was ready to look for a commercial space to open my business.
My budget was very tight, so I did a lot of the work needed to build Paco Pops. My knowledge and skills that I obtained in construction help me. I remember being in my commercial space tearing up walls, putting up drywall and building shelves sometimes past 1:00 am in the morning. It was okay with me because I was literally building my dream with my two hands. I thank my spouse too because he was right there with me every step and helping me along the way. After opening Paco Pops, in 2019 we were hit with a record rain in the area that flooded many homes and business. I was lucky to only have little damage but had to close for almost a week. Now in 2020 we faced shut downs due to COVID-19. This was unforeseeable, but have remained afloat.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Paco Pops?
I am the creator of handmade popsicles and ice cream. At Paco Pops you will find over 60 popsicles and over 20 ice cream flavors all made from scratch. Each popsicle batch is handmade using fresh handpicked and hand cut fruit. You can literally see the chunks of fruit in the popsicles. During your visit to Paco Pops, you will have a chance to experience and taste many exotic fruits. At Paco Pops you will also find many Mexican delicatessens to accompany your dessert; such as nachos, nacho special, corn in a cup, fruit cocktail, strawberries and cream, Paco’s Corn and Chips, Paco’s Loco Chips, banana split, chocolate banana, mangoneada, and milkshakes. I always say that when you visit PACO POPS it’s like taking a take a trip around the world one taste at a time.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
Great credit is deserved to my spouse. Without the support of my spouse I would have struggled in making my dream come true. My spouse believed in my dream, motivated me, and got to work with me as a team and has been there every step of the way. I also thank my customers. My customers are like an extended family. Since I am in the shop daily I get to see many customers that have become loyal to my brand and regulars at Paco Pops. They even help me spread the word and through my customers I have been able to grow. Lastly, my staff. My staff at Paco Pops understands my passion of offering fresh handmade popsicles and ice cream and always with the best customer service. My staff are my brand ambassadors and I thank them for the hard work they put in in making every customer feel welcomed and thanked during their visit to Paco Pops.
Contact Info:
- Email: paco@pacopops.com
- Website: www.pacopops.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pacopops/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pacopops01/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/pacopops1
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/paco-pops-porter
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