got $50 in your bank account it'll take you to places that you didn't know that you even had your sister allows you to set up a shed in her parking lot and I have never been more motivated than I am right now in this very moment like out of all the things you could to start why would she say start an ice cream shop from South bin to Evansville and everywhere in between this is get in the show focused on the hoer state and the incredible stories happening here today I'm Nate spangle founder of G Indiana and I will be your host for today's conversation
I want to give a huge shout out to our newest partner hope Plumbing now hope Plumbing serves Indianapolis in the surrounding areas when it comes to All Things Plumbing obviously that includes sewer and drain water heaters water softeners leak repairs stmp bump gas lines plumbing inspections reverse osmosis system installation Rooter Services down spout installation and septic tanks what don't these guys do whenever I have trouble I make sure to call Hope Plumbing they always do a great job on my house they're going to do a great job on your house go to hop plumbing.com check them out today I'm joined by janszen kpe founder of
chills Delights an ice cream and donut shop in Northern Indiana that has gotten tens of millions of views on Tik Tok and across social media and has become a must visit destination in Northern Indiana Janan was raised on a farm in smalltown Northern Indiana North Manchester to be exact go Squires come on he grew up surrounded by a family of entrepreneurs who inspired him to dream big by the time he was a sophomore Purdue University studying economics he was ready to bring his idea for a unique ice cream and donut shop to life leading to the creation of chills which started in a converted shed
and has grown into an energetic brand with a super loyal following today we're going to be talking about the Homegrown hustle in the early years of starting this business how chills became a social media Superstar and the Sweet Success that's on the horizon Jansen welcome to get in welcome and wow what an intro somebody has done their research because I did not tell you A lot of that so I'm impressed I really am Jenna on on my team she kind of lays the groundw and she is an a grade A inter done well done Jenna you wow you didn't even have to say that and
you shouted her out absolutely you got to give the team credit where so I go in there and look at it I'm like oh yeah and I put together liketh Manchester squir and things like that but she doesn't she does her research well let's start at the beginning right abut um you grew up North Manchester and you go to Purdue and exactly when everyone's looking for their their grade A internship you choose to go the opposite way and start an ice cream shop it's not really a direct uh transition I will put it that way I had definitely been starting other things prior to that
I had a heavily I was trading stocks heavily at one point not good I mean not good the grades definitely were not benefiting from that that semester so uh you know there was clothing involved there was anything I I mean I I've tried starting all sorts of different things and I just kind of saw an opportunity and I think my sister might have even said like hey you should start an ice cream shop and I was like huh that's interesting okay why ice cream like out of all the things you going to start why why would she say start an ice cream shop well in
in my eyes what I see is looking back now I don't think I necessarily saw it then but I am a people person and there's nothing more people related than ice cream in my opinion so they kind of just go hand inand so well you're you're dealing with positive interactions with customers and I love it I love meeting new people I love talking to new people and I love just making people happy and turns out ice cream and now Donuts they do a pretty good job at that dude I will give people a public service announcement so you've probably seen Jansen on your Tik Tok
feed if you have Tik Tok it's just like customer service videos and and everyone I think the first thought is there there's no way he's that nice we've been hanging out for like an hour or so now you know off air he is actually that nice like super energetic there's not many people I'll say that can bring the energy I like to bring energy and I have found a worthy adversary or a friend here in the energy department so for sure I I and that's the thing it's you know you're going into this you don't know this person what's this going to be like and
I would have to say the same with Nate here he is pretty darn awesome so better in person I would argue oh boy let's go uh that that's I appreciate that yeah absolutely um but I think if people again go back to the Tik Tok feed you've seen all the cool customer service things but you're a sophomore in in college at the time and a lot of people are looking to get that internship or go work at a big company and when when does this dream or thought or idea become reality at the time I was in my uh sophomore year majoring in economics you
know so I'm I'm taking all of these courses I'm looking for internships at this point because I'm like ah you know what what do I want to do this summer and I was interviewing for a number of different things different investment firms like that kind of stuff not real exciting and I was genuinely I was just like do I want this the answer I kept coming to is no so then the next thought I I had to have and the realization I had to come to was well if I'm not doing that what am I doing and then you know there in the last few
months of the semester I was like what am I going to do here and I started researching and and trying to find something that I felt really suited me and with all of that kind of stumbled on ice cream and you know I kind of just jumped in head first I didn't work at an ice cream shop prior to this Looking Back Now it probably would have been pretty beneficial to go into something that you have a little bit of experience in but hey I'm a Believer you can learn and there's no better way to learn than on the job yeah right and when you
have no choice yeah when you have to figure it out back against the wall like no time for stopping you have to go learn it so what's the first step someone wants to go you know there's a sophomore that's listening that maybe wants to start an ice cream shop in their Town what what's the first thing file an LLC build a business plan build a business plan to an degree I I think it's one of those things I think people can sometimes get too caught up on the plan I think initially you should really just be more focused on action and just starting I mean
I had absolutely no idea what I was doing like at all but I found people that did I found people that had worked in ice cream shops hey would you like to you know come work with me and and help build a a business here you know so I relied heavily on other people's advice and I just started calling around you know talking to the city hey if I were to do this what would be the steps forward finding anyone that might be older or is a little further along in their entrepreneurial journey and reaching out to them and seeing if they could you know
lend a hand or have any help yeah who was the biggest help or Mentor inspiration along the journey genuinely I mean I I can't think of any of this without just thinking about my family they have been there through all of it uh you know when I needed a hand you know hey can anyone come help me put in this freezer put in or just anyone to bounce ideas off of it was my family and I'm so grateful for that they're easily the most important relationships that I have and still till this day and I wouldn't be here without them and that's the truth entrepreneurship
is lonely it it looks really it is really fun I love it and I wouldn't for anything but when you're like when you don't have a co-founder or you know board or anything like that it's like like is this the right move I don't know like it's just you like this and you're just figuring it out so one kudos to you and your family for being there genuinely well take us to the moment you're calling around and like when do you say like this is green light like let's go 2018 and it would have been early that year we opened July 1st in 2018 and
you're already missing half the summer already already right you know it's like the planning it's like everything and that is the the word of advice I would give to anyone uh listening is it's going to take longer than you think it's going to take more money than you think it's going to take more effort and just everything it's going to take more I'm like okay well all right uh half the summer is already wiped we got to get open we don't have any choice any longer so it was a few months prior to that really I mean I would say I probably had like 5
months of where I was like really trying to sort out okay how are we going to make this happen and just winging it and I ended up setting up a shed in the back lot of my sister's business they are are awesome they're crushing it in their own lane and and I'll absolutely get to that because that's a whole another story right there but they literally let me set up a mint green shed in their back lot like and that's not like something like when I went to them about that I mean I think they probably had to wrap their head around it a little
bit but I am so grateful I genuinely I I couldn't have done this without them I mean I that is the truth basketball fans listen up March starts here in Indie we are hosting the 2025 barbasa Horizon league basketball championships mark your calendars for Monday March 10th and Tuesday the 11th when the top four teams in men's and women's basketball will square off at the Cora Coliseum at the fairgrounds right now Cleveland State leads the men standings with Purdue Fort Wayne Right on their heels for the women's Purdue Fort Wayne is at the top just out in front of Green Bay and we're going to
get six incredible basketball games over a two-day span four semi-final games on Monday and both finals held on Tuesday action starts at noon both days and you can buy tickets on the horizon League website or on Ticket Master you also need to know about the allnew Horizon League individual membership fans can become Horizon League members and receive a unique Indie Centric shirt Horizon League glasswar Championship tickets and much more check out all the details at Horizon league.org Indy remember March starts here in Indianapolis at corteva coliseum March 10th and 11th I will see yall out there so it's 2018 your sister allows you to set
up a mint green shed in her parking lot so you can start serving ice cream as a sophomore in college yeah when you put it like that it doesn't doesn't sound the best and actually sisters so Josie and gentry they both started something that really is incredible in its own uh Lane truly that it's a their florist but then it's also a boutique alongside it so and I'm talking they do some of the most incredible floral arrangements for weddings literally doing my sister's wedding uh this weekend and when I tell you it is the most insane floral arrangements I've ever seen it's wild what's it
called um rhinestones and Roses o good name that's a that's a good floral name and a good bouque name that's right it's got a good vibe going on seems every Boutique right like I'm I hand up I don't shop at boutiques I'm not a boutique guy not me but like they're always like Ivy and Ember or like rhinestone and Roses like I love it it's just like it plays it plays so well and that's in North Manchester yeah so that is a North Manchester but they actually so they're they're ahead of me they have got another store in the southwest Fort Wayne area too so
um and and like I said it's just they just do incredible stuff they use flowers that literally I've never even seen before you're like I didn't know this was a thing and they're making these awesome arrangements with them so um but they literally let me set up in the back of their lot and you know having cars lots of cars coming in coming into their parking lot at all times of the day cuz with ice cream you're open late uh so it it's just yeah how many square feet was your shed not a lot uh few hundred yeah it's like two people fit inside three
people how many people how many employees or how many people you've got enough space where you can move around I mean you know we had all the facilities you would walk inside the shed and you would not realize that it was a shed I mean it it was fully done up you know flooring insulation drywall lighting like the whole deal it it it really was very well done and and honestly I still love this shed I still have it yes oh yes dude we'll have to bring that up and put that on the show I got a picture of the shed pulled up the great
I mean half your square footage is that front porch dude yeah I really honestly I had to really consider whether or not I wanted that front porch but I feel it was worth it okay so walk up window walkup window so we have a walk up ordering window and then the one beside it is to pick up your order and and I you know I I relied heavily on that shed for years how much of your personal money did you have to invest to get this business off the off the ground I mean genuinely it was everything and and I will say thankfully at the
time a shed was not going for what it is going I just curious I was like like what are things going for I mean I'm talking three times what I paid and I'm you know I'm talking it was a few thousand then now I'm like I don't know that I can just afford to go get a shed right now isn't that crazy like the majority of sophomores in college I think aren't willing to take a risk and spend a few thousand on whatever the thing is that's fair I think do you know Sam par have you heard of him he started the hustle that sold
the hub spot he's like a tech guy his first gig that he like talks about was a hot dog cart he was I think he was in Nashville on Broadway or wherever around there around Vanderbuilt slinging hot dogs that's awesome from slinging hot dogs I think he sold hub spot for $30 million or something like that but like getting your start somewhere in entrepreneurship totally everyone and I I remember I mean every great entrepreneur has those like early hustles that random and it doesn't pan out you sold some stuff on the internet you just tried multiple iterations of whatever entrepreneur is to find the thing
where you're is absolutely so July 1st you're like this is our official launch day you flip open the sign and lines out the door it was chaos oh yeah we are back off the road we pretty much had a line all the way out to the road and I have no idea what I'm doing I've never even worked in an ice cream shop I'm over here slinging ice cream I mean loading people up if they came that first week they got a deal I will tell you I mean a gallon of ice genuinely were just trying to scoop the ice cream and get people on
their way I had to I mean I was bringing in family members hey Gentry Josie sorry close your business I need some help Jurgen Journey everybody yeah so uh There is five of us in in total four girls one boy so two two so it's Jurgen janszen and then journey is the youngest she's getting married and then Gentry and Josie so there's yeah it's it's a lot that's a crew at that point I mean I was like all right we're bringing in everybody all hands on deck how did you build that hype around it well the the one thing and the one thing I am
thankful for is that's a community that I grew up in my family grew up in and everybody knows us one way or another I mean that's just the truth if if you're from a small town you get a lot of times that's how it is so if something is happening people are going to find out about it and small towns love it even more when it's like when a local yeah there will be times when an outside an outsider you're like oh that's the outsider business like I don't know you have to feel it out little bit that really is that's a real thing so
I grew up in Bourbon and it's like similar and you always got to test it so Bourbon Street Pizza is like our big thing even though the founder of Bourbon Street is from Brean which we don't talk about but like having our own pizza spot that then got franchised around we love you build this hype people in the community are supporting you and you're just figuring it out as you go absolutely still figuring it out right and then so so July comes to August your sophomore like hey this was fun I got to sell liquidate everything what's the plan there so ultimately what I ended
up doing we get to the end of that season you'd call it I think I went through September uh maybe even October but at this point August hits I mean I'm going back to school so what I ended up doing I I made it so we were only open on the weekends for that period of time and thankfully I did even then I I had team members that were really doing an awesome job and a lot of times there were some times where I wasn't even able to come home to work in the shop uh you know so I thankfully had awesome people even then
that I was able to rely on that really did an amazing job just keeping the place open and keeping it going but I mean yeah there were so many instances where I'd be in you know my political science class and I'm getting a call from my ice cream distributor hey you know where are you you know what's going on and the professor's like what the heck's going on here like what are you doing like get off the phone and I'm like look I need my ice cream like what do you want me to do here so uh yeah there there's many kind of fun memories
fun maybe is not the right word but memories that stand out you look back and you're like we made it through that we did it okay so then you know go through another full school year kind of open on the weekends and then hey we're going to be open early this year exactly so we we end up closing so we're just seasonal and in my eyes that was what I found to be an interesting concept about the ice cream business at that time is you can get away with just being seasonal and that would allow me to then Focus that time on school you know
and improvements for next season and it just kind of made it to where it wasn't like so overwhelming that I just wasn't able to keep up on either and it it kind of did give me a little bit of balance like you do have those you know couple months there in the spring where you're open and you're also still going to school and going back and forth all the time but for the most part it it was much more manageable than what it could have been did you always know you wanted to keep it going or you're like hey that was fun but I want
to go get my big boy internship now well and that's actually funny that you say that because I knew I wanted to keep it going pretty much from the get-go I was like if I'm doing something I'm not just doing this to then just toss it aside so I always felt like it would turn into something I didn't know exactly what that would look like there was definitely an air when people would ask me about set ice cream shop and you'll get that with anything I'm sure you had that when you initially were starting what you're doing now and they're like wait whoa you're you're
making money from that like you're making a living dude how about that crazy the amount of people that are like oh so like what do you do full-time and I was like I run a media company they're like wait really yeah yeah it but it it really is there there is that air and and I just I can remember it till this day and I'll never forget it and you know I don't I don't get it much anymore I think people realize oh he's he's doing it like whether he's failing or succeeding he's doing it you know and that's what's happening but at the time
there was definitely like a so like like what do you really plan to do and I'm like scoop ice cream what's your real job going to be yeah like is that is that okay so give us like uh of percentage of growth right like year one you're open for a month or two two months right and then year two comes around how how does business go and year one and and I've not touched on numbers too much but I I'm definitely open to doing that especially like for those early years to really just like help people grasp like what this even was at the time
but you know that that first year I mean we're not even open the full season and you know you're looking it was probably somewhere in like the 15 to 20ish thousand range which which is sick for a time I'm like this is incredible and now that is not net okay you know so I no no no that and when we're putting heaps of ice cream on people's cones whatever it is there is real cost in ice cream so there wasn't a whole lot left you know no but I do think it's cool for a sophomore in college to be like managing a business that's doing
over $10,000 a year and you're like oh you're worried about your margin you're worried about these things you lit you're exactly right it's like your professional it's like your your real world NBA you're learning you are absolutely learning and I learned so much that first season and then the next season you know we're we're a little over double that I think I can't remember an exact number but that season was kind of nerve-wracking because you know there wasn't a lot left at the end of that season I'm like well what the heck that's where I really had to learn hard about margins and keeping track
of your costs and that's something like people just don't really talk about it's something that you kind of have to learn on your own I didn't have any one reaching out to me telling me yes you should keep this you know this margin you know you you should be looking for this percentage that you know you should be able to keep you should be able to get a 10% profit at the end you know I didn't have that I'm by the way then the tax the tax Bay comes at the end and you're like and you're like well then what do I get like what
do I get Uncle Sam and he laughs okay you know so well and did did the year one whenever anything new opens in a small town it's like oh my gosh that's so shiny and new and cool totally did the luster wear a little bit Fort oh yeah totally and you're going to have that like with anything you do you are going to have this peak initially it is legitimately with any business people are curious they're going to come they just want to know what this is but to actually build a habit with someone is where things get very interesting because initially people are are
going to be like oh that's new I want to come check it out absolutely but the next time somebody thinks about ice cream how are you going to get them to think of you and not the 10 other shops that they could go to yeah is there other in North Manchester is there other ice cream shops uh yes honestly now I don't even know how many there are but they're all North how's the population of North Manchester it's like 5,000 some I was like oh maybe it's up to like 6,000 at this point but no it's it's like 5,000 some and there are there there
are a few different places and I have nothing but respect like I truly hope they succeed it is a grind it is not easy being in a small community you have to diversify you got to get cre creative to get people in the doors and that really is what turned me to social media I mean that is the thing because I knew this business doesn't just work relying on a small community even though they are very supportive they there's so many amazing uh you know customers that frequent us all the time but it's just a small business there right it's like that is a but
if if you're a young and it seems like ambitious you know young guy maybe it's not the dream for the next 60 years to run Manchester's Premier iceam shop you know like heaven forbid we have a little bit more ambition than that right yeah and I'd be honored to do so but there are other ideas and Ambitions for sure and plans that I have with the business itself so it in my eyes was a place to learn okay and that has been what has been instrumental and and now what I'm looking for you know in the future for growth and learning is cool when you're
in college right like you know you you do this thing you learn okay then it gets to be second semester senior year everyone's getting their big jobs with salaries benefits oh yeah signing Bon you know the pr Engineers right yeah I just signed my deal for $100,000 Jansen what are you doing oh I worked for free this year matter of fact no and that was the situation but here was the kicker I I graduated right in the heart of covid I had all of these you know some of my best friends lose these awesome opport job opportunities because of covid oh yeah there were so
so many of my friends that were literally like I don't know what I'm going to do do you need an ice cream SC and I was like well at least I've got this I genuinely so it was almost different at that time but obviously of course as time goes on you know I'm not just raking in the money and frankly that was never what it was about to me so I'm looking to build something that's lasting that's here for Generations like that's genuinely that's where my head is at and I knew initially it's like look this isn't a big money maker for me and that's
okay I am at a place in my life where I don't need a lot okay I drive a beat up Minivan and I love that darn thing I tell you what it's that's like it that's all I own right now beyond the business I used to for the longest time and I got point I was like all right's got to be I you know what I I will say this though like not even to uh drag on them at all it it's I am so grateful for that because people like ask and talk about privilege all the time that's true privilege like having supportive parents
and siblings I mean like just literally so understanding they've started businesses themselves you know so they get it and such a grind you know so it's like I was not making money for years genuinely I mean I'm like living off nothing and and I'm so grateful that I had that time because now you know where where the business is kind of picking up a little bit it's like I'm still Frugal like like I'm like I'm keeping track of things for sure was there ever a moment where Mom and Dad were like Jansen you're so talented like you got to give up this ice cream thing
or just do it on the side like go go do something bigger and here's the crazy part not once not not once and I like it almost like puts me to tears like thinking about that because I just hear from friends and honestly people I don't know I just see their stories on social media and they just say that and they're like you know people in their family having such negative selft talk I couldn't have a more supportive family and that is the true privilege that I'm am like genuinely aware of because they kept me going in in some moments you know where I ended
up purchasing my first location beyond the shed and when I tell you it's a dump I mean I didn't know how building was it so it had been in our town for decades okay and it had been out of commission for a few years it used to be a dut shop but they had really uh you know not even to drag on them a lot but they had really let it go per se and I discovered just how badly they had let it go once I had of course already purchased the place but I got into it and it was just surprise after surprise and
uh just a very old building it used to be a diner initially which I think is incredible and it was from my understanding I keep having people come in and tell me more about the place um but my understanding it was from the 50s I love the the music from that era that's what we play in our shop and I was able to keep the original bar stools I was able to keep a lot of original stuff in the store it's the original flooring so there's really the there's these cool things about it that I absolutely love and I'm so grateful for but though you
know that year where we were building that that tested me in ways I had never been tested before and in ways where it it was really like I knew I had it in me you know I I knew I could persevere I knew I could push through but that showed me that I could and till this day it's like at this point I'm like you know what I can take on anything because when you're trying to figure out how to you know make payroll or whatever it is and you got $50 in your bank account and you've got to make thousands by Monday it's scary
it will make you it'll make you wake up it will it'll take you to places that you didn't know that you even had and I certainly ask others to put themselves into situations like that now now what I will say is this I don't recommend it for anyone I I don't but there is this feeling of being alive that I've never experienced before in my life it's all of those lessons though that have really carried over and now I just genuinely you know what succeed fail I'm going to learn either way and I'm not letting any failure stop me and we're just going to keep
pushing and and that's where we're at and it's awesome that you have such a supportive family that gets entrepreneurship I don't think when I think about families that might not be as supportive it's not that they don't want you to succeed it's usually that their risk tolerance is just so low and they're why would you like take the safe route and that's all like the majority of Entrepreneurship hard work and risk that's a really great Point too because I I don't even say that as a oh it's a negative to all of these parents not at all my goodness I would say most people when
they were looking at me at the time they're like like are you okay like are you sure you want to do this I'm grateful that I have these people around me that saw something in me that maybe even at times I didn't see in myself and that I think is kind of where I'm getting at with with those statements and and but I I totally understand you know so many parents being like they just don't want to see their child fail and boy do I get it but unfortunately the best lessons in life are through failure or the and in the opportunity of failure right
where you have to figure it out you're on that like tight RPP and it's like you got two choices you can either fail or figure it the he the heck out right quick pause in the action do you want to be able to submit questions to my future guests in advance do you want access to exclusive discounts with our hoer partners do you want to make sure you're invited to all of our private in-person events across the state if you answered yes to all or any of those question questions you need to head to Instagram and subscribe to our get in insiders channel for $4.99
a month you're going to be able to ask our guest questions get great discounts and above all help us fund all this amazing Indiana content that we create head over to Instagram @nate spangle And subscribe now let's get back to the episode okay so take me to a few I I feel like there's a few inflection points within this business right one going from shed to location yes getting that all figured out and then the next inflection point is when the social media games to fire up it has to be so so take me through you you buy this building yep you it's a total
dump no offense right it's like you're figuring it out and how long did it take to go through that build out let's see so I acquired that place literally in like the last week of 2021 and I actually surprised my family with it I was like oh yes they knew that I was interested in the place and the only person that really knew was my dad at the time uh because I was like hey you know I need some like I want to make sure I'm not doing anything dumb here he was really the only one that I had kind of filled in and by
the time we got to it I just surprised everybody with it so everybody showed up they're like why the heck are we here and I'm like well this is where chills is going to be uh you know so that was kind of a fun experience that was a really really big inflection point and then all of 2022 up until May I opened with drive-thru only at that loc May 1st but there were some really critical moments that happened prior to that opening and I got to the point where like we talked about I ran out of money I I had nothing left I mean the
budget that I had that I was like okay you know this will be enough you know to get this place going it accounted for I don't even know if I got through the whole kitchen with that budget and I did something that till this day uh I will be talking about in every storefront that we put up we did something called dut Saturdays I had thankfully at the time another kitchen that I was leasing I still have I was able to produce Donuts at that kitchen so I'd be up all night and shout out to my brother who had literally come in after his job
and come and help me make donuts there were nights where we were there till way later than I would have liked to be there were some nights where literally it was an all nighter and then in the morning go to that location and sell the donuts out of the back of my minivan okay that was how I got by donut Saturdays donut Saturdays and I kid you not if you did not know what was going on you just see this kid out here with the back of his minivan open and a huge line of cars going around the property onto the road people are probably
like what kind of certain situation is going on here cops are probably like a little what's in the donuts that's that's right and uh thankfully nothing but sugar and other just excellent ingredients but uh it was just such an incredible time and and that was such like a big moment for me to be like okay we've got something here you know and I I'm so grateful for the community at that time because that Community helped me pull through truly and so we we open May 1st drive-thru only and then we built from there by the end of 2022 we were fully open when does the
journey into so for for listeners out there the big inflection point the huge inflection point of this business is when jansen's content starts going viral on Tik Tok we're talking tens I uh we didn't do the full math but probably closing in on 100 million views I honestly don't even know to say right now I've just kind of kept posting I'm just I'm kind of just in that zone where good right you just like you you get a little success and and I've been posting for years okay I was documenting stuff building the location all the ins and outs of that location documenting just everything
so I was putting it all out there the good the bad the ugly and just sharing it with people like hey this is the situation that I am in if anyone wants to watch this great if not I can I hope that I can look back on it in a better situation and uh be able to laugh and just see this time in my life so it wasn't until a few months ago where I had been posting at this point I I I would post daily okay okay I I started out that page my Jansen kpe page with day in the life of an ice
cream shop owner videos and I posted them every single day for almost 90 days straight and then from there I just posted all kinds of other stuff just didn't matter and then a few months ago I really really started going at it and I started posting customer service interactions like just genuine interactions that I would be having on camera off camera like I didn't change who I was for the camera kind of interactions I just videoed them and that is what took off I genuinely I couldn't believe it I didn't even feel like that was some crazy thing I just this is how we treat
people at chills and that is what took off it was actually kind of eye openening to me because of course yes I go places yes I understand that maybe they don't put that level of attention on that aspect of the business that we do it was just really eye opening to me and and it has created this thing that I'm still trying to wrap my head around yeah right I'm like going through his page and it's like the after school ice cream drive-through video right and it's just like this all the comments this guy's so polite this guy's so like dude it's real it's and
it's so crazy what people want to consume content wise you could spend I would have never guessed hours you could spend hours developing the perfect video and then like 12 people watch it and then it's just you in a Drive-Thru being like this is how we serve people they're like oh that's what it's like to run an ice cream store 100% I mean and I have had people asking me like how did you find what you what to post and I'm like I was just I was just posting I'm not even I didn't have an idea I was just saying hey let's throw it out
there let's see what sticks and then we'll literally just go from there and turns out customer service was a big part of it and now I've really been trying to give a little more behind the scenes as to like genuine like hurdles that I'm going through trying to build this business just sign the lease for a second location jumping over these hurdles that I have to to get that process started to start building building out that space and I'm just trying to share all of that with with everyone because I think that's the stuff people want to see they just want to see the real
stuff you don't need to just sugarcoat everything I think people kind of want see what you do sugar coat things for a living you're good Nate you are yes that's that's going we're we're going to clip that one we're going to clip that one um no dude I love it like it is raw authentic content that people you're not going to get this from Dairy Queen the one company that does something similar that I think is pretty cool but it didn't start from the company It Started From Within is Papa John have you seen the pizza guy uh yes yes yes why why can't I
think of his name I can't think of his name but he does the tricks with the pizza and then like now he's signed by the company it feels like inred and it's like oh people want to know what's going on like everyone remembers stories too like maybe you worked in the kitchen as your your first job and you grew up and you're like oh we used to have all these Shenanigans and stuff back in there and like and valuing customer service and seeing a family-owned business and and you know just growing the small business it's it's awesome it is really really good content to watch
whether I mean it will make you very your sweet tooth go off right but but it's awesome stuff and learning about growing a business how you been doing this when did you graduate you 2020 so I graduated in 2020 didn't even have a graduation from Purdue like they were like okay here's your diploma I I wasn't even done with classes at that point so graduated in 2020 and then genuinely just focused all of my time on the business um and that's you know where I just really started pushing and then definitely putting out more content content and that is like where I found my love
for making content I I enjoy doing it I enjoy making videos and that has been the thing that I I didn't expect from the business because I didn't necessarily start with this like burning passion for ice cream it's turned into one I will say that there are so many other interests I have discovered from starting this business and and I I will say this that is another little tip right there people always ask like how do you know where to start like what made you choose ice cream like you're saying Focus Less on the I idea I mean obviously you want it to be a
sound idea you want it to be something that actually has ability for growth but Focus Less on what industry and just focus on starting something because you'll figure out really quick if this is something that you actually want to keep pursuing or not and and that's what I have found maybe other people do it differently but trial and error whether it was ice cream or coffee or pastries at restaurant could have been you know diing ditches totally shout out will uh but like whatever the thing is just go ahead and do that and you're going to learn it's almost like a river I kind of
think of like where it's going to flow where it's easy and you're going to figure out the way to survive and it'll you like whether because it started with ice cream then you add Donuts then you had more food right exactly so because we're in this small community I was like okay well we definitely do need to diversify a bit more so we brought in what I personally believe are some of the best grilled cheese out there uh we do something we call it a toasty Joe it is so dang good so we take our all cheese grilled cheese but then sandwiched in between the
cheeses is our homemade sloppy joe now I will say this I don't recommend eating it while driving very messy we don't toast to Joe and dve no that's right homemade garlic and her butter that goes on top of it we have homemade dipping sauces to dip it in it is stinking good like this is not concessions food I will make that very clear and that's what most ice cream joints do they have a little fryer or like a little microwave or something and I I will say this I don't blame them I mean it is a lot of work it like we have to keep
a strict schedule with things to make sure that we have enough of our homemade sloppy joe on hand we do homemade mac and cheese because I tasted every type of bagged mac and cheese out there and they all tasted like exactly that that they came from a bag so we ended up realizing you know what we just need to do our own homemade mac and cheese you know our our crazy tots are actually what have really gained some traction on Tik Tok uh there are a large size of our seasoned tater tots and then the homemade sloppy joe cheese sauce and then our homemade chill
sauce on top of those so again not for the week but they are definitely amazing everyone talks about pursuing passion yeah you know and it's like go go do what you're passionate about I think if you're a Creator whether it's creating videos creating ice cream treats whatever it is like you can discover this passion for creating anything ab and just like pour everything you have into cuz who knows in 5 years the ice cream business might be going really well and you're like you know what I want to do a five star restaurant or I want to do I don't know like direct consume you
already Shi Donuts right totally yeah so we actually that's actually even something else I really haven't even touched much on of how that went it is mind-blowing to me I mean we shipped Donuts everywhere how many donuts did you ship we shipped I think around 50 boxes of donuts so in each box you could have one or two boxes or buckets of our Donuts because we ship them by the bucket so which to me I didn't know what to expect I really didn't I didn't know if five people would even get them because it was not cheap to do it like very costly I mean
we had to ship them with dry ice you're shipping them in the insulated containers so there are so many costs that I was like is anyone you know gon to going to actually want these because of the cost and I was just blown away by the fact that people did and it was amazing to see I mean I I've gotten photos from people literally sending a bucket with the New York skyline in the background in front of the North Dakota sign Florida Texas California Oregon it's crazy and it's only available like seasonally right so how we're doing it because there is so much work involved
I mean these are all homemade recipes the donuts we you know were making it's become now a dut drop I actually haven't announced it yet but there will be another doughnut drop coming at the end of this month journey and Will's wedding has kind of gotten the way a little bit um it's slowed me down so uh but I would say it's worth it uh you know to to wait but yes so we will be actually having another doughnut drop at the end of this month we should do a dut drop together this this spring summer later on cuz what flavors do we can do
anything I mean we're making we're making these Donuts from scratch so at this point we have the knowledge to kind of start developing our own flavors and we do I mean we have our own homemade blueberry Donuts we've got uh pumpkin Donuts we've got raspberry we've got anything you could imagine we've probably either done or looked into so we should do a hooer sugar cream pie donut okay and launch it as a collab that'd be hilarious and see how many people across we can get to purchase these Donuts that'd be crazy we could do some fun content with that too come home I come home
and I go come you could like we could do video like of the process making the donuts throw you in there like get you making some donuts so absolutely that sounds like we I got to get some drive-through orders going D my first job that would be dude my first job was at the McDonald's on Detroit Street in wor no way and I work the front counter and the drive-thru there what' you think how was it I mean I'm a people person so was fun but like you you know one I'm talking about right I don't think it's there anymore I don't know it's the
the one right by like Zimmer Biomat downtown oh yeah is it still there like right by Center Lake Park I don't know to where saw enough to be like somebody's going to be like no it's not you dummy you know you can go back it was on my it's on still on one of my friends Instagram for my first day of work they came and visited me in my little McDonald's hat and it's like dude it's a grind and like people I hope that people are nice to cuz it's like a family-owned restaurant like people are nice to you and your employees people are not
nice to McDonald's workers they do not like like you put on that you put on those golden arches hats and they hate you I think I you know I I'm grateful to say we don't deal with a lot of the negative it does happen though and that's definitely a theme of thing you know that's a question that people ask like what do you do with a negative customer and it's something that I tell all of my team members is the customer is always right unless they're not and you hear that I hate to say it sometimes they're not right I do not think it's okay
to belittle one of our awesome team members I don't think it's okay to project your negative energy onto us but here's what I will say you know we we will be kind to you either way no matter how you treat us we will not just be somebody's punching back um and I don't expect that out of any team member that works for us and I am totally okay with them just like defending themselves like I am okay if someone is extremely rude to you like you have the right to be like I am not comfortable taking your order like you can do that I think
that that's okay I think we're we just got to this place in society where people are just like okay with just like raining on people in you know their day-to-day jobs think about how they can make someone feel yeah bringing whatever negativity or like BS they have going on outside of it and then you're going through a drive-thru and you're just like and and and then the opposite side of that I we're all human we all have bad days so our philosophy is we want someone leaving in a better mood than when they came in and if they came in in a great mood they
better be in an amazing mood when they leave so that's kind of our philosophy do uh do you get haters in the comments probably I mean every now and again I definitely see something I I try to not read into it too much frankly really at all at this point if anything I laugh I think that's the moral of the story I don't let the good comments get to me and I don't let the bad comments get to me but I will say this if someone has a a bad comment but it is literally like a criticism and I'm like wait you know Ricky over
here from San Antonio he's got a good point you know it's like okay maybe we could actually do this better so I am totally okay with constructive criticism like if there's something we can improve on if there's something I can improve on I'm all for it dude it's funny like you think about the content that you post is not controversial at all people will find controversy the content that I post it's all about Indiana just like uplifting so postive the amount of people that you can piss off that are just angry about I don't know what it I love it it's so funny like I
people actively choose to find negativity and in their day it says more about them than it does about us so as long as you kind of have that mindset you'll be okay how significant has the rise in viewers and followers content been for chills I have had this unwavering faith for whatever reason in myself in this business since I started it not seeing results it might have been year or two of opening our opening day it was raining it was cold I don't even know if I made $30 I mean I sat there by myself for hours I say this because I want to make
it very clear of like how this has happened like this has not been some quick and easy thing it is actively changing my life and I I don't say that lightly I don't just say that for like some clickbait when I tell you all of the people that I have met all of the people that are coming from all over like it literally almost puts me to tears I've had this unwavering faith for so long and not like seeing any crazy results from it and then all of the sudden like this this growth happening and having all of these new people coming to the shop
it's incredible and I I you know I was like you know could this ever happen to me and then when something even just on the small scale starts happening it's really crazy and I I still like honestly I pinch myself because I just I can't believe it I I truly can't dude it's amazing and it comes down from keeping the positivity yeah continuing to work hard totally right it's like if if you have the positivity and the hard work good things are going to come right and so talk to us about what's on the horizon what's coming down the pipeline for chills right now the
focus is on the second location uh you know there not everything that we do at our first location will be happening at the second so the the second location I love it it's a small space I mean we're talking a thousand square feet and I'm going to use every single square foot of that space to be utilized and with that space we will be sweets only that's what to me that's what chills is it's always been that but we're all about the sweets we like making people feel sweet we like them eating sweet things it's just what we're about about and you know so with
that I really want to dial in this concept I want to get this down to a science every aspect of what we do figuring out the systems the distribution uh I'm working on very involved training programs right now that is one of the most important things training people because this is a people business frankly we're all in the people business whether we see it that way or not we all are especially myself the way I look at it is this if the people that are working with you and for you are not happy how are they going to make customers happy I have had to
really look Inward and say okay what can I do better because I can do things better I want to make that very clear I don't I don't sit here and talk to you as some expert I am learning just as anyone else is and I'm sure you feel the same way about what you're doing is we're all just out here learning and I just trying to figure out any way that I can improve this business before I would ever consider you know something like franchising or you know really just scaling up and you know taking on investment I I don't know I I don't know
what that path forward looks like yet but I do know right now in the near future the focus is on putting up an incredible second location and blowing people away I just had Scott Wise on the podcast he was a founder of Scotty's brew house which was I'm gonna have to watch that I think it would be for the the stage that you're in and the industry that you're in the advice that he gave back of like when you're young and you're crushing it fig out of like slowing down like he was very quick to open his first three four 5 10 and it's like
every time you open a story he like 1.5 million in debt for his restaurants they were big restaurants right but it's like he talked his advice was slow down like continue to build good good business and it's not growth at all cost so I would say you go back and listen to that one it and that's the that's the thing I I I've always felt like I'm such an impatient person but I at the same time it's like I have to look at my actions and I'm like okay so far I feel we've been pretty patient and I I felt like it was time for
that second location you know so I I love that thank you for that this is awesome I've loved hearing the story I mean from the humble beginnings of a shed in the back of your sister's business parking lot to now opening up a second location potentially some more on the right shipping across the country yeah it it's been crazy to think that tens of millions of people have seen your content tens of millions of people have seen something from North Manchester Indiana wild talk about Economic Development and Tourism like come on what's the furthest someone's traveled to come to chills Pennsylvania uh definitely Kentucky I've
had honestly I've had people from all over they've gone out of their way like they're on a trip going somewhere but I've had Texas I've had Nevada I've had people from all over and it it really is so crazy and they're like we found you on Tik Tok found me on Tik Tok or like people reaching out that are like oh wait yeah I've heard of this guy or I've heard of this place and you're just like that's so crazy to me uh but it's just it's only the beginning and that's I think the part that's so exciting to me so you know we're going
to keep chugging along we're going to keep putting out great content I'm going to keep bringing you know all of you along with me because we are just getting started I am six going on seven years into this and I have never been more Mo motivated than I am right now in this very moment heck yeah I love it man all right we have a few fun questions to round it out this is our younger years segment it's brought to you by our friends at or Fellowship they a great organization here in Indiana helping develop young Business Leaders all across the state Jansen what advice
would you give to your 22-year-old self I think even then at at 22 I definitely still was concerned with what others think about me if I could tell anyone in that age range and to be honest that's not just somebody that's 22 I think a lot of us older even can deal with that same issue is at some point you have to break free from the judgment and criticisms of others because if you don't how can you ever like actually be your true self I am just at a place in my life where I've accepted it I can't determine what someone else is going to
think about me all I can do and determine is what I am going to think about myself so if I could give any advice that's what it would be focus on you what makes you happy because when you find that life is unlocked and you will really start to make Headway because if that passion is already there the hard work that comes easy I totally agree I couldn't agree with this more right on service level ice cream content not that interesting right but if you're passionate and like you're excited about it it makes it worth watching makes I I can watch anything if somebody's excited
about it I have watched some crazy videos of people making sandwiches whatever it is that doesn't sound that exciting but the way that they do it is extremely fascinating on surface level the state of Indiana everyone's like not that interesting dude watch I love I love this stuff like I love going out and making the video and making the like an art form like it's just and I will I will tell you this I love your content because of that I I genuinely I think you do an awesome job with that I mean I have been discovering things you know since we've kind of connected
I have been discovering things in Indiana that I'm like oh snap I didn't even know that that was happening dude it's amazing people are going to be excited to hear about chills like I know I almost feel like you probably have a broader National reach than you do state reach in some ways it does feel that way so then it's like when people in southern Indiana are like oh man next time I'm driving up to Fort Wayne or South B like I got to go zip over to North Manchester we'd love to have you uh W bash County's got to be pumped up about chills
there we go all right this is our lightning round we're going to fire through some fun questions I'll try to make it quick yeah absolutely what's your favorite chills order it's got to be ouro vanilla donut Delight it sounds not that nice but it's actually amazing so it's our delicious creamy vanilla ice cream the warm glazed donuts hot caramel poured all over that it is is incredible you're so vanilla I love that that's a good name if there's ever if there's ever a time where we can brainstorm name ideas to I think that would be pretty fun honestly that' be fun we could easily and
we could definitely do any kind of like limited edition anything so there there is definitely there's all sorts of content that can be done there's all sorts of fun stuff we could come up with this is good stuff next time I'm I'm going home we're going to stop by make it happen all right if you could only eat one food for the rest of your life what would it be I mean what are we doing here it's ice cream I have to like I what am I supposed to say to that it's ice cream or Donuts okay I didn't know if it' be toasty Joe's
that's true that is true but I it's it's got to be ice cream second probably donut the three main food groups right ice cream donuts and toasty Joe's I mean what what does one need come on all right this is a question for you what's the easiest part of being an entrepreneur all of it because I want to do this I I want to be here I want to be having this conversation with you and the hard work is easy like that's the stuff that comes easy so I don't know how to explain that I don't even know if what I'm saying makes any sense
when you're an entrepreneur it does like I think that it entrepreneurship is is maybe simple but not easy the idea of running a business is like okay you make point you make the training you make more profit than you spend and if you're passionate about it like the simple thing becomes easy I love what I'm doing I love the people I'm doing it with and that makes it really easy is it ever too cold for ice cream in Indiana well you know I keep coming back to that question is it too cold for ice cream the answer I've come to is no absolutely not unless
your heart is cold the countless people that come on a day-to-day basis when it is literally like negative wind chill and I'm handing out their what the fudge donut delight and we've got snow coming across trying to take it away from us and they latch on to that thing that tells me we're here to stay we're not letting that weather get in the way what's the weirdest request a customer has ever made weird do I even begin on this we'll keep it to just food orders at this point oh that'll be yeah you have to pay extra if you want to hear the the uncensored
the premium but oh my gosh I mean people just come up with any sort of concoction you would ever imagine and in the quantities of ice cream like in no way would I even remotely judge someone's order like I think that's something that people do get self-conscious about like they'll come and it's like you got to understand we see it all we've seen everything and we cheed on it's like look treat yourself that's what this is about I I'm telling you the kid was probably like six maybe seven somewhere in there he got a large ice cream it wasn't even a doughnut delight at the
time this was years ago but he had mint chip he had Superman I don't even know what the third flavor was but I I maybe maybe our coffee lovers he's like seven getting this mound of ice cream that I'm talking is like literally a foot high um because we don't mess around on our portion I will say that but it was just incredible to see now I'll be honest I didn't see him finish it I don't know where it went from there but we made sure to hand it out okay from there from there on all coffee coffee Superman mint chip that's is that's good
yeah yeah that's that is Champion fuel right there that's right oh man all right these are the same three questions that I asked to everyone that says chair what's something the world needs to know about Indiana we're not just a flyover State there's a lot of good stuff here there really is there's a lot of incredible people incredible people like you that are out here hustling and doing things that truly are remarkable I think there are things to see here I think that there are attractions and I will say this I think we are getting to a place now where people are starting to realize
that a lot of the Midwest I think people are say to be like wait a second this is a pretty awesome place to live there are things to do yes there is a lot of corn there is but there are other things too there soybeans no but there really are there there are a lot of amazing things going on in Indiana and I think people just have to come here and maybe just see that for themselves like especially Indianapolis like every time I come here I discover something else something new I I don't know I don't know where else go I think it goes both
ways too whenever I leave Indianapolis I also discover something fun and something new that's true I there there are great things everywhere maybe is the way to put that yeah like I love being from a small town because I know the roots and I know like I remember sitting there on Fridays and being like dude I'm so and we you have to be creative like you have to like figure out what to do in a cornfield with your buddy's truck and a sled or whatever you know you make some fun happen and then I come to India I'm like oh my gosh like I'm so
appreciative of like true there's a Chipotle every like six miles whatever right and then I go back home and I'm like oh but sometimes I miss Jansen what is a Hidden Gem in Indiana it's Ryan stones and Roses what my sisters have going on is truly incredible uh they just do the most incredible things with the flowers I'm telling you if you get a chance look it up but rhinestones and Roses on Instagram on Tik Tok it's amazing I mean the flowers that they use and the amazing people that they have working with them I mean you know they have all sorts of clothing in
all sizes for women they have amazing gift ideas and they're willing to help you I think a lot of times as a man you can get a little overwhelmed maybe uh a little intimidated when you walk in to a place like that where it's pink everywhere and it does look a little crazy but they are literally willing to help you through the entire process the pink the pink everywhere is crazy to the man it's obsessed with mint green yeah okay touche you got me there no I love it because it is it our entire building is mint green the outside's mint green the inside's mint
green it's draw draws the eyes it's all about getting the eyeballs all right so rhinestone and Roses in North Manchester absolutely and Fort Wayne so they've got two locations absolutely and they're Florest as well as Boutique yes so they are both they do it all and they do it so well if you're looking for something that is genuinely like unique you've got a wedding and you're like I want something that is just a step above what I've maybe seen before they will literally Source some of the craziest flowers that you've ever seen and put them into the most incredible arrangements like I'll literally have to
send you some photos from even my sister's wedding like it is insane the stuff that they've been working on so that's got to be the hidden gy I love it that's a good one and that's we've never had a florist or a boutique or anything like that so I'm here for that who's a hooer that we need to keep on our radar someone who's doing big things I mean the other person that comes to my mind is good old will Schuler one I I'm so happy will to welcome you to the family this weekend it's actually crazy to think about uh and he just fits
in so well and he's got it going on he is doing some incredible things I find it motivating I I see him doing his thing and I'm like you know we're in different Lanes very different Lanes but well for those who don't know what does will do he's in the excavation business I'm talking everything I don't even to be honest I don't even fully know at this point uh everything that he is in but anything dirt removal dirt moving roads bull bulldozers excavation heavy equipment all he's let me drive one before which I don't know why he let me do that but it was crazy
does he also have his like helicopter Pilots license yeah he's me around that I saw him post on Instagram the other day that they were like late to church or something they absolutely absolutely so it's it's just he's a great guy I'm I'm happy to see him uh you know welcomed into the family and happy to celebrate them this weekend but uh they're they're just an awesome match and it's just great to see it's a teaser we're going to be dropping the will Scher episode here in a few and the story of willpower excavation construction that what he's been doing is is incredible it really
is shout out willp power but yeah I mean it's just crazy to see because this whole thing of how this came up I don't even remember did we touch on this during the podcast of how uh I was like yeah I'm going and doing the the get in podcast with Nate and of course he goes well wait I think I'm doing that too and then it just started this whole conversation is crazy I had no idea about that coming into this I love it uh the final thing right with the talk about the Tik Tock band all things like this you've put in so much
work it's a true differentiator for you and for your business and like having this extra Revenue stream has to be helping fuel growth and like that how do you feel it's going to impact you I still am a believer that one way or another it's going to stick around I probably am wrong but that's just I guess my positive outlook on things but it it definitely will I mean I it would be naive of me to say that getting rid of this platform that I have started to see some some traction on and really have garnered an audience on having that go away I mean
that's going to be a hit I don't know how it wouldn't be but if I've learned anything over the years you just got to persevere life goes on I'm going to can keep I'm going to keep making content I I definitely will be putting an emphasis on Instagram but not only Instagram I love the longer form content and I want to start really bringing some of that you know my myself and uh so on YouTube too so that allows us to even utilize a little bit of both of the same styles of content where can people find you Jans and kpe on everything and then
at Chills Delights chills Delights CH l l z and then Delights on Facebook Instagram Tik Tok everywhere man this was fun like I've Loved this conversation I can't wait to go back home and try CH hand up I haven't tried yet I got to go next time I'm back up north when you're driving through Northern Indiana whether you're going to South Bend whether you're going to Fort Wayne anywhere up in the area Warsaw Plymouth all those places stop through check out or the new location is going to be for open it's hard to say we've still got a lot to figure out set when he
sets the timeline just push it back a few month no kid goal would be you know late spring but honestly if we can get it open and capitalize on any of the summer that would be incredible to me uh because there is we're we're starting with a blank slate and there is a lot to do and I'm going to be documenting the whole process I have already put out some Vlogs actually going through the the initial planning phase trying to determine the layout so if you have any ideas of anything that you think could help me out feel free shoot me a message was the
guy say DM me yeah there we go you know how to build an ice cream store DM me that's right man dude I've had such a good time on this combo I love I just love the whole thing I love your passion I love your customer service keep it up uh go follow him on Instagram go follow him on YouTube make sure subscribe all that fun stuff uh because I mean you have 80 something thousand followers like if that does go away like we got to be the who your community and go you know help rally around so appreciate you man we're going to check
apprciate you I really do man it's it's awesome what you've got going on here and and I'm just so grateful that we could make this happen thank you for listening to this episode of get in if you like what you heard make sure you leave us a review wherever you listen to podcast this show is made possible by our friends up at Sweetwater whether you're looking to start a podcast or take your content to the next level click the link in the description to see all of my gear recommendations at sweetwater.com if you want to behind the scen look at everything we're doing across the
state make sure you follow me on Instagram and Tik toac @nate Spang thank you so much for listening and being part of what makes the hoer Stak great we'll see you next time here on get in
