NAWBO Nashville Administrator and member Elodie Habert is the founder of Nashville’s Cocorico!, Nashvill’es premier purveyor of authentic French cuisine. Food has been central in Elodie’s life since day one. She gained her culinary inspiration from her wide-ranging travels and from the time she has spent in the kitchen with her mother. As a child, Elodie loved tasting new recipes, discovering new foods, and, of course, eating. She has also always enjoyed watching others delight in a good meal. She sees sharing a meal with people she loves as a gift.
Elodie moved from Nantes, France to Nashville in 2016, and started her Cocorico! adventure in May 2018. The company has been growing steadily ever since.
“It is in the stories you tell me when you stop by my booth, about your high school French classes and your trips to France, that I find motivation to share my passion for food,” she says. “These interactions are the reason I excitedly wake up at 2:00AM several times per week to cook for you!”
Q&A section
What attracted you to NAWBO and what’s been your experience so far?
I am the administrator of the NAWBO Nashville chapter. What I was initially looking for was a way to meet women business owners here in Nashville. My experience has been great so far. I’ve met so many inspiring and talented women and speakers, and even found my new insurance agent through the members! After being involved for only a few months, I even decided to launch my own French cuisine company, Cocorico Cuisine.
We talk a lot about the “NAWBO community.” As a member, what does the NAWBO community mean to you?
It means a lot! It is like being part of a family and knowing that you can count on each other if you struggle or need help but also want to celebrate! Since being part of the NAWBO Nashville chapter, I’ve discovered a group of talented, inspiring and supportive women. We support, challenge, and collaborate with each other to learn, improve, and thrive. It is such a great opportunity to meet talented people while growing your own small business. I am really thankful to be part of the NAWBO Nashville family!
What are some things you’ve learned about yourself and/or your business during this COVID pandemic?
Being creative and shifting your perspective can make a world of difference.
Reinventing or adjusting our economic model allowed me to survive and thrive in 2020. Pushing myself forward to ask for help and advice and being vulnerable in front of more experienced women has also been a tremendous help to grow personally and professionally.
What are the biggest challenges you face as a woman business owner?
Loneliness. It is sometimes hard to talk about my doubts, make plans for the future, or take financial risks to grow my business. My friends, family members, or even employees don’t always realize what I am going through. I can feel lonely and think that I am the only one in that particular case. But guess what?! Somebody else took this path before and is willing to help me. And there are strong chances that this person is part of a women business owner network like NAWBO Nashville!
Reflecting back on your career to date, have things gone in a straight line, or have you found yourself in places that you didn’t expect?
I would say that my career is everything but a straight line! After working in the nonprofit world for about six years in France, I moved to Nashville in 2016 and started as a marketing coordinator in a premium sales training company called Skillway for about two years (an amazing opportunity that I found while being involved in the NAWBO Nashville board of directors!). Then, inspired by my NAWBO Nashville sisters, I started my own French food company called Cocorico Cuisine in 2018, and I am running it full time for about 18 months now.
I really didn’t expect to build my own company and be an entrepreneur in the United States, but if I reflect on my childhood, I was in this entrepreneurship world from day one. My parents have almost always worked for themselves, and they have a family wine business opened for more than 22 years! I guess it was my destiny to build something on my own too.
What advice would you give to solopreneurs, such as yourself, who are starting their journey as business owners?
If you feel like you are on the right path, trust yourself, trust your gut, and go for it! In France, people are scared to fail and to be judged by others, but I feel like in the United States, failure is part of your learning curve, and every mistake or bad decision should be received as a lesson to grow and move forward. So, let’s make things happen!