Aggie alumnus, Shawna Chrimson, and business partner JoAnna Kirkland celebrated their sweet one year anniversary -as co-owners of The Sugar Shack located in Friendly Shopping Center, Greensboro, NC.

The Sugar Shack had its grand opening on Sept. 1, 2011. Chrimson was first given the idea of opening a candy store by her daughter. Before opening their business, both Chrimson and Kirkland fell victims to the economy, becoming unemployed due to the recession.

They decided to take a small loan and become shareholders of their business and turn it into a one-stop sweet treat.

They located their business in the Friendly Shopping Center where there was a generous amount of foot traffic giving better visibility to The Sugar Shack.

Chrimson, an aggie alumnus who majored in agricultural engineering at graduated in 2000.

Chrimson hopes to gain early retirement, financial security, and enjoy more family time after her first year success in being co-owner of The Sugar Shack.

Chrimson and Kirkland worked together for eight years at an engineering consultant firm where they became good friends. After unemployed, they decided to go into business together. Kirkland stated, “By going into business for ourselves, it allowed us to maintain the time for the family things we still wanted to be able to do. It was one of those things I couldn’t imagine doing with someone else. One of the benefits of owning and running our own business is that we are able to set our own rules! At the end of the day, anything you do, you do to benefit yourself. It’s different from having an employer. You have a lot more pride in your work,” said Chrimson.

As an aggie alumnus, Chrimson wants her business to become an example for all upcoming Aggies by letting them know they can achieve any goals they set for themselves. They should not to be limited by where they are, and should find their true happiness in what they do. Chrimson and Kirklands advice for upcoming business owners is to find something they love and are passionate about.

The co-owners want to maintain the current success of their business, as well as keep their business growing at a steady pace.

At present, their primary goal is to keep the doors open to their growing public. The stores long-term goals for their business are to have the ability to open more stores in various locations.

The Sugar Shack caters to people of all ages and sells over 200 current and nostalgic candies

The Sugar Shack is located at 3121 Kathleen Avenue Greensboro, NC in the Friendly Shopping Center across from Five Guys. Its hours of operation are Monday-Friday 10:00 a.m.-9:00 a.m., Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., and Sunday 1:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.

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• Brie-anne Robinson Contributor