2008 Economic Impact Awards Top Honors, Entrepreneur of the Year: Shawn Askinosie

Chocolate desserts came next. Then the idea for a chocolate factory, but not before the cupcakes were perfected.

“For a while, I was very obsessed with cupcakes,” says Shawn Askinosie, founder of Askinosie Chocolate at 514 E. Commercial St.

Perhaps you’ve heard of him. He’s the same Askinosie who had a high-profile career as a criminal defense attorney before leaving the profession at the height of his earning potential to make premium dark chocolate. Although Askinosie and Stacie Bilyeu merged practices in 2006, he doesn’t practice law anymore.

That might seem strange for someone who loved the law for 20 years. But he defended people accused of serious felonies, and after two back-to-back, first-degree murder cases that catapulted Askinosie into the limelight that included national press coverage, he reassessed. “With each client, a little piece of you goes with them, and you think, ‘Well, how much longer can you do this?’” Askinosie says.

Opened last year, Askinosie Chocolate sells its goods in 140 specialty stores and 30 states. International distribution includes Australia and Sweden, home to the factory’s largest single order to date; securing wide distribution in Europe is a long-term goal. White chocolate was tested in Springfield and is ready for larger distribution.

Locating his business on Commercial Street was deliberate, Askinosie says. “The primary component (of the factory) is a sustainable business that is totally rooted into this neighborhood … so we need to be profitable and sustainable in the long run,” Askinosie says.

He’s still garnering media attention that puts Springfield in the news ¬– from specialty magazines to appearances on Fox Business ¬– but this time, the focus is centered on Askinosie’s business approach.

Starting a small-batch chocolate factory – there are only a handful around the world – didn’t come to Askinosie overnight. While he waited for passion to strike, he took up a hobby. He started with handguns, because death threats were a career hazard. Grilling was next. And then came the cupcakes. Askinosie researched, baked from scratch, even traveled to a cupcake bakery in New York City. He didn’t open a cupcake bakery, as he once considered, but the blueprint for Askinosie Chocolate was laid. In May 2005, on the way to a relative’s funeral, the idea to make chocolate hit him, and he started learning from scratch. Askinosie knows exactly where the beans come from – and so can his customers. Each chocolate bar features the farmer whose beans helped create the chocolate.

Adapting Jack Stack’s “Stake in the Outcome” business approach, Askinosie shares 10 percent of net profits with the farmers. He also pays them higher than Fair Trade prices.

“Shawn is very inspiring in all aspects – in business, in personal life,” says Kesha Quigg Alexander, who was recruited to implement sales and marketing at Askinosie Chocolate. “For me, that was very refreshing to be part of something that was limitless. … Everyday is different because there’s always a new idea.”

Expect to see the business become more involved with Springfield through local-only products and events held at the factory. Askinosie also is committed to Chocolate University, where schoolchildren learn about running a business.

And, yes, he still makes cupcakes.

Shawn Askinosie

A former trial lawyer who left the legal field after two decades, Askinosie works with farmers in Ecuador and Mexico to get beans for his chocolate. He has adapted Jack Stack’s “Stake in the Outcome” business model, and he shares his profits with the farmers.

Did you know?

The factory’s 14 employees celebrate Paul Kiry Day each Feb. 11, complete with his favorite music. An employee of Zingerman’s Delicatessen in Ann Arbor, Mich., Kiry spread the word about Askinosie Chocolate via e-mail and represents the power of word-of-mouth enthusiasm in growing Askinosie’s business.

Information accurate at the time of the honor.[[In-content Ad]]