<p>Speaker 1:<br />I'm about to follow the candy just like Ms. Jana did. She opened up her own business, she fulfilled her dream, and, oh, I'm looking to try the sweet deliciousness. Here we go.<br /><br />Speaker 1:<br />Tell me about the development, the birth of this candy company.<br /><br />Jana Farmer:<br />So Ms. Jana's Candy, this is our signature candy. It's peanut brittle. My mom loved peanut brittle. Always wanted peanut brittle for every occasion. And I said to her one day, "I'm going to learn how to make that stuff." And that was just the beginning of the most beautiful experience for me.<br /><br />Jana Farmer:<br />Anyway, I started selling candy. I have a friend that's in the foods business. She introduced me to a chef who said he was going to try my candy. Now here's the funny part. So the chef said to me, "You're going to about to enter into a hard marketplace." And he said, "I hope you're not thin-skinned because I'm going to try your candy. I'm a four year trained chef, and I hope that you're able to take criticism and adjust what you're doing."<br /><br />Speaker 1:<br />Were you shaking? Were you nervous at this point?<br /><br />Jana Farmer:<br />I was so nervous. Oh my gosh, because this is going into that territory where you're really going to be judged. So he tried it. He called me and he said, "I don't know what you're doing, but your cook is perfect." He said, "I don't know how you got it so good." So he said, "I'm going to introduce you to a group down in Chicago. They work for Company Food Works." They had an incubation program that was called the Apron Exchange. They invited me in to set up a table and sell my candy.<br /><br />Speaker 1:<br />And how did you get a business open so fast? One, there's a lot of vacancies in Aurora and getting something open and the permits and contractors. How is that possible that you got that open so fast? And what advice would you give for someone of any age wanting to open a business in Aurora?<br /><br />Jana Farmer:<br />The first thing I did was I knocked on doors, on restaurant doors. A lot of them I asked them if they would rent me space. At this time I was cooking in the beautiful, beautiful commercial kitchen at my church. And so I thought if I could get some exposure, if I could partner in someone's restaurant, maybe that would help. And there was nobody that had space for us to use. So we eventually came upon this building and it was affordable and I became the contractor. So that's how I saved money. And the people I have to say that the men and women who work at the permits office at the city of Aurora were just the most wonderful people you could ever meet. They were hard on me, but they do those things, honestly, not against you, but for you. They keep you safe and they keep you from being liable.<br /><br />Jana Farmer:<br />So this is our creamy caramel. This caramel is so full of butter. It will not stick to your teeth. This is our signature peanut brittle. This is the candy that I began with. My mom's candy.<br /><br />Speaker 1:<br />She's living through the brittle.<br /><br />Jana Farmer:<br />Yes. That's our signature candy. And this is our butter toffee. Now this is our version of the turtle. We toast the raw nuts and avocado oil and kosher salt. Then we cover them with our caramel, that doesn't stick to your teeth and then we coat them with chocolate. I call it a cozy.<br /><br />Speaker 1:<br />Oh, look at that.<br /><br />Jana Farmer:<br />This is so good.<br /><br />Speaker 1:<br />That's a good shot right there.<br /><br />Jana Farmer:<br />Yeah, there you go.<br /><br />Speaker 1:<br />Ooey gooey goodness.<br /><br />Jana Farmer:<br />Yeah, ooey gooey goodness.<br /><br />Speaker 1:<br />Ms. Jana's Candy, I'm going to get all cozy with this here. Thank you very much. And check it out. It's very sweet. We're going to follow the candy.<br /><br />Jana Farmer:<br />I know.<br /><br />Speaker 1:<br />I see why she's amazing.</p>