Growing up on the south side of Chicago, Michele Hoskins followed the traditional path - she got married and had a family. When the marriage ended, she felt compelled to ensure that her three daughters were taken care of and she had just an inkling of how she might do it.

While married, Hoskins had inherited a special recipe for Honey Creme Syrup. The recipe, made with churn butter, honey and Creme as an alternative to molasses, was created by her great, great grandmother who had been a slave in the late 1800's. For years, her unique syrup had been a hit among family and friends who encouraged Hoskins to market it to stores. When the chips were down, Michele knew that this recipe would be the key to her success and a formidable legacy for her family.

Hoskins sold everything she owned and moved with her daughters into her parents' home. She began making her Honey Creme syrup out of the basement - taking about an hour to make one case. She remembers carefully filling each bottle and then preparing to take the case to one of the local stores to be sold. The Food Exchange on South Exchange Avenue in Chicago was the first to place her Honey Creme Syrup on their shelves

Hoskins established Michele Foods in 1984 and soon her Honey Creme products, which now include Butter Pecan Syrup and Maple Creme Syrup, were distributed directly to supermarkets, food stores and restaurants. After nine years of persistence and knowing that quitting was not an option, Hoskins landed a $3 million deal with Denny's restaurants. Twenty-three years later, her products are in over 10,000 stores and restaurants nationwide including Wal-Mart, Target, and Kroger. In addition, Michele Foods recently became the first African-American vendor to have her products placed in Costco Wholesale warehouses.

After 20 years of using a co-packer to manufacture her products, Hoskins extended her empire to include Michele Foods Manufacturing in 2004. Together as majority owner with her partner, the 90,000 square feet facility located in Cincinnati, Ohio not only produces Hoskins Honey Creme products but cocktail mixes, flavored coffee and soda syrups for national and convenience store accounts.

Hoskins' story is one that has inspired many entrepreneurs and those who, like Hoskins, have triumphed over tough times. Appearing on the Oprah Winfrey Show more than once, Hoskins shared with Winfrey that, before she started her business she didn't even know how to balance her checkbook and couldn't begin to fathom what the word "entrepreneur" meant. She recalled reading that the 80's were to be the year of the woman and to be successful you should be an entrepreneur. She immediately looked up the word in the dictionary and, remarkably, at the moment decided on her new path.

Hoskins' risk taking and hard work would certainly do her great, great grandmother proud. She firmly believes in the importance of staying grounded and in adjusting to success in stages. Hoskins also believes in giving back to the community. She provides products to churches and various other venues for events and was recently invited to South Africa as a guest speaker during the Economic Development Conference.

Hoskins also mentors college students and aspiring entrepreneurs through her seminar "From Recipe to Retail and Beyond." This intensive course is designed to help educate entrepreneurs about how to properly create, package and prepare their products for the retail market and food service industry. The program explores what being an entrepreneur is about and helps ensure that up-and-coming entrepreneurs have a realistic picture of what to expect. Lastly, Hoskins discusses how to create a business plan and how to market products for success.

When Hoskins started Michele Foods, she knew that she had the opportunity to do something that her great, great grandmother could only dream of. She attributes her success to being patient, consistent and most importantly, to faith. This legendary tale is what entrepreneurs are made of. The 80's may have been the year of the woman, but the last 23 years have clearly been all about Michele Foods.

To learn more about Honey Creme products and Hoskins' "From Recipe to Retail and Beyond" program visit www.michelefoods.com or call 708.331.7316.