Dani Beckerman, Building Her JARS Dessert Empire

February 3, 2020

Dani Beckerman is building her dessert empire one mason jar at a time. Originally a pre-med student at University of Maryland, Dani discovered her incredible talent and passion for creating desserts when she one day spontaneously decided to layer them in a mason jar. A few weeks later, JARS by Dani was born. Her mouth-watering desserts, scrappiness, and deep understanding of social media have allowed her to take over our Instagram feeds.

In this feature, Dani shares with us how her passion transformed into a business, the steps she took to build JARS by Dani, and the importance of shameless self-promotion. Read along to soak up her incredible career advice for ambitious women, such as yourself.

Early career

You studied Psychology at University of Maryland College Park and joined the Institute of Culinary Education the following year. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a career in the culinary arts?

Never. While I’ve always loved baking as a hobby, I never thought I would make a career out of it. I was pre-med at University of Maryland and always thought I would become a doctor. My parents are both OBGYNs and every single internship I did was connected to the medical field. Once I moved to NYC I started baking more and more - making up recipes while my best friend wrote them down in a giant book we had in our shared apartment. On a whim I decided to apply to the pastry program at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE). While at ICE I decided to layer all the desserts I had been playing around with in a glass mason jar because I thought it would look pretty! It did. I posted them on Instagram and within weeks I was doing it full time. Never even finished the pastry program. Never looked back.

JARS by Dani

What inspired you to start JARS by Dani? What steps did you take to launch this business?

Honestly - I started it by accident. I was making them for friends and people saw them on Instagram and wanted them - so I said yes! I had never taken a business class but I did know that I had to make them for less than I was selling them for. I quickly did the math and set a price. Soon I was making the JARS all night long (literally - I wouldn't sleep for 2,3 nights at a time!) and hand delivering (on the subway!) all day long. I had to be shameless in promoting myself. I would ask everyone to Instagram them, bring them with me everywhere, and send out hundreds of emails a day to editors, press, influential people (there weren't any “official” influencers back then!) telling them how delicious the JARS were and how adorable I was! It sounds obnoxious but if you don’t promote yourself no one else will (unless you pay them large sums of money!). I used to ride the elevators at Conde Nast showing people the JARS and giving out business cards - that is how I got my first print article :)

Your jars are taking up social media, especially Instagram, by storm. What do you think is your key to success here?

I have always seen Instagram as a view “behind the scenes”. This is why I believe it got so popular; people loved following their favorite celebrities - originally only seen in tabloids and movies. We now had a personal view into their lives told from their perspective. The same thing with businesses. Instagram allows us to see the person behind the business, not just the product. If you scroll through my Instagram from the beginning you will see hundreds of delicious, mouthwatering photos of JARS - but it will also tell you the story of a 20something girl living in NYC, pounding the pavement and working her ass off to start and grow a company!

What are you most excited about the future of JARS by Dani?

Ooo so many things! I am coming out with something new very soon - stay tuned! It’s gonna be amazing. I am excited to keep learning more about my business, growing it and my team, and to continue innovating!

Advice

Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs who are looking to start a business in their early 20s?

1) Be confident in whatever it is you are starting - people will be able to sense it.

2) Promote yourself and your business shamelessly. Like I said before - if you don't, no one else will.

3) Be prepared to work very very hard. While I do feel that working for yourself is the absolute best - it is also nonstop.

4) The people you surround yourself/hire is incredibly important. Choose wisely - don't be hasty.

What do you wish you knew when you were first starting your business?

Ha- everything I’ve learned over the last 7 years!
Having an advisory counsel is so impactful. These are people I fully trust/respect and that I can go to with anything that only has my best interests at heart. That is something I wish I had when I was first starting my business.