Today I learned that no matter how big your sign is, how bright your flashing lights are or how ridiculously obvious you can make something… no one will see it. What is obvious to you doesn’t exist to anyone else. Very frustrating.

I just saw the documentary, Food Inc., at the Strand Capital Theater in York. Wow, what an amazing film!

There was a panel discussion held after the movie where advocates, professional and those knowledgeable about the subject answered some of the audience’s questions. One thing the movie was lacking was the perspective of small businesses who have no choice but to give into the current food system because they simply cannot afford to do otherwise. I can get just about anything from Wal-Mart cheaper than I can get it from any of my wholesale suppliers. That is sad. I order in very small quantities and simply can’t meet any order minimums.

I also have a personal dilemma. Do I buy imported organic ingredients or support my local farmers who use very little pesticides but cannot afford to become organically certified? It costs the average small business about $1,000-$1,500 a year depending on the industry, plus a percentage of their organic product sales. That might not seem like a lot from the outside but when a small business is only grossing $25,000 a year in sales it becomes a significant amount of money for a start-up strapped for capital.

I believe that living sustainably within your means is the best approach. No one is perfect and trying to completely change or revert the system is crazy. If there isn’t a cost benefit then the majority of businesses will not change. “It’s the right thing to do” isn’t justification for doubling or tripling your costs while maintaining the same selling price. We have to find ways to make sustainable products more affordable. Ironically, the big conglomerates, the ones we all grip about, are leading the way. They have the means, the capital investments and know how to make it happen.

When it comes to our food supply, we have to revert back to locally produced and grown foods. If every person who ate granola in the Susquehanna Valley chose my granola over a national brand, I could sell a heck of a lot of granola. Not millions of dollars worth but enough to support myself and my family without working another part-time job. Being able to support myself while doing what I love is my ultimate goal.

Ok, enough rambling for now. I sincerely encourage all of you to see the documentary and become more conscious of where you spend your money.

I find that marketing happens in three steps:

1.    The initial discovery: At last, you do exist!
2.    The first experience with the product or service
3.    The constant reminder of your existence.

So now people know we exist thanks to good old Rachael Ray. Step one accomplished. A lot of people who now know we exist have tried our products and hopefully fell in love with them. Step two, check. Now comes that hardest, most daunting and expensive part; reminding people that we still exist.

But, the best part is that you are always going through the phases, regardless of how old your company is. There are how many billion people in the world? No matter how large the company is there are still people who (1) don’t know you exist (2) never tried your products and/or (3) forgot that you exist.

This my friend is what I call job security. But for now I have one simple goal: gain one new customer every day. I can live with 365 more customers by the end of the year. It wouldn’t help to gain some retailers in the Lancaster and Harrisburg area, but I am working on that. It is a lot harder to convince a store to buy your products than your neighbors (unless they own a store), as I have learned.

Always more work to do…