Enjoy this week’s guest post from small business specialist, Ann Zack.
My husband and I lost our jobs within a year of each other during the recession more than 10 years ago. As our job search dragged on from weeks into months, we realized we were going to have to do something for ourselves. We had both been journalists for decades and were comfortable writing about everything from Georgia Tech football (we met in the press box!) to school board meetings to local celebrities.
But now we were going to have to create our own story.
During a trip to a NASCAR race in Bristol, TN (we live in Chattanooga), we noticed happy patrons milling about drinking what appeared to be moonshine out of plastic mason-jar-shaped mugs. After further investigation — and sampling, of course — we discovered that Tennessee had recently legalized moonshine in certain parts of the state.
On a trip to the Cayman Islands, we loved tasting rum cakes – why not try a Tennessee twist on a rum cake? We decided to put some moonshine in a cake and see what happened. The next eight months were spent crafting recipes for our moonshine cakes, but soon enough, a business was born.
We started at farmer’s markets, then small festivals in the Chattanooga area, and then worked our way up to some of the biggest events in the country, such as the Houston Rodeo and Stock Show in Texas and the 12-day Minnesota State Fair.
Before we sold our first cake, we consulted with the small business specialists at our local SBDC (Small Business Development Centers). We had never heard of the organization before and were delighted to find that its services were free. The counselors there helped us write a business plan and craft a marketing strategy.
However, one of the most important things our counselor did was introduce us to a representative from the Southern United States Trade Association (SUSTA), a non-profit organization that facilitates trade between small businesses and overseas importers
We had been baking moonshine cakes for less than a year when a representative from SUSTA, which is based in New Orleans, came to Chattanooga to give a presentation about the organization. Our SBDC contact sent us emails and called us to remind us of the presentation, which was held in the same building as our bakery. But the meeting was at lunchtime, right in the middle of our baking day. At the time, we were baking 200 cakes a day in a small convection oven, pouring a delicious buttery moonshine glaze on the hot cakes every 15 minutes.
We were so busy with our business that we didn’t have time to learn how to improve our business.
Fortunately for us, our SBDC counselor didn’t mind that we missed the presentation. In fact, she so strongly believed in us that she persuaded the SUSTA rep to climb two flights of stairs to meet us.
As a result, a few months later, we were at the country’s largest and most prestigious food trade show, the Fancy Food Show in Manhattan. Our booth was sponsored by SUSTA, which allowed us to pay only $1,200 for the booth, rather than the usual $4,000 fee. As it turned out, we decided not to pursue exporting due to the 12-month shelf life preferred by most overseas importers. But we picked up several big orders at the show, and made invaluable contacts.
We have met regularly with our counselors at the SBDC ever since. Early in 2018, they helped set up the sale of all our kitchen equipment to a local baker, who bakes the cakes for us; we now have more time (and energy!) to market our business.
And although we didn’t realize it at the time, the decision to contract with a co-packer also meant I was free to become a counselor myself: In March, I accepted a position as small business specialist at the SBDC office in Cleveland, TN, a Chattanooga suburb.
I can’t think of a more enjoyable or rewarding job. Every day I meet with clients who are at varying stages in their entrepreneurial journeys.
Often, these entrepreneurs just need a sympathetic ear: They’re struggling with cash flow, short on sleep and lacking in self-confidence. I’ve been there – too many times to count – and can usually deliver a pretty good pep talk.
If you have any questions or concerns about your business, make an appointment to visit your local SBDC office (there are more than 900 in the US). If there’s not an office near you, give the closest one a call. A counselor can set up a phone call, a Zoom meeting, or possibly even travel to visit you in person. Find more information, here.
Ann Dickerson Zack is a small business specialist for the Tennessee Small Business Development Center on the campus of Cleveland State Community College in Cleveland, TN. She is the owner of Tennessee Moonshine Gourmet Products, a Chattanooga-based business that makes all-natural cakes, jams, barbecue sauces, hot sauce and honeys infused with 100 proof (legal!) moonshine distilled in Gatlinburg, TN.
You can find Ann here: Website, Facebook, and Instagram
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