Full Transcript

Sari 0:00
Which sales channel should I focus on first in my food business? I've been hearing the same question for years from passionate food entrepreneurs just like you, and the reality is, there is no cookie cutter one size fits all answer. The right channel for you depends on your specific product with your unique benefits and challenges, your current life situation, your personality and your business goals. Some of you will see the most success by going to farmers markets. Some of you have a product made for e commerce, and some of you are going to do really well getting on store shelves, and some of you would benefit from having a mix of two, or even all three of those. But what's important here is that you are making the decision based on you, and not what someone else is telling you that you should do. That is why I am so excited to announce our newest live training experience. It's called the Sales Channel Challenge, and it's three days to build a roadmap for your food business success. If you are an early stage entrepreneur, you're thinking about launching or you have launched into one or even two of those channels, but you're struggling to manage the overwhelm and to get traction, then this is a challenge for you. Join me April 15th through 17th for a one hour call each day, and we are going to dive into each of these sales channels so that you really understand what it's going to take to succeed, what is required of you, and whether that feels like a yes. April and I are going to help you assess and really figure out based on facts, what is the right sales channel for you right now. And here's the best part, it's just $27 and you're going to walk away with that clear understanding of each channel and a roadmap for you. Head over to foodbizsuccess.com/challenge to secure your spot today. We are limiting the number of seats, so you don't want to put this off. Go and get your spot. Foodbizsuccess.com/challenge, I can't wait to see you there.

Sari 2:27
Welcome to your Food Business Success. This podcast is for early stage entrepreneurs in the packaged food industry, ready to finally turn that delicious idea into reality. I'm your host, Sari Kimbell. I have guided hundreds of food brand founders to success as an industry expert and business coach, and it's got to be fun. In this podcast, I share with you mindset tools to become a true entrepreneur and run your business like a boss, interviews with industry experts to help you understand the business you are actually in, and food founder journey so you can learn what worked and didn't work and not feel so alone in your own journey. Now let's jump in!

Sari 3:15
Hello and welcome back to the podcast. I'm so glad you are here with me today. Just a quick little update, since I know you guys are following my journey, I am in Seattle. I'm actually on Bainbridge Island right now, and I'm super excited because it is spring here, although the sun does not come out very often yet, but I am really enjoying all the beautiful flowers, and the first Farmers Market on Bainbridge Island is happening this Saturday, so I'm very excited to go check that out. I've definitely been enjoying all of the amazing fruits and vegetables and freshness of things that are available here. So that's where I am right now, and it's actually been the perfect place to regroup, and because it is kind of cloudy and rainy, it's been a really cozy place to work on the next big thing that we are putting on the world. And you're going to be hearing about it and seeing it, and I really want to invite you to come and join the three day sales channel challenge. It's going to be incredible. If you are wanting to launch your business, you have an idea, or you are still in the early stages of your business, like you maybe have launched into cottage food, but you want to expand into getting a commercial kitchen and expand into some other sales channels. If you have been at markets and you want to grow into direct to consumer, e commerce, or you want to get on wholesale, this is a way for you to come and learn about the different sales channels to really understand what it takes to be successful in these sales channels and to make a plan. And as I was thinking about, what do I want to talk about on this episode, I don't just like create these workshops or live experiences in a vacuum. I'm creating it in response to the questions, the things that I hear most often, and probably the number one question I hear all the time iswhat sales channels should I go into, and how do I set myself up to be the most successful? And I mean those two things, of course, tie together, because to be successful, it is about choosing the right sales channels at the right time, the right number of them, based on your product, based on your lifestyle, the resources available to you, your skill set, your desires, and you guys know, I'm all about creating a beautiful business, one that supports your life and doesn't overwhelm you and take everything from you, but it's this beautiful reciprocity of you doing things for your business, getting it going, and it's also giving back to you, hopefully in sales, but also just in energy and reward and you filling you back up. There's a fulfillment there that is possible. And so that's exactly why I put together this challenge. I've never done a challenge, never done a multi day workshop. And I really hope if you have been listening to this podcast for a while now, and maybe you have gotten a book, you watch the YouTube channel like you've been absorbing lots of information, this is such a small investment, $27 to come and work with me live, and ask your questions and actually do the things that are going to help you to feel confident and capable and have clarity on the next steps.

Sari 7:14
So as I thought about, what do I want to talk about today that has to do with like, why I created this challenge in the first place, it's because I see these mistakes that founders make over and over and over again, and especially in the early stages. And there's so many of you that don't even start because you're so worried that you might make a mistake. So I want to address the three things, and they might not be what you think they are. And then, of course, I want to share with you, like, how I'm going to help you in the challenge, because that's why I created it, right? I want to help you. Okay, so the first mistake that I see founders make is that they are at the whim of every person who has an opinion. And so you tell people that you're going to start this, and people love to give you their advice, even if they have no idea. They've never been in the industry, they have no idea what they're talking about. So they might be like, oh, I read this article where so and so started on e commerce, and you should really do it this way. Or I heard that you should get on store shelves. Or you should, should, should. And even people in the industry, even people you know, consultants, coaches, a lot of them are going to have like the way that they think is the right way. And one of the things that I think sets me apart as a coach is I don't believe there's one way, that there's one cookie cutter, one size fits all approach to creating a successful, beautiful business. It all is going to depend on your product, your resources, your life circumstances, your talents, your desires, and your goals. And so, I think if I had to say like, summarize like, what is the mistake? It's not staying in your own sovereignty. I have a unique business. I have unique desires and dreams, and I'm going to take in, I'm going to allow in information, but I'm not going to get so attached to it. I'm ultimately going to take it in, learn what I can, do the research, like really get to a place where I feel like I have enough, and Colin Powell would say, you need about 70% of the information, and then make a decision, but that you have enough information to then say, here's what I believe is true for me. And this doesn't have to be a decision that lasts forever, right? But in the short term, like a decision must be made so that we can actually move forward, right, follow a path and see if it works. And so, bringing in all the information, hearing people out, seeking out mentors, advisors, industry experts who actually are in it and finding out what they think. It can be a little bit of whiplash, right? Because people like you should do this, you should do this, you should do that, and saying, okay, I'm going to take it all in. I'm going to evaluate it, and then I'm going to make a decision based on me, based on all those things I talked about, your desires, your product, your goals, all of that. And that's exactly what we're going to do in the Sales Channel Challenge. And even if you're not able to come live, I just want to say that this is something we're going to be running somewhat frequently as we get more feedback and see how it works. And so don't think that this is like a one and done thing. You'll be able to get all the information at foodbizsuccess.com/challenge. Okay, so that's the first mistake.

Sari 11:08
The second mistake I see is that there's a bit of naivete or overconfidence in like, what it's going to take to be successful in each sales channel. And it's like, oh yeah, this is going to be so easy. And oh, I'll just be able to do this. And often what I see is people are like, oh yeah, I can do all of them. And I can do all of them really well. And it's, I think it's just that you just don't know what you don't know. And that's exactly what I want to help shed some light on, is like, here's what you need to know, because each sales channel to be successful in it is going to require time, money and additional resources. If you choose all three of them, and you're like, I'm going to do it all, I'm going to do markets, I'm going to do e commerce, I'm going to do wholesale, and maybe even add some other sales channels that we're not even going to talk about, Amazon or like, other marketplaces. Like, I mean, there's, you know, food service, there's other sales channels that we could talk about, and I'm just talking about the three main ones, but I see people overconfident, and they're following the shoulds from mistake number one, but they're just like, I can do it all. And what ends up happening is that we are diluting the resources, the time, the money that is available when you start, and we're not able to do anything really well. I sometimes will liken it to like you have 10 soccer balls that you get to kick across the the field but you only can take 10 kicks every day. And would you rather like get one ball down the field and make a goal instead of like a little bit every day, right? It just doesn't motivate you. We start to feel fatigued. We run out of money, we run out of time, resources, and it can be very deflating. And ultimately, what I want for you is that you actually get some wins right away. You start to see progress, and you're taking feedback in one of those channels, and you're making changes to make it better should you choose to go into some other sales channels. So it's not forever, but I'm saying only choose one. And for some people, I'm okay with two of those. I generally don't recommend doing all three at once. I really want you to get some success early on, and I want you to figure out what's working and what's not before you take on the, go bite the next apple. It's just too much, and we greatly underestimate how long things are going to take, how much things are going to cost, how much energy is required. And so I see kind of the antidote to this mistake is a willingness to constrain, a willingness to make tough choices, to say, I'm going to start here. It's not forever. I'm just I'm going to start with this sales channel, and I'm going to give it my all, and I'm going to choose to do it based on my circumstances, the resources, my time and talent available, and my goal, my bigger goals, so important.

Sari 14:48
And then the third mistake I see people make is they fail to create a larger plan. And when we fail to make a plan, to make a bigger vision saying where do I want to be in the next three years? The question I often ask people when I get on call with them or coach them in Fuel is say, what's the three year goal here? What's your plan? Because that's going to help inform me a lot on what decisions we make today. It's like punching in, where do you want to go into your map app on your phone, your GPS like then it can tell you, here's the roots available to you. But if we don't have anything to plug into the phone, how does it know where to take you, right? So we need to create a little bit longer term plan, like really sit down and say, what do I want from this business? What is that longer term goal for starting this business? And I feel like a three year time frame is about right, where you can kind of dream something bigger for yourself, you can see that there's possibility here, but it's not like, too far out in the future that you're like, I can't even imagine that, but you were also not falling into the trap of like, I got to do all of this in a year, because, like I said, we greatly underestimate how much we can get done with the time, money and resources available to us. And so I really like that three year mark. And so if you haven't done that, that's exactly what we're going to tackle in the Sales Channel Challenge. I want you to really understand what are the three main sales channels, and what does it take to be successful in those and then you get to create a plan for you. Listen, I know how scary it is as you're considering launching your business, or you are trying to grow it, and your resources are maybe being drained, and it's so important to just pause to really get the information that you need and to make decisions for you, right? Not on all the shoulds, and here's how you have to do it, but like, get the information so we can avoid mistake number one, and then to be clear on what is it really going to take to be successful in each channel. And what am I willing to do? What am I willing to commit to and to invest in time, money and other resources? And number three, like, let me create a plan. Let me create a loose plan. Now, yes, you can make a plan, and then it may not ever happen that way, but there is value in making the plan. Planning helps give you direction, and it helps you make better decisions now, based on where you want to go, and so if some of this, or all of it, is resonating with you, I really want to invite you to come and get your seat, reserve your spot for the three day Sales Channel Challenge. You are not going to regret it. It's going to be so packed with value, and I'm so excited to share this with you. Go to foodbizsuccess.com/challenge, and I will see you there. All right, until next time, have an amazing week!

Sari 18:31
The smartest thing you can do as an entrepreneur is to invest in a who to help you with the how to speed up your journey and help you skip the line. When you are ready for more support and accountability to finally get this thing done, you can work with me in two ways. Get me all to yourself with one on one business coaching, or join Food Business Success, which includes membership inside Fuel, our community of food business founders that includes monthly live group coaching calls and so much more. It's one of my favorite places to hang out, and I would love to see you there. Go to foodbizsuccess.com to start your journey towards your own food business success.