Small Business Helpers

      There have been a few tools that have helped us keep our costs down, even if they have not always been terribly efficient. Starting out, dreams are often bigger than the pocket book, so sometimes flexibility and low out of pocket costs are the way to go. As we get the hang of things, we will certainly streamline the operation. But here are a few things that gave us a leg up.

        One tool we use ALOT is our little Brother label machine. It makes the barcodes our stores want and when we are experimenting with cheese types, ingredients, or names we can easily make a custom label. This gives us a lot of flexibility and allows customer feedback before we invest in full on production and labeling!

       Though we are not tech savy, we have been very happy with our Square account for debit and credit cards. We had to upgrade our phone to use it, but that has had some advantages too. We are away from home a lot and answering business email, finding directions, and answering questions on the go, and always having a camera with us has been sooooooo nice. We feel pretty spoiled these days! Our phone is actually more reliable than our home computer!
      Another nice surprise has been the helpful folks at KCARD and KY Proud. These people work for state programs that help farmers like us get it all figured out! Check in your own state for programs that offer grants and marketing help. KCARD even helped us design our facility so that it would even be safer! We could never thank them enough and both programs have moved our business in to a more sustainable proposition.

         Farmers markets and sustainable living venues have helped us sell more product at retail. This has allowed us to make more money, while selling less product. Selling at retail is good for cash flow and saves precious inventory as you sell less for more money.
         We are learning about local "food hubs". These are distributors who work with local/area farmers to get products distributed to restaurants, stores, and sometimes even retail customers. We have just started working with one in Nashville, so we will have to share later how that has worked out. 
        These are just a few things that have helped us....but they have been really great. How about other farmers? What has helped your business grow?