How to Start a Lucrative Cottage Food Business

NOW is the time to start your food business! Did you know that?

Your cottage food success is not going to come from what you think it will. The path you take will not be easy, common, or something you anticipated.

Not what you expected to hear, right?

If you enrolled in this course you either sell food, want to sell food, or have an idea for a food product to sell.

Keep reading!!!

You’re in the right place.

The major mistake many people make is thinking their big food idea is something they’re passionate about… "I’ll make my amazing cupcakes! I’ll sell my family’s recipe for elderberry jam, it’s been in the family for more than 100 years." All of that is true... but

After being in the Cottage Food business, dabbling in a variety of food-related jobs, catering, and in some form of food service for more than thirty-six years and teaching Food Entrepreneurship for fourteen years, I’ve learned, that the food business is not fickle and food is not hard to sell. Well, good food that is!

It is the gurus and experts that want to muddy the water, so it appears to be the most challenging task in the world.

It’s not.

Those who tell you selling food is tough only say this so they can become the gatekeeper and keep you out of the marketplace.

What you will learn

In this course you will learn the start-up process, selecting a product that will sell and one that attracts people willing and able to pay the price you’re asking for the product you sell.

You will also learn that one stream of income will not sustain you in the wonderful world of cottage foods.

Your food is the foundation, but it is only one part of your money-making machine. I’ll share more about this later in the course.

By now you may be feeling a bit OVERWHELMED. DON'T! I'm right here with you.

· I totally get it.

· I felt the same way when I started my catering business in 1987 and The Charlotte Pie Authority, in 2014. Yep! Two successful businesses.

· I asked questions like... Will my customers buy my products?

· Is the price too high? Is it too low?

· What if no one buys anything?

· What should I do during the lean times?

· How do I get my product in front of my customers?

· Who is my ideal customer?

· What do I do after the first sale?

· How do I get repeat business?

· Should I pivot and start selling different products?

· Do I need a website, and do I have to do the social media stuff?

· Now, there’s this COVID wall lingering that is stopping my sales and growth, what do I do?

· How do I make this work and not waste time and money?

It's A Lot!!!

It should be EXCITING knowing you are going to sell out of product, right?

You heard me sell out of everything!!!

I have created and implemented various sales strategies to see which ones work best.

I’ve interviewed hundreds of cottage food operators, and marketing and social media experts, and this course will address best practices tips, and tricks to help you become a successful cottage food operator … so strap yourself in! ... is that seatbelt on? Are you ready? Okay... let's GO!

Ignore traditional educational practices

Going into business is not taught to you in school.

Traditional education was created to keep you functioning as a worker bee. School systems pump out great little learners who learn to do the opposite of what is needed to operate a profitable business. You learned to do what you were told, right? That won't work in the BUSINESS WORLD!

In school, you are to do as you are told, take a test by yourself, do your work on your own and remember, there is only one right answer.

This is the total opposite of what you need to know to operate a successful business. For years I have asked parents to let their kids have a lemonade stand, sell Girl Scout Cookies or work at a fast food restaurant. In that way, they can at least be introduced to the wonderful (yeah-crazy) world of business.

Today I recommend all children and adults start a Cottage Food business.

Cottage Food laws are now in all 50 states.

You will learn more about yourself and life by operating a business than by working a job. There, I said it!

You will also learn:

• Learn the step-by-step way to sell homemade food products

• Revolutionary sales campaigns to use when selling homemade foods

• The difference between non-hazardous food and hazardous foods

• Finding folks willing and able to pay the price you’re asking for your products

• Write a simple “Lean” business plan specific to your food business

• Learn to use BOLD Product Labeling Strategies

• Prep for those pesky Home Kitchen Inspections

• Stop “jumping over a dollar to pick up a dime” pricing!

• Stop struggling to sell at Farmers' Markets and seek out REAL sales locations

• Learn jaw-dropping strategies for using Social Media to get exposure and sell your products

There is more than one way to launch a business and sell products, and it's about finding the right strategy that  ALIGNS with you and your product.

My job is to guide you, and save you from feeling overwhelmed and spending excessive amounts of money and hundreds of hours in launch prep only to learn… you’re not getting the results you want.

Here’s what we will be covering in this course:

· Understand the Home-based food start-up process

· Complete a Lean business plan

· Select a premium product

· Price your product to sell and earn income

· Market your product to the right target audience

· Create an ideal customer avatar

· Use social media to get the word out

· Find a sales location

· Learn to pivot when necessary

· Build streams of income

The course is comprehensive and designed to walk you through the home food processing step-by-step, product selection phase, marketing phase, sales phase, and more.

Selling Cottage Foods

Tell me about your sales experience. Have you ever sold anything in your life? My sales experience started when I was about 6-years old. My parents owned a Beer, Wine, and Sundries Store in Detroit, Michigan. I was not old enough to work the cash register, so my dad sawed off a broom handle and made me a little broom so I could sweep the floor.

I loved that job because I got to keep all the coins I found that fell out of the customer's pockets.

I worked there until I joined the United States Navy in 1977. It was the best job I ever worked and what I learned was invaluable. I will share my story throughout this course.

You have no idea how your Cottage Food business will impact you or your family, but I can tell you learning how to sell, engage with customers, communicate on a professional level, and use your critical thinking skills (oh, yes you have them) may even make you a leader in your community.

You see, I am a firm believer that we do not step out and learn enough. You don't know what opportunities will come from operating your own food business. If you want more, if you want a better life, go after it. You are not alone because I will be with you every step of the way. Contact me any time you have doubts or need encouragement.

Students, if you need help, ask for it!

I am here with a team of food and marketing specialists to guide you every step of the way. If you don’t know something, ask!

You are not stealing ideas; I want you to use this information. My purpose for creating this course and sharing information, tactics, strategies, and stories is to build your confidence, help you succeed, and add value to the Cottage Food Industry.

We are in this together. If I can leave anything behind after my days are gone it is a group of successful, profitable food entrepreneurs who share their best practices with others!!!

Now… are you ready to get started? Enroll right now!!! Just do it!

See you in class!