[What's your favorite business book, blog, or podcast?]

For me it's the book "The Speed of Trust" by Stephen Covey Jr (father was the 7 habits guy). This to me is huge because it quantifies a value that I rely on everyday. Do people answer or return your calls, will they tell a friend about you or your business. This book points out those factors that have real value and accelerate action. 

[How are you dealing with supply chain issues?]

On 10/27/2021 at 4:06 PM, Denise Purcell said:

What are the biggest supply chain issues you are dealing with and do you have any solutions or successes to share?

Certainly the uncertainty that everyone has in not getting a firm or straight answer. In many cases the lack of a firm answer is just being honest, however, that does not help since you cannot sell out of an empty cart. I know this may not be overly helpful in the immediate moment, however it is a time to react and act on creating options for two reasons ..

1. to be better prepared for the future

2. you just might come up with an option by chance

The rest of the world is not static. What may be tied up or unavailable may free up tomorrow or a week or a month from now (i.e. supplier loses account that goes out of business or their ship, literally comes in, and intended customer made alternative arrangements). Be nice ... by initiating connections, people learn your in need and if handled properly, they may or will remember you. If we all really think about it .. we ALL want options (no one likes to be stuck), but we do need to work on it. Today more than ever .. do not take the present as forever.  

[transitioning from retail to foodservice]

Hi Tenny ... I am a big fan of looking at food service for many reasons including what you mentioned (lower cost of entry and marketing .. but there is more). I can give you some basic initial thoughts, but I probably would need to hear more on your current business status. Overall, two key areas to cover since you bring it up.

Packaging: it is likely that you will need to have larger pack size for food service and for a variety of reasons. Most establishments dress the salads or use alternative servers for dressings on the side. This is or may be for quality and/or portion control (not too little or too much dressing and know their cost per use). Also depending on your container, if glassware, that is a usually no-no (breakage). Depending on the market segment for your dressings, you may want to research what are the norms (size wise and container for those markets)

Pricing: Should have a good review of your current retail pricing and be sure you are margined where you want or need. Bulk should be more cost efficient for production ad marketing purposes, but nothing could be worse than making a decision based on relativity to retail without understanding your profitability as is. 

Happy to hop on  a quick call sometime if you'd like (440.463.4663). I'll probably not solve everything, but I can help you think some things through. Gary