Good Food Marketing with The Virginia Foodie
Food marketing consultant and founder of VA Foodie, Georgiana Dearing, takes you behind the scenes of successful craft and local food businesses. For over twenty years, she’s led a team of creatives at Water Street Marketing. George is particularly passionate about her work in the food industry and now works to make her years of experience more accessible to emerging brands. This podcast is for you if you’re curious about the marketing tools, the business practices, and the stories that drive good food, good people, and good brands in the specialty food industry. Learn more about food marketing here: good-food-marketing.com
Good Food Marketing with The Virginia Foodie
An Entrepreneur's Guide to Managing Business Disruption
I’m sure many of you can relate to this!
We've all been through those big moments that suddenly shake up our lives and make us rethink everything – it could be an unexpected illness, a family emergency, a career setback, or even a surprise accident. These are the moments that can turn our world upside down in the blink of an eye.
As a marketer, I totally get how these life-altering events can throw entrepreneurs into a loop. So, let's talk about what we, as entrepreneurs, should do when life hits us with significant moments. How can we deal with these disruptions and keep our businesses moving forward, or sometimes, knowing when it's okay to hit the pause button? The key here is having solid plans ready for unexpected business disruptions.
I recommend taking time now, before a crisis, to develop a three-tiered plan coded green, yellow, and red like a traffic signal. Green represents your desired state, yellow is your caution zone, and red is the folder you may never want to open, but is there to guide you through the toughest of all decisions.
As a leader of my own small business, I completely get how tough it can be to face these situations. But here's the silver lining: having a well-thought-out plan can actually make it a lot easier to navigate these challenging moments. It's like having a trusted friend to guide you through, providing a clear sense of direction and a roadmap to follow when the unexpected comes knocking.
And now, I'd like to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude for joining me on this year's journey. As we approach the end of 2023, I want to let you know that this marks the final episode of the Good Food Marketing podcast. But hey, it's not goodbye – it's more of a 'see you later'!
Keep on growing and innovating with your amazing good food businesses!
Virginia Foodie Essentials:
- Hitting that low sales number without a plan can often instill panic, causing you to grab whatever comes your way which may not be the right kind of partner for a healthy, thriving business. - Georgiana Dearing
- Creating your own color-coded plan is a way to decide what items are the most important to you about your business, then you get to make a plan that provides solutions that fit your style. - Georgiana Dearing
- Facing tough decisions is never fun, but when you've left yourself a road map, It gets a little bit easier. - Georgiana Dearing
- Even if it's just a short-run miniature product line, please make sure it's profitable. - Georgiana Dearing
Key Points From This Episode:
- It is not common for Entrepreneurs to encounter life events that can abruptly shift their priorities
- The three-tiered plan – coded green, yellow, and red – is used to deal with life events and business planning
- Green stands for your ideal business model
- Yellow represents your alert stage
- Red is your emergency status defining how to wind it all down
- Having plans and roadmaps makes tough decisions a little bit easier
- Emily Harpster of Sugarbear Cville demonstrated resilience and innovation during challenging times through creating unique ice cream flavors inspired by a personal life event
Other Resources Mentioned:
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