Wal-mart experiments

Jena, All these previous posts warning about potential legal action are correct. Believe me, I do this for a living.

It's true that truth is a defense to an action for defamation. So is the fact that an allegedly defamatory statement is a matter of "opinion." There are a ton of other defenses and hurdles, especially when the plaintiff is a "public figure." But you can have every defense in the world on your side--and every equity, for that matter--and you'll still come out a loser.

Let me put it to you bluntly: Anybody with $110 and a bus ticket to the courthouse can sue you. Once that's done, you WILL spend $15-30,000 on an advance retainer to get an attorney to defend you. Going rates for commercial law firms are $200 to $300 an hour in my area, with the result that your initial meeting, together with a quick review of documents alone will probably cost you upwards of $1,500. That's just the first day. By the end of it all, you could EASILY be out of pocket $50,000 to $100,000. If "publicity" is what you want, you can automatically add another $50,000 to the tab.

All I'm saying is to be WISE about how you go about things. You're obviously an energetic, kick-butt woman who, I imagine, can accomplish just about anything you set your mind to. Why not focus on building your business in a positive way rather than courting a cataclysmic showdown? Just a thought.

Jena if you want to get people into the store perhaps offer an exchange of one pound of Sprawl-mart's (or any other competitors) "hamburger" for one pound of your good stuff. A nice add in the paper or if you are close to the parking lot you might be able to peak interest with a big enough sign. After all this is about getting people into the store and letting your products sell themselves. Even people on tight budgets appreciate quality food and you might find that when they do have a reason to splurge on a special meal your meat might be on the menu. You might take a little bit of a loss initially, but as you said ground beef is not your money maker anyway. I would think benefits of the new customers would outweigh the costs. The local food bank or perhaps the humane society would definately appreciate the low quality meat from the megastores.

Just an idea... good luck!

You don't want to mention prices (well, maybe "reasonably priced") for two reasons. 1) You need the freedom to change your prices as needed. 2) You want the potential customer to phone or come down to see you in person. This gives you, the seller, the opportunity to describe the benefits of your meats, give out samples, etc. In the long run, what will grow your business is word of mouth advertising. You will be referred to as "my farmer".

Hopefully helpful,

Sandi

I have enjoyed this thread very much because this is a topic near and dear to my heart. Jena, you are one spunky girl and I admire you. I do the same thing but don't have the drive that you do. :yeeha: One niche market you might try is the homeschoolers. I put about 2000 flyers at a homeschoolers convention in Denver. Homeschoolers usually have large families, eat at home and are into natural products. I had good response from that and they are still calling me from 2 yo flyers. Flyers at chiropractors offices are good. I plan to put flyers in the parking lots of Wild Oats and other natural food chains. Also years ago we had a feature article in a local newspaper with pictures. We've been doing this for over 20 years and it does take time to build business. I would say that no longer than you have been doing this.......you are doing GREAT!!!!!!!!! Word of mouth and all the advertising you have done will pay off in a big way in a few years. Oh yes, and don't bother to use comparisons to the big boys.....you can do it with the quality of your product......people aren't dumb....they will figure it out with a little comment from you here and there, beware of putting anything in writing. I always tell them that what they buy in the store is like a KIA and what I have is like a Mercedes. Once they taste it.....they are hooked Marilyn, the farmer's wife.........

Amelia, assuming she gets sued, couldn't she just represent herself pro se?

Jena,
I have a sales point for you. My three children (Junior, Freshman, 7th Grader)were raised on our home beef, eggs and chicken for almost their entire lives. They have missed one day of school due to sickness between the three of them. I'm not exaggerating here, I have the report cards to prove it. The reason I believe is their diet. And before anyone counters me on this point, we don't have a squeaky clean diet, unless you include fried squash, Biscuits and gravy, Red beans and rice, and Beef 6 servings a week as Discovery Health Channel approved fare. Farm raised is better, but of course, getting the message out there is difficult as Wal-Mart's, Tyson's and Excel's advertising budgets are tad more than mine!

Brent
Razorback21

Me again

The problem is that anyone can sue you. Walmart could sue you regardless if they are wrong. And with a summons and complaint issued, you have to respond. So you have to get a lawyer to draw up an answer, which cost money. If you don't answer, they get default judgement for whatever they sued for, thus you lose whatever. Don't put yourself in that situation.

Jena,
Have you checked out or registered your beef at eatwild.com?
That would help local folks find you.

Countrystyle

For me,price is important.I will pay more for good food,but wont pay 15/lb for beef,so I need to know upfront if I want to pursue a purchase.I wont call an ad that doesnt have a price on it.But an ad for Jenas product,knowing how she goes about producing,and a ballpark price,she will get my business.
Flyer should state how produced(happy cow pictures),HOMEGROWN, no filler,no added water,no added hormones(What my BIG trailer sign would say),and a price list.And an internet address.I dont need to be told how good it is over store mass produced product,nor should her customers.People who will flock to her know this,and will pay for it if price is fair.Just get the message out that its available.Elaborate all you want at the internet site for those who want to know minutia(sp)
BooBoo

Alright! I won't do anything to make wally mad!!!

Can I cook a 30% fat burger to compare with one of mine? Won't mention any names, just the fat content. I can't mention my fat content because it's not tested, but I can show two burgers that started out the same size....

Flyers...I made two. One very brief, half sheet of paper to post on public bullentin boards. One more detailed, whole sheet, on card stock to leave in waiting rooms and ask to be posted in break rooms (where people have time to read). I'm dividing up my town into sections, then going at plastering it. When I get done with these...I'll see how they are doing, then go from there. I have one homeschooling customer. I'll have to remember that one.

Everyone eats. Everyone is a potential customer.

I just put ads in three papers for turkeys. I usually only use my local paper, but it works really good. Local paper is $36, nearby local paper is 22.95 (got the super saver rate), big city ad was over $200! I hope it works because that's 120 pounds of turkey! Scary, scary....

I always put prices in my ads. Otherwise I get a gazillion phone calls from people who don't want to pay that much. My cell number is my business number and I have to answer calls while feeding cows, etc. I'd rather it be a call from a serious prospect and not someone who is just checking. I've found I have to say they are dressed too or I get a bunch of calls from people wanting to know that. It's funny the questions I get. I never would have thought of most of them!

My flyers don't have prices because if I change a price, my flyer is worthless. I pretty much have my prices set at the moment and try not to change them too much. The flyer urges calls TODAY!

Jena

The person who mentioned frying em upon the Foreman grill to show fat content,I really thought that was a super idea.Too bad you cant grill it on the spot(same wt.,can you do that on site?) and give out samples,that always seems to get me when I go to the farmers market places.
Can you hand out smoked ham samples?Is that at all legal?Or do you become a restuarant at that point?Still could fry it,even if you dont consume it,right?
Wow,hard to understand what Im trying to write,but you get the idea.
BooBoo