For those who were wondering how things would go... I have sold 88 pounds of buger in less than a month. One guy who works at the local electric co-op wanted one package. When I went to deliver, I brought extra. I sold 36 pounds to all the other employees just like that. They suggested, and I will comply, that I come by every couple weeks with a load of meat to sell. I'll be like the Schwan's man The banker wanted a package too. I'm going to take extra when I go there too. People don't think about hamburger, but when it's right there in front of them, they seem willing to buy. I would like to do this with other businesses, but I figure just showing up wouldn't work too well. If I have one customer there, then hopefully the others will buy too. I think I will attempt to deliver to businesses whenever possible! So overall...sales aren't going as fast as I would like, but it's going. Not bad for starting out from scratch and as it grows, I should be able to sell it quicker. Jena
Jena Before I became a coward I made and sold a lot of wholehog sausage. I found out that as soon as people find out how good it is they will be calling for more!!! You might think about a pkg. as a ''gift'' to the gas man or other service people that make the rounds in the country, they can be the best advertisers that money can buy!! Mr. Wanda Mike
I would like to know how you are doing this and making money at it. Are you raising your own beef to grind? Are you doing the processing yourself? Please give me more details and also is it legal in your state (it's not in mine) or are you going around the law? (I won't turn you in I promise)
r.h., I'm totally legal. I have too much to lose by doing this illegally and it was easy enough that there is no need for that. I grow the beef, take it to the processor (USDA inspected), bring the meat home, put it in the freezer and sell it. I'm not making hardly any money off the burger, but it is helping me to establish more customers who might buy my chickens and turkeys, or a side of beef, which I do make good money on. I have a meat brokers license from the State of Illinois. Cost $50 and the guy came out to look at my freezers to make sure they were kept in a decently clean place. They are in my garage. The requirements are...I can't own any processing equipment at all. I cannot sell some products as a meat broker and also sell stuff I process on the farm. I am not allowed to have any labels. If I want my own label, the processor "owns" it and keeps it. They prefer that my freezers are not in my house, they have to labeled for "sales" vs. "personal use" and I can't put anything in the sales freezers but meat for sale. I have to keep invoices of who I sell too, including an address for them. That's about it. Other states may vary, but it was easy enough here. Jena
I think this is great! I bet you could have a business card that you handed to them with the sale though. That way they could contact you easily and pre-order. Check out vistaprint.com for cheap alternatives.
Jena, can you hand out a business card, if you aren't allowed to have your own label on the meat? I saw a cute advertisement my sister sent me from a burger place in a little town, which said something like "Don't worry about Mad Cow-the cows this burger came from have had anger management counseling". Good luck with your sales! Jan in Co
Great job Jena. When you deliver to a company, try and go at the end of the day, that way people will buy as they can get their meat home, or tell them all to bring a cooler on a certain day. There is no harm in sending a couple of flyers to businesses in your area as a test, say something like will be in your area on so and so date , I sell to others in your area etc etc put your phone # on it and some prices and see what happens. Put flyers in the laundromats and any other notice boards and wait for the calls. Keep us informed how it's going-I would love to do something similar in the future but I need to check the regulations for NY. Carol K
A shame about the lable requirements. Ours have to conform to the standard of coarse but its easily met. No special licences needed (although I already had a business licence and a vendor permit) and I don't need an inspected freezer although they "can" inspect and it has to hit -15 and have a thermometer in it. (I keep 2) Sounds like you're doing a great job! If you can't lable could you include a flier or a business card? Is there a farmers' market near by you can sell through?
I do have business cards and brochures. I also put out a newsletter every couple months so I can let people know what I have available. I have to get addresses on my invoices, so those become my mailing list. I send the newsletters out to all. I only got one sale from the newsletter last time (the first time), but it more than paid for the cost of printing it up on my computer. We have a very small farmer's market that I plan on doing this year. I really don't have the time to travel to the bigger ones. Jena
You stated it and I obviously don't see where you can make a "real" profit from this. between the expenses of raising the beef and then paying to have it slaughtered and professionally packaged the cost and possible loss of a freezer and then the expense of transport. The expense and time of transport of the live beef, then pickup of the processed beef, then the delivery or transport and time to market would be very profit prohibitive.
Jenna, sounds like your off to a good start.......I would like to tell you though that your selling "ground beef" not hamburger. The difference is that yours is under USDA inspection, while "hamburger" is or can be made in a grocery store, (not under constant USDA inspection). This gives your product a distinction over others. I do have my own label and I am checked 2 times a year by the county health inspectors. I cannot keep my beef in freezers attached to my house. I welcome you into the world of direct marketing of beef. It is hard and does take a while to catch on, but I believe in the long run it will pay off. Give my website a look and you will also notice my pricing is posted. I do make a little off of my ground beef, not much but I have decided I will NOT sell anything I cannot make a profit on it. Scott Bradley Bradley's Better Beef Ozark Mo www.realbeef.com
I forgot to add in the last post..........you need to have some sort of protection for yourself..........either a LLC or Corporation probably. And you should have if your really going to do this product liability insurance..........I am set up as a LLC and have product liability insurance. Just something to think about........one person+one product with something wrong+ a good lawyer= a lost farm. Scott Bradley Ozark MO www.realbeef.com
I am making a little bit of money on my burger. I also know the difference between ground beef and burger. Burger is easier to type! I do use ground beef when selling though. I got together with my attorney and my insurance agent when I started this. I have insurance, but that is all that is needed per my attorney. I think the folks who run the biggest risk are those who process their own stuff. Jena
Don't forget the upsell and the backend marketing. You may or may not make profit off your burger. The simple fact that you are collecting names gives you an opportunity to market to these people for other items and products. Make sure you collect emails off them too if you can. That will make it even easier to contact them and market to them. Think outside the box. Don't just contact them when you want to sell them something. Give them free reports or an occassional small promotional item. Joint venture with another small business in the area. That way you can work off each other's lists. May be they would be interested in purchasing a receipe book from you on ground beef receipes or a book on other beef receipes for the more expensive cuts of beef. Maybe you can think of other items they might need related to your primary endeavor. Use a periodic survey of your clients and find out what they want, then give it to them. There are alot of drop ship suppliers available. You do not have to stock physical items. The same approach can be applied to any oither items you produce off the farm. You have the ball rolling now. Market aggressively ( do not read pushy into this) and you can make plenty of cash off this. Good luck!
I really detest licenses for the following reasoning as defined within 2 separate law dictionaries, mostly folks dont have reason to get a licenses except to pay for more welfare recipients [government workers] we dont have need for as they continue to produce nothing and continue to eat out our substance and drive us towards a police state of communist dictatorship. That said i also give you a thumbs up for getting a good start on your business of getting people closer to the soource for their food products and cutting out as many "middlemen" [pardon the term] as you can. Might i suggest reading Joel Salatins books about his endeavors on his Polyface Farm including Saladbar Beef, and pasture raised Poultry, If you have not read anything authored by him or written about his farm you are missing out. New Farm [Rodales farm Institute] profiled hiis farm, the smithsonian magazine did a blurb on what he is doing, and http://www.westonaprice.org/farming/farming_and_ranch.html wrote about his poultry endeavors and is a promoting it as a model for sustained farming practices. Use a favorite search engine for looking up Joel Salatin and maybe his advice can give you additional avenues to explore as your business takes shape. In the meantime, my opposition to license continues as i figgure what i do with MY PROPERTY is my business and i need seek no ones permission to do with it as i see fit. William From http://www.constitution.org/bouv/bouvierl.txt LICENSE, International law. An authority given by one of two belligerent parties, to the citizens or subjects of the other, to carry on a specified trade. 2. The effects of the license are to suspend or relax the rules of war to the extent of the authority given. It is the assumption of a state of peace to the extent of the license. In the country which grants them, licenses to carry on a pacific commerce are stricti juris, as being exceptions to the general rule; though they are not to be construed with pedantic accuracy, nor will every small deviation be held to vitiate the fair effect of them. 4 Rob. Rep. 8; Chitty, Law of Nat. 1 to 5, and 260; 1 Kent, Com. 164, 85. LICENSE, pleading. The name of a plea of justification to an action of trespass. A license must be specially pleaded, and cannot, like liberum tenementum, be given in evidence under the general issue. 2. T. R. 166, 108 from http://www.duhaime.org/dictionary/dict-l.htm#L License A special permission to do something on, or with, somebody else's property which, were it not for the license, could be legally prevented or give rise to legal action in tort or trespass. A common example is allowing a person to walk across your lawn which, if it were not for the license, would constitute trespass. Licenses are revocable at will (unless supported by a contract) and, as such, differs from an easement (the latter conveying a legal interest in the land). Licenses which are not based on a contract and which are fully revocable are called "simple" or "bare" licenses. A common example is the shopping mall to which access by the public is on the basis of an implied license.
