SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: Bacon Trends + Technology - March 2023 - 16

PROCESSOR PROFILE
" You might think, 'once my volume grows,
then I'll be making money,' " he said. " That's
really not true because if you're really growing
your business, all your money is sitting in the
warehouse; you're always growing your inventory
and growing your inventory and that's where
all the money goes. "
Instead, be profitable from the beginning they
advised new entrepreneurs, and pay yourself
from the beginning, even if it's a modest amount.
" Don't fall into thinking, 'I'll just do more of
what I'm doing and then I'll be making money.'
You've got to find ways to make those extra dollars
and eke out a little more margin, " he said.
Velasquez said if a food company has a lowmargin
product it should also have a high-margin
product to balance it out. Landing a single
big name retail customer that cuts deeply into
margins needs to be offset by many smaller customers
that buy in smaller volumes but generate
stronger margins.
" Scale alone isn't going to do it. That approach
has killed more companies than I can think of, "
Velasquez said.
stockpiled inventory was being processed and
final shipments were filled to wholesale customers
while the last of online orders were processed
and filled.
Shuttering the business wasn't like closing a
retail store.
" There wasn't a specific day that was like,
'shop closed,' " Velasquez said. " It happened gradually,
because when you're going through the
process, you try to keep as many doors open
as possible. You never know what might come
along. So, you've got to keep the lights on, keep
the website functioning and delivering orders.
It's a process. "
SAGE ADVICE
Looking back and reflecting on the lessons they
took from their business venture, Lewis and
Velasquez said they wish they would have had a
better understanding of the financial side of running
a food business.
" I think the financial planning part would be
one area that I wish we had gotten a bit more
advice in, " Lewis said, " and having a deeper
understanding of what you're really getting into
and how much it's really going to cost. "
Velasquez echoed that sentiment and said it's
easy for some startups to focus on the products
and figure out the financial piece later.
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2023 BACON TRENDS + TECHNOLOGY MEAT+POULTRY
NEXT CHAPTER
Since closing The Baconer, Young, Lewis and
Velasquez joined forces again, to form a marketing
team, Burning Ear Media (www.burningearmedia.com).
The new venture offers services to a
variety of businesses that include public relations,
e-commerce, social media, email marketing and
brand building.
" We felt like we were really successful in
terms of building a brand and creating a story
and we want to help other companies do that, "
Velasquez said.
Meanwhile Lewis and Velasquez have channeled
their passion for food by catching up with
friends and family, hosting get-togethers and
cooking food for fun as often as possible.
" For the last six years we really missed the
whole social component of our lives because
we were working all the time, " Lewis said. " We
want to give back to our support group because
everybody really took care of us for the last six
years. "
Closing The Baconer
was a gradual process
for the owners and they
are proud of the brand
they built and the quality
products they produced.
The couple also touted the value of being
engaged with a community of other small companies
in the food industry to exchange ideas,
provide each other with advice and serve as a
source of support.
" You've got to be plugged into the community, "
Lewis said.
SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT: Bacon Trends + Technology - March 2023

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