Anticipating the Future

On April 28th I was able to meet with the CEO Network group, which is part of the La Plata County Economic Development Alliance, and received some great feedback on how to prioritize what my true mission is for the company and my vision for achieving those goals while still keeping my core values intact. We talked about the current state of the company, brand presence, difficulty in getting access to the marketplace and customer feedback. We also talked about trying to achieve all of this from the ground up, or outsourcing the product to professional once I have perfected the recipe so that I can spend more of my time marketing the brand and developing sales leads.

It was also pointed out to me that there are a lot of companies in town that are great economic engines without making all the products if any at their headquarters (StoneAge, Zukes & Ricky's Lucky Nuts).

















I was able to talk to Bob Jones from Jones Potato Chips on the topic of having other people produce product and having it packaged under a different Brand Name. He produces quite a bit of product for other people and also has about 15% of his branded product made by someone else. We did the math on what time it would take to have my product produced and for last years sales I think production would have consisted of one long day on one of his production lines. I have set up a meeting on May 17th in Denver with Condor Snacks where they make potato chips to view the plant and discuss possible options for having some of the products made at there facility. This may sound crazy, but I have yet to visit a place where they make potato chips other than what I have put together.

Calendar:

May 11th - Chips at the KSUT 1 day membership drive.
May 15th - Taste of Durango.
May 18th - Durango Natural Foods, Local Appreciation Day.






















The snow that fell on the evening of May 1st came as a surprise but I made sure to make the most of it with a great ride thru "Test Track" the next morning.

















I thought I would also share with you a picture of the largest Bull Snake I have ever seen in the wild. Emery spotted it the other day on Animas Mountain.