Cassie Menchhofer's guest appearances

Cassie Menchhofer

Gift Biz Unwrapped

The Forrager Podcast for Cottage Food Businesses

Dorie Clark

Nicole Walters

Kevin Jordan

Jason Treu

Jennifer Lopez

Julie Berninger

John Lee Dumas

Susan RoAne

Viveka von Rosen

Kate Ahl

Natalie Eckdahl

Josh Elledge

Carol Cox

Elizabeth Benton

Steve Dotto

OwlTail

Cassie Menchhofer lives in Celina, OH and sells dried mixes (like soup mixes, baked mixes, and spices) with her business, Cassie’s Country Cupboard. Cassie started her business in 2011, and she managed to grow it despite having a full-time job and two very young kids. After running her business for 8 years under Ohio’s cottage food laws, she decided to take her business to the next level. In 2019, Cassie built an FDA-approved manufacturing facility on her property, which is a step-above a commercial kitchen. With the facility, she now sells her mixes through stores and online, shipping nationwide. She even uses her facility to offer a co-packing service for other small food businesses. In this episode, you will hear all about Cassie’s unique business journey. What You’ll Learn How to make time to start a cottage food business when you have young kidsWhy you should start simple when starting a businessWhy very few cottage food businesses sell dry mixesHow to boost sales on your first farmers market dayWhy an ag dept inspector shutdown her best-selling product line, and how she recoveredWhy you should separate business funds from personal ones when you start your businessThe benefits of selling dried soup, baking, and spice mixesHow to charge a premium price for dried mixesCassie’s day-of-the-week social media strategyHow complicated it is to build an FDA-approved manufacturing facilityHow Cassie’s labeling and packaging evolved over timeWhy you should invest in better labeling when you sell wholesale in storesWhy Cassie is copacking products for other small food businessesWhat it’s like to sell products at a virtual eventHow Cassie uses Faire to wholesale her products across the country Resources Cassie’s Country Cupboard website (Facebook | Instagram) Cassie’s listing on Faire (online wholesale marketplace) Packaging: Paper MartWholesale Supplies Plus Labeling: Accu LabelMercer Color How to Setup A Business Bank Account (for free) Menchhofer Maple Syrup Ohio Cottage Food Law Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/64

<p>Cassie Menchhofer lives in Celina, OH and sells dried mixes (like soup mixes, baked mixes, and spices) with her business, Cassie’s Country Cupboard.</p> <p>Cassie started her business in 2011, and she managed to grow it despite having a full-time job and two very young kids.</p> <p>After running her business for 8 years under Ohio’s cottage food laws, she decided to take her business to the next level.</p> <p>In 2019, Cassie built an FDA-approved manufacturing facility on her property, which is a step-above a commercial kitchen.</p> <p>With the facility, she now sells her mixes through stores and online, shipping nationwide. She even uses her facility to offer a co-packing service for other small food businesses.</p> <p>In this episode, you will hear all about Cassie’s unique business journey.</p> <h2>What You’ll Learn</h2> <ul><li>How to make time to start a cottage food business when you have young kids</li><li>Why you should start simple when starting a business</li><li>Why very few cottage food businesses sell dry mixes</li><li>How to boost sales on your first farmers market day</li><li>Why an ag dept inspector shutdown her best-selling product line, and how she recovered</li><li>Why you should separate business funds from personal ones when you start your business</li><li>The benefits of selling dried soup, baking, and spice mixes</li><li>How to charge a premium price for dried mixes</li><li>Cassie’s day-of-the-week social media strategy</li><li>How complicated it is to build an FDA-approved manufacturing facility</li><li>How Cassie’s labeling and packaging evolved over time</li><li>Why you should invest in better labeling when you sell wholesale in stores</li><li>Why Cassie is copacking products for other small food businesses</li><li>What it’s like to sell products at a virtual event</li><li>How Cassie uses Faire to wholesale her products across the country</li></ul> <h2>Resources</h2> <p><a href="https://www.cassiescountrycupboard.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Cassie’s Country Cupboard website</a> (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/cassiescountrycupboard/" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.instagram.com/cassiescountrycupboard/" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a>)</p> <p><a href="https://cassiescountrycupboard.faire.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Cassie’s listing on Faire</a> (online wholesale marketplace)</p> <p>Packaging:</p> <ul><li><a href="https://forrager.com/out/papermart/" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Paper Mart</a></li><li><a href="https://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/bags-wrap.aspx" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Wholesale Supplies Plus</a></li></ul> <p>Labeling:</p> <ul><li><a href="https://acculabel.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Accu Label</a></li><li><a href="http://www.mercercolor.com/" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Mercer Color</a></li></ul> <p><a href="https://forrager.com/learn/bank-account/" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">How to Setup A Business Bank Account</a> (for free)</p> <p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/MenchhoferMapleSyrup/" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Menchhofer Maple Syrup</a></p> <p><a href="https://forrager.com/law/ohio/" rel="noreferrer noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Ohio Cottage Food Law</a></p> <br/><p>Get full show notes and transcript here: <a href="https://forrager.com/podcast/64" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://forrager.com/podcast/64</a></p>

Mixing It Up with Cassie Menchhofer

Don't let the challenges of owning a small business crush your dreams of success. Because today, we're diving into exactly how to have a successful handmade business - step by step.  Cassie is the owner of Cassie's Country Cupboard, a small food manufacturing company based in rural West-Central Ohio.  Learning to love cooking from a young age, Cassie has held a variety of positions in the food world including short-order cook, quality assurance inspector at a rice cake factory, and summer camp cook assistant.  Cassie's Country Cupboard began in 2011 as a small cottage-food-based business and has grown into a commercial business serving customers nationwide with the help of Cassie's husband Curt and her two sons aged 9 and 12.  Along with creating pantry items such as soup starters, baking mixes, and spice blends, Cassie also offers co-packing services to small companies who want to expand without investing in huge amounts of product. BUSINESS BUILDING INSIGHTS  Things don't need to be perfectly in place at the start. You just need to begin. Confirm there’s a market and that people will buy and go from there. Decide what you need to focus on at any given moment to avoid overwhelm. Just make a choice about what is most important at that moment. Sometimes it's the family, sometimes it's the business, sometimes it's just relaxing.  How to Build a Successful Handmade Business  Packaging:  Your packaging is your first impression on the customer. Remember we eat with our eyes before our tongues. Food packaging needs to look good and keep everything fresh. Put prices right on the package so people don't have to ask. If they don't know the price, some people will just walk away rather than ask.   Food Products:  If you sell food products, make sure you understand the local cottage food laws and are in compliance. To ship food products nationwide, you'll need to get a commercial kitchen or production facility. Sharing recipes online is a great way to build your business because people love to share recipes and it doesn't feel salesy.   Growing Your Handmade Business:  Grow your business by reaching out to businesses that might bring your products into their store. Be available online to make purchasing from you convenient. Participate in online shows where people can see your products.  You'll also meet other vendors and build relationships and opportunities. For online shows, don't include everything you make in the booth because it might be overwhelming. Make your product selection smaller and focus on the best sellers. Keep bestsellers front and center.  &lt;-- Pro tip! Increase visibility by sharing videos. Potential customers will get a feel for your personality and get to know you through videos. Get more reach in your business through social media. Share valuable content that’s relevant to your target market.   Tune in to the full episode to hear so much more about Cassie's journey from just beginning to building her own private production facility!  Resources Mentioned  At Home Craft &amp; Gift Show Online Craft Shows: Everything You Need to Know about Exhibiting with Robert Allen of At Home Event Content for Makers  Cassie's Contact Links Website | Facebook | Instagram | Linkedin Join Our FREE Gift Biz Breeze Facebook Community Become a Member of Gift Biz Breeze  If you found value in this podcast, make sure to subscribe so you automatically get the next episode downloaded for your convenience. Click on your preferred platform below to get started.  Also, if you'd like to do me a huge favor - please leave a review. It helps other creators like you find the show and build their businesses too. You can do so right here: Rate This Podcast Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify  Thank you so much! Sue Know someone who needs to hear this episode? Click a button below to share it!

Don't let the challenges of owning a small business crush your dreams of success. Because today, we're diving into exactly how to have a successful handmade business - step by step.  Cassie is the owner of Cassie's Country Cupboard, a small food manufacturing company based in rural West-Central Ohio.  Learning to love cooking from a young age, Cassie has held a variety of positions in the food world including short-order cook, quality assurance inspector at a rice cake factory, and summer camp cook assistant.  Cassie's Country Cupboard began in 2011 as a small cottage-food-based business and has grown into a commercial business serving customers nationwide with the help of Cassie's husband Curt and her two sons aged 9 and 12.  Along with creating pantry items such as soup starters, baking mixes, and spice blends, Cassie also offers co-packing services to small companies who want to expand without investing in huge amounts of product. <h2>BUSINESS BUILDING INSIGHTS</h2> <ul> <li>Things don't need to be perfectly in place at the start. You just need to begin. Confirm there’s a market and that people will buy and go from there.</li> <li>Decide what you need to focus on at any given moment to avoid overwhelm. Just make a choice about what is most important at that moment. Sometimes it's the family, sometimes it's the business, sometimes it's just relaxing.</li> </ul> <h3>How to Build a Successful Handmade Business</h3> <ul> <li><strong>Packaging:</strong> <ul> <li>Your packaging is your first impression on the customer.</li> <li>Remember we eat with our eyes before our tongues. Food packaging needs to look good and keep everything fresh.</li> <li>Put prices right on the package so people don't have to ask. If they don't know the price, some people will just walk away rather than ask.</li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>Food Products:</strong> <ul> <li>If you sell food products, make sure you understand the local <a href="https://giftbizunwrapped.com/episodes/denaydavis" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">cottage food laws</a> and are in compliance.</li> <li>To ship food products nationwide, you'll need to get a commercial kitchen or production facility.</li> <li>Sharing recipes online is a great way to build your business because people love to share recipes and it doesn't feel salesy.</li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>Growing Your Handmade Business:</strong> <ul> <li>Grow your business by reaching out to businesses that might bring your products into their store.</li> <li>Be available online to make purchasing from you convenient.</li> <li><a href="https://giftbizunwrapped.com/captivate-podcast/online-craft-shows/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Participate in online shows</a> where people can see your products.  You'll also meet other vendors and build relationships and opportunities.</li> <li>For online shows, don't include everything you make in the booth because it might be overwhelming. Make your product selection smaller and focus on the best sellers. <strong>Keep bestsellers front and center.  &lt;-- Pro tip!</strong></li> <li>Increase visibility by <a href="https://giftbizunwrapped.com/episodes/kimgarst" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">sharing videos</a>. Potential customers will get a feel for your personality and get to know you through videos.</li> <li>Get more reach in your business through social media. Share valuable content that’s relevant to your target market.</li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>Tune in to the full episode to hear so much more about Cassie's journey from just beginning to building her own private production facility!</strong></li> </ul> <h3>Resources Mentioned</h3> <ul> <li><a href="https://giftbizunwrapped.com/athomebooth" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">At Home Craft &amp; Gift Show</a></li> <li><a href="https://giftbizunwrapped.com/episodes/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Online Craft Shows: Everything You Need to Know about Exhibiting with Robert Allen of At Home Event</a></li> <li><a href="https://suemonhait.lpages.co/content-for-makers/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Content for Makers</a></li> </ul> <h3>Cassie's Contact Links</h3> <a href="https://www.cassiescountrycupboard.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Website</a> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/cassiescountrycupboard" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a> | <a href="http://instagram.com/cassiescountrycupboard" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a> | <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassie-menchhofer-29151621/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Linkedin</a> <h2>Join Our FREE Gift Biz Breeze Facebook Community</h2> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/GiftBizBreeze" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Become a Member of Gift Biz Breeze</a>  If you found value in this podcast, make sure to subscribe so you automatically get the next episode downloaded for your convenience. <strong>Click on your preferred platform below to get started.</strong>  Also, if you'd like to do me a huge favor - <strong>please leave a review</strong>. It helps other creators like you find the show and build their businesses too. You can do so right here: <strong><a href="https://ratethispodcast.com/giftbizunwrapped" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Rate This Podcast</a></strong> <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gift-biz-unwrapped/id986323267" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Apple Podcasts</a> | <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cDovL3d3dy5naWZ0Yml6dW53cmFwcGVkLmNvbS9mZWVkL3BvZGNhc3Q=&amp;inf_contact_key=f00b9b282a6156da6dc2e642eb167c2f680f8914173f9191b1c0223e68310bb1" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Google Podcasts</a> | <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/380HmeoVquMHRzOepaoF0s" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Spotify</a>  Thank you so much! Sue <p><strong>Know someone who needs to hear this episode?</strong> <strong>Click a button below to share it!</strong></p>

309 – How to Have a Successful Handmade Business with Cassie Menchhofer of Cassie’s Country Cupboard