At the Slow Money National Gathering last month, I gave a Fundraising 101 presentation that covered the basics of business planning and financial projections required when seeking investors or loans. One of the first questions asked was, “How does Slow Money business planning differ …
Anyone who works in the food industry knows the expression: “Garbage in, garbage out.” For those that are unfamiliar, it means: The quality of your end product will only be as the ingredients you put in. If you use mediocre …
Last month, I guest-cheffed at EVOO Restaurant in Cambridge to promote my new cookbook. From a simple financial perspective, this may have seemed foolish. EVOO didn’t pay me, and though I earned royalties from that evening’s book sales, it amounted to about …
Here in Cambridge, we haven’t seen a drop of rain in over a week, and none is on the horizon for many more days. Given the wet June we had, it may seem like a relief. But with temperatures soaring …
The barriers to entry for food manufacturers make entrepreneurship difficult. Many of us have the perfect idea for a rich chocolate sauce, frozen food line or catering business. Getting your product to market is lined with pitfalls. The first on …
Mat Schaffer wrote a lovely review of my book, The Farmer’s Kitchen, in today’s Boston Herald. You can read it here. In other promotional news: I will be guest-chef at EVOO Restaurant on Wednesday, June 8th. Menu has yet to be written as I’m waiting …
During high school summer vacations, I worked in a gift catalogue warehouse. I loved climbing up the racks to pull inventory off the shelves and then packing them in boxes. The machine that filled the boxes’ empty space with peanuts …
Aside from word of mouth, a restaurant’s menu is perhaps their best marketing tool. When diners consider where to eat on any given night, they might peruse menus on the web, or in your window. It should be easy to …
Business owners need to know a few basic terms for evaluating the health of their business: Revenue (how much money you earn), Cost of Sales (cost of the product you are selling) and Net Income (what’s left after you pay …
Barton Seaver’s new cookbook hits shelves on May 3rd. What? You’ve never heard of him? Neither had I until 3 weeks ago, when at the last minute I decided to attend a lecture on sustainable seafood at Harvard. I’m still …