eMinutes Client Profile: Ben Meyer
Please tell our readers about your business. DoubleKick Foods is a new company that aims to end food coma as we know it. The first product is DoubleKick Energizing Hot Sauce, an all-natural, caffeinated chili condiment inspired by the unique mix of cultures and flavors of Southern California.
Tell us about the project you’re currently working on. I’m working on developing the market for DoubleKick Hot Sauce and working on new products for the brand.
Why did you become an entrepreneur? Is starting a business something you always wanted to do? I’ve worked as an employee for a few Internet start-ups over the years and enjoyed the feeling of trying to build something. The creative energy always fueled me, but after being laid off a few times I decided to not get involved again unless I was one of the founders. I wouldn’t say starting a business was always the goal, but I always knew I wanted to be making things. Starting a business is sometimes the only way to create the thing you want to make, the way you want to make it.
What is the number one thing you wish you could learn more about, and how will you learn about it? Regarding the business, I would say it is probably around building an organization. I’m trying to seek out as much advice as possible from folks in similar businesses. I know some entrepreneurs have had luck with more formal mentoring arrangements, which is something I’m looking into as well.
How has technology impacted your business? My main gig is as a Product Manager for an Internet media company and I have a background in web marketing and content development so my marketing strategy is heavily reliant on my experience there. I also manage as much of the business as possible through online services. Software will manage and organize much better than I ever will. Of course eMinutes is part of this and fits my organizational philosophy.
How do you use social media in your business? I started with a product that has early adopters very active on the Web and social media. Most people think of social media as Facebook and Twitter, but social media is really a much larger online ecosystem that predates the Web itself. Most of the attention I’ve gotten is through blog posts about the product. The social effect is there because a big blog writes something and that spawns 3 others to write something because they saw it and so on. Focus on creating a great product, if you do, the social web will come to you instead of the other way around.
Did you have a business plan when you started your business, and, if so, how much did you vary from it? I wrote a business plan pretty early. I would say some parts, like my marketing strategy, have hewn pretty close to the original. Other areas, like my initial sales channels, have changed a lot. It is probably not surprising I was better at planning things I have experience in like marketing, then those I did not.
What was your biggest mistake and what did you learn from it? Probably one of my biggest mistakes is worrying too much about my mistakes. I can be very hard on myself, and when you do something new like this, you will mess up a lot. Learning is good, but dwelling on it can slow you down and sap your energy. You have to just move on and concentrate on your goals.
What advice would you offer to a first-time entrepreneur? Don’t worry about protecting your idea. Executing is way more important (and harder) then the idea and to execute well you will need to learn from as many smart people as you can. And probably those people will be in the same industry.
Have you received funding from an outside source, and how has funding (or the lack of funding) impacted your ability to achieve your objectives? I really just started and modestly at that, so I haven’t needed any outside funding. It hasn’t really impacted things for me yet, but I’m expecting to need to raise some outside money at some point in the future.
How do you spend your workday? I still have a full-time day job unrelated to my company, so I’m working on DoubleKick before work, during my lunch, after work and on weekends. Everything from sales emails and Facebook posts, to shipping bottles and organizing my expenses.
Who do you rely upon in your business most, and what does he or she do for you that is so invaluable? I’m a one-person operation so I don’t really have anyone else I rely on right now. In a related story, next time I start a company, I think I will look for a co-founder.
Do you believe that “luck” played any role in the success of your company? I’m very lucky to have family and friends that have and continue to support and encourage this endeavor. But I wouldn’t say my company is a success yet, so any luck I’ve received is still in a “pending” status.
If you had an extra $25,000 to spend on your business, what would you spend it on? I’d hire a food scientist to help me accelerate the development of new products and then hopefully have some left over to cover my next batch.
How neat or messy is your desk? Messy unfortunately, but I’m pretty well organized online!!!
Try Ben’s sauce by ordering it here: http://www.doublekicksauce.com/