For many compact company proprietors like me, the previous two many years have been entire of hurdles — from navigating the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce demand for the merchandise and companies we operate so challenging to promote.
And to add to the money hardship, just one 12 months back my organization pretty much misplaced every little thing.
On Dec.12, 2020, the North Country-based bakery and headquarters of my pretzel company burned down in a fireplace. Martin’s Handmade Pretzels has been in my family members for 4 generations, and when I woke up to see flames bordering the setting up, I feared for what this would necessarily mean for our upcoming.
I am very pleased to say that just a single 12 months afterwards, my pretzel enterprise is not only back, but flourishing. We keep on to promote pretzels nationwide and across New York — from farmer’s markets in Syracuse, Watertown, and Aged Forge to New York Metropolis Greenmarkets. We also lately reopened our new bakery — in Moira, northern Franklin County — to the public.
There are two good reasons why my tiny enterprise was equipped to rebound even though numerous some others all-around me have not been as blessed: the help of my group and my willingness to embrace progressive engineering.
Initial and foremost, for smaller companies like mine, a base of loyal prospects is necessary. Due to the fact we do not have the assets of greater enterprises, we predominantly depend on word of mouth and social media to catch the attention of new customers. We are also fortunate to have faithful clients who have been eating Martin’s Handmade Pretzels for several years and are exceptionally supportive.
When my bakery burned to the floor, our consumers overwhelmed us with their generosity. They chipped by way of a GoFundMe page, which assisted us elevate adequate funds to get again on our feet. Some of our suppliers also generously available to hold off their payment terms and donated solutions for no cost.
But rebuilding after dealing with unimaginable tragedy was also made easier by the fact that we experienced not shied absent from innovation.
When I took possession of the small business, I realized that our out-of-date technological know-how was holding us back again — not in the way we made our pretzels, but in our back again-end functions. I turned to Latitude Bookkeeping Services in Plattsburgh to see if there was a much better way to preserve track of our cash circulation and other critical info like margins, cost for each solution, and overhead. Amid other technology platforms, they recommended digital payments technique Melio, which permits tiny companies to transfer and get payments digitally, speedily, and conveniently.
This has performed a critical function in serving to my business bounce back again. When the bakery and headquarters burned down, we also lost all of our business’s paper checks. When that may perhaps feel like a modest reduction, we necessary to continue on paying our sellers every single week and could not possibility lacking payments. Thankfully, we were being ready to deliver out all of our payments on time.
Without the need of this system, I would have experienced to order new checks and write them all by hand, which would have been pretty time-consuming. I have reduced the time I invest on administrative work by half, which has authorized me to devote a lot more time expanding and rebuilding the business.
Several smaller business entrepreneurs are typically cautious of adopting new systems, fearful that they may well not see a return on their financial investment. But in my case, I want my loved ones-owned pretzel enterprise experienced began the digitization method faster, saving us both equally time and money.
For the duration of this very last year of huge issues, I am grateful that I had the equipment to get my business enterprise back on observe. I urge other little organization owners to consider embracing electronic technology that will assist their business enter the 21st century.
Josiah Martin owns and operates Martin’s Pretzels in Moira, New York.
More Stories
How to Choose Between .com and .tech Domain?
Technological Innovations In Animal Health Management
Deep-Sea Mining: Opportunities And Environmental Concerns