Showcasing New Rural Food and Drink Businesses in The Foodie Bugle
During the course of 2012 The Foodie Bugle would like to showcase the artisanal skill and talent of rural entrepreneurs far and wide.
If you have set up a rural artisanal food, drink, kitchen garden or kitchen ware business anytime in the last two to three years, then we would like to read your story.
You could be anywhere in the world and of any age or nationality. Maybe you are growing herbs and flowers for farm shops, baking bread and cakes for delicatessens, importing wines to sell at fairs, running a fledgling supper club or restaurant, creating tea towels for a mail order catalogue or rearing pigs for making bacon. We would like to make online readers aware of what you are doing, where and how, showing how your endeavours are making a difference to the community around you.
We need you to provide the answers and details to the questions below, as well as 8 really high quality jpg. photographs sized for 455 x 650 jpg. frames. Please do not send huge photographs and please send all photos as simple e-mail attachments, not Drop-Box packages.
We will then create a feature that showcases you, your work and your experience that will, hopefully, inform, interest and inspire our readers. We are only able to publish the work of the participants who submit all of the details and photography requested, and who answer fully, honestly and with a clear passion for their work. The more informative your answers and the higher quality your photography, obviously, the higher your chances of being published.
We will not publish press releases or powerpoint business plans. The Editor’s decision is final.
The address to send your story to is: [email protected]. You can follow us on Twitter: @TheFoodieBugle
Questions and details to be answered and submitted
1. Describe your business, where it is based, what it does and how many local people you employ.
2. Did you originally train to do the job you are doing now or is your business a second career choice which required additional training?
3. How was your business set up: how and why did you think of the idea, and how did the business plan develop from paper to reality?
4. How did you find the financing you needed in the beginning?
5. What challenges and difficulties did you face in the very beginning? How did you manage to overcome these problems, and did anyone help you?
6. Where do you sell your product and to whom? Describe the customers you have now and the customers you would like to attract and engage with.
7. Do you use the Internet, newsletters and social media a great deal to engage with the community around you and the wider community? Do you have a Blog and do you update it regularly?
8. What is your strategy for the future growth and development of your business? Where would you like to get to and how do you think you will get there?
9. What good advice would you give to anyone thinking of setting up a business in the industry you work in and why? If you knew then what you know now what would you do differently?
10. Please provide us the following details:
Your name
The full name of your business
Your website – blog address
Twitter and Facebook addresses – contacts.
