Welcome to our weekly update of the "Founder's Log" a blog dedicated to the progression of American Butchers JERKi, highlighting the things we've accomplished thus far in the past week, paths we are currently working towards right now, and unchartered paths we hope to accomplish in the upcoming week! Starting a business can be a tough decision so I've added this so you can stay up to date with things I've learned along the way! Have a question, don't hesitate to leave a comment below!  

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A look into the past week

Week 3 officially in the books. What a very productive week we have had thus so far. Things are progressing very rapidly as we approach the begging of launch. My goal is to have launched successfully be in the middle of May. The original plan of launch next week has kinda been put on hiatus as we have had a turn of events requiring my attention with my full-time job. Okay, let me do my best to highlight a few things that have to happen this week and I'll do my best to continue to keep these blogs to a short read. 

Last week I had set the goal of successfully reaching a +10 goal on social media. Currently looking at our Instagram, we have successfully accomplished our objective. With exactly a +10 turning our total follower count to a rocking 35, I would say our strategy has taken a positive turnout. If I am being honest, I don't think my strategy was an effective one in the grand scene but let us analyze it real quick. How to maximize your small business footprint through social media and Instagram! 

Key points: 

1. Follow a community. I've interacted with larger communities on Instagram this time around. Ensuring I stay relevant and following influencers. For me specifically, I have a large audience correlating Jerky and Aviation. I have followed probably 5 or 6 aviation-specific Instagrams that post mainly military/ helicopter content. Customers can then correlate our business with aviation and might draw attention to our direction. 
2. Hashtags. If I were, to be honest, I have absolutely no clue what hashtags do for a business. Through countless articles I've read they all recommend throwing a few of them at the end of your pictures with keywords that pull in audiences "apparently." I'll throw a few articles at the end of these key points to prove in the theory behind hashtags but for now, just add them. Can't hurt I suppose. 
3. STORIES. I've seen a lot of pretty interesting tactics incorporating the use of stories. Most seem to use this feature as a way of providing "Behind-the-scenes videos," Inspirational quotes, product sneak peeks, or blog post images. All of these are great resources to continue to generate some buzz. 

8 Instagram Tips for Small Businesses

https://buildfire.com/instagram-tips-small-businesses/

12 Ways to Use Instagram for Small Business

https://sproutsocial.com/insights/instagram-for-small-business/

Today

Just as a received my notification that it was time to do my weekly recap/ behind-the-scenes, it got me thinking about how fast weeks are flying and how I have to make sure I keep track of all the areas that we are trying to progress for this business. To start off, this morning was spent entirely focused on developing graphics. This ranged from a "Thank You card" I want to incorporate with each purchase. A great way to highlight and appreciate those who continue to make this a reality and support those serving overseas. I also have been working on developing a few graphics for other parts of the business that hopefully can be released in the upcoming weeks following launch. What am I using to develop our graphics? I've spent a lot of time using Adobe Illustrator (can't say I'm good but I'm learning.) 

With the first have dedicated entirely to graphic design, the lather half of the day has ultimately dedicated to shipping. I am spent hours trying to source the perfect way to ship our product. I have looked into boxes, poly mailers, envelopes, and I think we have come to a conclusion with bubble poly mailers. They are a great size and aren't flimsy similar to regular poly mailers. Do I think our beef jerky needs the bubble padding? Absolutely not, but it looks respectable and cost-effective. Tomorrow I will call our company and request a few sample sizes to make sure we can maximize our buck. It was just not effective for me to go to Walmart or Office Depot and try to buy these in smaller cases so the web has been our best friend. I'll update this process more down the road. 

Cheers to the Future 

We have a slight dilemma for the next week that will be putting a few things on hold regarding this blog. Our commitments have required me to pull my attention away for the next week and focus on my military obligation. That being said, Today I put a lot of things into motion and I'll continue this tomorrow so that when we get back, we have everything ready and we can kick off this party. I've ordered about 500 business cards that should arrive the middle of next week. I talked about this already but I will request the samples tomorrow which should arrive while I am gone and I can update the progression of our shipping sizes and recommendations. I am also in the process of receiving a shipment with about 1000 stickers. This will be entirely dedicated to product marketing and passing them out in purchases and fellow pilots I run into. Okay enough for the future, I'll see you all in about 2 weeks for the 4th iteration of our Founder's Log! 

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The Founder's Log is designed to be a behind the scenes of American Butchers JERKi. With that, I encourage you to ask any questions you might have regarding our product or about the business! Hope to catch you next week, Same time? 

-Calvin