Business Overview & Goals

1. Can you walk me through your day-to-day operations as the business owner?
   • Multiple Hats: Dave explains that he is both the visionary and a doer in his small company.
   • Meetings & Collaboration:
     • Attends several meetings each week with his “players” (key team members).
     • Reviews large orders and identifies potential collaborative opportunities (e.g., contacting prospects with a .gov or .edu email for a personal chat).
   • Trend Monitoring & Strategy:
     • Uses Google Alerts to keep an eye on trends and industry-related keywords.
     • Balances busy season activities (fulfilling large orders and coordinating shipping) with slower periods focused on recalibration—such as revamping the website and refining processes.
   • Content & Product Development:
     • Creates weekly video content (often inspired by customer questions) to educate and raise awareness.
     • Develops products and ensures they integrate with inventory systems.
   • Shipping & Logistics:
     • Handles complex shipping logistics, for example, splitting orders so that hardwood products ship immediately while bee shipments may be delayed for a strategic reason.
2. What are your top business goals for the next 12 months?
   • Revenue Growth:
     • Aims to grow revenue from about $1.3 million to roughly $1.6–1.7 million.
   • Expansion into New Channels:
     • Intends to expand into additional collective stores—leveraging partnerships where related products (like fruit trees) can cross-sell pollination benefits.
   • Brand Awareness & Customer Outreach:
     • Focused on increasing overall brand awareness through strategic outreach (e.g., influencer collaborations and targeted marketing).
   • Process Improvements:
     • Continually overhauling processes and exploring automation (including the potential role of AI) to streamline operations and improve efficiency.
3. Who are your main customers and what are their biggest pain points?
   • Customer Segments:
     • Gardeners and conservation-minded individuals who are interested in enhancing pollination in their gardens.
     • Homeowners looking to boost fruit yields (apples, pears, cherries, etc.) by integrating managed bees.
     • A mix of demographics spanning various age groups—from young adults to older, empty-nesters.
   • Key Pain Points:
     • Fear and Uncertainty: Many customers are initially scared of bee stings and unsure how to manage bees safely.
     • Pricing Concerns:
       • The cost of shipping can be a deterrent—especially when compared with competitors like Amazon, which offers free shipping.
       • Customers sometimes balk at the overall price once shipping costs are added.
     • Lack of Knowledge: There’s a learning curve for managing bees effectively; Dave’s communication (videos, newsletters) aims to educate customers to reduce this barrier.
4. What are the biggest challenges you are facing in your business right now?
   • Profitability Issues:
     • Recent profit margins are very slim (citing an example of $20K profit compared to higher figures in previous years).
   • Operational & Seasonal Pressures:
     • Difficulty in handling the busy season due to the inability to hire temporary help.
     • Overproduction and the challenge of coordinating shipments (for example, managing separate shipping schedules for bees versus hardwood products).
   • Rising Overhead Costs:
     • Increased rental expenses and higher heating costs due to building characteristics (more exterior walls and less insulation).

Current Operations & Pain Points

1. How big is your team and what roles do they play?
   • Small, Multi-Functional Team:
     • Kelly: Primarily handles customer service, doubles as office manager, and also works on video editing. (Notably, she has a PhD and is considered second-in-command.)
     • Julie: Focuses on marketing, including website upkeep, social media, and writing newsletters.
     • Maddie: Manages shipping logistics—ensuring that orders (especially those that require complex scheduling) are processed accurately.
     • Additional Support:
       • A seasonal worker who assists with manufacturing or packaging tasks.
       • A part-time bookkeeper/accountant who oversees financials and receipt management.
       • A former manager handling B2B setups for larger retail accounts.
2. Are there specific roles or tasks where you’d like to see more efficiency or better results?
   • Marketing Focus:
     • Dave highlights that marketing could benefit from enhanced efficiency—particularly in automated, personalized email campaigns (such as those for abandoned carts).
     • He envisions more sophisticated segmentation (by region, customer type, etc.) to tailor communications more effectively.
   • Automation Opportunities:
     • There’s a recurring theme around using AI to streamline repetitive tasks and reduce manual workload in both operations and customer outreach.
3. Are there any tasks that are particularly time-consuming, repetitive, expensive, or frustrating?
   • Operational Tasks:
     • Coordinating shipping logistics is a prime example—such as working on Sunday nights to ensure orders (with different shipping schedules for bees and hardwood products) are processed correctly.
   • Marketing Automation:
     • The creation and management of detailed email sequences for customer re-engagement is noted as time-consuming and could benefit from AI-driven automation.
4. Where do you see bottlenecks or inefficiencies in your business?
   • Seasonal Workflow:
     • Bottlenecks occur during peak seasons when order volumes surge and temporary staffing isn’t an option.
   • Manual Processes:
     • Current methods for tasks like splitting shipments and managing customer follow-ups are largely manual and could be optimized with more automation or better technology integration.
5. How do you currently measure success in your business? What KPIs are most important to you?
   • Financial Metrics:
     • Profitability is a major KPI; Dave monitors how much profit remains after all expenses (noting a drop from previous years).
   • Customer Engagement:
     • He tracks metrics like abandoned cart rates and email open rates to gauge how effectively his marketing strategies are converting leads.
   • Seasonal Performance:
     • Success is also measured by how well the company handles the cyclical nature of the business—managing peak seasons versus slower periods.
6. Do you have any SOPs?
   • Established Procedures:
     • Yes, Dave confirmed that the business has standard operating procedures (SOPs) documented for almost every department and process.
   • Storage Location:
     • These SOPs are stored in Zoho Workdrive, which serves as their centralized repository for operational knowledge.
7. Where do you store knowledge?

Marketing & Positioning

1. What are you currently doing for marketing and advertising?
2. Where do you collect reviews? Name all of the review sites you have reviews on.
3. Who are your competitors?
4. What makes you different from and better than your competitors?