Eddie’s Energy Bars Blog

As most of America works a 9-5 job, most likely at a desk somewhere, in a floor full of cubicles, in an enormous sky scraper (well, not Vermonters.) But, nonetheless, are these employees really valued by the company they work for?

A lot of corporations just don’t value their employees any more. Where is the motivation? The company picnics? It’s lost in this corporate dream of boosting the bottom line. Don’t get me wrong here. Boosting profits is fantastic, but wouldn’t it also be fantastic to keep your employees happy and willing to work for you? I think so.

Every entrepreneur I know values their employees. Some even going as far as shutting down their business and inviting their employees to a BBQ. I think that’s great. It really shows the employees that their employer cares for them, and wants to actually keep them around.

If and when I have employees (some say I already have two. They just happen to be related to me) I will treat them incredibly well, and pay them a wage they can actually live in. Keeping my employees around for years to come is very important to me. They are, in all honesty, walking billboards for your company. If they hate working for me, they’ll tell other people. If they love working for me, they will also tell people, but those people will actually want to patronize my business.

In the end, valuing your employees, and letting them know that, does in fact increase your bottom line.  A great way to do this is with custom-labeled energy bars from Eddie’s Energy Bars.

Michael Adams, Owner
Eddie’s Energy Bars

I was watching Ace of Cakes on the Food Network, and Duff, the owner of Charm City Cakes got a call from the banker that gave him money when he started his bakery.  He wanted a cake for the following weekend, and Duff needed to say no, because he already had forty cakes scheduled.  Then, the banker pulled the almighty “c’mon dude, it’s me.”

Duff then realized that there are too many me’s in the world, and I think he is right. Your friends are your friends, but when trying to run your business, if there are people already in place to get your products, you must fulfill their needs first.  Sure, you might have lost some business, but if Duff had said yes, and raised the bar to forty-one cakes, then it could be possible that he wouldn’t have completed another customers cake on time.

I take the same approach with my business and in life.  If I need to bake energy bars, I need to bake.  There are people out there going crazy for my energy bars, and I need to answer the call. However, when I am all stocked up, I know there is time for my friends, and I can put them first.

It’s kind of a funny order.  Do you 50/50 with life and work, or do you put one of them ahead of the other all the time?

Michael Adams, Owner
Eddie’s Energy Bars

After a couple of days of not posting, I decided to post a picture of my vending space at the Williston Farmer’s Market. I’ve got a fun place, surrounded by fun people, so you should come check it out! Come early–we sell out of a couple of flavors pretty fast!  It’s from 9-1 Saturdays, behind the library on route 2, rain or shine.

My energy bars are sold in smaller mom and pop stores across the county (and of course online. You can order some here). I want to keep it that way because I believe in maintaining a healthy relationship with the store owners and employees that I deal with on a weekly, and sometimes bi-weekly basis.

For example, I sadly had to withdraw my products from Jacque’s in Huntington today. I just was not covering cost, and the store demographic was not exactly what I expected. I went into Jacque’s in the beginning not off of a recommendation from a customer, but because the parking lot at Beaudry’s was full (so was Jaque’s at the time). It should have hit me that full parking spaces mean lots of customers, but of course it didn’t. I had heard that a lot of hikers stop at Jacque’s to fill up before they trek up Camel’s Hump, so I went in and sold my bars there.

Not until I decided to sell my bars at Beaudry’s–twenty feet across the street–did I notice that sales just were not as great as they should be. So, today, I withdrew from Jacque’s, but don’t worry Huntingtonians! I am still selling at Beaudry’s, but they sell out fast, so make sure to grab yours while they are still fresh from my oven!

Anyway, what I wanted to stress was the relationship between myself and the store owner, a very important one at that. The demeanor of employees in these two stores is completely different. In Jacque’s, they could have cared less whether my energy bars sold or not, but in Beaudry’s, the owners were pushing them like crazy, to they point where they have a huge stash in their freezer now so they don’t run out. I talk to the owners of Beaudry’s every week, and ask them how things are going. I just didn’t feel that with Jacque’s, and if the relationship doesn’t feel right, sales won’t do well.

It is the friendly and personal staff that makes everyone feel comfortable. Just today, over at Sweet Clover Market in Essex, I was chatting with the employees there. They wanted to know how I was doing, when I go back to school, etc. They really valued me, and what I was trying to accomplish as a (very) young entrepreneur. That right there is exactly the reason I price my bars for them: they treat me with respect, and want to see me succeed.

The food business is certainly a challenging one, but if you maintain a great relationship with your vendors and retailers you will be in great shape for start-up success.

Michael Adams, Owner
Eddie’s Energy Bars

Normally this doesn’t happen, but I actually had a conversation with someone at work today about paper plates.  I know, not the most exciting thing, but we both agreed on the same point:

Why do we use plates with designs on them?

I have never understood this.  I’m sure the paper plates are beautiful, but what is the point of a paper plate?  To display the food on it!  I’m sorry, I think it’s pretty obvious, but to some people, the plate needs to stand out more than the food.

I would use plain colored plates first before I used anything designer.  If you notice, many chefs use white plates or black plates because they want the foods on that plate to stand out.  After all, you’re just going to throw a paper plate away after you are finished with it.

Do you guys agree with me?  Go plain or go home!

Michael, Owner
Eddie’s Energy Bars