Eddie’s Energy Bars Blog

As the daily goings-on of a college student aren’t that interesting as homemade energy bars, and I am on a one tunnel mind with finals right around the corner, I thought I would turn an essay prompt given to me by my English professor into an entry, rather than a final essay due on Wednesday. (Don’t worry–the essay is done. I just need to proofread)

Here is the prompt:

While it is common for us to think of a job as merely something one does to make money, for many characters we’ve read about this semester, the notion of “a job” transcends mere employment and is instead deeply involved in how that character defines his or her very identity. Compare this notion of “being” one’s job as it appears in some of the texts we’ve read this semester. Be sure to comment on how each situation is resolved and how this resolution helps us understand what it means to “be” one’s job in each of the texts under consideration.

Now, obviously I’m going to have to tweak some words for this post. I am not talking about books here, but the “notion of being one’s job”. I don’t like to think about myself as Michael Adams, the owner of Eddie’s Energy Bars in Richmond, Vermont. I like to think about myself as Michael Adams, the son of Jeanne and Ed Adams, fitness and health guru, avid foodie, and Bryant University Freshman. But, it just so happens that I own a healthy energy bar company.

In no way would I like to usurp my entire life into my business. That would not be living life the way it is supposed to be lived. I shape my business around my life’s happenings. If I want to go to a movie, I go to a movie. I need to have fun. I’m still a young adult that needs to go out with my friends, and not constantly worry if I got an e-mail from a customer. It’s hard for me now, because I probably check my e-mail 3,000 times a day. Ok, I am exaggerating.

I can think of a couple of examples where people have their head stuck in the sand, and don’t notice that their job surrounds them constantly, not allowing them to go on with daily life. Sadly, this is American Culture–work, work, work up the corporate ladder you go. Pretty soon everyone in corporate America will be their job. But, that is what is so great about entrepreneurship: You are able to be you, with a business on the side.

Feel free to leave comments to this great essay prompt, or in response to what I think about it.

Have a great day!

Michael
Eddie’s Energy Bars

Over the past few weeks, I have been developing some articles for your reading pleasure. You can check them out by clicking here.

At first, I was a little skeptical about jumping on the article marketing bandwagon, but I decided to throw up an article about five all natural snacks you can eat while you are on the go (including my healthy energy bars). The article has gotten a good amount of views, and continues to do well, so I decided to write a couple more articles that are in revision right now. They should be up within the next two weeks, so make sure to check back.

Another great thing that article marketing does is give me credibility and influence in the health and wellness area. Although, I am only in college, owning an energy bar business for over year has taught me a lot about the industry, so I am able to write about it in a knowledgeable manner.

Make sure to check them out, and if you are in business for your self, like I am, or you just like to write, and want someone to listen, then go ahead and write some articles. It’s free, and you might even get published, for some good ol’ free publicity.

Have a great night,

Michael
Eddie’s Energy Bars

PS: Last day of classes tomorrow!

The great thing about being a college entrepreneur is that my venture is like a giant experiment that has really blossomed into something of grand proportions. I have the ability to see if things work, If things don’t work out it’s not like I have to go out of business. I just try something else, and see if that accomplishes my business goals.

For example, a couple weeks ago, I was debating about doing a free sample promotion for my energy bars, and I had no idea if it would even work, but I tried it anyway, and it ended up working better than I expected. Was it a waste? Absolutely not. I may have lost some money, however I learned an important lesson about marketing healthy energy bars: I had to push people a little bit more, but they eventually contacted me about a free sample. Will I run the promotion again? Probably. But, my point is this: I can try things like this, and see if they work. There are constantly ideas of new promotions flowing through my head, and people are giving me ideas all the time. It is wonderful to think how a whole town and on-line community can shape a business and how they operate.

It is important to note though, that this theory is limited. I can’t throw down hundreds of thousands of dollars to see if a magazine ad “works”, and then if it doesn’t, just try again. I can’t do that because I don’t have the money, or the marketing expertise to figure out which advertisement would be most succesful. I am talking about little things here, like what promotional item would my customers like the most, or should I sponsor a float in the 4th of July Parade in Richmond, or put money towards creating another all natural product (which usually ends up happening)?

As I am early in my entrepreneurial venture, I like to think about Eddie’s Energy Bars as an experiment, which it really is. I try things out all the time: new promotions, inexpensive marketing, baking procedures, etc. to see what works. Right now, I am slowly starting to figure the first two things out. I have the third down pat. Experimenting takes some time, because you always want it just right. I want Eddie’s Energy Bars just right.

Michael Adams, Owner
Eddie’s Energy Bars

I present to you the College Entrepreneur’s guide to marketing on, not a shoestring, but half a shoestring. That’s right folks! Marketing on a college student’s budget.We all know that, in general, college kids have no money. It is a true fact, probably even scientifically proven by some professor with a PhD, at some college that has a lot of broke students.

I am often faced with the problem of marketing on a ridiculously small budget. Why such a small budget you ask? I haven’t had the privilege to obtain some large sum of money (i.e. winning the lottery, or more realistically, getting a decent-paying part-time job) quite yet. Basically, I am still running off the money I got from my Bar Mitzvah when I was thirteen. Well, not really. I have had an hourly-wage job since I was sixteen, but the money I made quickly dwindled once I had to pay for a year’s worth of college textbooks (It’s highway robbery as far as I am concerned).

After many months of marketing with a tiny budget, I have decided to let out my secrets, so that maybe, just maybe, a big company will catch on and say, “Hey! That’s a great idea, and it’s cheap too!” That probably won’t happen, but nonetheless, here is my list of things you and I can do to market on half of a shoestring:

Word of Mouth-form a supportive network
God didn’t create mouths for no reason. People are meant to talk to other people, so go ahead and tell them about your product or service. Make sure you carry your business cards with you everywhere you go. Chances are if they aren’t interested, they will know someone who is, and will let them know about your fantastic company. If you’re young, play the teen card. Everyone is impressed when I tell them that I am 19 and I run an established energy bar business, Eddie’s Energy Bars. WOM is probably the most effective type of free marketing, but be careful. If your company has a bad product or service, the customer will tell 30 people about how the dislike your company, but if they like your company, they will let 10 people know, and those will hopefully be 10 future customers.

Press Releases
I love press releases because, once again, they are free. Press releases should be written when your company does something newsworthy. For example, when your business starts, launches a new product, or donates to a great cause–all of these are reason for a press release. With a press release, you probably won’t land on the TODAY Show, but you are likely to land in your local paper because writers are always looking for stories to publish. Press releases are how Eddie’s Energy Bars landed a spot in WCAX Channel 3’s “Made in Vermont” segment. For tips on writing a press release, click here.

Free Samples of Your Product or Service
Although this is not free to you, it is certainly not expensive. I offer free samples of my homemade healthy energy bars all the time. I do it because I know that consumers in the store are hesitant to buying a product they have yet to try. Once they enjoy the product, they will always come back for more. The same could ring true for your business. If you own a car detailing business, detail your neighbors car for free, and give them some business cards to distribute when their friends ask why your neighbor’s car is so shiny.

Create Long-lasting Customer Relationships
Marketing in the 21st century is all about forming relationships. Once you have the customer, you need to keep them around, having them constantly thinking about your company. This can be done be simply following up with a phone call or an e-mail asking if the product arrived OK, or if they were satisfied with the service you provided. You could also create a e-newsletter if you had the time, and send that to customers once of twice a month, but newsletters are a whole other story.

I hope these tips will help you market your company on half a shoestring. Let me know how it works out.

Michael
Eddie’s Energy Bars

When you think of college, what comes to mind? Probably these three things:

-Heavy Drinking
-Students that sleep until it says PM on their alarm clock
-No money

I have just realized that I am so different from these stereotypes of many college students, but it is how I have chosen my life to be, and I’m going to keep it that way. I just want to let people know that it is possible to not fall apart during your or your son or daughter’s freshman year of college.

Heavy Drinking
Probably the most popular activity to do at night on campus, heavy drinking is something I am definitely not into. Why, you might ask? I know I am probably the minority here, but over the past few years I have been convinced that the costs outweigh the benefits. Benefits! Haha. Is there even a benefit to drinking? It’s not like drinking multiple beers will help fight heart disease or something. I choose not to drink because I believe there are other things in life that are far more important than not remembering what you did last night because you blacked out, and thought it was “cool”.

Sleeping until it says PM on your alarm clock
This is probably the number one stereotype I would really like to find the answer to. Where is the fun in sleeping until 2:00 pm? Please, some of you crazy college students out there, let me know. Having been through almost one full year of college, I have found that the sleep I get relates directly to how well I do on tests, and how alert I am throughout the day–hence why I love to work out in the mornings. I need my 7-8 hours of sleep a day, or I just wont function properly. I go to bed around 11:00 just about every night of the week, and not after 1:00 am on the weekends. I have slept past 10:00 am three times in my life, and I am incredibly proud of that. I don’t like wasting the day away sleeping. You already spend so much of your life sleeping, so why spend even more? I like being up at seven, heading out to the gym, and getting a great workout in before the majority of kids on my floor are just opening their eyes.

No Money
I’ll keep this one short because I know I’ve written a book already today. I am astonished at how much money my friends here throw away spending their money on meaningless items that they really don’t need. That is the key: whether you need it or want it. It is tremendously important to make that decision when considering buying that special something. I have learned this year to spend money on things I need. Things I can’t live without. A lot of my friends here say they have no money, and have spent into the thousands of dollars of their money in just one semester. My philosophy is: If I don’t have the money, I can’t get it. Plain and simple. My credit cards is only for emergencies, and it will stay for emergencies.
Also, when I have Eddie’s Energy Bars to run, I tend to direct some of my cash there, when I decided to beef up my shoestring marketing efforts, but this way, I don’t touch my savings account, and I keep earning interest on it. Aren’t banks great?

Alright, I’m going to find something fun to do.

Michael
Eddie’s Energy Bars