A question for those marketing their own beef?

[ASRG]

This is for you guys selling your own beef?
I assume you got into this because you wanted to get more of the returns on your animal?
Did you find that you really enjoyed the marketing part...maybe more than the raising part? If you have been successful you probably have good marketing skills...and probably would be good at selling just about anything. Have you ever considered letting others do the grunt work, while you concentrate on marketing.....or even considered marketing something else?
One of the guys up at the Lacombe packing plant started out feeding his own cattle and selling the meat. When he realized he made the real money butchering and selling the cattle, instead of feeding them...he quit feeding cattle.

[grassfarmer]

I'll try and answer your question from my perspective. First I think it's a bit of a false assumption that if we direct market we just add "marketing" to "production". In my own case I consider marketing a very small part of the new business model - with the way I do it most of what we have added is "service". Marketing a grassfed product is easy - pay a kid $200 to set up a nice website, $35 one time fee to get listed on EATWILD.COM and the orders will start rolling in. Quality of your product and service will then determine the success of your business.
Service is what takes the time in my experience - answering questions, doing the logistics, filling out order forms, delivering the product all takes time and that is the part I struggle with as time spent on retailing does not get spent fixing fence or keeping the home place running.
So no I don't want to spend more time providing service and I don't want to spend more time marketing and allow someone else to do the production side as I get more pleasure out of working with the grass, the cattle and just being at home rather than being behind a computer screen or driving to deliver cattle or beef. I do retail some pasture pork that has been raised for me by someone who doesn't want to market himself and that works fine as an "add on" to my existing business mainly because the other party realises that I need to make an acceptable margin for my efforts. I have had several other people wanting to supply me with stuff to market but wanting to retain the enhanced margin for themselves basically for doing nothing.

[gaucho]

We have finally got it to where I have the the best of both worlds.. We have a full time staff member that looks after the logistics, shipping and inventory management and another for administration, billing and receiving.. This allows me to focus on the marketing and sales, which I enjoy as well as big picture strategy.... the key is finding people that like doing certain jobs and then you get good results... you also need the numbers to cover the overhead. I have been asked why not just focus on marketing and quit the production side... I say never because then I would not be as effective when I am selling our product... being able to differentiate yourself as a real live producer that also markets his own and others beef is an unbelievably strong selling point... Easy for me to sell now that BB and SCR are supposedly joined at the hips. As far as looking after the fences and things to make the ranch wheels turn.... I have summer interns and they need to learn as well.... To quote Stan Parsons... there are the $10 / hour jobs and the $100 / hour jobs... When you own a ranch you better realize you own a significant business and also run it that way.

[grassfarmer]

But as long as we can run a successful, profitable business I don't see anything wrong with doing the $10 jobs. Sometimes I just prefer doing them and staying home over chasing another dollar. It's a contentment with life thing for me.

[smcgrath76]

I agree GF. We spend a lot of $100 time
around here, but nothing is better than
getting on a young horse at 6 in the
morning and making $120...

[gaucho]

The question was about marketing and getting it done....The answer is you have to be disciplined and I too like the $10 / hour jobs but the the others have to be done first otherwise you will not be effective...

[smcgrath76]

Gaucho - also agreed. Actually, GF or
Gaucho, if you like the $10 jobs, want to
come for a visit? I doubt I can even find
anyone who will do $10 jobs for $10.