In this post, we cover our interview for our "Together Talks" campaign, with Birdie's Pimento Cheese and Robin Allen. It started with a simple tub of pimento cheese. When Robin Allen was growing up, there was always some in the fridge, and since it was easier to eat a spoonful of pimento cheese than to make a sandwich, she chose it for her go-to after school snack. In July of 2014, as Robin was about to turn 50, she saw an opportunity to make and sell her own pimento cheese. Today, you can find Birdie's Pimento Cheese in small specialty retailers across the country.
"Together Talks" feature # 153: Birdie's Pimento Cheese presented by KLS - Dedicated Logistic Services for Excellence -Driven Businesses In The USA
How have you learned and dealt with being the face of the company?
What have you learned from being an entrepreneur?
Do you have a moment that brings you the most joy?
Piece of Advice
In Closing
Story of how it was created?
Community is extremely important to me. In a small town, money is usually tight and most town improvements are volunteer-led. When South Hill became a Start-up Virginia Main Street community and formed a Revitalization committee, I was an early adopter/volunteer. At the top of the committee’s to-do list, was to form a farmers market to improve the visual and financial health of the downtown. In 2014, my husband wanted to try his hand at being a vendor. Glenn planted a little plot of cabbages, but our hound dog, Day-Z had other plans. As the cabbages started to grow like good little cabbages do, our hound dog, Day-Z would nip the tender head of that cabbage right off and pull the whole plant out of the ground. Glenn was beside himself. Every afternoon, another dead cabbage in the driveway. He started trying to corral off the remaining cabbage with chicken wire. Day-Z loved those tender baby cabbages and would get in the make shift fence.
I suggested I could make pimento cheese, since he was only looking for one day of selling. Being the entrepreneur types that we are, we started thinking on names and getting the right paperwork in place. July 2014, off we go to the farmers market. We had 30 eight ounce tubs of Jalapeño, Garlic Parmesan, and Cream Cheese and Black Pepper pimento cheese. We sold out! I was exhilarated. Since we had completed all of the necessary inspections and paperwork, we decided this would be a great little hobby for the summer.
A farmers market is such a terrific place, especially as an emerging business. Fellow vendors are eager to share their experiences and the customers are the most perfect focus group. As the excitement for our pimento cheese was kicking up, we had a long time employee make an offer to buy the printing business we had run for 25 years.
During that transition time, we looked hard at Birdie’s Pimento Cheese. We knew that selling the printing business would not afford us the luxury of not working at all, but we felt we could turn this little hobby into something that could create the needed income.
While it was still a hobby, folks would ask, when do you find the time to do this too? I always said that I found it relaxing. I did, and still do. It was just so different from the print shop it could take my mind off of the stresses we had there. And now, I love the easier schedule. I love meeting so many new people. I love building this brand.
What have been the biggest challenges?
Success and failure are two sides of the same coin. Rudyard Kipling tells us to treat both as imposters, neither telling the whole story. Embracing this concept gives me the confidence I need to move Birdie’s Pimento Cheese forward. In business, setting goals is about striving for improvement. It’s a journey. When we fall short of those goals, we might call it a failure, but truthfully it’s better seen as learning. How can we reach the big goals, without knowing what doesn’t work, or what doesn’t work for now? What other knowledge, experience or resource do we need to hit the bigger target?
When setting goals for Birdie’s Pimento Cheese, we have sales goals, sure, but in my core, I want us to be able to show up for people. My team is incredible! I want to build a work experience for them that is both rewarding and satisfying. I want the retailers that add our pimento cheese to their deli case to have confidence that I’ll support them. I want our fans to know when they open a tub Birdie’s that they are going to be delighted.
So for me, success is a journey, not a destination.
Goals for upcoming year + Next phase of the company?
The next phase of Birdie’s Pimento Cheese will have to be connecting with a distributor. I currently have a near direct relationship with all of our retailers. And, I love it. But to scale to the level I have in mind, I’ll need help in that area. But it’s scary.
I’ve bootstrapped everything I’ve ever done. I’ve never had an investor. To establish a successful relationship with a distributor I’m afraid I’ll need more capital than I have at my fingertips. So I read, research, and talk with as many people as I can. I listen to podcasts and read articles like this one to glean what advice I can on best practices.
How have you learned and dealt with being the face of the company?
Being Birdie is the joy of my life. Early on, Birdie’s developed a social troll. That’s probably the only time being the face of the company was uncomfortable. Once I realized that I was letting someone I didn’t know take away my voice, I was able to stand up and be present for my company. It is true, what you focus on grows. The less I focused on this troll, the less impact he had.
What have you learned from being an entrepreneur?
Birdie’s is the second business I’ve run. My husband and I ran a small print shop for 25 years. I was only 24 when we opened. We sold that business to a longtime employee, and focused on bringing Birdie’s Pimento Cheese to life. In a lot of ways, the printing years, were about being small business owners. In Birdie’s pimento Cheese, I feel I’m much more an entrepreneur than ever before. We have a larger reach than I could have ever imagined with the print shop.
As a small print shop in a small town, we spent a lot of time volunteering for community activities. One of those committees brought us the Farmers Market that kicked off our Birdie’s Pimento Cheese journey. For that, I’m grateful, but I find I don’t really have the time for the volunteer hours anymore. I take great pride in representing our small community in a new way. We currently send out between 1500 & 2000 tubs of pimento cheese a week and each one of them have the name of our small town on them.
Do you have a moment that brings you the most joy?
My end of day routine. When I’m the last to leave the kitchen, I stop and look around. I take just a moment to acknowledge the gratitude I feel for this business. I look at each piece of equipment, the orderly way everything is put in its place, and take that moment to be grateful.
Piece of Advice
Perfection is the killer of excellence. You don’t have to do it all. And you don’t have to do it all by yourself. Breathe. Build a support system of positivity. If the people around you are making you doubt your dream, put yourself around different people.
In Closing
KLS wants to thank Birdie's Pimento Cheese and Robin Allen, for today's "Together Talks" feature. Follow along for their journey with their social handles below!
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