Posted on 06/15/2017 2:12:52 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The CEO: Logan Rae, 22, co-founder (with Kim Hruda) of Bacon Boxes
School: Class of 2017 at Florida Atlantic University
From: Miami, Florida
Based in: Boca Raton, Florida
Number of employees: 2-3 part time; with seasonal delivery drivers it goes up to 5.
Sleep: 4-7 hours a night
Our a-ha moment
The idea came in early 2015. I had made a bacon bouquet for a friend that I delivered to a busy office. All the women went crazy over it. I had a final right after, but I took on the project on my own. It was insane. So when Kim and I decided that we had to do this, she and I sat on the kitchen floor with a bottle of wine and a laptop and started planning and mapping it out.
Logan Rae, co-founder of Bacon Boxes. Her advice to other entrepreneurs: "Don't doubt yourself."
I had seen something similar from Edible Arrangements, but I was making a gift for a man, and I wanted it to be budget-controlled. You can go on Pinterest and see how people do these things, but it’s hard to recreate.
The biggest issue we have with Bacon Boxes is having a big enough facility to distribute for the demand. We had a 357 percent sales increase from our first Valentine's Day to our second. Over the holiday, we still do ridiculous shifts. We cure, smoke and slice the bacon ourselves. It’s a premium bacon. In order to get this quality you’re going to have to sit down at a five-star restaurant.
We haven’t gotten any type of capital infusion. We’re still completely woman-owned. We’re at a point right now where we’re considering some agreements that could take the business to the next level.
How I juggle school and business
Here’s a little curveball for you: I have a four-year-old. He’s so cute. We’ll hire gorgeous girls to come out and do events and my son gets better tips than the girls. It’s good that he’s getting it early on, what it means to work for yourself. I wake up really early, and then part of being balanced is making sure I have time to meditate and work out and get myself feeling good. That’s when my day starts. I try to eat. Sometimes it doesn’t happen. What’s most important to us is making sure the quality stays the same, that there are no corners cut. The minute we start talking to investors, they say ‘outsource outsource outsource,’ and to create this type of product, we can’t.
Success came when Kim and I reached a level where we could support ourselves, have fun, and still maintain our standards, like sourcing from family-owned farms.
My advice to other entrepreneurs
The most important thing they can do is research and call. School, and even your bank, can give you advice. Find free tax services to answer questions. Make sure you’re doing everything right. Don’t doubt yourself. A lot of the time we look at what we started with, and back then we said, there’s no way we’ll be able to blow it up and be able to work for ourselves full-time. And then a year later, there we were.
Perhaps men don’t WANT their bacon gifts to look like roses. There must be other configurations that would be less labor intense, and it seems to be quite a waste of foliage there.
Lol!
We should have sent one to obama
Rather like KFC’s fried chicken corsages available at participating florists.
Just in time for Father’s Day!
Make a bacon bouquet using real floral - http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=bacon+bouquet&&view=detail&mid=80A2C48017E4220AFA5A80A2C48017E4220AFA5A&FORM=VRDGAR - save those cut off flowers and float them in a bowl of water.
Make a bacon bouquet with bits of greenery - http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=bacon+bouquet&&view=detail&mid=8B3500AD5F412A89973D8B3500AD5F412A89973D&rvsmid=80A2C48017E4220AFA5A80A2C48017E4220AFA5A&fsscr=0&FORM=VDQVAP
One with fresh spinach leaves - http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=bacon+bouquet&&view=detail&mid=7EBBEF3A0C1FD22541D67EBBEF3A0C1FD22541D6&rvsmid=80A2C48017E4220AFA5A80A2C48017E4220AFA5A&fsscr=0&FORM=VDQVAP
May I suggest a couple of Mosques they can send orders to?
Yeah-but, you would eat one of those suckers wouldn’t ya?
Dip bacon strips in chocolate and drizzle on white chocolate or sprinkles to fancy it up. Arrange in a gift box.
Where is the father of the 4-year-old boy she mentions?
I look forward to reading articles about Men-Owned Small Businesses.
If a woman needs to give a man bacon, she’s doing something wrong.
I was going to ask if they offer any specials for Ramadan.
I believe deep fired bacon strips solve the issue
This needs to be reported in the Washington Free Bacon.
I’d pork that!
“If a woman needs to give a man bacon, she’s doing something wrong.”
Maybe it is for men to give to women. Their reaction could tell you a lot and save a lot of heart ache.
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