SaaS Interviews with CEOs, Startups, Founders

EP 366: Her Cheese Shop Does $1m+ Annually, EBITDA Low, Why?


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Kendall Antonelli, who started a cheese shop with her husband. Antonelli's Cheese Shop has taken off, and last year their revenue was $1.9 million. Kendall and her husband have found that they secret to their success is storytelling. They share the personal stories behind their cheeses and other products.

Famous 5:

  • Favorite Book? – Good to Great, Uncontainable, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits
  • Favorite online tool? — QuickBooks
  • Do you get 8 hours of sleep?—Yes
  • If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? — Keep an adventurous spirit. Do something every day that betters yourself.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

  • 01:25 – Nathan introduces Kendall
  • 01:40 – Kendall and her husband got the idea on their honeymoon
  • 02:25 – Her husband wanted to find a better job, in cheese
  • 03:00 – He decided to look into the business
  • 03:40 – Kendall was working in social work
  • 04:20 – They always wanted to work together
  • 04:45 – She grew up in a farm town, and they "fell in love with the story of cheese."
  • 05:10 – They looked at their strengths
  • 05:35 – Antonelli's Cheese LLC
  • 06:00 – Their rent
  • 07:10 – Multiple business models
  • 07:20 – Her and her husband have separate roles
  • 08:25 – Open-book management
  • 08:40 – $1.9 million in 2015
  • 09:05 – "Passion with Purpose"
  • 09:25 – Their retail is the most successful
  • 10:00 – Cost is per pound
  • 11:00 – Making cheese is a labor-intensive industry
  • 12:15 – They decided to not be cheese makers, but be out of the kitchen and "storytelling"
  • 13:15 – All the costs behind a wheel of cheese
  • 13:40 – Team of six or seven people
  • 14:05 – An artisanal journey
  • 14:30 – Telling the story of the cheese
  • 14:45 – Skews were as high as 2000
  • 15:15 – Most lucrative products
    • 16:15 – Wholesale in 2015 was about half of their revenue
    • 16:45 – Cheese of the Month Club
    • 17:15 – Parties and catering
  • 17:45 – Their wholesale market is more flexible for clients
  • 18:25 – Dealing with a perishable item/shelf life
  • 19:00 – They are looking into investors
  • 19:25 – What they pay themselves
  • 20:20 – They travel to cheese conventions around the world
  • 20:55 – They want to be in control of their business
  • 21:30 – Professional and personal life can coexist
  • 24:00 – Antonellischeese.com
  • 26:20 – The Famous Five

3 Key Points:

  • Make your passion your business.
  • Design a career that lets you accomplish your life goals.
  • Your professional and personal life can coexist.

Resources Mentioned:

  • Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible.
  • Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts.
  • Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+
  • Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books.
  • QuickBooks – The accounting tool for Antonelli's Cheese Shop
  • Good to Great, Uncontainable and Mastering the Rockefeller Habits – A series of great business books that Kendall recommends.
  • Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives
...more
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SaaS Interviews with CEOs, Startups, FoundersBy Nathan Latka

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