Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Ann Marie Bouthillette, owner of Blackbird Farm, located in Smithfield, RI, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Blackbird Farm is the largest, family-owned beef and pork farm in Rhode Island and one of the largest in New England. We humanely raise antibiotic-free, no-added-hormones, pasture-fed, 100% Black Angus cattle, and 100% pedigreed American Heritage Berkshire pigs on our farm in Smithfield, Rhode Island. Our meats are served in some of the best restaurants in New England and sold through our Farm Stand. At Blackbird Farm, we know everything about our animals. We can tell you the pedigree, when the animal was born, what it has been fed, how it was raised when it was harvested, and how the carcass was graded . . . we just need you to tell us how it tastes!
Tell us about yourself
I first worked at Hedgerows Farm in West Cornwall, Connecticut, under Rachel Breck, an Aberdeen Angus Hall of Fame inductee and the "First Lady of the Angus Industry." But it was my parents, John and Anna, who encouraged me to raise heifers, breeding them for calves and giving me the love for Black Angus cattle which I still have to this day.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Our farm has grown from 4 acres to over 200 acres and continues to be 100% owned and operated by our family.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Getting customers to understand the costs of small-scale, family-owned farming and why our products cost what they do.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Have a plan.
- Have enough capital to last at least a year, if not more.
- Don't skimp on marketing--social media isn't enough.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.blackbirdfarmri.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blackbirdfarm
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackbirdfarmri/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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