Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Alex Kandaharian, co-owner of Mama's Boyz Jerky, located in Toronto, ON, Canada.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

Our business is a beef jerky company called Mama's Boyz Jerky. We specialize in unique flavours never done before by any big box jerky companies, and we take pride in that! Our jerky is all-natural, hand crafted, and dried to perfection with no added preservatives. We are on this beef jerky journey having fun, growing personally, learning about entrepreneurship, and looking forward to the future!

Our customers are anyone who has teeth and a strong jaw! We are trying to separate ourselves from all the other beef jerky companies by creating fun and exciting, unique flavours with no added preservatives. That being said, our customers are health conscious, of all ages and genders who appreciate the grind, passion, and good quality beef jerky.

Tell us about yourself

I was a long-time customer at Mihran's restaurant called Mamajouns Armenian Pizzeria, located in Toronto, Ontario, and I was making beef jerky out of my condo for some friends and family at the time. It started as a hobby and now has turned into a full-time job! I approached Mihran, who I had gotten to know well, being a customer for many years, and had asked him if he wanted to try some of my beef jerkies. He tried my Korean beef jerky, spicy caesar beef jerky, and my taco beef jerky and immediately got hooked!

Mihran is a very experienced, talented chef whose restaurant was ranked 58th on yelp in Canada's top 100 places to eat in 2021! Once I got Mihran hooked on my beef jerky, I asked him if he could give me some of the Armenian soujouk seasoning he uses in his sausages and ground meat to use on a batch of beef jerky. I made a batch of Armenian soujouk beef jerky, came to his restaurant, handed him a sample bag, and here we are now, two years later, with a beef jerky company having the time of our lives!

Each day, what motivates us is the positive feedback we get about our product and how our product is of better quality than the big box jerky companies. We both are very hard-working, passionate, and very competitive, so when a challenge is presented, we go all in and try our best to be the best! We have aspirations for where we want this company to go, and that motivates us to be better each day by completing small goals, learning as we go, and adapting to whatever challenges are thrown our way each day.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Our biggest accomplishment was taking that first step and not allowing fear or the unknown to dictate our happiness and goals as entrepreneurs. We started this company during covid and a worldwide pandemic where nothing was open and small businesses struggled to survive. Crazy right!?!? We were confident in ourselves and our product which helped us continue to move forward regardless of the obstacles thrown our way during covid.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

One of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner is its toll on both our physical and, more importantly, our mental health. Being self-aware of this was the most important conversation we had together. In order for this business to succeed and prevent ourselves from burning out, becoming anxious, depressed, getting stressed, overwhelmed, or even quitting, we both needed to join a gym. And that's exactly what we did! We both now work out in the mornings before our work day starts. It helps us handle the daily grind, stresses, anxiety, and challenges thrown our way daily. Not only does it help us stay in shape physically and give us more energy, but it also helps our mental health by keeping us calm and focused throughout the day.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Just Start! You will never know your full potential and your true calling in this world until you take risks, fail, learn and move forward!
  2. Ask for help! You can't do everything on your own, and if you do, you will burn out and quit. Focus on the things you know you're good at in running your business and excel at that. Bring on partners that you can trust and excel at the things you aren't experienced in or are uncomfortable with. You have a support system, whether it's friends or family, ask them for help, and most times, they would be happy to help and support you in any way.
  3. Keep moving forward no matter how hard a day, week, or month you had. Just keep moving forward, put your head down and continue to grind. It will all make sense one day, and all the blood, sweat, and tears will all be worth it!

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

"To get something you've never had, you have to do something you never did."

Where can people find you and your business?

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mamas.boyz.jerky/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mamas_boyz_jerky/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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