Vermont Shortbread Company

Life Lessons and Shortbread

People pleasers sometimes do not make good business people.  I mean, there's got to be a balance between pleasing your customers and killing yourself trying to make everyone happy.  Herein lies my biggest achilles heel both as an entrepreneur and as a person striving for healthy personal relationships. 

When I decided to revive Vermont Shortbread Company I did so with the commitment that there would be no more 80 hour work weeks, that I would reclaim my own Christmas joy, that I would get enough sleep and not forget to eat and laugh and that I would no longer operate out of chronic financial fear. 

Limited batches of shortbread periodically...according to what I could comfortably manage without compromising my health was the answer I came up with.  It fits in nicely with the whole Slow Food Movement too.  Perfect, right?  I think so. 

And yet...I feel  twinges of guilt.  I will feel guilt in advance  when I know I will have to tell people that I cannot fill their orders because I've reached capacity.  I feel guilt when I tell them that I already have a full time job in which I work 40+ hours a week, a teenager, a house and ongoing health issues.  I feel guilty when I tell them that no, there is no shortbread available today. 

I suspect that this is part of the master plan - what I am supposed to learn by re-doing this little business - has to do with boundaries and taking care of #1.  This is not easy.  I so want my friends and my customers to be pleased.  And it makes me feel good when they are.   

I probably could have avoided all of this discomfort by simply selling the business as originally planned, but in keeping with my personal commitment to compassionately yet assertively speak my mind, that's not a viable alternative.  Wondering what could have been would be far worse than the occasional pang of guilt I feel about possibly disappointing someone. 

No, it's time for me to get on with this.  My health and well-being depend upon it.  Do you know what happens to a lifetime of unspoken words?  They cause disease and anxiety.  I've begun to draw boundaries in my personal world about what is no longer tolerable and what I want to attract.  I'm already harvesting some fruits of those efforts and I've pissed a few people off.  And so it goes.  And so it hurts a little...but it hurts  less than if I did nothing. 

I am ready to try it in my work life too.   

I suspect this is a common theme with small business owners.  And I am thrilled I am getting a chance to work through it...with the best customers in the world.   Thanks for sticking around. 

I Just Bought VermontCupcake.com

Hey, for $9, it's a worth parking the domain.   

I usually use godaddy.com to register domains unless someone else offers me a better deal.  Anyone know anything about how to figure out how much a domain name is worth?  Just curious as I own quite a few. 

I also want to be able to figure out what www.vermontshortbread.com is worth.  No clue how to do this...

Organic Shortbread?

Is anyone else out there confused about all the marketing hype and consumer frenzy around "organic" products? 

Many people have asked me to make "organic" shortbread and honestly, I don't really understand what that means, except that I think people are asking me to invent a healthier version of our shortbread.   Alas, shortbread is not a healthy food. 

As a wordsmith, I want to be accurate.  As a marketer, I want understand the language of my customers. I've been confused about organic for a long time and I'm relieved to see that great minds are struggling with the same questions I have.   

Here's a great article from the NYTimes science blog about the confusion over what organic means in marketingspeak versus what it means in the scientific terms.

I'm so confused I feel like eating a Twinkie. 

Where's Ann? Where's Vermont Shortbread Company Going?

Readers who know me well know what's going on over here at Vermont Shortbread Company, but occasional readers...forgive me for being remiss about this blog, my business, and for keeping you wondering what the heck is going on at Vermont Shortbread Company.   

I could write a book about the past year of my life (and I probably will) - going from full time corporate employee with part time entrepreneurial aspirations then back to full time corporate employee who realizes she does not want to be the CEO of anything.  Failure?  I think not.  Recognizing what one wants and doesn't want in work and life can never be called failure.  Yet, corporate America gets such a bad rap these days and working for oneself can seem so glorious.  And personally, I've had a pretty big chip on my shoulder about independence, not needing a man to support me, not needing a conventional job, not needing much of anything for a long time. 

The chip is dissolving.

If you read my blog even a year ago, I did nothing but winge and moan about big business and how much I wanted out of the IBM environment.  When I got laid off in 2007, I felt relieved, even blessed.  And now I'm back in corporate America.  Guess what, I feel relieved and blessed again. 

In March of this year I joined National Life Group in Montpelier, Vermont working in corporate communications.  I don't love my job; I adore it and I am passionate about the company I work for.  If I don't feel the love, I can't do a job well...I can't even fake it.  Now, I wake up every day excited to go to work, thrilled that I get paid to be who I am (a creative, marketing, writer-chick with just enough technical savvy to stay abreast of cutting edge communications) AND they pay me to be me.  Wow, that's a first.  All the benefits of my entrepreneurial life with the security of a regular paycheck...I would have never guessed this possible a year ago. 

Vermont Shortbread Company is still in business, although on a much smaller scale...for now.  I do intend to have it all, but I need to take a few steps back and figure out how to work smarter.  That's never been a strength of mine.  80 hour workweeks, single parenting, and juggling several jobs simultaneously left me burnt out, unhealthy and spiritually and financially empty.  For now, I'm focusing on one thing at a time (my new job) and I'm working on figuring out how to get Vermont Shortbread Company the help it needs to grow into a force for Walkers Shortbread to reckon with.  I don't know quite how to do that...yet.   

Right now, I just want to smell the roses.  Do one job well.  Take some vacations. Enjoy my daughter's last few years at home.  Write. Write. Write. 

A few years ago, I once determined that my mission in life was "to observe and record".  I know this is true because I feel it in every cell.  So, that's my focus for now.  It is what I was born for. 

Much of the recording will be here on this blog, so please come back. 

Really Good Shortbread...And I Didn't Make It!

Yes, you read the headline correctly.  Today I ate some fantastic shortbread and it didn't come out of the Vermont Shortbread Company oven (oh my!). 

I've tasted shortbread all over the country.  I've blindfolded my friends and I've conducted taste tests. Rarely does any shortbread come close to the thick, slightly chewy textured shortbread cooked golden brown, crisp with crunchy crumbs at the edge and soft toward the middle treat that I make. 

Until today. 

Everything at the NECI cafeteria at National Life is great. Did you know the kitchens below the cafeteria are classroom kitchens full of NECI students learning how to bake bread, make desserts, feed large groups of employees high quality locally grown and raised food?  Did you know that anyone can eat there, not just National Life employees? 

Someone at NECI's National Life location made shortbread today.  Made in a round pan, it was cut into petticoat tails very much like mine, but without the flower/heart design.  I bought a $1.15  wedge thinking I would make fun of it (as I usually do with other people's shortbread) and was surprised to find that I actually wanted to eat the whole thing as a mid afternoon snack.  Butter quality was excellent.  Texture was perfect, not too crumbly, not raw and doughy.  The shortbread was fresh and cooked with just the slightest bit of granulated sugar on top.  The color was perfect; a little darker gold toward the edges and pale gold toward the middle.  There seemed to be a saltier flavor than my shortbread (I use salted butter but no salt).  There was no weird, bad-breath shortbread aftertaste that I've noticed with many of my competitors' products. 

Not bad at all.  Of course I'd like you to buy our shortbread if you're in need of a unique Vermont gift.  But, if you find yourself in the National Life building in Montpelier, you have my blessings to buy a slice of good NECI shortbread.  Better yet, give me a call before you come.  I'll share one with you and spring for a cup of tea for both of us.   

The Flour Crisis

I've known it's coming for a long time, but I was still sticker shocked during my last trip to Costco where I buy 25 lb. bags of King Arthur flour. 

You've seen it in the TV news - the price of flour has risen...a lot.  My cost has doubled. 

Why the rise?  The growing worldwide demand for wheat, especially in developing countries, is making supply tight.  Also the value the American dollar is weakening and the supply is tight because we send much of our wheat supply overseas.  Lastly, the growth in ethanol production is pushing up the prices of commodities.

We are all going to see a rise in wheat-based flour products.  We are going to be limited to the number of bags we can buy at the grocery store (this is already happening - I've been trying to stockpile flour since I learned of the inevitable).  Bottom line?  I'm going to have to raise my prices soon.  I'm not sure how much yet, but somewhere in the neighborhood of a 10-15% hike will keep Vermont Shortbread Company profitable.  I'll let you know when I understand the situation better.  I know this seems a bit hefty, but I have not raised my prices in more than 5 years and in that time, the cost of butter has also risen substantially.   

In the meantime, BUY YOUR SHORTBREAD WHILE IT'S STILL AT THE OLD PRICES because they won't last much longer!  Shortbread freezes well for up to 6 months, so you can buy now for upcoming events.  Lock in the low prices now, buy placing a BULK order.  Buy 10 now and send them out at your convenience.   

Want to know more?  Want to place a bulk order?  Then visit our Vermont Shortbread Company web site  now, or call me at 802-264-4835.

In the meantime, be prepared to pay a lot more for your pizza, bread, and other baked goods at the grocery store.  Maybe we can all save some money this summer by growing big vegetable gardens and and preserving our harvest.  It won't help the flour situation, but it will save food costs elsewhere...and it tastes good. 

Your friend, the shortbread chick and eternal optimist   

Winter Hibernation

It seems that this happens every year around February, March, and April.  I do a bit of hibernation and re-evaluation.  So like the cold, stark, Vermont winter landscape, my blog may indicate that there's not much going on in shortbreadland, but never fear, under the surface, we're preparing for a spring bloom which generally corresponds with my birthday in mid-May. 

After the holiday rush and dealing with various meaty personal obligations and challenges, this is my time to chill.  Literally. It's cold as all heck here in northern Vermont and I tend to want to stay close to home cooking huge pots of chili and reading cheesy novels.  I think my tolerance for Vermont winter is waning as I get older.  I will never be a snow bunny (on the other hand, I'm definitely not a "flock to the beach resort" sort of person either).   

In the shortbread world, here's what we've been up to:

• Long term planning (4+ years when there are no more kids in the house!)
• New product development (sorry, I can't tell you what that means yet)
• Maintaining and building current local customer relationships
• Evaluating pricing (butter has skyrocketed lately)
• Evaluating packaging options
• Thinking about the locolvore movement - fad or does Vermont Shortbread Company need to get on board and make some new buying decisions?

In my personal world, there's been similar evaluation going on (I think they call it mid-life crisis, though I don't like the word "crisis" because this is FUN!)

• Substitute teaching in the Burlington Public Schools.  I love, love, love the flexibility and the work. 
• Learning a new baroque piece on my piano.
• Taking weekends off (mostly).
• Freelance writing projects.   
• Reading (anything from historical fiction to food writing to the latest research on parental alienation syndrome - not to worry, this particular research is not for my personal use)
• House and mind catharsis - selling my junk on e-Bay for a great source of extra income!
• Watching my teen daughter grow and become more independent. 

I'm off to the bakery now.  Next week is winter break for our kids, so there will be no teaching.  I need to drum up some shortbread sales to fill the gap.  I'll be blossoming all over the place come spring, but for now, my writing is inconsistent...as it needs to be in preparation for spring. 

A Big Shortbread Day

Today's the Vermont Venture Network presentation, bright and early at the Hilton on the Burlington waterfront.  I'm ready and feeling confident. 

Then I change into my delivery girl clothes and will package and deliver our famous shortbread to some of my favorite customers in the Chittenden County:  Vermont Green Grocer in Richmond, Beaudry's in Huntington, Sweet Clover Market in Essex.  It's flying off the shelves and I'm flying all over Vermont to keep customers in shortbread.  Soon my cute little Saab will need to be traded for a big truck.   

Later this afternoon, I'll be shooting a commercial with my pals from Henhouse Media.  If you do nothing else, go check out their site.  And if you ever meet owner, Johnny Mendez, ask him about his obsession with all things fowl.  His place is loaded with chickens and his story is sure to have you in stitches as it did me.  The creative energy there is outrageously fowl and fun. 

Later this week and into next, we'll be setting up shop in the University Mall and in the Barre Firehouse Craft Shop.  I'll be needing some staffing for the U-Mall gig.  Anyone local want to work at the mall for a few shifts to help me out?  Email me at ann@vermontshortbread.com.   

How many shopping days are there until Christmas?  I still haven't counted.  I probably should.  My busy season officially begins next week.  Is Vermont Shortbread Company ready?  Heck, yeah.  Bring it on.  Order shortbread for Thanksgiving and Christmas now.  You'll be glad you saved yourself the stress that always comes with holiday shopping.  Let us make your 2007 gift giving successful.  We are grateful for you helping to make 2007 our biggest growth year to date! 

A Shortbread Dessert at Leunig's

I had lunch at Leunig's yesterday with the fabulous Amy from Amy's Granola.  It was our first meeting.  We sat inside the restaurant but in the corner where the one side was completely open to the outside (it was about 75 degrees and sunny yesterday) so we could meet and greet passers-by on the Church Street Marketplace while we ate lunch.  From where we sat, we could actually just stick our arms outside and shake a hand (which we did).  BTW, I had the beet and arugula salad with gorgonzola.  Yum - you know how I love my moldy cheeses.  But dessert was better...

Look what they did with our shortbread.   It was served warmed up and topped with Island Homemade Ice Cream and fresh whipped cream, then drizzled with caramel and chocolate sauce and topped with a fresh mint leaf. 

I rarely eat my own product and sometimes it's hard for me to see its true beauty because I see so much of it.  So, it was quite a "high" for me yesterday to say to the waitress yesterday, "We'll have the Vermont Shortbread for dessert, please!" 

Shortbread Occasions: National Boss Day - October 16

According the big desk calendar I have, Tuesday, October 16 is National Boss Day.  If you have a great boss, why not show your gratitude with a shortbread gift box? 

If you're worried about being too conspicuous or brown-nosey, just bring in a gift box and leave it in the lunch room for the whole crowd!  I have found that there's no better way to interact with people and start a conversation than to feed them something yummy.  Everyone eats; everyone loves free food, especially in the workplace in the middle of a ho-hum day.  I remember my days in the gray cubicles of IBM; anyone who uttered a promise "free food" was a hero in my eyes.   

Brighten up everyone's day: your boss, your colleagues, and feel the glow of your own satisfaction from having done something nice at work just for the heck of it. 

Order a gift box shortbread in one of our seven delicious flavors delivered right to your office today.  Order by Thursday, October 11 to ensure delivery in time for National Boss Day.  How can you go wrong?