Entrepreneur Therapy | This Founder Is Scaling a Spicy Food Brand—and It's Putting the Heat On Her Marriage - video Dailymotion

Entrepreneur

Get practical advice from Dr. Drew and investor Kim Perell on this episode of Entrepreneur Therapy, featuring In The Kitchen with Alexandra founder Alexandra Baker.  Entrepreneur Therapy is presented by Amazon Business. Smart business buying starts with @AmazonBusiness. Learn more here: https://entm.ag/amazonbusiness

Transcript

00:00I can see why people stop.

00:01Oh, yeah.

00:02I can see why people, we're not doing this anymore.

00:05And we were almost there.

00:07Being an entrepreneur is not easy.

00:10You might have people looking after your business,

00:12but who is looking after you?

00:14We are.

00:15Welcome to Entrepreneur Therapy.

00:18Presented by Amazon Business.

00:19In each episode, renowned health expert Dr. Drew Pinsky

00:22and serial investor Kim Perel

00:24will meet with small business owners

00:26looking for some advice.

00:27We're here to find out what issues still keep them up at night.

00:32My name is Alexandra Baker,

00:33and I'm the founder of In the Kitchen with Alexandra.

00:36And we're small batch purveyors

00:37of premium Caribbean craft condiments.

00:41What are you looking to get out of being on the show today?

00:43Anytime you think you have the understanding

00:47or the knowledge on one aspect of the business or another,

00:51it always helps to hear it from somebody

00:53who has walked before you.

00:55All right, Alexandra, it's time for you to go talk to Dr. Drew and Kim.

00:58Hey, super excited.

01:01Alexandra, welcome.

01:02Tell us about you and your company.

01:04My company is In the Kitchen with Alexandra.

01:06Our core product is Alexandra's Pickleys.

01:09Am I getting the story right,

01:10that this was something that you made

01:12and handed out to friends and everybody was saying,

01:14hey, you should make a business out of this.

01:15You should sell this to people.

01:17Absolutely.

01:17I was wrapping it in cello wrap

01:19and ordering little labels on Etsy.

01:22And people would say to me,

01:23where can I buy more Pickleys?

01:24So we set up our Amazon store.

01:27We have our director consumer website.

01:29And we've been selling, and really rapidly,

01:32thanks to my partner, my husband,

01:33picking up independent retailers

01:35before we move in with major retailers.

01:38Wow.

01:39But you're here on Entrepreneur Therapy.

01:40So what challenges are you currently facing?

01:44You know, it's the scaling simultaneously,

01:49having enough product.

01:50You know, we started,

01:51Troy is picking up all of these stores

01:53and we had our production run at the end of February.

01:57Within weeks, we said,

01:59we need to place another order.

02:00Yet the capital is still, you know,

02:02the funds are still coming in.

02:04So it's that balance between,

02:06do you have enough capital to place the order

02:09as you are growing?

02:11And if you looked into purchase order financing,

02:13because it seems like you're a great candidate

02:16if you're getting a lot of purchase orders.

02:18So what we did was we have an inventory line of credit.

02:23That was the solution.

02:24That seems like a great way to hang on to your equity.

02:26Yeah, it's a great way.

02:27Yeah.

02:28It will prevent us from growing at the pace

02:31that we would ideally want to.

02:34When the cash crunches come, which they will,

02:38that actually will have,

02:40that's hard on a marriage.

02:41Like, how do you guys manage those conversations,

02:44especially as you're looking to grow

02:46when the capital becomes more and more important to get

02:49in order to be able to fuel the growth?

02:52Well, we definitely have changed our lifestyle.

02:56We were accustomed to, you know,

02:58multiple getaways throughout the year

03:00and dining out a couple of times a week.

03:02And it just seems like there was so much more

03:04that we were doing.

03:06We've had to cut back on a lot of that.

03:08The capital for the business has to be first.

03:11I mean, we take care of our expenses for the home, of course.

03:13And so far, we have been good.

03:16But as I said earlier,

03:18what we're realizing is we're just not going to be able

03:21to expand and really run forward

03:24at the speed that we would like if it stays just us.

03:28I'm getting a little sad listening to you talk, okay?

03:31I have to be completely honest

03:33because you're dropping little hints

03:34that I hear loud and clear

03:36about the price you're paying for this business.

03:40Dr. Drew, you're killing me.

03:42I'm sorry.

03:43But it's, you know, it's what I'm,

03:45my job is here today.

03:47I know you've lost something between you

03:49and you understand why

03:51and you're willing to pay that price in the short term.

03:53But you have to be careful that it doesn't become chronic.

03:55It is a delicate dance that we have, you know,

03:58to maintaining marriages.

04:00They're hard work.

04:00Listen, I'm a never quit, keep going under any circumstance.

04:04But I also am pragmatic that at some point,

04:08and I think you just knowing

04:10if it affects you mentally, physically, or financially,

04:13you have to know when to make that call.

04:17And so my advice is to know financially

04:20what that number is.

04:23And so when I started my first company,

04:25I had a loan from my grandma, 10 grand.

04:28I had 20K on my credit card.

04:30So basically my max was 30K.

04:32What I look, and I don't have the kind of business side

04:35that you do by any means,

04:36but when I look at what Alexandra's talking about,

04:38it excites me.

04:39It seems like they're going to make this.

04:40They're going to do this.

04:41It's going to happen.

04:41I'm sure they will.

04:42But statistically, 90% of businesses fail.

04:45So I'm just preparing them that you should know

04:48how much you're willing to lose.

04:50I can see why people stop.

04:52I can see why people, we're not doing this anymore.

04:56And we were almost there.

04:58And we said, let's see what happens with this next batch.

05:03And so far, it was like a light went on.

05:06So if we didn't see that,

05:08I think we would have been very close to saying,

05:10okay, we tried and it's not working.

05:12Well, we believe in you.

05:13You've got that winning spirit for sure.

05:15And we look forward to following your journey.

05:17Thank you, Kim.

05:17And we're going to send you back to Brad.

05:19All right, Alexandra,

05:20we're back from talking with Dr. Drew and Kim.

05:24What would you say was the piece of advice

05:27that kind of hit you the hardest?

05:29Well, you know,

05:31how could I not be concerned

05:32when I hear Kim saying,

05:34you know, you got to know what that number is.

05:36We not only have a number,

05:37we also have a time stop,

05:39a stamp of things need to happen

05:42by a certain amount of time

05:43of when we would say,

05:45okay, we've given this a thousand percent.

05:46Is this type of therapy

05:48something you would suggest to other entrepreneurs?

05:51Yes.

05:51If you're an entrepreneur,

05:53take the opportunity.

05:55Thanks for participating in Entrepreneur Therapy

05:57presented by Amazon Business.

05:58To say thank you,

05:59we're going to give you a thousand dollars in cash.

06:02Thank you, Amazon Business.

06:03Thank you so much.

06:04We know that you ship a lot of product

06:06and that cashflow is key for big orders.

06:09Amazon Business actually offers

06:10fast shipping options

06:12as well as the ability

06:13to consolidate shipments

06:14and customize delivery preferences.

06:17It's one less thing to worry about

06:18for fulfillment.

06:19That is great.

06:20We have tapped into so many other aspects

06:24of Amazon Business to date.

06:26And so we're very grateful,

06:28very excited.

06:29And thank you, Amazon Business.

06:31Thanks for watching Entrepreneur Therapy.

06:36We'll see you next time.

Entrepreneur Therapy | This Founder Is Scaling a Spicy Food Brand—and It's Putting the Heat On Her Marriage

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