Another graduating class is celebrating this season after completing their studies at a local food lab.
The Hannah Grimes Food Business Lab in Keene helps food entrepreneurs expand their offerings.
This year’s class completed eight weeks of skills development, coursework and other training.
Cynthia Kelly is one of four people who will now be presenting after graduating from the program. She had been in the restaurant business for years when her friend, Brandi Wells, asked her to go into business with her. The two founded Shadow & Soul Emporium, which Wells owns, and sells tea and ice cream, as well as jewelry and “witchy” items by local artists.
They came up with the idea while conducting paranormal investigations and psychic readings, and Wells was planning to set up shop on Keene’s Main Street. When their current location became available, they opened a tea shop that reflected their interests and friendship.
Kelly said that even though she’s old school and has years of knowledge from working in the restaurant industry, she learned a lot from Hannah Grimes’ program.
“Just because you’re an entrepreneur doesn’t mean you know how to run a business,” Kelly says. “So what are the characters that interact with each other and how do they work together?”
Kelly said it was important for the 12-employee company to ensure employees understood their duties and responsibilities.
Don’t kill your business by pricing too low is another lesson I learned from Hannah Grimes – as well as the less glamorous aspects of running a business, like making sure you have the right insurance and legal counsel, and scaling your business to stay successful.
Also joining us last year was Owen Miller, owner of East Alstead Roasting Company, who after traveling and working in the brewing business elsewhere decided to return to his native New Hampshire to start a coffee roasting business.
Miller said he was a little hesitant when he first applied to Food Lab. He started his own business, so he knew better, and he was worried the center wouldn’t be able to help him without a broader knowledge of the coffee industry. But Food Lab helped him clarify his goals and brand, which he’d lost sight of while focusing on the day-to-day operations.
“I had reached a point where I felt like I had plateaued,” he says, “and I knew I had weaknesses on the business side, so I decided to give it a go.”
