Working hard for our money!

We’ve spent the last week cooking up a storm! We came home and took one day to recooperate before getting on with what we need to do in preparation for the show this Thursday. On Monday we met with the designer at Jetline and finalised our packaging and marketing designs that must be printed. On Tuesday morning we proof-read them and made final changes before commissioning the printing. Working with them hasn’t been the most amazing experience but we’ve worked with what they’ve given us and its all coming together. The printing should all be ready just before the show.

On Monday Dieter and I took the older boys with us to our local veggie shop. We took the trailer into town and first stopped at the wholesale section before stocking up on smaller things at the retail section. We came home with a trailor FULL of veggies: pockets and boxes of butternut, sweet potato, onions, potato, carrots, apples, pears and an array of veggies. On Monday afternoon we started cooking and have spent every day since working on making meals. We’ve been on our feet from early in the morning till long after sunset every day and have managed to fill our new 270l freezer, a borrowed 130l freezer and have now started filling up a neighbour’s freezer as we endeavour to make 100 of each dish to sell at the show.

We’ve learnt that we’re definitely going to need some more freezer space if we’re to sell our target of 500 dishes a month and are looking at ways to do that once the show is over. We don’t have any more space in this house, but will look at storing a freezer (or two!) in a neighbour’s garage across the road.

We’ve put the gazebo up a couple of times this weekend to measure and sort out our décor for the show too. Ouma is helping us make the curtains that need to hang on 3 sides of the gazebo while a friend from homegroup is making a collage of plastic coloured circles from optic fibre cabling to hang in front of the curtains. On Tuesday we’ll pick up a collapsible table from church, together with a peach coloured table cloth and plastic cover. Oupa is organising our cash float for us and Diet is organising stock sheets so we can record what we sell. Now we just need a kettle and some stocks for tea-breaks and we’re ready for the show!

Diet and I have been really tired at night, and even after taking the day off today to rest I am ready to go to bed when the children do! I’m poega! We’ve discovered muscles in our shoulders and backs we haven’t used in ages after standing cutting and cooking veggies all day – its been a huge learning curve!

I’m looking forward to Thursday, Diet and I really believe that this baby food business has huge potential and can’t wait to prove the skeptics wrong! We’re hoping to sell ALL the meals we’ve made this week (and will make in the days ahead before the show!) and to come away with a long list of orders from clients we meet at the show. Watch this space!

PS: We met someone today who has a family member in the Cape who sells the machinery to do pouch-packaging. This is a real God-send! We’re keen on looking into pouch-packaging but have not known where to start looking for the guys who sell the machinery! God has sent them to us!  Also, I saw an ad last week for pureed food that was being sold to babies and the aged. A neighbour confirmed the idea yesterday saying that she’d recently cared for a dying lady who needed pureed food and that we should see how we can fill the need for food for the aged and ill. Hmmmm …… another interesting idea, hey?