Starting up Weinsteiger Mustard Company requires a little more capital than I have in my personal savings account. One day in early March while driving a market truck to Hillsdale, I was thinking to myself "how am I going to pull this off?"The MicroBusiness Enterprise program offers a VIDA 3-1 grant. Specifically they match every one of your dollars with three of their dollars up to $1,000 total over a 6 month to 1 year time frame. It is a competive grant, but I feel like I have a good business idea, the demand, and a good plan. The only problem is the funds won't be available until late 2009 and I need to start-up now.
When I did my cash flow projection, I needed at least $4,500 to start strong. Even after I cleaned out my Roth IRA (what was left, minus penalities) and still needed to come up with some quick cash.
So, while I was driving and the entrepreneur in me was thinking, thinking, thinking... I came up with the idea to host a benefit dinner. The idea crowded my headspace and I thought about it all day long. A mustard menu, beer pairing...
The next day at Gathering Together Farm, where I work I talked to there Head Chef, JC Mersmann about what a menu would look like at a mustard benefit dinner. He, almost immediately, rattle off the menu that we used a month later at the event. A Charcuterie Plate, Mustard Terrine, Poularde avec Moutard (Chicken in a Mustard Cream Sauce) and to finish it all off Mustard Ice Cream, a big hit.
I sent out a lot of emails, followed by cold calls to make the numbers happen. I was a little worried when a week before the event I only had 25 RSVPs. I am not sure how or when, but it all came together. Forty-Five people attended, and $2000 was raised. If something went wrong, I didn't even notice.
A very special thanks to Chef JC, who I thought was only giving me an idea for a menu but in reality put all the food together and making the courses look like a works of art. John and Sally, the owners of Gathering Together Farm, for lending me there Farm Stand to host the event and donating their hand crafted wine. Dave Wills, who has been supplying me with the beer for the mustard and he brought his "pigerator" filled with four party pigs of Oregon Trail Ales, the IPA, Wit, Ginseng Porter, and Beavertail Ale. Lisa, Anna, Jeannie and Sarah B. for helping out the kitchen and serving.
