Did you know most small businesses fail in the first 5 years?
Yeppp.. That is right. Most small business fail within the first 5 years of being open. This is my year number 5 with MC- Meat Co and Honestly, Its been the BEST year I have ever had and its been the WORST year I have ever had. I don’t understand how that works really, but God kind of has a sense of human sometimes. Haha
This summer I went through some mid-life crisis. Nor really but I have been feeling like the Lord is changing my seasons and I haven’t put my finger on it yet and I still haven’t! But I feel like finally the Lord has given me clarity on where to go with MC- Meat Co.
I struggled big time. Let me tell y’all, I thought about quitting, I thought about stopping for a year then starting again, I thought about selling out completely and just being done. I wrestled with the Lord a bunch on if this was something I was supposed to do long term of it was a season for me to be able to come home and provide an income for myself till I could pull from the operation.
Or was it an actual mission from the Lord that I need to be doing this? So much soul searching has gone into this company for the last 6 months. I took a little break this summer so I could travel and see friends and do things Lettie wanted to do that hasn’t been able to do in soooo long. It was a really nice break, it was a really fun break, I had incredible opportunities to go and speak at several conferences, rekindle relationships that I thought were lost, and see loved ones.
I know my season is changing and I am constantly asking the Lord what do you want me to prune? Which relationships need to leave, or responsibilities I have. We are growing on our operation and MC- Meat Co, And the Roundtop and the AIR BNB. HEalthy things grow!! But I cannot physically, emotionally, or mentally, do all the things I am doing for a sustainable amount of time.
So with all of the growth, things are being restructured. I have started outsourcing some of my social media especially with the Roundtop. I have been looking for a part-time ish help for the ranch. Dad is wanting to slow down and retire, but there is no possible way to do it all with just one person. So I have been looking for some part-time help. I have had several full time people apply, but they just didn’t seem like a right fit. I know the Lord will provide the perfect person to fit in. But the biggest change is with MC- Meat co.. Yes thats right.
Let’s get into it. I love MC- Meat Co so much. It is my baby, its shaped me and molded me into the person I am today. BUT I have to make some changes to continue to grow the company and help with everything I am helping on the ranch. I don’t know if yall have been following along on my stories on social media, but I am apart of breaking ground site called Range Market. It is basically like the etsy but only for proteins! I am so excited for this site and believe God has big big plans for this site. I believe in the founders and all of the blood, sweat, and tears they have put into it. Being on their site, I am moving all of my online stuff to Range Market for shipping! BUT I still want to provide high quality proteins to my locals.
So in doing that… I am changing it up. I thought about only doing shares, but then I realize not everyone wants a whole beef share, or has the room or capacity to fit it. So from here on out, I will only be offering bundles for my Locals. It will be the same bundles that will be on range market. But this will allow me to better control my inventory having two different sites. Also with the bundles… I am going to start offering subscriptions either a monthly bundle subscription and with these subscriptions I will provide you with 1-2 favorite ranch recipes!
The bundles will go along with the seasons. So say a November box could look like 5 pounds of ground beef, a couple packages of stew meat, two steaks, and a package of ribs. You will be able to pick out your steaks as long as I have them in Stock!
The added subscriptions will be boxes delivered either monthly or bi-weekly with your favorite proteins that you usually cook with! No more having to worry about buying your proteins from a grocery store!
Phew that was a lot of updates on MC- Meat Co… Now me personally, I am going to start opening up my schedule to start speaking more at conferences. This summer being able to speak at the different events I did really lit a fire in my tummy to help others that are just like me. Learning how to diversify an operation to keep it in the family! I know the Lord is changing my season, I don’t know what it looks like but I do know it is so good. And I can’t wait to see what He is doing.
For me, I am just being obedient to what He is telling me to do. It feels like a REALLY big shift for me. In so many different areas, but I am excited to see where we are going in 1, 2, 3 or even 4 years!
God has been so good to me. My small businesses have grown me far greater spiritually, mentally, and emotionally than I ever thought possible. As we undergo these growing pains, please be patient with me as we learn and grow together.
Thank you so much for your love and support always.
Lettie