We recently connected with Nicole Vanderburg and have shared our conversation below.

Nicole, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

One thousand percent!! I was definitely raised by my parents and grandparents to have an entrepreneurial heart and mindset. They pretty much passed that motivational energy on to me. I think to be a happy business owner it takes somebody that is a go-getter with balanced energy. From experience, being a business owner can be exhausting and unfavorable without a work-life balance. As I have been able to find that balance, I am indeed happier as a business owner.

About 8 months ago I reached a point where I was debating the future of Beyond Gouda, I was either going to shut it down or begin to make it go big. I was interviewing with a variety of restaurants, travel agencies, and leisure companies for potential jobs. I had my declinations and my offers, but before accepting anything is when I realized, that a regular job is not for me. So, instead, I must make Beyond Gouda go big! I was genuinely excited about some of the other jobs I came across but I had to imagine the long term. For me, looking long term is about how much can I grow personally and within the company, and make an impact on the company as a whole. I see no greater potential for that sort of growth other than running my own business.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Beyond Gouda is a Denver-based charcuterie catering company. We specialize in charcuterie gift boxes, grazing walls and tables, and charcuterie workshops. We cater all types of events from holiday parties, bachelorette parties, birthday parties, and even office events. I would say I’m a little different than all the other charcuterie companies mainly because of our “Skicuterie” product, a pocket-sized charcuterie snack for the ski slopes. Additionally, my target market is a little younger than other charcuterie companies, ages 18-34. I purposely designed my packaging and price points to attract the younger crowds. I’d say with our bold and colorful brand, recognizable cheeses and meats, and lower price points, we are more accessible to the later Millenials and Gen-Z.

I have always loved hosting dinner parties and providing extravagant displays of food. Each charcuterie board is a blank slate with free reign to gather ingredients and design them to taste good together. I get to work with my clients to build their dream board, whether it includes favorite ingredients, dietary restrictions, or themes for the occasion. And then I get to share my skills and knowledge at our workshops to teach them how to do it themselves! Accommodating my clients and building relationships with them to ensure they can rely on Beyond Gouda is what motivates me every day.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Literally every other month! I am not a trendy social media gal but I have to force myself to try and keep up with the best ways to reach new clients and keep current ones engaged. Between Tik Tok and Instagram, I have to stay on top of the new trends and also be self innovative. For example, I noticed these champagne walls on Tik Tok and decided to make one that was for charcuterie cups instead. I spent like 20+ hours building this display wall for charcuterie and now it is such a hit for catered parties. Aside from social media challenging me to pivot my services, the pandemic was the biggest one so far. I originally planned for Beyond Gouda to offer grazing tables and wedding services, but a few months after I had opened the pandemic canceled all events. Thankfully this worked out in my favor because I love this current business model and offerings much more. I notice that a lot of grazing tables produce so much food waste, and are not ideal for longer than 2 hours on display. I am able to better monitor the food portions and temperature stability with charcuterie boxes and cups.

We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.

A lot of my clients like to keep in touch via Instagram, so I make sure to always respond to their comments and/or messages, and react to their life happenings. I love to seek advice from my clients as well. I will post stories seeking recommendations on printers or print shops, florists, bakeries, their preferences on ingredients that go into the boxes, and much more. I also offer discounts for sharing photos of their Beyond Gouda orders on social media and tagging us. Additionally, I recently launched a new loyalty program on my website that allows customers to collect “cheese slices” (aka points). Clients can use their cheese slices to receive discounts on orders! Aside from all of these virtual practices, I find it very important to talk to the client over the phone whenever much as possible. I believe that interacting in person allows for a much more interpersonal relationship with clients, which is why I love hosting workshops and hanging out with clients there!

Contact Info:

• Website: beyondgouda.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beyondgouda/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beyond-gouda/
• Other: https://g.page/beyondgouda?share