Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Carley Sanders. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Carley, thanks for joining us today. Do you manage your own social media?

Social Media! Social media has been one of my biggest challenges! Before starting my small business, almost 2 years ago, I was not one to interact with social media often. Social media scared me! Overwhelmed with the thought of what I was putting out to hundreds and thousands of people to view see. In the beginning, I hired a couple PR persons to run my social media accounts. Shortly after, I had come to realization that I had to figure out social media for myself. To be truly happy with what was being put out to the world. I didn’t feel what they were putting out there was me, my small business, what I had started from the ground up. It took a lot of time, and building confidence, to feel comfortable with creating content, and posting for myself. A year ago I would have said I’m scared to run my own social media, but now it is something that I truly look forward to every single day and enjoy!

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?

I, Carley Sanders, am the owner and founder of The Lou Charcuterie. When charcuterie became a “trend”, I was quickly intrigued. I have always been a lover of all kinds of cheeses, even the smelly ones! As soon as the opportunity arose, I ran to Trader Joe’s to grab all the proper necessities to make a charcuterie board. I had a BLAST creating the board, discovering how to make a salami rose, how to arrange the cheeses into a work of art. It was, and still is so compelling. Every chance I could get, family birthdays, dinner parties, etc. I would make a charcuterie board. Everyone loved them so much, I had family friends ask me to make boards for their upcoming events. Then the idea hit me, “I should make a Facebook and Instagram business account and see what happens!” October 25, 2020, was the day I went for it! It was right at the start of holiday season, and with the support of my friends and family, my name got out quick and I was busier than I could’ve ever dreamed of. I can truly say it was meant to be. At 23 years old, still trying to figure out what I want to do with my life, feeling conflicted, I felt like I finally found my passion, and I did. From starting out with only 3 charcuterie board options, I now have over 30 to choose from! I love getting creative with the holidays! We have so many options for each holiday throughout the year to fit everyone’s needs. And there is no order too big or too small! I cater to fit peoples needs all across the board! Anywhere from grazing tables at weddings, corporate events, birthday parties, house parties, to individual orders for gifting to a friend or love one, a date night for two, a small happy hour, one small box for a treat yourself night, the list goes on!

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

I had my own personal website made for my business. A lot of small Charcuterie business owners do not have a website. They take orders by order forms through their social media platforms or simply use messenger to receive orders. Personally, I have found it is a lot more convenient having a website. A lot less headache! But that is as long as my website is working correctly, which it does most of the time, but there is always room for error. What is most convenient for me is I select which dates I am available to make boards, and customers can choose from those dates/times to have a charcuterie board delivered or picked up. Having a website also allows customers to pay online which is very helpful!

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

At first, my charcuterie, business was a side hustle! The goal has always been to go full-time with it, which I can happily say, I am now! It was, and still is challenging to build up clientele, and make people believe in your product, the way you do!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://theloucharcuterie.com/
• Instagram: @theloucharcuterie
• Facebook: The Lou Charcuterie