We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jeff Hardwick. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jeff below.

Jeff, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I’ve been cooking for many years and have always played around with spices and seasonings trying to create exactly what I was looking for. All of the brisket rubs were too salty for my taste so I created my own. Once friends tried it they really liked it, so I started selling it. It has become so popular in the last seven years, I’m having to get it blended by a large company under a NDA to keep up with the demand. I started creating other special blends and they took off as well. We private label to several small businesses across the State. Our business plan is to sell to only one location for private labeling in each town. Our business partners like that approach and it seems to be working well.
Many spice companies these days are simply repackaging bulk spices and slapping dirty names on the products and selling them. Each product we distribute is a special blend that was created for a specific outcome. We’re small, but we’re continuing to grow each month with new distributors.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started cooking at an early age, continued through the college days and kept on as a young parent. I take pride in what I serve and really go into a zone when catering or cooking for a special event. Being from the country, we always cooked outside whenever possible, utilizing the campfire, the Dutch ovens and cooking with coals. I bought a chuckwagon in 2015, spent eight months getting back to its original condition so it was historically accurate and started using it for events and special occasions. Using the wagon honestly refocused my efforts on the simplicity of cooking with basic ingredients like in the old days. We don’t do any chuckwagon cook offs, but I can certainly exceed your expectations by blending my love for cooking with my special spice blends. The chuckwagon also gives me the opportunity to teach others, especially children, about the old ways of cowboy cooking back in the 1880’s.
My clients understand my passion for creating spice blends and dishes they don’t normally get to eat. I’m very proud of our spice blends as they sell themselves once someone tries them.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Our business plan was to start slow with achievable goals that we could measure. We grew as the popularity of our spices spread across the state and now, the entire nation. It’s not unusual to get orders from Germany, Switzerland and Alaska on any given week.

Our business was internally funded which forced a slow growth. As we grew, we learned more about packaging and even purchased labeling equipment so we can create our own labels as well as the private label needs of our clients. The more we sell and grow, the more we’re able to put back into the business.

This business started out as a hobby and has grown into what it is today with our strong private labeling business.

Conversations about M&A are often focused on multibillion dollar transactions – but M&A can be an important part of a small or medium business owner’s journey. We’d love to hear about your experience with selling businesses.

I personally have never sold a business but if ours continues to grow at the current rate, I’m gonna need some help in the form of a business partner with access to capital.

I believe the success of transitioning the business to a larger operation depends on the selection of a partner with common goals and vision. They would also need to have the virtue, honesty and dedication to making my vision into a reality.

When making a big business move, make sure you protect yourself and your product, select good legal representation and know where you want to end up before you start.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.purgatoryprovisions.com
• Facebook: Purgatory Provisions
• Yelp: Purgatory Provisions