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

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

I have created, grown, and manage my own social media. I actually was going to go into the line of business of managing other companies social media accounts before I decided to create my charcuterie business. I find social media very interesting and I have a lot of fun thinking of new ideas, post, and videos to make promoting my products.

I don’t think I would ever hire somebody to run my social media but I know that I am 28 and although I feel young, I know I am slowly slipping away from what teenagers and young adults think is cool so I know I will continue to have to outsource from my younger sister, Valerie, or other family members to get fresh ideas on what is “trendy”, and to stay away from “becoming cringey”.

I continue to grow every day and get new followers, likes and shares by staying consistent and posting often. Great quality photos with great lighting are a huge factor in having great results on social media. Some tips that I can share with other business owners who are thinking about what to do is to start by taking product photos outside with natural light are truly the most beautiful photos that I take. A great background with natural plants or greenery. Really make your product stand out. I use a ring light on the cool setting if I must take photos indoors.

The fact that advertising on social media is essentially FREE. You could create a business like me and gain follows and make posts and stories about your products and people will reach out and buy your product without ever having to pay for traditional advertising which can often be very expensive. Just to think, about 20 years ago when MySpace came out (the first popular social media platform) if you wanted to sell a product before then you would have to pay for an ad in a newspaper, magazine, billboard or commercial. It was not as easy and quick as it is now, which I am extremely grateful for. We have to take advantage of it and keep striving to be the best in the field of business you are in.

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

My name is Kat Guerrero, I was born and raised in El Paso, Texas I have a beautiful 9 year old daughter and two supportive sisters who are my best friends. My husband was in the Coast Guard so we were stationed in California for about four years. which is where I really got introduced to charcuterie making with my friends that lived there. We would make charcuterie boards and take them to the local wineries or have friends over and we would enjoy some cocktails and charcuterie.

What inspired me to start this business was when my aunt Rachel asked me to help with a grazing table for my uncle Ben, who is a priest and was celebrating his 30th anniversary. So, after helping her, put it together, shortly after the guests were enjoying the charcuterie table, a couple people came up to me and asked to hire me to create a grazing table for their events. I hadn’t even thought of creating a business before this, but after having so much fun, creating that table and seeing that there was interest, I decided to go home that night and create an Instagram with the name Charcuterie Kat.

We offer a wide range of sizes of charcuterie boards to serve any need. The circle platter sizes start at a 7 inch, 10 inch, 12 inch and a 15 inch. Then we offer a half sheet cake box which we call the XL box which is perfect for small to medium parties. Then the largest, the Mega box, which is a full size cake box (double the size of the XL box) this will serve your medium to large parties. Then, we offer the beloved grazing tables that can serve 20 people – 200 people. Everything can be customized to your liking even the meats & cheeses. Although, there is a standard list of over 40 items that will automatically come with your grazing table no matter what size it is!

We also offer delicious chocolate covered strawberries that could be custom ordered. They standard come with just milk chocolate and white chocolate but we can color the chocolate to go with any theme or write your loved ones name on them or any other requests.

My favorite item we offer is the amazing “Katchuterie” which is 1/2 chocolate covered strawberries (dozen) and 1/2 charcuterie. It is the most popular and highly ordered. People love to give it as a gift as it looks so unique and delicious. It’s truly the best of both worlds!

I am so proud of how amazing my family has helped me make my business such a success. I truly wouldn’t be where I am without them!

My mom is such a strong, helpful, thoughtful and caring woman that initially stepped up from the beginning and was always willing to help day and night. I know we have had many LATE nights working on orders or prepping tables for the next day. She goes above and beyond, always.

My husband always supports emotionally and financially everything I do without question. He is my biggest cheerleader and when he has time off from work he is always willing to help and goes with me to set up the grazing tables. He also is a quick learner which is great because I know a lot of men that wouldn’t catch on to the specific placement that is needed to make the grazing table or charcuterie board aesthetically pleasing. I am very thankful for him.

I am so proud to be a Hispanic businesswoman and to have found my passion and to be able to do what I love every single day with the absolute best customers that I could ask for.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

My side hustle definitely became my Business. I used to work for TikTok where I would review videos for children to see if they were appropriate or not. When business started booming. myself extremely stressed out, trying to make time to review TikTok content and make sure I had enough time to go to the store and buy products for Charcuterie Kat, prep, slice and arrange the food the day before, and the put it all together the next day and deliver around El Paso. It was a lot to juggle because I am also a mom, so I had mom duties and wifely duties that would also take time out of my day. So about five months in I decided to make Charcuterie Kat my main source of income which lifted a huge load off my back and it is the best decision I have ever made.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

What I think, helped build my reputation within my market was having real life people reviewing my products and telling their friends or post it on social media for others to see. Reviews go a long way, and I am very thankful that I have such supportive, friends and family that always share my content and tell everyone they know about my company and products.

I also work with a lot of doctors offices, lawyers, and realtors that have access to a lot of people, and when they recommend me to their clients, friends and family it gives me a lot of business.

I think that over the top customer service is also really really important. If you think about the last time that you encountered really great service where they went above and beyond for you and were very kind and friendly it makes a lasting impression on you. That is what I strive to do with every single customer and I would hope that it’s what sets me apart from the rest.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Www.instagram.com/charcuteriekat
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=100092695166718&name=xhp_nt__fb__action__open_user
• Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/charcuterie-kat-el-paso-4

Image Credits
Kat Guerrero – Self taken photos