We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Lindsey Aston a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Lindsey, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear how you think where to draw the line in terms of asking friends and family to support your business – what’s okay and what’s over the line?
Friends & family have played a key role in helping launch my business. My oldest brother & sister-in-law are business owners, they showed me how to create a website, how to make business cards and a ton of other things that were super foreign to me. Whenever I had the vision for my business, I remember I had spent hours trying to write a business plan. I watched multiple YouTube videos on how to write one and after a few rough drafts, I finally had it complete. I took it to my brother’s house and sat nervously as he read it over. After talking for awhile, they filled me up with confidence & encouragement, and I went to create my first box. It was around Valentines Day and it was called the Secret Admirer Box. My friends & family helped spread the word through social media, people were putting in orders and seemed pleased with the product. About one month later I got an email to be interviewed for my first online magazine. Without the help from friends & family, I am not sure I would have had the confidence to put myself out there. It is important that they help support my business because they give honest feedback and I am able to consistently make changes to make my services better.
Lindsey, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am currently 21 years old, I am in college, running a cheer program at a private school here in San Antonio, and constantly trying to grow my business, Little Picnic Company. I am in love with my high school sweetheart, Anjel & our sweet pup, Nova. I love to cook, dance, coffee & all things autumn. I am a little sister to 7 and an aunt to 4. As you can imagine, all of the things I am involved in require great time & attention, and while it can get overwhelming sometimes, I truly would not have it any other way. As I have said before, I have many siblings and that means a ton of celebrations and get togethers throughout the year. Whenever I moved out after graduation, I found myself creating little charcuterie boards for sibling dinners, Super Bowl parties, baby showers, etc! Whenever I would show up with a board in hand, people would have a big smile on their faces. They would say “you know people would pay for this!” and I would just sort of laugh and say thank you. This went on for months and after a while, I found myself drained working jobs that did not fulfill me, I woke up early one day when Anjel was at work, and something in me just clicked. I went out and bought a ton of materials, thought of a business name, and reserved my Instagram handle. That is the day Little Picnic Company was born.
Little Picnic Company specializes in all things charcuterie. We have charcuterie boards, boxes, cups, grazing tables & more. At Little Picnic, I strive for luxurious products that don’t break the bank, I offer fair prices & honest work. While I have boxes that are already curated, in case you need to order something in a pinch, I also do custom boxes as well. We have mini boxes that are the perfect serving for one person, all the way up to boxes that feed 15. Our grazing tables can feed 25 to 100+ people and are major head turners at events. We have charcuterie cups that come individually packaged, they have all of the goodness of a grazing table condensed into a cup for convenient snacking!
When it comes to themes or a festive box, I do my best to keep it looking elegant and sophisticated with sprinkles of festive inside. For example, there was a client throwing a Barbie themed birthday so I made her a box and added pink macaroons and other “barbie pink” touches. For St Patrick’s day, I created a board with a gorgeous sage green cheese & golden berries to act as the pot of gold.
Something that people always ask me before I make boxes or grazing tables, is if I have a plan or “mapped it out” before I start. The answer to that is, no! While I may have an idea of what type of cheese I want to use or what color palette I am going for, no table or box is the same. I think that is what makes Little Picnic Company so special, you know that your box is one of a kind for you and your event.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Social media has been a major key in growing my clientele. Before I started my business, I was on social media as much as any other person. Being in such a media heavy generation, I have seen how people’s businesses can catapult just because of an Instagram post. When I created the name for my business, one of the first things I did was go and see if the username was available. To get my very first Instagram pictures, I created two boxes during Valentines Day and took a ton of photos of them. I was posting the same box in a bunch of different backgrounds just to get the pictures out there. Content is everything. Because of the industry I am in, it is expensive to get those content photos in the beginning. I would buy a bunch of products and try to make three different boards out of them just to have pictures to post. Even now, when I do events I take as many pictures and videos as I can. When you lack posting, people will notice and they will unfollow. You have to keep their attention and post as much as you can. Hashtags are a huge thing even in 2022, and I truly do see a difference when I use them. I have to get creative sometimes and I notice when I switch them up, I reach different audiences. Another thing I have learned is that people feel more comfortable with me and my business when I post something personal every once in awhile, I have learned people like to see the face behind the business. I really do think of my followers like friends, so I like to put out polls asking their opinions and what they would like to see, or a quiz to get them excited about a new product I am launching. Interacting with them on a personal level like that has built more of a community on my page. The biggest advice I could give, is to find influencers in your area! Of course, not just any influencers, but ones that line up with your interests and fit your vibes. Many influencers I have worked with, have really helped get my name out there! Not only is it a smart move business wise, but it genuinely creates sweet friendships along the way.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
Funding my business has been its own journey. People see a charcuterie board, and they see the fine cheeses, the fresh fruits and the sweet jams. What they do not see, is the special knives that had to be used to cut that cheese, the endless rolls of parchment paper, the tons of tupperware, the special ice packs that had to be used during transporting, etc. I mean, it’s a lot! If I am being honest, there was not much of a strategy to put together the initial capital, besides just having to go and do it. In the beginning, that meant some weekends on the couch or saying no to go out for drinks, but I knew it was for a greater purpose. I went through tons of material to find out what was right for my business. I had boxes that had to be taped because they were flimsy, other boxes that could not handle slight moisture, the whole 9 yards. Even now, I am constantly trying to upgrade and find the best materials to create good products.
The truth about starting a business, at least in this industry, is you are gonna have to do a lot of stuff for free in the beginning. You do what you can to get your work out there & get noticed! But at the end of the day, it is totally worth it if it is something you are truly passionate about.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.littlepicnicsatx.com
- Instagram: @littlepicnicsatx
- Facebook: Little Picnic Co.