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

Alright, Pat thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you tell us a bit about who your hero is and the influence they’ve had on you?

My heroes are my late mother and father, a New York City elementary school teacher and a dentist, respectively. They instilled in me an undefeated ethic for life. I watched them raise a family while working and helping those in our community. Our house was always a welcoming place for those who needed conversation, a meal or a safe space. They worked tirelessly to provide for our family and to set positive examples for others in need.

Whether it was my school days, where I struggled but worked hard, my decades long career where I continued to persevere no matter what, and as an entrepreneur who drew from life experience to start and grow a business that I’d be proud of. I’ve always reflected on what my parents did and how they led noble lives.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I incubated my idea for a business for over 25 years, while working full-time and raising a family. I first tasted granola on a high school ski trip to Vermont and thought “I can make this.” Easier said than done. Pat’s Granola started as a food I created to feed my family which included my school age children who played sports. Always hungry, especially after sports practices, meets or games, I made a trail mix which included nutrient dense, tasty ingredients that would fuel them throughout their busy days. The first mix I made took one year to perfect and then made hundreds of batches over the years which traveled everywhere my family went–to school, work, to family and friends, and perfect strangers. At that time it was truly a labor of love. Food love. It’s what my family craved and needed, as did other families. The product HAD to fulfill a dietary need, yet look and taste good. This was essential.

Fast forward as I learned more about the process of creating food safely in large quantities with the assistance of the Women’s Business Center of Ohio, the Small Business Development Center at Lorain County Community College, and JumpStart, I turned my hobby into a business at age 61. It was now or never. The whole experience is akin to flying a plane while building it on the way up. Lots of ups and downs, yet, I remained optimistic that my business would thrive. It was learning as I go and the ramp was steep. The food industry is highly nuanced with so many moving parts and I didn’t want to put product out in the marketplace that didn’t meet all the regulations.

I learned over time that people became familiar with my brand because they got to know me, as a real person. I started blogging about food, family and life experiences. It helped to get excellent local media coverage, being a guest on podcasts which aired across a national audience, and securing retail placements in local northeast Ohio small businesses. Many of these businesses I was already their customer and these relationships were at the core of creating good business. The village of local artisans also embraced me as I collaborated to create partnerships with local food makers. Supporting and advocating for other local brands emerged naturally as my popularity grew. Shining a light on others in my community became a hallmark of my business…it wasn’t just about me and Pat’s Granola. Watching others get press coverage, or placements in businesses have been some of my proudest moments.

I have evolved in 2023 to consulting and writing about food and personal growth. Through this work, I will continue to offer my expertise to other small businesses. The five years I spent running Pat’s Granola were some of the best years of my life. Never would I have met so many extraordinary people who would support, mentor and become friends for life.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

Just about six months after starting Pat’s Granola, I had the opportunity to pitch Hudson Group which manages Hudson News stores in over 1,000 locations in North America, including the store at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The company was looking to expand its offering of locally made products. Through friends of friends, I was able to pitch the local manager and gain placement at the airport, including the airport cafe. It was risky as prime space was at a premium and getting an order there would hopefully drive other airport locations to stock the product. Hudson placed an order and I held my breath.

I was traveling in Virginia with my family for Thanksgiving and got news that the product had sold out and they’d be reordering. Thought my ticket was now punched in establishing Pat’s as a solid retail brand in the local marketplace. Hudson did reorder and then Covid hit shutting down the airport. I struggled to get paid for that second order, as Covid affected airport and Hudson personnel. The retail locations at Hopkins weren’t going to reopen fully any time soon. Attempts to restock the product were futile and I moved on.

What this experience did, however, was give me the ability to share with other retailers that Hudson stocked my product. It was advertising I couldn’t have paid for. Turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media is a tricky animal. It’s frustrating to compare yourself to the folks who claim large numbers of followers. I learned by doing what was most authentic to me, using the right hashtags, commenting on other peoples posts and making sure people could ultimately buy my products. I studied the social sites and decided NOT to post on all of them. I was a one woman solo entrepreneur and wanted to use my time expeditiously, and not just posting on these sites all day. Chose not to do the hard sell which was the right call.

The best method for gaining followers was to share stories, photos and videos of my product being made, how to include in meals and suggestions on how people could enjoy it. Linked the social to my blog and kept high engagement with my audience. Utilized tools I learned on training/webinars from the Google Digital Coaching team to make my social work for me.

Best advice I can offer: know your audience, create content that they’ll want to read and share with their networks, be consistent with posting and engage, engage, engage with your followers.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @patskitchentable
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/patabennett
• Linkedin: www.linked.com/lifepath2wellness

Image Credits
McKinley Wiley