Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to William & La’Richer Parks . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

William & La’Richer, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Getting that first client is always an exciting milestone. Can you talk to us about how you got your first customer who wasn’t a friend, family, or acquaintance?

Wow…it was after years of my husband, William, showing up empty handed to his office potlucks. that I, La’Rcher, insisted on him taking a couple of containers of my homemade salsa to a work potluck. I told him to take the salsa and stop by the convenience store and grab some chips to go along with the salsa.

That evening when William returned home from work he was hyped about all of the positive feedback he received on the salsa. He told me several of his co-workers were interested in purchasing a jar of my salsa. He asked if I would be willing to make more salsa to sell to his co-workers. I didn’t think much of it as I’d been making it for years for family and friends. I just never thought about trying to sell it as I had a full-time job and really wasn’t looking to start a side gig. So I made a batch of salsa sent it with William to work. That evening he came home with the cash from his co-workers and additional orders for more salsa! We were ecstatic and couldn’t believe people wanted to pay us for our salsa. It was just so surreal.

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

We’re a family owned minority small business located in Elgin, TX. We pride ourselves in making the best homemade salsa around. We let our salsa and customers speak for us. Word of mouth is priceless. Of course we think our salsa is the best, but when you hear it from a complete stranger or friend that speaks in volume.

We’re not aiming to be the hottest salsa on the market as anyone can toss a bunch of spices and peppers together. Our goal is to offer our customers the best salsa which consistent of the perfect balance of flavor and spice. We want to be your go to salsa for every occassion. Our small batch salsas are made from scratch with fresh local ingredients. They’re perfect for all occasion. Whether you’re looking for a quick healthy snack or looking to add some intense flavor to your favorite recipe or the perfect unique gift for your family and friends. Our salsa is available in a four flavors: Original, Cilantro Lime, Chunky & Verde and 3 levels of spice: Mild- jalapeño based, Hot is serrano based & XXHot is habanero based guaranteed to please every salsa lover.

Our Story:
After a sudden lay-off from my (La’Richer) job of 8 years; I had a lot of time on my hands, so I started baking. I baked cakes, pies, friendship bread, casseroles etc. I soon grew tired of baking and decided to try my hand at making salsa. After several batches, I felt that I finally had something worth sharing with her family and friends.

Fast forward 10 years- One day I convinced William (who never took anything to the company potlucks) to take a couple of jars of salsa with him to work. After the potluck he called to let her know everyone LOVED the salsa and several folks had offered to pay for a jar. That evening he came home with a few orders from his co-workers. Soon after, I had a chance to serve my homemade salsa at a local ribbon cutting. I received lots of positive feedback from the community and decided I would give this salsa gig a shot. This was the beginning of something amazing! We began to sell our salsa at local community events, but still needed a name for the salsa. We polled a few names with our family. Then one of my sisters, Stephanay, unexpectantly passed away, so we decided to honor her memory by naming our salsa after her childhood nickname “Nanny Goat.” It’s a fun, catchy name that pairs up well with our delicious almost famous salsa.

Here we are a few years later and we’ve retired from our fulltime jobs. We’re officially fulltime salsa makers. Like any business we’ve had some curve balls thrown our way , but we just take a step back and reevaluate the situation and get back to it.
We ‘re enjoying the salsa life and not having a traditional 9-5 job and working for ourselves. It’s a different type of freedom.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

The foundation of our social media presence is word of mouth. I’ll say it over and over again and again…what I say about our salsa means nothing, but for a stranger, neighbor, co-worker, or friend to praise us and recommend us to their family and friends is priceless!

The key to being successful on social media:

1- Educate yourself on the latest social media platforms

2- Create a business page for your business and keep it professional and separate from your personal page

3- Consistence- post on a regular basis even if it’s just once a week

4- Use pictures in your post

5- Sign up for Canva- there’s a free version you can use to help you create quality content

6- Ask your customers to like & follow you

7- Respond to customers questions & comments on social media in a timely manner

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Having the best homemade salsa around and providing great customer service.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @NannyGoatSalsa
• Facebook: @NannyGoatSalsa
• Yelp: Nanny Goat Salsa