How to Build a Charcuterie Board Business

Therese Merkel - Tricky Foods On the the Goal of Being a Business OWNER and not a Business OPERATOR: "How do I build a machine that works without me so that I can still be involved in this business, but I'm not the one working Friday, Saturdays and weekends?" The food business can be tricky.  You've got health codes to deal with, so people don't get sick.  You've got the whole issue of spoilage, so you need to keep product moving.  Then you've got the fluctuating prices of your ingredients.  Add in the challenges of employees, and property and customers and different tastes and you have a very challenging business. That is why it is so incredible to chat with people like Therese Merkel, of Tricky Foods. Therese Merkel always loved cooking and has brought that passion to her charcuterie board business for Madison, Wisconsin (soon the world) visitors to love. Therese’s journey from a traditional tech career at Epic to building a thriving cheese and charcuterie business is filled with twists, hustle, and a whole lot of Wisconsin pride. She shares how she turned her culinary passion, and a timely Instagram trend, into a storefront that’s more than just a stop for cheese boards.  She added a wine and beer bar, event space, and catering hub that celebrates all things local. In this candid conversation, Therese opens up about the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, from bootstrapping her business with just $10,000, to navigating Madison’s real estate market, negotiating everything from kitchen rent to employee wages, and learning how to build systems that let her step back from day-to-day service and focus on expansion. She discusses the inspiration behind launching shippable charcuterie boards using Wisconsin cheeses, the powerful impact of authentic social media marketing, and the ongoing challenge of scaling up while keeping her signature brand of creativity and local spirit. Listen as Therese explains how she used her persistence, skills, and a bit of luck along with her incredible wit and charm to get things done in such a blisteringly fast way it must be heard from her to be believed.  Therese is nothing less than amazing and you will be inspired after just listening to her tell the tales. Enjoy! Visit Therese at: https://www.notsotrickyfoods.com/   Podcast Overview: 00:00 Driven by Money, Not Passion 08:51 Considering Investing in a Storefront 13:36 Unexpected Offer for Dream Space 19:30 Adjusting Business Hours 24:38 Indifferent Sports Parent 28:28 Madison's New Entrepreneurship Hub 34:05 First Experience with Delegation 41:51 Creative Holiday Charcuterie Artists 43:32 Navigating Bureaucracy for Permits 49:29 Prioritize Engagement Over Acquisition 55:55 "Profitable Meat Shipping Realization" Podcast Transcription: Therese Merkel [00:00:00]: Opposed to using. As opposed to using like Harry and David or like 1-800-FLOWERS. They can support a local company and shippable boards that only uses Wisconsin cheeses. And we're from Wisconsin. It just feels like a good way. It. It's serendipitous with like, my feel on community and supporting local and like the. The local economy. Therese Merkel [00:00:19]: Here. James Kademan [00:00:28]: You have found Authentic Business Adventures, the business program that brings you the struggle stories and triumphant successes of business owners across the land. Downloadable audio episodes can be found in the podcast link [e-mail] we are locally underwritten by the bank of Sun Prairie, and today we're welcoming, preparing to learn from Therese Merkel of Tricky Foods. We're talking foods today, so that's always a good thing. How's it going today? Therese Merkel [00:00:54]: It's going good. Yeah. Nothing really crazy going on such a sweet podcast. James Kademan [00:01:00]: I know, right? Therese Merkel [00:01:01]: You're right. This is probably the most exciting thing I've done today.