Organize your food business

Welcome and a pep talk

As a maker, you have a lot of information and a lot of data to organize.  You will have documents and spreadsheets.  So many documents. So many spreadsheets. And lists, checklists, company wiki, logos, pictures, recipes, schedules, email templates, employee manuals, safety documents, etc.

It’s a lot to keep organized.

I am a huge fan of coda and used it for years to organize my granola company.  I created this template to work with a friend to help her organize and grow her company.  Since then, I have used it with coaching clients.  I hope it helps you as well.  

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Please note that this is a relatively blank template with section headings for you to think about your business and get it organized.

Important note:  This document is TOO LARGE for the free coda plan.  You will have about two weeks to work with it before you are asked to upgrade your account to a paid account.  You can also decrease the size of the document by removing pages.  You could then keep it on the free account.

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How this document is organized

Plan. Organize. Grow.

First, you are going to write down your Goals.  Don’t have a goal for this year?  No worries.  You are going to create one (or three) now.  You need to have a plan for what you want to do and where you want to go.

Then, you will work to Get organized. You don’t have to (and probably can’t) complete everything at once.  Just keep using this section to get and keep your business organized. Why?  You want to lower your stress and decrease the chaos in your business.  

On a day-to-day basis, head into Work. Grow. to do the work and grow your business.  These sections start with verbs as a prompt for you to DO something.  Remember, execution is what matters.

You can jot down new ideas in the New ideas section.  You’ll find that in the Dashboard, along with your to-do list, weekly list, and your goals.  There is also a spot to keep your favorite analytics.  What gets measured gets done.

And finally, no one can do this alone.  Under Resources, you can keep track of your crew and find experts to help you in your business.  

Your business might include the following:

• You create and sell one or more products.
• You produce your own products or use a copacker.
• You make products out of ingredients.
• You buy from suppliers.
• You sell on your own website (or you want to one day)
• You sell wholesale to stores (or you want to one day)

• You sell to distributors.
• You sell at markets.
• You sell on other platforms, such as Faire and Mable.
• You sell on Amazon.
• You grow your business through social media and email marketing.
• You have employees.
• And so on...