For small businesses hard work can get you everywhere

March 24, 2014

When running a small business, many entrepreneurs have the goal of eventually selling their product to a big company. But how do they reach this goal?

The Associated Press recently reported that many small business owners accomplish their goal of being picked up by larger companies by doing things the old-fashioned way. This means lots of traveling and face-to-face meetings with companies to pitch your product. The article highlights the case of ice-cream maker Arctic Zero. It started out by selling its product to independent grocers and natural food stores in Southern California before getting picked up by Whole Foods and Wal-Mart.

So what did Arctic Zero do right? To succeed, the company had to be persistent about getting the ice cream onto the shelves of national chains. This included going from store to store to pitch the product. It took about a year to be picked up by Whole Foods. After that, the company had the momentum it needed to be picked up by many more stores.

The key takeaways from Arctic Zero’s success story are that small businesses looking to get their product picked up by bigger businesses must have a product that is in line with what a bigger company is looking for.  They must develop a great pitch and be willing to put in a lot of effort before succeeding. And if at first you don’t succeed, keep on trying until you do. It may take years to finally reach your goal. But, if you’re willing to put in the time and effort, your hard work could have a huge payoff.

If you’re a small business owner looking to make big waves with your product, one great way to start on the path to success is by incorporating your business. And as Arctic Zero shows us, hard work can get you everywhere.