Betsy Grinder joins the podcast to discuss her meal-prep/catering/personal chef enterprise: Your Daily Serving. Throughout our conversation, Betsy first talks about the environmental aspects of her business (food waste, canning, composting). Then, we discuss her growing customer base in Erie County and how social media has helped in this quest. And finally, she highlights some of her favorite restaurants in the Corry area and beyond.
Sponsored by: Erie Regional Chamber & Growth Partnership
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Music: Kevin Macleod’s "pamgaea" available via Creative Commons Attribution-International 4.0. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, No changes were made.
Music by audionautix.com. Audionautix's "Roboskater" by Jason Shaw available via Creative Commons Attribution-International 4.0. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, No changes were made.
Transcript
Betsy Grinder: I didn’t look at myself as just offering meals anymore. I’m like “I’m changing peoples’ lives and how they think about food, how they think about what’s going into their body.” I really focus on nutrient-dense meals, and maybe they have allergies and they’ve never been to a place where they’ve taken their allergies seriously.
Narrator: That’s Betsy Grinder, the owner and operator of Your Daily Serving, a meal prep service, caterer, and personal chef, based in Corry, Pennsylvania. She’s the latest guest on Buzz, Generated, a show that introduces listeners to businesses and community leaders in Northwest Pennsylvania. In our conversation, Betsy first talks about the environmentally friendly aspects of her operation, which includes minimizing food waste, canning, and composting. Then, we discuss her growing customer base, along with how she manages her impressive social media platforms. And finally, we ask her to pick some favorite food spots in Corry and Erie. Join host, Chris Lantinen, director of the PennWest Edinboro Beehive, as he sits down with our guest. Together, let’s discover what the buzz is all about.
Chris Lantinen: Why don’t we start with a really simple introduction to your company, which is Your Daily Serving.
Betsy Grinder: Yes, so I am based in Corry. I deliver to the surrounding areas; Union City, Spartansburg, and West Spring Creek. I have really expanded the last couple of years into charcuterie, private chef-ing, and I lease a quarter acre of land and I grow all of my own vegetables in the summer.
Chris Lantinen: Which I want to get to for sure.
Betsy Grinder: Oh my gosh, it’s so much fun. It’s such a great learning curve, just to kind of learn what’s in season, what is good, and then it really gives me a chance to play with flavors as well.
Chris Lantinen: Awesome. There seems to be a big focus on things like food waste, mindful sourcing, composting, canning, all the extra food that you make. All these environmentally focused concepts. So, my question is, was there any sort of flashpoint for you when you realized that those ideas had to be part of what you were doing with your company?
Betsy Grinder: Yes, definitely. I worked in the service industry in restaurants my whole little life. It’s actually been really fun, and I think that’s where the backbone in my passion comes from; just serving others and finding out what works for them. But I also saw, like, what came back on everyone’s plate, and I was like, “Oh my gosh, we’re wasting so much food,” and I know the effort now that goes into making those meals and putting what’s on the plate. You know it’s one thing to forget something or have a mistake, but to see the amount of food that came back on plates that we were just putting away.
Chris Lantinen: Right, right.
Betsy Grinder: You know and I’m like “Oh my gosh, what is all this?”
Chris Lantinen: I guess that goes right into my next question, which is just “what do you think people don’t understand about food waste?” Because I think as a general idea and I think even on college campuses now there is like literature in the dining hall about food waste, and it’s become I guess a more prevalent topic, discussion point. So, what do you think people still maybe don’t understand about the topic?
Betsy Grinder: Maybe the amount of money that it takes to even put that food on the plate in the first place and the efforts and where that food came from. You know, it’s one thing to like, go to Walmart real quick and pick out a couple tomatoes, but in a lot of businesses it’s more than just a couple tomatoes, you know? I try to source locally as much as I can and obviously tomato season is right around the corner, so I’m really excited about that, but seeing the end game of it all and seeing like, from where we started to where we’re ending, whether that be on a plate or canning or drying, I think that that process really needs to be shown more.
Chris Lantinen: Yeah, I guess whenever I throw out, say I throw out some mushrooms, I feel bad about it. I guess magnify that by 100 when you’re doing it to plates.
Betsy Grinder: Right? Yeah, definitely. Definitely, restaurant-style. Or even like, people RSVP-ing to things is so important. I get to do charcuterie for a lot of events now and it’s just a big guess, you know? Even for me prepping from 75 people to 100 people, that’s a 15 person difference. That’s a lot of food to kind of guess in between of how many you’re going to serve, but numbers definitely matter and anyone who doesn’t RSVP to events definitely should now.
Chris Lantinen: So, at a wedding, your big success is a big empty platter at the end of the night; no waste whatsoever. That’s what a win looks like to you.
Betsy Grinder: Right. Yep, there is obviously… if anybody has ever been to my events, I feed you. You’re definitely not going to walk around hungry after I leave. But we do encourage people to bring their own to-go boxes, or I always have some and then we have a plan of action. I always talk to anyone I’m hosting the event with, like, “alright, if we have this much left over would you like me to box it up for you? Would you like me to take it?”
Chris Lantinen: Oh, that’s interesting.
Betsy Grinder: The kitchen that I rent from is our Corry Salvation Army, so not saying that we get a ton of leftovers, but there are mouths to feed. There’s always a backup plan for me. And if you know me personally, you know I have a pet pig. So, when I am prepping all of these awesome charcuterie things or any of my stuff, everyone who has worked with me or, I have one employee other than my parents who volunteer their time, we always have a pig box, so it definitely goes places.
Chris Lantinen: So, the pig eats good?
Betsy Grinder: Yeah. Wedding season is his favorite season.
Chris Lantinen: Talk to us about talk about composting and being environmentally friendly in that sense. You know, again, it’s probably a term a lot of people have heard, but maybe they don’t know the intricate details of how that goes down.
Betsy Grinder: There are a lot of different ways to compost and that’s what I am really learning. I work with a handful of local places, one of them being a coffee shop, and I take their grounds and I just layer it in with some pretty good dirt I’ve worked with and same with some scraps and stuff. Obviously, there are things that cannot go into your compost pile so that’s where we struggle with working with different restaurants because there’s only so much, you know?
Chris Lantinen: Well, what’s an example of something that couldn’t go into a compost pile versus coffee grounds or something like that?
Betsy Grinder: Right. Chicken wing bones cannot—
Chris Lantinen: Okay. Gotcha. Gotcha.
Betsy Grinder: In our area, chicken wings are huge, so like you think, “Oh yeah we had such a busy night, I’m gonna go there,” and it’s like, “Actually I can’t take those chicken wing bones.” So, you know you really got to communicate that with people that you’re working with. But there is like a mathematical layer, you know your brown, your green. You want to make sure your compost is always wet. We have not had all the rain that we need, so there are things that really need attention when it comes to that and then just layering and protecting what you put into that dirt and anything else that you have there.
Chris Lantinen: Have you found, because again you’re talking about, you know, doing a wedding and telling them about the plan so that you don’t have food waste, right? And actually layering that into your preparation and your conversations with them. Are you finding that maybe the younger generations care more deeply about that topic? I guess that’s what I found personally, the upcoming generations really do care about the planet. Or I guess, what sort of reaction you get to these conversations about environmentally friendly practices? Do some people not care, and some people are like really happy about it, or what’s sort of the balance?
Betsy Grinder: I try and communicate with them that it’s important to me, personally, and that’s one of the reasons they chose me to be at their event, hopefully. Other than I make it look really pretty. But you know, we share the same passion that what I’m doing matters in the long run, you know, and we both care about those same things. But also I don’t want to add to their plate, so I kind of have to, you kind of have to skate that line, especially with weddings because you’re just one little part of their day and I’m just making sure I feed you and you’re happy. But maybe it’s something that they haven’t thought of and I now introduced that to them, especially because I deal a lot with people’s parents or maybe this is a gift that their grandmother is doing for them for their wedding.
So, it’s really great to have those conversations and open that door with them. “This is part of my passion,” and they’re like “Oh I didn’t think about that.” So, make sure you bring your to-go boxes or if you know of families that are in need, I can definitely box that up and you can take it for them or that kind of deal. So, it’s really great to have those conversations with younger people. I think especially as we’re getting into the summer and getting those kinds of things more out there, it’s just a part of their daily life, you know? It also depends on where we’re at. I travel very far right now for a lot of things, so in our little hometown people are like, “I’m just gonna throw it out back to my dog and it’ll be fine.” And I’m like, “No, your dog can’t have chicken bones or this and this,” you know. So, it’s just all in who you talk to.
Chris Lantinen: Gotcha. A couple days ago you were writing about — to sort of switch gears here — a couple days ago you were writing about your business growth on social media, and you were saying that when you first started it was six people and they would pick up their meals from a fridge on your front porch.
Betsy Grinder: Yes, yes.
Chris Lantinen: And now it is transformed into delivery of 38 meals on that specific day.
Betsy Grinder: Right.
Chris Lantinen: If you could identify them, what would you label as some of the milestones in between six and 38 as like big points?
Betsy Grinder: So I rented a kitchen. I started this right before COVID, so the kitchen that I rented was empty at the time, so I was one of the only people in there and then I would just either drop off, which was only like two people, and then for the other people I had a mini fridge on my front porch and they would just pick up on their way home from work and then they’d just leave cash in it and the next day go on. Social media has been huge for me helping people understand the concept, because when I started this in Corry, I don’t think people were thinking of healthy to-go meals. They were thinking, “alright we only have a couple places that will deliver,” or a couple places that are open right now, because it was the height of COVID. A lot of people were homebound, and not just that, that wasn’t in their realm, you know? But then it got wind and I posted all my pictures that I take; my camera roll is pretty much my farm, my food, and my pig. That’s all I got.
Chris Lantinen: Yeah, yeah.
Betsy Grinder: But pictures really help, you know? So, I think that really helped steamboat this, you know? But my kitchen location was huge.
Chris Lantinen: This was the Salvation Army kitchen?
Betsy Grinder: No, I started at our local VFW.
Chris Lantinen: OK.
Betsy Grinder: And so, no one was there. In a certified kitchen, I gotta get all my ducks in a row if this is really gonna take off. Because it really was just an idea like, ‘What if someone did this?” “What if someone offered healthy, perfectly portioned meals,” and then that way we wouldn’t have a lot of waste. Not a lot of people love to cook, so let’s meet them in the middle.
Chris Lantinen: So, when you say these ready-made meals, just so we define them for our listeners, these meals like you said are “perfectly portioned” and you’re just popping in the oven a lot of the times. Or are most of them just ready to eat cold or what’s the deal.
Betsy Grinder: So, when I deliver them now, they are room-temperature, ready to eat or they can just warm them up in the microwave for a minute. The containers that I deliver in are microwave, dishwasher friendly and people just return those empty containers the next time they order.
Chris Lantinen: Oh, that’s cool.
Betsy Grinder: So that’s another way I eliminate some garbage, you know, some waste. I do have one-time use containers if they prefer. You know maybe where they’re working at, or they’re living at, they don’t have a microwave. So, just depending on what the meal is too they can put it in the microwave, or if it’s a salad or something like that they don’t have to warm it up, they’re good to go.
Chris Lantinen: So, I took you away from the milestones there, but are there any other big points that you want to note?
Betsy Grinder: I took a business class in Corry: it’s called “Jumpstart Business Class” and the Corry Hi-Ed had offered it and it really was a huge milestone for me. Just how I personally took my business and how I treated myself as a business owner. So, I would really encourage anybody to take themselves seriously, you know, do their research about what they are passionate about and where they want their business to go and then from there, like, two feet all the way in and run with it. That’s what I did.
Chris Lantinen: So, by taking yourself seriously, I guess what was the mindset shift there? Take yourself more seriously in what specifically?
Betsy Grinder: I didn’t look at myself as just offering meals anymore. I’m like “I’m changing peoples’ lives and how they think about food, how they think about what’s going into their body.” I really focus on nutrient-dense meals. And maybe they have allergies and they’ve never been to a place where they’ve taken their allergies seriously. In my family, we have people that are gluten-free, and I’ve worked in restaurants and some people take it seriously and some people are like, “yeah, no big deal.” You know, so, with me, I’ve seen the difference a gluten-free meal and a not gluten-free meal can do to somebody, so, I think that me offering that to people and taking their allergies serious and then me taking myself serious as a business owner and someone who’s providing someone a safe meal, that just is a mindset change I believe.
Chris Lantinen: Looks like establishing brand values.
Betsy Grinder: Right.
Chris Lantinen: And trying to communicate brand values to your audience and through both verbal and through your actions, you know? I think that’s awesome. What other skills did you learn in that class?
Betsy Grinder: Bookkeeping.
Chris Lantinen: Okay.
Betsy Grinder: Definitely. I got to see some other business owners and some people who just were having ideas and where they were at, so it was crazy and exciting to see that there were other people in my community at the same places I was or, you know, have already done it but they’re at the class because it just had a lot of value. And there was a lot of grant opportunities through there. There was a lot of financial support that I probably would have never thought about. One of the coaches there was like “Alright, so what are you gonna do? How are you gonna get this cooler?” I had this idea to open another spot and I’m like “I’m gonna have a cooler there. They’re gonna be able to do grab-and-gos.” He’s like, “What are you gonna do?” and I’m like “I’m just gonna work a couple extra shifts at my bartending gig and buy the cooler.” He was like: “No. We’re gonna get you funding for that. We’re gonna get this.” And I was like, “I didn’t know that that was an option.” I’m over here bartending extra nights, you know, and he’s like, “Nope. There are there are ways that this can happen for you.” So, it really opened that door for me.
Chris Lantinen: Awesome. And didn’t we meet you at Corry Higher Education?
Betsy Grinder: Yes. Yep! So, it was through the business class that they said, “Hey The Beehive is going to come in. Would you guys like to talk about this?” And I was like, “Oh my gosh, yes!” and a handful of other Corry people were there, so...
Chris Lantinen: It all connects.
Betsy Grinder: It all connects. I tell everybody about this. I’m like, “You need to do this.” It was so eye-opening for me and since my business literally started at a blink of an eye, you know, I’m like, “Okay!” I threw my logo together in Canva very fast, so, and I didn’t love it.
Chris Lantinen: Well, we’ll talk about The Beehive here.
Betsy Grinder: Yes.
Chris Lantinen: I wanna get some more information about you and your business before we do some self promotion stuff for the Beehive. I’m gonna shift a little bit to social media. In terms of marketing yourself, I’d say that food photography is your main tool, right?
Betsy Grinder: Right.
Chris Lantinen: Making your trays and your meals and everything else look appetizing is obviously key for you. What kind of tips could you provide other restaurateurs or chefs or caterers about photographing their food because your stuff looks awesome on Facebook and Instagram?
Betsy Grinder: Thank you. I would say button that time in. You know, make time for yourself in your timeline for the day.
Chris Lantinen: That’s good. Yeah.
Betsy Grinder: Like, “I’m gonna give myself 10 minutes.” Does it always happen? No stinking way, but you make that time in your timeline happen, or if you’re working with somebody, you know, have a timer, or set something on your phone, so then that way you know, “I have five more minutes before this is ready. I’m gonna take some pictures.” And sometimes you have some awesome customers and some people there that you can take pictures as they’re consuming or, you know, as they’re having fun at the event or whatever, but for the most part you gotta get it before people take bites of it, you know?
Chris Lantinen: Gotcha. But you’re scheduling in, like, content time?
Betsy Grinder: Yes. I try my very hardest to do that.
Chris Lantinen: Or trying to finish early before people get there so you can actually take pictures of the platters and everything like you said, before people start getting at it.
Betsy Grinder: Yep, definitely.
Chris Lantinen: Gotcha. Gotcha.
Betsy Grinder: I make that happen or even in the garden before I go, sometimes I’m like, “I’m just so excited to get out of the heat or out of the greenhouse.” Then I’m like, “No, just stop for a second and take the picture.”
Chris Lantinen: New photos.
Betsy Grinder: And then you can go.
Chris Lantinen: We’re gonna get you on the video track. That’s the next step, are you ready? We talked about that.
Betsy Grinder: Yes.
Chris Lantinen: What about lighting? Do you ever have to deal with any issues like that or do you use any apps or anything like that…filters?
Betsy Grinder: I use the same on Instagram, you know I use the same filter every time. I’ve really branded that for my page and worked hard on my color schemes and I didn’t think about that until maybe the last year and a half. But that was another thing about taking myself seriously, even in my personal pages, I wanna be a certain way, present myself a certain way and that’s, you know, professional but fun and I think that all goes into your feed and what you’re showing people.
Narrator: This episode of “Buzz, Generated” is sponsored by the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership, the voice of the business community in the Erie region. The chamber provides advocacy and access to people, education, and information so the businesses have the leadership, resources, and expertise needed for continued prosperity throughout the region. Schedule a time to meet with a business action team and learn more about how the chamber can help, or visit the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership online at www.eriepa.com. The growth of our vibrant community in Erie, PA depends on a dynamic business environment. The Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership aims to provide just that. Let’s get back to the episode.
Chris Lantinen: Sort of on that same topic, there’s a lot of discussion on your feeds about building a business, right? There’s some transparency in that sense and not just the physical acts but the emotional ups and downs. What inspired you to share that part of your journey and sort of make it a tenet of your marketing principles, I guess?
Betsy Grinder: Right, I wanted people to see me as a real person. A lot of people on my social media know me personally, but a lot of people don’t. So it’s really wild because my Instagram are more of like my bridal showers and my personal chef clients that are so fun, and then my Facebook is like my daily clients. A lot of my clients are older, so Facebook is like their jam all day. That’s what they’re doing.
Chris Lantinen: Right, right.
Betsy Grinder: So, it’s so neat because they get to like, see a different side of me as well, other than someone who rings their doorbell and drops off food. But I had co-authored in a book just as I started my business and I feel like it was a really awesome healing experience but also taught me a lot. I’ve always liked to write, so that kind of all fell into place when I started my business as well. So, writing that and seeing other authors and other females who were in the book overcome something was like awesome. So I’m like “I gotta do that and I gotta continue that my whole time” you know because I’ve overcome just so many things. But also in the business realm I think that really connects your audience to you personally as well.
Chris Lantinen: The book wasn’t about food or anything.
Betsy Grinder: It was not about food. It was called “Fearless,” and it was just about overcoming fears and, you know, what was it that possibly stopped you in the past and what made you overcome that fear and live the life that you’re living now?
Chris Lantinen: Awesome, awesome. I was wondering if we could talk quickly about the marketplace for ready-made meals because it seems like … you know we’ve moved on from the traditional frozen dinner into a combination of the ready-made refrigerated meals you do, right, and sort of the Hello Fresh, Blue Apron, chef’s plate style where they provide the ingredients and the buyer has to put them together.
Betsy Grinder: Right, right.
Chris Lantinen: But they provide these quote unquote fresh ingredients, right? I guess first, am I missing parts of that market or is that sort of how you see, you know these options for people?
Betsy Grinder: I do see them. There’s a lot of things, it’s just about convenience for people, you know, and some people, like I said, don’t love to cook or they’re very intimidated to cook, so I feel like I took that out of there for them, you know? Or they don’t have the time, because we all are so busy all the time, you know, between sports and anything we have going on personally, and work. And if you do have a garden, I understand it takes a lot of time for things that you really enjoy, so if you don’t enjoy cooking let’s make that easier for you.
Chris Lantinen: Yeah. I also wonder and maybe this is a question that we can answer but like, again, Hello Fresh, Blue Apron, those types of things, it seems like the marketing for those services is really homed in on like, my generation; I’m 34 so I listen to a lot of podcasts and things like that and Blue Apron and all those things … they really hit podcasts hard.
Betsy Grinder: Yeah, definitely.
Chris Lantinen: They hit podcasts hard with their marketing dollars. But I also wonder if the people that you market to, which seems to be an older generation, even really know about those. Like, have you had to compete with the Blue Apron or Hello Fresh or kind of had to offer your services as an alternative ever? Or does it just not cross paths?
Betsy Grinder: I think at the beginning it crossed paths, but the fact that mine were locally sourced, you know nothing is frozen. If you do get a delivery service you have to think of like, ‘how long was that in the truck?’ or…
Chris Lantinen: How long was it sitting in there for, yeah.
Betsy Grinder: Mine is like ready to consume as soon as they get there, and then I also am super old school and still write everything down and have like a book of all of my customers. Addresses, likes, dislikes, allergies, and so I kind of cater to that as well, where I don’t think a lot of those meal services do.
Chris Lantinen: I think it goes back to your marketing persona, which is you’re mixing the personal in there. You’re a real person, you know?
Betsy Grinder: Right, definitely.
Chris Lantinen: Got the real notebook, you’re writing with a real pen. You are, you know, keeping track of all of these individuals, so the personalization is obviously a big part of it. But I guess we could go back to waste again, like Hello Fresh comes in this huge box with all this individual packaging and I assume that’s a lot of waste as well.
Betsy Grinder: Definitely and I had tried those before. That’s what kind of played into this as well. I wanted to really commit to being a vegan for a full year and where I live that was not that easy. So I’m like, “Alright, I’ll try one of the food services.” Everything came and it was like in little plastic, you know, little zippy bags and it was like just a little bit of seasoning and I’m like, “Alright I need to add more to this,” or I’m like “Something’s missing.” So I would just add to it, and I’m like, “I might as well just commit and do it myself.
Chris Lantinen: Might as well do it yourself, yeah, right, right.
Betsy Grinder: Exactly.
Chris Lantinen: I wanna hit on Corry too. It’s one of these focused areas of economic development for Erie County I think, and I think a lot of attention is being paid to the city. There’s great organizations like Impact Corry working hard on that growth, there’s you know Corry Higher Education offering these entrepreneurial classes like the one you took. What have you noticed about growing your business within the Corry community specifically?
Betsy Grinder: There’s no place like Corry. I know everyone says that about their hometown, but they support each other so well here, and I have served on a handful of boards and it’s so wild to see the growth in our community and the individuals. When you truly care about something, and people see that, they will support you 100 percent here. I’ve had luckily, I’ve had customers since day 1, so it’s really great and they get to watch me grow and they’ll be like “Oh remember that one meal you made?” No, I don’t. But they do and that’s so exciting for me because they’ve supported me enough to remember a meal that I made within the last year, let alone two and a half years, you know?
Chris Lantinen: Are you involved in United Corry, too?
Betsy Grinder: I served as the united fund of Corry’s president for I think six years?
Chris Lantinen: Okay. What does that organization, not to sidetrack us, but what does that organization do?
Betsy Grinder: They help get funding for local nonprofits and all of that money stays in Corry and has very specific use to our nonprofits. They’re actually going through a huge remodel right now and I’m so excited for them and I turned out and I’m just pretty busy so … They were very supportive as a board, you know, and they watched me grow, the individuals I served on the boards with. We all had very long terms and it was so great.
Chris Lantinen: Now you’re just a supporter.
Betsy Grinder: I’m just a supporter, yes. The farmers market board as well. I was handed that project a couple years ago and that played really great into my business to be able to support our local farmers and it made a lot of connections for me to get produce. When I’m out I know who to go to and I’m supporting our local farmers as well, so the farmers was a great one for me to be a part of.
Chris Lantinen: How much food that’s going into Your Daily Serving meal prep service, how much are you growing of that?
Betsy Grinder: As much as I can.
Chris Lantinen: Yeah.
Betsy Grinder: Yeah, definitely. Even if it’s just fresh basil and herbs and stuff like that. The other thing I did last year was dried everything I could, canned everything I could, preserved it as much as I could to preserve the nutrients that it needed to still taste good and still be good for your body, you know?
Chris Lantinen: Yeah, awesome. Awesome. So, what’s most important to you about the future of Your Daily Serving?
Betsy Grinder: I think making a difference in my customers’ lives and helping them achieve a healthy relationship with food.
Chris Lantinen: And what is a healthy relationship with food to you?
Betsy Grinder: To me it is actually enjoying the process of making it, knowing where it comes from. You know, even growing it and then watching it give me energy and living that life, you know because I need all the energy I can get right now.
Chris Lantinen: Right. So, to ask a couple questions about the Beehive and your collaboration with the Beehive … so, in fall 2022 you worked with our Beehive students on some branding upgrades for your business. Why don’t you talk a little bit about how that came to be? Obviously, we mentioned the Corry Higher Education connection, but maybe talk about the process and working with the students and all that.
Betsy Grinder: Yeah, I got a phone call and they said, you know, “Would you like to continue with this?” And it was a perfect gap in my business, you know, right in between Christmas and all of that and I’m like, “Oh my gosh, I definitely need to take advantage of this.” So, I met with them, and I told all the students what my goals are, what I have struggled with in the past, and what I didn’t like about my current logo and everything. That was my big thing: my logo, my business cards, and how I presented myself as my business and they really took that and ran with it.
Chris Lantinen: And you said the original logo was on Canva.
Betsy Grinder: Right.
Chris Lantinen: Which, you know, a lot of people don’t know that yeah, you can create logos on Canva but eventually if you do want to trademark, you can’t trademark anything from Canva.
Betsy Grinder: Right.
Chris Lantinen: So, you might hit this brick wall at some point, and you may have to change your visual identity of your business which is not preferred, right?
Betsy Grinder: Right. Yeah, definitely.
Chris Lantinen: Getting original designs you can trademark down the road is obviously an important thing. So, what did they all do for you?
Betsy Grinder: One of the things I struggled with, again in Canva, was my weekly menu and I obviously changed that out every Saturday it comes out. So I needed an easier and better process to filling in those new meals rather than rebuilding something every time or not liking the way something looked. They lined everything up for me so I could just fill in my new items and then continue on because we all know no one wants to mess with that stuff and it’s not anyone’s favorite thing to do. The other thing they did was my catering menus. I had everything on like three pages because I just offered so much and they built everything and put it all on one page for me, so now when people ask, you know, “What all do you offer?” I can send them one page.
Chris Lantinen: So, they took three pages…it’s the same information but they were able to condense it down to one?
Betsy Grinder: Definitely. And just the way that they lined everything up and I can go in and, you know, change my pricing, or change any items that I would like without messing up the entire piece of paper.
Chris Lantinen: So, they gave you templates.
Betsy Grinder: Yes
Chris Lantinen: The logo obviously, that’s brand new. The logo that could be applied to like shirts and things. I’ve seen you rocking the “Your Daily Serving” shirts now. And did they give you a style guide with rules on how to use the logo and all that?
Betsy Grinder: So, yes, they did that and then they really helped me with a season coming up which is canning season and anything that I’m drying, everything has to have a label and I was not going to build myself a label. I literally was like handwriting it to some of my customers. So, they built me a template that I can go in and say whatever is in the can, all the ingredients, and then that way I can copy and paste it and keep on going.
Chris Lantinen: Awesome. Are you putting the new logo on your meals and everything and like right on the packaging?
Betsy Grinder: Yep! I have charcuterie to go’s that I do, and I put my new little logo right on that. A lot of my stuff is personalized. I just did a graduation party, so I did her little logo or she’s going to Penn State, so I did a little lion for her.
Chris Lantinen: Awesome. I think what clients like about working with the Beehive is feeling the students’ passion.
Betsy Grinder: Definitely.
Chris Lantinen: And how obviously creative they are and how much they actually care about the projects. Could you feel that sort of energy? Was there anything in particular — any moment in particular — that made you realize, ‘Oh these students actually care about what they’re doing with my work’?
Betsy Grinder: They’re like the best cheerleaders ever. They were so encouraging and sometimes, you know, it’s just me and my business, so I bounce ideas off of my brain when I’m driving so it was really awesome to bounce, you know, my new ideas off of them. And they’re young, so they see things coming up that I do not, and I don’t like to refer to myself as being old, I just did, but...
Chris Lantinen: Well, they’re younger than us.
Betsy Grinder: They’re so much younger and they have all this energy and just they were like so encouraging. It was amazing and I got to do some charcuterie boxes for them at the end of the class and so they got to see like, “This is what I do. This is what’s going on.” Oh it was awesome to be able to feed them. Obviously, food is my love language, so I’m like, “Here. Let me feed you for everything that you’ve done for me.” It was great to sit and chat with them and some of them obviously through social media I follow up with them and they’re doing awesome things. I’m so happy for them.
Chris Lantinen: Well, if they’re the stereotypical “starving artist” I’m sure they appreciated the free lunch.
Betsy Grinder: Oh yes.
Chris Lantinen: Well, let’s finish with some fun food-related questions, so number one, beyond your own food, what is your favorite place to eat in Corry? Your favorite restaurant or coffee shop or whatever.
Betsy Grinder: Barista’s Roast has the best espresso.
Chris Lantinen: OK.
Betsy Grinder: Almost every morning I go through, and they now have a drive-thru. I’m so excited for them. It was awesome to watch them grow, you know, and espresso every day. I also bartend still at Columbus Inn, it’s one of my favorite spots.
Chris Lantinen: Expanding a little further down the road, same question but for Erie. I don’t know how often you get up to the city of Erie.
Betsy Grinder: A lot.
Chris Lantinen: Okay so do you have any favorites up there?
Betsy Grinder: Okay, so I used to work at Aoyama.
Chris Lantinen: Okay, right by the mall.
Betsy Grinder: By the mall.
Chris Lantinen: Right, right, right.
Betsy Grinder: And I got to meet all the people that worked there, and they started their own sushi restaurant and I love, love, love to go there. Who doesn’t love sushi?
Chris Lantinen: Samurai Kitchen, which is on 12th, right? It’s right by the Giant Eagle on 12th?
Betsy Grinder: Yes. Oh yes.
Chris Lantinen: So, if you haven’t been there, yeah very, very good. I like that place too. Is there a chef that inspires you? Could be local, national, whatever.
Betsy Grinder: I actually love to cook because my dad loves to cook.
Chris Lantinen: What did he used to cook? What was his sort of specialties or everyday things?
Betsy Grinder: We would have these huge dinners, invite like everybody. All our friends would come over. You know like before prom or places you would go to like an awesome restaurant? No, we would go to my house, and he would cook like steak and potatoes and asparagus and salad, so it’s just fun to watch all that go on but now for me.
Chris Lantinen: Right.
Betsy Grinder: You know people are like, ‘Yeah, we’re all gonna go to the Grinder’s house for Thanksgiving, or when we have a cookout, I’m like “I get to do this now,” so that’s pretty great.
Chris Lantinen: Any tips that you’ve picked up from him over the years?
Betsy Grinder: Yeah, when you’re cutting anything, you know the whole bear claw, you gotta protect your fingers.
Chris Lantinen: Yep. Yep.
Betsy Grinder: Yes, that’s a big one and anyone who comes into the kitchen and works for me I’m always like, “Protect your fingers.” It’s big.
Chris Lantinen: Do you have a favorite movie or show or piece of entertainment about cooking?
Betsy Grinder: So, “Chopped.” We love “Chopped” at our house. It’s a process but my husband started the process of like signing me up for “Chopped” and he gave me these professional knives when he told me that. I’m like, “Oh my gosh I get to take these knives,” and so I would love to eventually be on “Chopped” and see how that goes. But for right now I’m really busy, I can’t leave. It’s wedding season.
Chris Lantinen: But you’re trying.
Betsy Grinder: Yeah
Chris Lantinen: Is there like an audition tape or what’s the?
Betsy Grinder: Yeah, you gotta have an audition tape. You gotta fill out all this paperwork, all this stuff. Oh, it’d be so fun.
Chris Lantinen: So, you’re trying. We’re gonna see you on there pretty soon here.
Betsy Grinder: That would be so great. We just have to wait until after the garden’s done, after wedding season.
Chris Lantinen: Is there a favorite thing to cook or prep for you right now? What gets you really excited? “Oh, I’m making this today, let’s go.”
Betsy Grinder: Yeah, I really like to make new things or try different stuff, try different combinations. Especially things that I would be scared to try. I just did a salsa, but it had strawberries, rhubarb, balsamic. I like to really push the taste limits, you know, and see what works together.
Chris Lantinen: Sounds delicious. Is there anything — last one — is there anything you won’t eat?
Betsy Grinder: No.
Chris Lantinen: Nothing.
Betsy Grinder: I don’t like to eat bacon just because of my pet pig, but I mean there are some things that you just gotta try.
Chris Lantinen: Gotcha, gotcha. Yeah, OK but other than that you’re a complete open book.
Betsy Grinder: Oh, definitely. I’ll do it all.
Chris Lantinen: Before we finish here, is there anything else you’d like to add? Did we miss anything?
Betsy Grinder: I don’t think so. I mean, I have a lot going on and people always ask, "How do you do it all?" I only really do things I enjoy which I share on my social media. I just took on another project, another kitchen instantly and they’re like ‘How are you doing that?’ and I’m like “I get to feed people that may not ever get to try healthy foods” or, you know anything that they wouldn’t ever try, and I get that opportunity and that is amazing to me so I always just make it work, make it happen.
Chris Lantinen: Are you Your Daily Serving on both Facebook and Instagram?
Betsy Grinder: Yes, I am.
Chris Lantinen: Any other social media plugs?
Betsy Grinder: No.
Chris Lantinen: Okay, sounds good.
Betsy Grinder: I can’t handle any more.
Chris Lantinen: Well, thank you very much Betsy. We very much appreciate it and thank you for working with the Beehive.
Betsy Grinder: Yes, thank you. I’m so, so glad for the opportunity.
Narrator: You can find Your Daily Serving on Facebook and Instagram by searching that same business name. You can also find the NWPA Innovation Beehive Network on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. The Beehive is made up of six sites that collaborate to encourage business growth in the Erie area and beyond. Allegheny College, Gannon University, Mercyhurst University, Penn State Behrend, PennWest Edinboro, and the Erie County Public Library all offer free services to small businesses, entrepreneurs, and non-profits. If you need help, head over to the NWPABeehive.com and scroll to the bottom of the home page. There you’ll find our intake form.
You’ve been listening to Buzz, Generated. This podcast was released through PennWest Edinboro’s Center for Branding and Strategic Communication. It’s produced by Chris Lantinen.
Thank you to our guest for their insight and to you, our listeners, for taking the time to experience innovation alongside us. Consider subscribing if you liked this episode to get more as soon as they drop and if you really enjoyed it, jump over to Apple Podcast for a 5-star review. We’ll see you next time.
