1/7/2024 0 Comments Parkers maple barn![]() We learned a tremendous amount during this time and the fruit of our work began to blossom soon enough.Ģ017 turned out to be a great year. However, even if each action didn't bring us exactly to where we wanted to be, it did bring us closer. If I could go back, would I change some things? Of course. But, we kept pushing and tried to learn all we could from the tuition we paid with each misstep. It certainly was not easy and I made many mistakes. The question that kept me up at night was, how could I keep this going? How could we continue to grow after such an amazing peak? I had heard of, and did not want to be like, the companies who went on national television, grew overnight, and then faded off into nothingness within 12 months.Īs I look back on this "post-peak period," I see it was full of trials that tested our resolve to keep bringing more maple to more people in more ways. So, the lesson for me after the first episode aired: Be ready!Īfter a few months of consistently giant online sales, I knew the peak "Shark Tank Effect" would soon wear off. Looking back, I can't imagine what we would have done without all the help. Dozens of people came, brought their kids, brought food, and got to work filling our small facility to the ceiling full of packages. I must mention, we were tremendously blessed to have a supportive community that rallied to help pack boxes during the weeks and months after Shark Tank. ![]() Four weeks later, we were still packing orders from the night it aired! From running out of packaging, running out of maple syrup, running out of shipping boxes to just not having enough time in the day - the first month was a marathon. And, if you've been a customer long enough (since that week), you know that it took us a LONG time to get most of the orders out. This was more than I could have ever imagined. We received over 7,000 individual orders the first week! Going into the air date, I had no idea what to expect - so, I started ordering what I could for supplies, boxes, and lined up a few friends to help out after the episode. This was one of those moments when I could intimately feel the protection of Someone watching over us. The timing was just too perfect. The day after cancelling the shipment and fully realizing that a few hundred thousand dollars of inventory may not be sold, we found out Parker's Maple would be airing on Shark Tank. I was personally having one of the hardest seasons of my life after we were unable to fulfill the largest order we had ever received due to production issues. When Shark Tank aired for the first time we were NOT ready. So, here are 5 noteworthy events, thoughts, or lessons learned from the past 2.5 years: 1. Well, one word can sum it up: Crazy! It's been full of ups and downs exciting growth and heart-breaking setbacks big successes and crushing mistakes. However, many have reached out to us and asked: what has life been like since Shark Tank? Many who read this may know our path leading up to Shark Tank - that I learned how to make maple syrup on a school field trip when I was 11 in 2009, that my dad was gracious enough to help me get a loan at 15, and that we were launching with some major retailers by the Fall of 2016. Overnight Parker's Maple went from being a little known local company to one of the fastest growing real maple brands in America. My life and the future of Parker's Maple changed forever in the Fall of 2016 when our pitch premiered on ABC's Shark Tank.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |