Website Woes 7.6.15

Tags

homebrew, kombucha, start-up

Good day to you, YoLi followers!

Yoshi and I have been waiting to announce the news about our website, branding and logo; however we just could NOT contain that bit of information any longer.  Hmmm…actually, we wanted to reach out and let you know that designing a website takes a really long time, especially when you have two clueless people relying on the help of a friend.  We have confidently put our trust into a friend to help with the creation of our website.  The reality is that we didn’t know it would take such a long time.  We’ve been working on this for a few months now.  What I’m trying to say is that now we have an excuse for not writing many blog posts lately.  Do you forgive us?

We are also working with a graphic designer and illustrator from NY to help with our logo and branding.  The people we chose to work with are a team who designed and illustrated the Millstone Cider labels.  We will hopefully have that project finished within the month.  Shamefully we admit we had no idea how long any of this would take, nor that we would need to spend the crazy amount of money we are spending to make our company look legit.  It’s one thing to have all the government documents making your company legally official; it’s an entirely different beast to choose the “right” artist in helping you present your company in a way that draws people’s attention to a  beverage and compels them to buy a bottle.

In the meantime, we are pushing forward with reaching more people about our product.  We have established two weekly Farmer’s Markets, and one corner grocery store.  We also procured a 50 gallon oak barrel, which means we can increase our production.  Check out our twitter page for more! What is unknown is how the wine tannins are going to affect A) the growth of the SCOBY in the barrel, and B) the flavor that the tea with pick up, and for how long that flavor will impact the ultimate product.    We are still experimenting, but excited at the idea that we are going to significantly increase the volume we ferment with each go-round.

Thanks for sticking with us.

Be well.  Do good.

Yoshi and Lindz

Twitter and GoFundMe?! 5.6.15

Check it out!  We signed up for Twitter @yolitrading and GoFundMe //funds.gofundme.com/Widgetflex.swf all in one day!  

If you love kombucha, you love us, or you love start-ups show us your love, and we won’t soon forget that we couldn’t have done this without you.

Be well.  Do good.

-Yoshi and Lindz

Batch 2.26.15 Featuring Apple with a hint of Cin & Mainely Wild Blueberry

Tags

homebrew, kombucha, start-up

Week after week YoLi is selling out of kombucha.  We owe it to our followers for the motivation to keep up with the never-ending task list of starting a small business.  You guys and gals inspire Yoshi and I to create new flavors, tweak recipes, and push through with the tedious tasks of applying for certifications, licenses, financial applications, etc… Thank you YoLi supporters!  We appreciate you!

This week we received an order of 160 more bottles, another carboy, and our very own OAK BARREL!  In addition, we are working on recipes for therapeutic room sprays, and hearty stollen fruit bread.  Stay tuned for your chance to sample the new recipes, and to give feedback on the new products.  This week we tweaked our grapefruit kombucha recipe, and with a sample population in Georgetown sold out in one night.  All 5 bottles went to one lucky supporter!

Featured flavors this week include:  Apple with a hint of Cin. & Mainely Wild Blueberry.

If you don’t know, now you do.  Lindz’ favorite fruit, of all time, ever, is apple.  Our apples came from a Maryland Farm.  We purchased the apples from the Del Ray Farmer’s Market, right down the street from our place.  We sliced the apples, dropped them into a fresh batch of OG (original) kombucha and generously sprinkled with Korintje cinnamon.  Our blueberries are an homage to Yoshi.  We used wild Maine blueberries, a frozen treat left from more than a couple months ago.  You can see here what the blueberries look like after a few days in fermentation.  Both flavors this week are sure to please.  The apple flavor is soothing and fresh.  The blueberry is sweet, tart, and invigorating.  Use the YoLi Sign-Up Sheet to reserve yours.

Be well.  Do good.

-Yoshi and Lindz

Batch 2.16.15 Ready

Alright YoLi supporters- We have a quick update for you.

We’d like to ask for any and all bottles that you may have lying around the house.  Please return your empties to us as soon as possible.

We have 11 bottles of each of the following:

Lavender

Ginger

First come, first served. Reserve yours at http://goo.gl/forms/zY9kds96bH

Be well.  Do good.

-Yoshi and Lindz

Lavender and Ginger

The Saying Goes…Two Start-Ups (Brains) Are Better Than One.

Tags

homebrew, kombucha, start-up

Guess what?!  Guess.  GUESS!!!  Ok, fine.  We’ll just tell you.  We, Yoshi and Lindz, henceforth known as YoLi Trading Company, are the newest associate members at Union Kitchen, in DC!  Isn’t that great? We did it.  We pitched our product, and our business plan to our very first non-friend/non-family supporters and they loved us.  We had a 30 minute time slot to briefly explain what we do, what our vision is, what we make, how we make it, and what we need.  They asked us questions, we asked them questions. We also got some great unbiased feedback.  One comment that sticks in my mind as I write this was, “We’re really excited about you guys.  We like your product, and we like your ethos.  Everything seems to be really well thought out, and it all flows together cohesively.”

So next up- tackling important tedious paperwork, completing a Serve-Safe training, acquiring a tax ID number, a bank account, and more equipment.  We have to really zero in on our recipe, so that when it’s time to expand and go public we will have the supply to meet the demand.  The last thing we want is a hiccup in production.

Also, please take note that we are currently taking “reservations” for our weekly batches of kombucha.  We need this information from you, so that we can more easily keep track of who wants what, where, and when.  In lieu of an online store, and in the meantime for us to get all that up and running please click on YoLi Trading Company Batch Sign-Up.  

Yeah for BRAINS!

Be well.  Do good.

-Yoshi and Lindz

Batch 2.6.15

Tags

homebrew, kombucha, start-up

Happy day YoLi kombucha lovers.  We are excited to let you know that the kombucha is ready for the week.  We have 30 bottles available, which for some reason is about 7 less than our largest batch.  We remain in a stagnant state of brewing just under enough to supply every one who wants our healthy and delicious nectar.  So, Yoshi and I are trying to figure out what next “big” equipment purchase is most going to allow us to brew more efficiently.  There comes a time when opening a small home-brew business where you spend more then you make, and you don’t pay yourself for the time you spend doing the work to make your product, and then you sit at the kitchen table with brains, coffee, laptops, and a personal credit card to try to figure out exactly all the items you need to purchase, how much you’ve already spent, and to swallow the notion that this might NOT work.  The awareness of what is going on and trying to control how quickly it’s happening is like walking into a pitch dark cave with your best friend after you’ve just told each other the scariest stories you remember from reading in middle school.

We have a meeting with the kitchen incubator on Tuesday!  We are preparing ourselves to present to a panel of people who are there to help companies like us fill in the gaps, ahem- the bits of this business thing we aren’t so good at doing.  Stay posted for updates on our next steps.

If you’d like kombucha this week please fill out our new form here http://goo.gl/forms/Ca2BCLbn6O.  This will help us keep track of what YOU want, when and where.

A few more than 15 of Raspberry. A few less than 15 of original.

Experimental Life

Tags

homebrew, kombucha, start-up

Yoshi and I were really happy that we were able to brew, ferment and bottle within the course of a week, and during the middle of a move.  We strategically scheduled the 1st and 2nd fermentation process to correspond with  when we needed to make tea, and move crocks.  YIKES!  We are pleased to inform you; however, that although we have two smaller batches this week, we do indeed have two different flavored batches available.  It is our pleasure to introduce to you our blueberry kombucha, full of anti-oxidants, and great for fresh youthful looking skin. We also have a refreshing grapefruit batch available- good for cleansing your liver.  Fair warning- you must like grapefruit.

Blueberry and Grapefruit are the flavors for the week of January 26th, 2015.

After sampling the batches we have agreed that the grapefruit needs a little tweaking. Up for discussion are two options: 1. less grapefruit or 2. plus another fruit (mandarin or strawberry).  Either way, we wanted to disclose the process of how we determine if a flavor batch is going to work out for YoLi.  We weren’t 100% happy with the way it turned out, but that will not deter us from trying again, nor of drinking in the kombucha goodness.

Be Well.  Do Good.

-Yoshi and Lindz

Business Planning is not friendly, I repeat not friendly for English Teachers.

Tags

homebrew, kombucha, start-up

I sat down today, promising myself I would finish our business plan so that we could send it off for review. However, within in minutes my body cringed. My eyes squint at the fill in the blank, spreadsheet style, questionnaire. A business plan requires specific numbers, calculated specifically, to specifically demonstrate how your business will grow, based on specific numbers for all specific details. Included in a financial draft of a business plan, but not limited to the following: phone, utilities, overhead, salary, two different kinds of taxes, insurance, distribution, advertisement, maintenance, etc…See? The list became so overwhelming that I am now stuck at the same place I was 45 minutes ago.

So, I seek help. Your comments to my predicament are welcomed.

On a more positive note. Yoshi and I are brewing today, which means we have another round of kombucha ready for purchase as of January 15, 2015. Until then, we still have a keg of lavender, and 12 bottles of original. Look for our pop-up sometime this weekend!

What do you mean, Kombushare?

Tags

homebrew, kombucha, start-up

Kombushare

Kombucha + Share

At YoLi Trading Company we strive to incorporate our personal beliefs with the mission of our company.  This means, we aim to provide our customers with a convenient and cost-friendly option to reduce their carbon footprint.

1. For every bottle purchased and returned we offer a $.50 discount on the next bottle purchased.

Every time we collect a bottle it’s one less polluting the earth.  Plus, we love doing dishes.

Coming Soon:

2. 20% discount for bringing and refilling your own bottle, up to 20oz.

3. $10 for a growler fill, up to 64oz.

Weekly update—  We have 46 bottles available this week, so drop us a message with a time and place.  We will happily provide your probiotic needs.

Be Well. Do Good.

Yoshi & Lindz

We Need More Space!

Tags

homebrew, kombucha, start-up

This weekend we visited a food incubator.  You know, one of those kitchen spaces that rents out to local small start-up companies?  We marveled at the efficiency of the whole set-up, and we were attracted by the space, equipment, and business-type features we’d have available to us.  If we decided to literally set-up shop, and they decided to let us operate out of their location, we’d be legitimate.

The take-away- we need space.  We need equipment.  We need money to make this happen.

We want to ask you all a question.  What do you think?  Do we initiate a kick-starter project?  We waffle back and forth between asking for $5000 just to cover some of the cost, and asking for $10,000 which would really set us straight with renting a space, and buying equipment.  So please, reply to us here or comment on our Facebook page.  We’d love to hear from you!

Be Well.  Do Good.

-Yoshi & Lindz