Richmond SCORE Chapter 12
A Former National Chapter of the Year Award Winner.

Richmond SCORE
Home
About
Contact SCORE
News & Events
Partners
Success Stories
FAQ
Policies
Counseling
Information
Sign Up
Workshops
Information
Register
Support SCORE
Volunteer
Make a Donation
Online Resources
Business Tools
Online Learning
SCORE Members
Chapter Resources

Richmond SCORE
Federal Building
Suite 1150
SBA Offices
400 North 8th Street
Richmond, VA 23240
Phone: 804-771-2400 Ext. 131
 

It's Homemade

Product / Service: Bakedgoods
Location: Ashland, VA
Formed: 2001
Website: www.itshomemade.net
Business Type: LLC, certified, woman-owned business
Best Advice to Someone Starting Out:
Use all of the resources that are out there. It reduces the learning curve.
 

Inspiration comes from all kinds of interesting places. For Meriwether Gilmore and her husband Doug, it sprang from a wisecracking family member.

"I've always enjoyed baking," Meriwether says, "and my father-in-law used to joke that there ought to be a baking company called Scratch, so you can tell people you made it from Scratch."

The Gilmores had always liked the idea of being in business for themselves. So, in January 2001, when they sensed the time was right, the Gilmores founded It's Homemade, LLC, to produce Scratch brand baking mixes, with all-natural ingredients. They got their start offering samples of their products at a farmers' market in Richmond, VA. They got many regular customers at the market and were encouraged to take the next step.
 

They began to research what needed to be done to pursue their dream. They spoke with a number of small companies around Virginia, including some that produced baked goods. One of the companies, manufacturer of cookies, told Meriwether about SCORE. Meriwether says as they prepared for their first meeting with Richmond SCORE counselor Shelly Shapiro, they went in just hoping that they could get some names of places to call on for more information. They got much more than that.

"When we met with Shelly, he had some contacts in the food industry, and that led to meetings with some food brokers to get things started," Meriwether said. "Using SCORE is like having a great teacher. It's a wonderful learning experience that you get from people with all kinds of expertise."

Shelly and fellow Richmond SCORE counselor Allen Stein also helped them with their business plan, and they attended a SCORE seminar for business start-up entrepreneurs. The Gilmores also worked with Washington, DC SCORE counselor Ann Dobbs, a former partner in a grocery store chain, who had several phone conversations with them on marketing and distribution.

Meriwether also spent several months pursuing an agreement with a Virginia supermarket chain to get Scratch products placed on its shelves. A manager of the chain said that they had a good product, but it was not market ready, as it lacked government-mandated labels and UPC codes. Once the items got on the chain's shelves, Richmond SCORE got news of the deal into the local newspaper, which led to bigger things.

"After the story on getting into the supermarket was in the newspaper, it got picked up by an internet food newsletter," Meriwether says. "That led to a lot of interest, and we got calls from several food brokers about distributing the mixes."

Meriwether says that Scratch products continue to grow in demand they recently shipped their first large freight order to a food broker in New England. While they began by getting their products into specialty stores who were eager for new products to put on their shelves, she says they would like to establish a national presence, and they continue to work with supermarkets to get Scratch on the shelves. She and Shelly continue to email each other regularly, and she feels they were fortunate to have found SCORE to help them.

"SCORE counselors are industry professionals that can give you an informed opinion of what they think will work, or what you might need to do instead," Meriwether says. "Starting a business can be ridiculously hard work, but it's comforting to know we have access to people with such extensive experience. It's just really amazing that you can get this advice for free."

Richmond SCORE © 2007
Web Site Questions: webadmin@richmondscore.org
Last Update 07/03/2008