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Sisters of Anarchy…Beef Stew?

“Dad, why don’t we have a beef stew truck?” Farmer Bob sighs. He explains that beef stew isn’t really thought of as a dessert, that – though our beef stew is consistently great – not everyone is looking for beef stew as a fun, special treat for their kids and out-of-town relatives, that beef stew doesn’t work in cones, and, finally, mail order beef stew doesn’t really fire the imagination. Mail order ice cream? THAT is something that sounds attractive, the perfect mail order gift. “Well, I think it’s a good idea, the beef stew I mean.” Okay, okay, Farmer Bob puts a pin it, placing it on the Sisters Suggest list.

Meeting Minutes…We Think?

More monkeys on his back, that’s what this is. Thinking it might have been Harvey Mackay who created the phrase so apt at describing his current life, Farmer Bob once again marvels at the many friends and relatives who have all been down this path, dragging their own pile of back monkeys while building businesses, creating or improving services, generally surviving and thriving while going through the sausage machine. A typical planning meeting includes;

Mother of Anarchy: “Well, I’m not really sure what the right approach (process, sequence?) is …”
Farmer Bob: “Just give me some bullets so I don’t have to remember this conversation. Is there someone we can hand this off to … tell me again, why are we doing this?”

Round and round, one day morphing into the next, the fun never stops. But then, in a small but consistent trickle, come the little rewards, the minor successes, the glimmers of greatness.

Small Successes Keep Us Going

Minor success – finally getting Google (working with Imtiyaaz, Im-tie-yaaa-zee, lead for The Google My Business office in India) to recognize Fisher Brothers Farm, Sisters of Anarchy Ice Cream, and Vermont as, respectively, real, real, and real.

Reward – firing the imagination of Mikael, in Boston, to the point where he is creating comic book characters for the flavors and has pitched a full treatment for a superhero animated series. Beefy Blonde (smooth vanilla laced with maple syrup, blue berries and bacon – she LOVES bacon), Bronx Cheer (raspberry with chocolate swirl, works with a baseball bat, kind of an homage to the Warriors and their run in with the Yankees gang), and Plain Jane, the best and straightest vanilla, getting it done in a bland, understated way.

Glimmer of Greatness – the undercover flavor development maven from the Waterbury, VT subsidiary of a Dutch multi-national corporation saying “This (Chocolate Anarchy) is the best chocolate ice cream I’ve ever, EVER, had.” Yeah, that’s what we’re talkin’ about.

Life is Supposed to be a Marathon, But it Feels Like a Sprint

Like a sprint wrapped in a power lifting contest enveloped in an ultra-marathon, starting a brand new business with, literally, nothing but a plan and a life-long commitment to lateral thinking is not for everyone. Farmer Bob is not even sure it’s for him, with his creaky joints, loud and frequently needy daughters, and growing desire to just take a long nap. But then the email comes in from Annette, starting along the same lines as any number of previous customer contacts, “Hi Amazing Ice Cream Peoples: …”, and the Sisters hitch up their overalls and say “See? We are right after all.”