Kevin’s Chillers Blog

We just bought a Crathco 5311, used, and we had to do a little surgery on it to get it ready to rent. Just cosmetic surgery, really, 2 of the stainless steel panels had been dented so I replaced them and gave the machine a good cleaning while I had it apart.

As a test run, we fired it up with 5 gallons of lime margarita for the grown-ups at my daughter’s graduation party (don’t worry, we kept the kids away from it). It worked wonderfully, producing drinks that stayed perfectly consistent all the way down to the end.

Our idea is to leave the rat race behind. When we started Cathy’s Critters, we had no idea it would turn into a business whose sales were equal to my salary as an engineer at TI. Of course with a business, sales don’t replace your salary - profit does. And we have precious little profit to show for all our hard work.

There seems to be a “chicken and egg” problem. For example, we could sell farm-fresh eggs, but they’re difficult to gather because the chickens lay them anywhere and everywhere - talk about free range! I need to build a proper coop with nesting boxes, but I work 40 hours a week in addition to all our animal activities on the weekend - so where’s the time? Ditto for the following potential income streams: Goat milk, goat cheese, small farm consulting services, organic fertilizer, developing more advertising collateral, more simultaneous parties (when I’m working I’m not available to drive), on-farm parties, etc. As long as I’m working in addition to trying to run the business, there’s not enough hours in the day to expand the business. Frustrated entrepreneur!!!

So that’s where the lizards come in. Margarita machines don’t eat much. I’m hoping that by accumulating a stable of these dudes and keeping them rented, we can start building a steady reliable income stream that will replace my salary and allow me to come home and work the farm. Retire, if you will, but there will be no fishing or golf involved. My pledge is to never try to grow the business using credit. So far, all our expansions are paid for with cash including barns, trailers, and animal supplies.

Please join me in smashing a champagne bottle over the prow of this Crathco 5311 and give us a call to rent it for your next party.

Love,

Kevin