Thanks for a great workshop!

This past Saturday, the 23rd, we held our Cottage Foods Workshop in Arlington to help folks get started in the local food biz by utilizing Washington's new Cottage Foods Law.

We had a great day, with passionate attendees bringing innovative thinking to the discussions and activities. It was a great session for the farmers' market to host, and we look forward to more workshops like it in the future!

Some of the hot topics of the workshop:

• The Cottage Foods Law needs some great advocates to help improve it for future years; we are working on an e-group that will be open to anyone who has suggestions to make the law more consistent, convenient, and profitable.
• Marketing is a must to help your local food biz succeed. You might have the tastiest bread this side of the Mississipi--but you've got to catch a consumer's eye before they even get a taste!
• Plan smart--get yourself a circle of reliable experts who can help you fill in holes in your toolkit. These can be other business owners, accountants, lawyers, and web pros. 
• Do yourself a favor: expect to succeed!

We'd like to thank Fred Berman of the WSDA, whose comments and insights were a frank look at the pros and cons of the law as it stands, Tamila Morgan of UrbanFarm Naturals for sharing some of her hard-won tips and lessons on marketing, Carolyn Eslick of Grow Washington for introducing us to smart business plan ideas, and the city of Arlington for the use of the public meeting space in the Arlington Depot building!

We hope you'll join us for future workshops!