Christopher & Kirsten K. Shockey – Ferment Works




Off-the-Grid Biz Podcast show

Summary: <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Episode 016.<br> <br> <br> <br> Are you selling physical products? Can you scale fast if necessary? Have you considered adding information, education and/or entertainment to your product line?<br> <br> <br> <br> Kirsten and Christopher Shockey had a farmer's market-based fermented edibles business (think sauerkraut) that was so popular and grew so fast that Whole Foods Market put in a massive order for their chain of stores! While many would think that was the beginning of a huge product empire, it actually forced them to rethink what they really wanted out of their business.<br> <br> <br> <br> Years later, they have transitioned to an information-based business, that provides entertaining books, courses and live-training all regard how to make fermented foods of all shapes, sizes, smells and colors.<br> <br> <br> <br> They have authored 3 great books:<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> * Fermented Vegetables: Creative Recipes for Fermenting 64 Vegetables &amp; Herbs in Krauts, Kimchis, Brined Pickles, Chutneys, Relishes &amp; Pastes<br> * Fiery Ferments: 70 Stimulating Recipes for Hot Sauces, Spicy Chutneys, Kimchis with Kick, and Other Blazing Fermented Condiments<br> * Miso, Tempeh, Natto &amp; Other Tasty Ferments: A Step-by-Step Guide to Fermenting Grains and Beans for Umami and Health<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Listen as we discuss their tragedies and triumphs in business, and presenting at shows like the Mother Earth News Fair.<br> <br> <br> <br> While, in certain spots, this episode is difficult to hear, we've provided a full transcript below. Listen &amp; read now!<br> <br> <br> <br> Find out more about the Shockeys: <a href="http://ferment.works/">http://ferment.works/</a><br> <br> <br> <br> Find out the business events secrets for growing and strengthening ANY company: <a href="http://brianjpombo.com/secrets/">http://brianjpombo.com/secrets/</a><br> <br> <br> <br> AUDIO TRANSCRIPT:<br> <br> <br> <br> You're listening to the Off-the-Grid Biz Podcast. I'm Brian Pombo. I'm going to set the scene for you a little bit with this next interview. You see this all started when I was set to meet one-on-one with Kirsten and Christopher Shockey. This is kind of different because up until this point, I had not done any live interviews with anybody for this podcast. Everything had been done either by phone - we also do it by zoom, which is a digital communication similar to Skype and so being one-on-one, I thought I had all my equipment working properly.<br> <br> <br> <br> Sadly, I was wrong. After finishing up, I realized that my microphone was not fully plugged in to my recording device. What we ended up with was subpar audio. The conversation I had with the Shockey's was so interesting, was so revealing, that I found it necessary to get as much out of this audio as possible.<br> <br> <br> <br> What we ended up with is - there are some parts of the audio you may not be able to fully understand what the person's saying. So here's what I did to help resolve the problem: We attempted to get the audio to sound as best as we could and I've added in transcription where you can actually read what everybody is saying. If you would rather read it, go check out the description or go to <a href="http://offthegridbiz.com">offthegridbiz.com</a>, and right in the post, you can read every word that is spoken in the podcast. With that in mind, I hope you enjoy this great conversation that I had with the Shockeys.<br> <br> <br> <br> Brian: Kirsten. Christopher, welcome to the Off the Grid Biz Podcast.<br> <br> <br> <br> Shockey's: Thank you. Glad to be here.<br> <br> <br> <br> Brian: So why don't you just let everyone know a little bit about who you are...