I might as well start with the rigor of our daily life. We're not the only people who work hard, day after day, but it sure does feel like it sometimes.

The alarm goes off anywhere between 4:15 a.m. and 6 a.m., depending on the day. On 4:15 days, we get up and load refrigerated or frozen boxes of our USDA-inspected meats onto our refrigerated delivery truck. Each box has been invoiced manually -- we pull it from a pallet of other meat cuts processed on the same butcher date, write down the weight of its contents, label it with a sticker identifying the customer, and stack it on a pallet organized by the number of stops the driver will make. Big cases (holding 40-60 lbs) go on the bottom. Lighter cases (10-30 lbs) go nearer the top.

I am not focused and motivated in the morning. I know I will make mistakes if I try to pack and invoice orders just before the truck leaves, so I do everything possible the night before. Even if that makes it an 18-hour day.

But that's enough whining. Basically, we manage production, processing, and distribution of our 100% grass-fed beef and that of our partner farmers (who also run organic farms). The work is maddeningly diverse and usually exhausting. But every now and then someone tells us he/she saw our products in a store, tossed some in his/her cart AND encouraged another shopper to try them, too.

It's nice that trust is such an important measure of value in our business.