From Idea to Reality: How a Business Owner is Turning her Favorite Hobby into a Tasty Profit
Are you a popcorn lover? Do you like trying out various kinds of popcorn? Are you craving for some of that tasty movie theater seasoning? Most of us do! Maybe you would like to try a new flavor, like kettle corn, or perhaps you might want to customize it for your needs, whether it’s for a family movie night or entertaining a crowd. We’ve got you covered! Meet The Popping Queen, founded in 2020 by Sarah Fisher, located at 6110 NE Cherry Drive in Hillsboro Oregon. She’ll make you a batch that is sure to satisfy your tastebuds!
Sarah Fisher is an African American business owner and avid popcorn enthusiast who first began her career working at a movie theater.
“I started The Popping Queen in February of 2020, shortly before COVID hit,’ Ms. Fisher said in an interview with Ulysses Garcia (she/they), founder of Sensation Experience. “I got my associate’s degree in business Management and was originally planning to get my Bachelor’s but instead pursued a career in the workforce, working at the theater and two other jobs simultaneously.” Ms. Fisher received her Associate’s degree several years later.
Before starting her company (and before getting her job at the theater), Ms. Fisher tested out one of her business ideas by making some Mason jars with gluten-free cookie ingredients and sold them to her family and friends. “I felt like it was a sort of ‘testing ground’,” Ms. Fisher added.
Now, people can either place an order online or come to the store and get a bag of freshly made popcorn, which takes about five minutes to prepare. Popcorn tastes best when it has been stored properly, and for a short amount of time. She also puts a label on all her products so people know what ingredients are in them!
As a startup business owner, you don’t need to go all in with a huge budget. Ms. Fisher’s family was intrigued by her popcorn business idea, they agreed to help her find a place that would work for her small business idea. Right now she’s currently running it out of a building’s lobby. She’s also saving some money so she can move into a mall-type setting, which will increase her visibility and open up new opportunities that she needs in order for her business to grow even further and hire part-time workers.
“How do customers hear about your business?” Mx. Garcia asked while Ms. Fisher gave them a tour of the lobby in her store.
“Well, most of them hear about it through word of mouth,” Ms. Fisher replied. “I’m not currently advertising or anything. I just have a sign at the door, and since they love my popcorn, they’ve told their family and friends about it.”
Satisfied customers are our best friend. Ms. Fisher has a growing list of regular customers who are eager to continue supporting her business.
Another way that people sometimes learn about local businesses is by doing a quick search on Google or their search engine of choice for certain keywords. The practice of making your web site look attractive to search engines is called search engine optimization, or SEO. Interestingly, one of Ms. Fisher’s business advisors said that if you get five or more tags or mentions on social media, then you’ll have enough people who might be interested in buying from you. Basically, they would have to see the business’s sign, buy the product, try it out, and, if they really like it, they’d have to tell their family and friends about how to get it.
Since Ms. Fisher has had some experience delivering food through services like Uber Eats, Door Dash, etc., she decided to add her business information there.
“This was how I heard about you!” Mx. Garcia said excitedly as they stood next to one of the three cabinet-style popcorn machines. In fact, the idea for the business came to Ms. Fisher quite spontaneously. There were lots of businesses that delivered coffee, ice cream, and meals, but there weren’t any that delivered popcorn, as far as anyone knew. With a pandemic that had kept everyone isolated for so long, wouldn’t it be a great idea to have a place where you could make popcorn, and have it delivered straight to your customer’s house? This was certainly a wonderful way to get that movie theater style of popcorn without having to go anywhere.
Business was pretty slow at first, but as people became more aware of Ms. Fisher’s store, sales began to increase by the end of the year.
While a detailed traditional business plan is the best way to show lenders and investors how you will use your startup capital to buy your equipment and inventory to run your business, Ms. Fisher used a simple Power Point presentation with details of her budget and marketing plan on each slide.
“It was a little difficult when I had to figure out how much I was going to price my popcorn,” Ms. Fisher said, “but I settled on a price that would generally cover the cost of buying and making it, plus a little extra to cover expenses. I researched various popcorn brands and put together a budget to see if it would be profitable.”
There’s nothing like a challenge when a business suddenly finds itself having to deal with competitors, but it’s something to keep in mind when implementing that into a business plan. Ms. Fisher feels confident that her exceptional skills of making indoor theater-style popcorn during certain times of the week will give her a competitive edge. Plus, it’s always nice to know that a business being run by someone in a minority group is more apt to be supportive of other diverse communities, such as LGBTQIA+ and people with disabilities.
“I was really impressed when I came across your web site and saw alt text on the logo!’ Mx. Garcia, who is totally blind and uses a screen reader, said in a phone call the day before they came to the store for the tour.
“Thank you!” Ms. Fisher replied. “I try to make my site as accessible ‘because I’ve had some experience around blind people since my mother started losing her vision.”
“Can a blind person make popcorn independently?” Mx. Garcia displayed a pair of Ove Gloves, which are made of multiple layers of heat-resistant material, such as what firefighters might wear.
“From my experience, making popcorn has always been about listening to when the popping slows down, usually in about four minutes of putting them inside the kettle.” Ms. Fisher added that Kettle Corn also makes a distinct popping sound depending on the level of sugar that has been added in to the mixture. For someone without sight, Ms. Fisher recommends that buttered popcorn would be a better choice, as Kettle Corn can sometimes stick to the sides of the kettle and make it difficult to dump out. She also added that having packets with the ingredients already measured for you would be a great idea. This is so they wouldn’t have to guess how much oil needs to be added before every batch.
Mx. Garcia looks forward to learning this skill if they ever decided to run a concession stand and hopefully teach other blind people to do the same. In one of their more recent blog articles, Mx. Garcia has written about the things they hoped they could learn how to do as a child, but which they regret not learning sooner.
In conclusion, The Popping Queen is your go-to business if you live within the Hillsboro, Oregon area, and Mx. Garcia is looking forward to helping Ms. Fisher connect with various minority-led organizations to help grow her business.
About the Author
Ulysses Harmony Garcia is an avid writer and blogger who loves to cover various topics, from medical science and technology to recreational hobbies. They have written some articles on sky-diving for the first time, exploring the secret relationship between light and sound, and their hopes of one day being able to see one day.
Mx. Garcia first learned how popcorn was made when they visited a Les Schwab tire center in 1999, and then tried some microwave popcorn a year later. Mx. Garcia attended several kitchen prep classes specially designed for blind students where they learned the importance of measuring ingredients and preventing cross contamination by washing hands and surfaces frequently.
At present, they are currently working on getting some of their books professionally edited before submitting it to publishers for consideration.