Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Patrick Flynn, Founder and CEO of Frag Out Flavor, located in Golden, CO, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

At Frag Out Flavor, we provide the absolute best spice blends and BBQ rubs for meals that bring families and friends together. With over 20 proprietary spice blends, we have something to satisfy even the pickiest of eaters. From sweet to savory, no-heat to HOT, we've got you covered.

One of our primary goals was to establish a line of versatile blends using high-quality ingredients (not just salt and sugar like many on the market) to enhance the flavor of our customers' food - including our own! Having achieved that goal, our Frag Out Flavor family is now comprised of countless loyal customers across the country. We're also available in over 450+ retail locations across the US, including some in Canada, Germany, Sweden, and Norway.

As a veteran-owned and operated company, we stand behind those who defend our country’s founding principles, our communities, and the American way of life.

Tell us about yourself

I've had an entrepreneurial spirit since childhood. After returning home from a deployment to Afghanistan in 2011, I completed my master's degree and went to work in the industry. But the passion to fulfill my lifelong dream of starting my own business continued to grow, as did my desire to reconnect to the brotherhood I once knew and was a part of. These two passions synergistically fueled my ambition to start Frag Out Flavor.

Now that we've become a well-established and respected company, having such loyal and supportive customers is without a doubt the biggest motivator for persevering and pushing the business forward. We're far more than a spice company; we truly are a community of like-minded individuals who rally together to enjoy our passion for good food and BBQ.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Being able to give back to the veteran community, whether sending blends to troops deployed down range, supporting various veteran organizations around the country or simply connecting with other veterans on social platforms or events around the country.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

For me personally, I have to work extremely hard on establishing proper balance in my life. The business never sleeps. There are always so many competing priorities inside and outside the company. I've learned to combat this by proper goal setting and establishing milestones for each of them.

I establish/evaluate both my personal goals and business goals at the same time. This helps me be more effective at prioritizing, which leads me to striking a good balance. It's definitely a moving target!

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

I wish I could give you the top 100. But if I had to choose only three, I suppose those would be:

  1. Be genuinely passionate. You should absolutely love what you're doing. You won't love every aspect of the business, but you should be genuinely passionate about serving your customers. If you're not trying to better the lives of your customers, then why do it at all?
  2. Be patient. Things almost never grow as fast as you want. We all hear the stories of companies that scale quickly, but the reality is there are exponentially more who never experience this rapid growth. This is a reality you need to accept ahead of time. Don't let it be an excuse for lack of motivation or throwing in the towel, but make it the catalyst for setting realistic expectations.
  3. Prioritize. What's the best use of your time? Are you letting the business take over your personal life and neglecting your family? If so, what's the point of having a business? Don't step over quarters to pick up pennies. I think this is a great principle that not only helps you identify priorities in your business but conceptually to all things you're trying to prioritize in your life.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

If you or a loved one are a service member deployed down range, please connect with us! We've established our very own Flavor For Troops program that allows us (along with our customers' support) to send blends to deployed troops. We're always looking for a healthy backlog of recipients. You can find out more here.

For anyone interested in learning more about who we are and how we came to be, check out our full story.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://fragoutflavor.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fragoutflavor
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fragoutflavor/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/frag-out-flavor/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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