Why Heat From The Hammer?

Everybody has an origin story on why they started a hot sauce business. And for the most part 75% of each person's story shares an overlap of everyone else's story.  We are no different however we are going to focus on why we opened an online store during a pandemic.

There are multiple reasons for starting a hot sauce business.  It may seem like a crowded industry to try to break in to but the beautiful thing about the hot sauce industry is everyone's sauce is different and people like different.  Another thing we have found is that especially in our area, the people who are making craft sauces are incredibly supportive and helpful to newcomers.  It is more like a fraternity than competing businesses.

So why would we open a business during a pandemic and spend our time and resources on something a lot of other people are doing?  Well there are many reasons we are operating this hobby of ours.  It is a hobby for us and not our main source of income so we are not in danger of losing our house if we can't sell enough hot sauce or snacks.  This is very important for us because it gives a bit of financial leeway in how we run our business and allows us to do things at our own pace. 

Of course the first reason you would start a business is to make money.  And we are interested in making some extra money.  But there are several other more important reasons why we are doing this.

For me personally, the most important reason why my wife and I are doing this is because it is a very effective coping mechanism for my depression.  I was diagnosed with severe depression in 2010.  Medication and therapy are important ways to treat depression and keep it at bay however for me personally, one of the most effective ways to stave off depression is to keep busy.  Working in a kitchen making hot sauces and then getting out and meeting people while delivering occupies my time and my mind and keeps me in a very good mental state.  Realistically I would do this hobby even if it didn't make money just for the fact it keeps me mentally healthy.

The third reason why we do this is because we feel we have great products and ideas and we want to share that with people.  We started by sharing with our family, friends and coworkers and got enough support that we decided we wanted to share with anyone who was interested.

The final reason why we are doing this is because it gives us an opportunity to give back to the community that we love and live in.  We are setting up partnerships to donate proceeds from the sales of some of our products to local causes that are important to us. It is a way for us to give back to our community.  We know that the amount we are giving back isn't huge but it does make us feel good that we are able to contribute something.

If you are ever interested in hearing how we started let me know and we can meet up for a beer or two and go over that story!