As part of the Seller Community’s First Birthday, we wanted to highlight a few of our Community Super Sellers. These folks are some of our top contributors in the community, helping out other businesses with technical help and business advice.
Today we’ll be hearing from Jon Sciabica from Sciabica’s Family Olive Oil. I asked him a few questions about his business. If you want to know more, feel free to comment on this post!
Tell us a little about your business.
Since 1936, we’ve been cold pressing olive oil in California. That makes us by far the oldest producer in the US! My great-grandfather began with the artisan knowledge of olive oil production he learned in Marsala, Sicily as a young man. This knowledge has been passed on for four generations.
We offer delicious single varietal olives oils (just like wine) ranging from buttery-sweet to robust-and-peppery. We also pioneered a process for flavored olive oils. Often called ‘fused’ or ‘co-milled’ – we take only the ripest fruits and freshest herbs, and cold press them with our just-harvested olives, resulting in a delectable fusion of flavors. Other flavored oils often use heat-infusion, instead of our unique “cold-press” process. The difference in quality and flavor is like night and day.
You can learn all about our family, our olive oils and pick up a bottle for yourself at SunshineInABottle.com.
When did you start using Square?
We signed up and ran our first test transactions in 2011. I was floored by the intuitive user interface and the general "usability" which allowed me to quickly train my "non-techie" employees. Anyone who has used the wireless credit card terminals issued by credit card processors (under exorbitant monthly leases) knows what I'm talking about. In particular, refunds were always complicated with the traditional credit card terminals and Square made it super simple. We integrated Square into our farmers market stands in 2012 and never looked back!
What do you know now that you wish you would have known on day 1 of starting your business?
Well, our story is a bit different because I'm the fourth generation, so the business was started long before I got here. Still, when I arrived, I wish that I (and the company) understood better the "Time Value" of money and the importance of "Cash Flow" vs. "Profitability." Every small business owner needs to understand that when you hold inventory for a long time, you're not making what you think you are, and you can be "profitable" and still run out of money.
What questions can you help with in the community?
I've been working with various inventory software for more than a decade (AccPac, Quickbooks, Erply, Fishbowl) - so I can help with inventory related questions, but we do not use Square for inventory since that's handled by our manufacturing software. I'm always on the cutting edge of hardware and I love to help with those questions.
Jon is our newest community Super Seller - welcome! We’re excited to have him on board and participating in the Seller community. Thanks @sciabica1936!
