For Investors

Thank you for your interest in supporting The Mason Jar Suite!

The mission of The Mason Jar Suite is to educate, inspire, and entertain the public about food and safe food preservation, while providing a living wage to the people who create the show.
 

If you haven't seen it, yet, please check out our YouTube page to see the first couple of episodes:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHqynTzVzgUQUmnmlnRcfqg

 

This venture is unique; there are cooking shows all over the Internet, and there are multiple network food/cooking channels on television...but NONE of them focus on canning and food preserving. 

The USDA and Cooperative Extension are currently expanding their Food Preservation education programs and funding promotions around the United States; they are tracking dramatic increases in Value-Added Food Businesses, in Home Canning, and in Do-It-Yourself culture around food, especially in people in their 20's-40's [1] [2]. Books on Canning and Fermentation are enjoying their strongest sales since the mid 1970's. 

We are currently working on our pilot season of episodes. We have not begun promoting them outside of our personal communities, as we would like a strong, representative body of work to be available when the general public begins to discover the show.

What will The Mason Jar Suite's episodes be about?

Canning and Food Preservation of all types! We will produce episodes, weekly, in at least 2 categories:

  • The "How To..." videos:
    • These will explain and show viewers how to do things like:
      • Can pickles, salsas, sauces, chutneys, fruits, salmon, meats, soups, relishes, and more;
      • Ferment sauerkraut, kimchi, wine, beer, kombucha, cucumber pickles, etc;
      • Smoke and cure meats;
      • Use pressure canners, water-bath canners, and various tools in the kitchen.
         
  • The "How It Works" videos:
    • These will be very short scientific videos, often entirely animated! They will be where we get deep into the science behind:
      • Botulism, how canning really works, the microbiology of fermentation, how meat is raised and how vegetables are grown (agricultural), how the international food distribution system works, what roles salt plays in canning & cooking, and more!

How much does it cost to produce The Mason Jar Suite?

Like any practical business, The Mason Jar Suite needs to make money, and has overhead.

Our goal after the first year (mid-2016) is to employ the equivalent of (2) half-time individuals, with independent contractors hired for certain tasks, such as writing and videography.

We calculate that each episode, with labor, overhead, and equipment/ingredient costs considered, will require approximately $900 to produce. To expand the show in the future and make the business truly viable, we will need to make a profit.

Major startup costs include:

  • Ingredients for each show ($30-$100/episode)
  • Marketing and campaigns to promote the show ($1000-$1500)
  • Hardware for the show (filming, recording, storage, and editing) ($3000)
  • Payments for software, insurance, etc.
    • Editing software: $600/year
    • Business insurance: $480/year
    • Website & email hosting: $250/year
    • Rent for film set: $1800/year
  • Combined wages of host, editor, videographer, and animator:
    • $3200/month = $38400
      • Based on a conservative $20/hour professional wage, at a combined total of 40 man-hours per week.
         
  • TOTAL = Approximately $46730 in first-full-season costs.
     

How will an Online Show make money? 

The Mason Jar Suite will make income via:

  • Sponsorships
    • Businesses, especially those in the food & kitchen supply spheres will offer sponsorship in exchange for product placement, links on the show and website, and acknowledgements on the website.
    • Sponsorships will be offered from $250 - $1500
      • Initial goals for sponsorships will be $9000
  • Ad Revenue on YouTube
    • When watching a video on YouTube, you will frequently see banner ads (which appear on the bottom of the video) and pre-video ads (which play before the video starts). As a YouTube Partner, the content-creators who upload videos earn a percentage of profit from those ads.
    • It's true that the income-per-view is very low...but The Mason Jar Suite is targeting a demographic which is underserved by quality instructional videos. Therefore, we expect large numbers of people to view these videos over time, resulting in significant ad revenue.
      • This amount will depend on the show's popularity. After pilot episodes are promoted, we expect at least $200/month in YouTube ad revenue = $2400/year
  • Ad Revenue on The Mason Jar Suite's website
    • We will run sidebar ads on this website; the amount we charge for those ads is up to us if we reach out directly to sponsors. There are many examples of food-focused websites successfully funding their operations this way...in fact, that's how the majority of money-making blogs out there can afford to pay their writers!
      • Following the model of other food-based websites with transparent sponsor values, we expect to sell enough ad space to net approximately $650/month in on-site ad revenue = $7800/year
  • Community/audience support via Patreon
    • Patreon is an online platform for crowdfunding, similar to Kickstarter or IndieGoGo.
    • Patrons commit to offering to support the show with monthly payments or payments per episode, in exchange for minor or major rewards:
      • For example, a person could commit to paying $3/month. To thank them, The Mason Jar Suite may commit to sending them an annual thank-you card and providing access to a behind-the-scenes series of footage.
      • The amount offered is up to the Patron, and could range from $1 to $1000 or more per month or per episode.
    • There are many examples of wildly successful campaigns of support for popular YouTube artists.
      • Our initial goal will net $600 in monthly funding on Patreon = $7200/year
         
  • Sweat equity offered from founder (Trav Williams) and other involved individuals:
    • Average 20 hours/week (of the expected 40 hours of labor needed per week)
      • 20 hrs @ $20 = $400/week x 52 = $20,800 in sweat equity
         
  • ANNUAL PROJECTED FIRST-YEAR INCOME BEFORE EXPENSES (for the season November 1 2015-October 31 2016)
    • $46200
      • IN: $46200
      • OUT: $47200
        • Net: -$1000
           
  • AFTER THE FIRST YEAR:
    • Most income streams, especially advertisement value and Patreon support, will continue to rise, as long as the show is consistent.
    • The following income streams will be added after the first year begins:
  • Income: Merchandise
    • Beginning in mid-2016, The Mason Jar Suite will begin to offer merchandise related to the show, as well as provide co-marketing opportunities with other vendors for kitchen equipment.
  • Income: Publishing
    • Also in the future (the timeline to be determined by the growth of The Mason Jar Suite's popularity), we believe it will be viable to create books and booklets about Food Preservation. The sales of these books will be pushed by the online audience of the show, and The Mason Jar Suite's established credibility will help secure our place in bookstores and other online spaces.
       
  • Overhead costs are expected to remain fairly consistent, and founder Sweat Equity offerings will be reduced as The Mason Jar Suite's profits increase.

How will investments pay off?

  • The Mason Jar Suite will dedicate:
    • 50% of all profits (after the above expenses) back to investors.
      • As with any business investment, it may be 1-2 years before the first payments begin.
         
    • Payments will be sent quarterly (4 times per year), beginning on April 1, 2016, along with a report of profit and expense.
       
    • If there are multiple investors, profits will be divided amongst them all evenly, regardless of their initial investment amount.
       
    • Investors will receive payment consistently until they have reached 150% of their initial investment.
    • EXAMPLE:
      • Investor A invests $5000 in The Mason Jar Suite. Investor B invests $1000.
      • For the quarter lasting January 1, 2016 to April 1, 2016, The Mason Jar Suite shows a profit of $1000.
        • 50% of that profit ($500) will be distributed to all investors,
        • Investor A receives $250.
        • Investor B receives $250.
      • IF EVERY QUARTER saw a profit of $1000, then both Investors would receive $250 each quarter, or $1000 per year.
        • After 6 quarters, Investor B would have received $1500 (150% of their investment), and would receive no more payments. (In this example, it took 1.5 years, assuming no growth or loss.)
        • Investor A would have also received a total of $1500, and will now receive $500/per quarter (because the other investor is no longer present), until they receive a total of $7500 (150% of their investment). (In this example, it took 3.25 years, assuming no growth or loss.)

How can you get involved?

  • The goals of The Mason Jar Suite are to educate, inspire, and entertain the public about food and food preservation, while providing a living wage to the people who make the show.
     
    • Please consider making an investment; The Mason Jar Suite needs just $7500 in initial costs to get off the ground with equipment and initial marketing
       
    • We have already begun filming, entirely funded by the founder and the work-hours of a small team of people who believe that this vision will develop into a well-established and profitable venture.
       
    • Email Trav at Trav@BrokenBanjo.net, or call him at 330-822-2656 if you would like to be a part of the initial support network of this show, or if you have any questions.

We are inspired by cooking-show models online, such as:

[1] http://nchfp.uga.edu/papers/2002/sneposter.html
[2] https://web.coas.missouri.edu/~communication/sites/default/files/saving-food.pdf

SPONSORS:

Thank you to Ball for supplying The Mason Jar Suite with jars for our first episodes!

Thank you to Granite•Ware for requesting custom videos and supplying us with canners!