How Much Can I Earn as a Primalista

Usually making a ‘quick buck’ isn’t the main reason people are drawn to Primal Alternative, however it is important to decide if you think this is a viable business model for you.

I often get asked to present ‘typical sales’ or ‘average earnings’.  Or give an idea of how many stockists a Primalista needs to have to make their business successful or profitable.

After working as a Primal Alternative Producer myself for 18 months and then spending over 5 years watching Primalistas use this business model and over 12 months analysing sales reporting, I have reached one definitive conclusion.

There is no typical or average example.

This is a good thing!  

This model has been created so that you get to create a business that serves you, one that fits around your lifestyle and what is most important.

This model can also mould to your version of a successful business. Everybody has a different version of what ‘success’ looks like.

What does success mean to you?

From seeing the sales reporting (a job that made the Primalistas groan, we don’t do it anymore) I could see there were Primalistas baking $1,000 worth of products one day a fortnight, selling mainly directly to friends.

There were also other Primalistas baking four days per week with a market and several stockists and baking $7,000 worth of product per month.

But most Primalistas were somewhere in between those two.

Most Potential Primalistas that speak to me in the interview say they are looking to bake for 1-3 days per week and earn around $500-$750 gross profit.

The Primal Alternative Baking Licence is a liberatingly unique model for the following two reasons:

1. there are no minimum requirements on bake time or amount to produce
2. you do not pay a percentage of your sales to Primal Alternative

Variables

There are five variables that will affect your business profit margin:

1. your cost of ingredients
2. whether you sell wholesale or retail (most do a combination)
3. how many stockists you have
4. how much your stockists order
5. your speed and focus when baking

My earnings example

I created this business by baking two mornings per week and during that time (about 9 hours) I baked about AU$1,000 worth of product per week, of which on average about $500 was my gross profit.

This felt a very successful and worthwhile to me as I was working from home, could be there for the kids, get all the other stuff done that needs to be done when one has kids and a house to run and a bit of a life – and pay the mortgage.

I had one tiny market stall at the local Steiner School and five stockists: Luscious Cafe which ordered Cookies and Fruit Toast to serve in the cafe, The Healthy Nut which took about 12 loaves of bread a week, 4 Pizza Bases and 6 Cookies and 6 Gellies, The Denmark Health Shop which took about 8 breads, 4 Pizza Bases and 8 Cookies, The Alkaline Cafe which took anywhere between 20-60 Pizza Bases per week and Massimos Pizza which took 10 Pizza Bases every couple of months.

You can see from this example, that it isn’t the number of stockists that matters, it is more how often they order and how much they order, and this varies widely too.

The Primal Alternative Pricing Model

Primal Alternative sets the wholesale and retail pricing (what the Primalista charges) here I will show you how much of the sale is your gross profit.

When you become a Primalista you will get access to our Supplier Comparison Spreadsheet – to make sure you are getting the best priced ingredients based on your location and our Costings Calculator where you can (if so inclined) add in all of your ingredients to get your exact profit per product.

The cost to produce has been worked out as an average of metro and regional costs in Australia. Typically if you live in metropolitan areas in the Eastern States, your ingredients will be cheaper than if you live regionally elsewhere.

The model has been worked out through, natural trial and error over time, seeing what sells at what price, what doesn’t and moving with the consumer trends.  I have also worked closely with Costing Specialists on the pricing to make sure it is viable for our producers.

I’ve put together these graphics to demonstrate how much of the product profit is yours. Wholesale means when you sell to a business that on sells to the consumers, and they take a cut of the profit. Retail means when you sell direct to the consumer, say at a markets or to a friend.

All Primalistas charge the same wholesale and retail price to ensure collaboration and non competition.  It’s good to know that we offer a recommended retail price to our stockists but they can charge what they like.

The cost to produce includes ingredients, bag and label, it does not include conversion time such as your labour, gas/electricity, delivery time, market stall fees, admin or sales, due to the variables.  

Prices as of July 1 2020

The Recipes are simple & replicable

The Primal Alternative recipes are streamlined and ‘faff free’ – no artisan baking skills required, simply: measure, mix & bake.  No kneading or proving. Some recipes you will find easier and others will take a bit of mastering.  On average it takes about ten minutes to make one batch of bread (2 loaves), in this 23 second time-lapse video, you will see Primalista Shalissa making our Fat & Seedy Bread.

Do it from home

The Primal Alternative Food Safety Program and covering letter will help you register your kitchen as a Food Business with your local governing authority.  These recipes are designed for a regular 600mm or 900mm oven.  You can also do this from a commercial kitchen, if you prefer.  You’ll be able to bake 12 loaves at once, see the picture below.

Start baking & earning money quicker than if you started a brand from scratch 

With the Primal Alternative Licence Primalistas are up and running in their own baking business, making sales from on average, between 2 weeks to 2 months.

Business Planning

So given that I can’t give you any average earnings, it’s a good idea to spend some time working out what a successful Primal Alternative Business would look like for you.

We look at your why, and how you want to be of service in a way that will benefit your customers and enhance your growth, contribution and experience in your life.

The Primal Alternative Baking Licence is a collaborative, ethical & community centric business model.   Once you have worked through this, or even just at first mention of how this works – you will get a feeling as to whether this is right for you, or not.

Now it is over to you to decide if this is the right fit for you, or not.

On the call Potential Primalistas share with me their compelling why.

• Why they are on their health journey.
• Why they want to help others.
• Why they just can’t face going back to their ‘old’ job anymore.
• Why they long to have a home based business doing something they really are passionate about: health, food and cooking.
• Why they are looking for that something, just for them.
• Why they long to be part of sisterhood community of like minded women who ‘get it’.
• Why they don’t want to reinvent the wheel and want to fast track their business by jumping on board with a successful brand.

We talk about the markets they want to go to and the cafes and health shops they want to stock.

We look at how this will fit into their already busy week and set a monetary figure around how much they feel will be enough to earn to make this feel ‘worthwhile’ to them.

There can be a lot to gain from running a business and of being of service to others in a meaningful way than just money.

There will be bumper weeks, and quieter weeks.  If this doesn’t sit well with you, then you are may be better off getting an hourly rate set by an employer.

My tips for success

1. Be clear on your why – there is training on this as part of the Licence
2. Have set bake days  – turning on the oven for one online shop order is not viable
3. Set either a time or money goal and when you hit that, practice saying ‘no’ to other business – to prevent overwork and burnout
4. Cluster similar jobs together to get into a productive flow state (e.g all invoicing done at the same time, all ordering done at the same time)
5. Eliminate distractions – turn your phone onto airplane mode, put a ‘Do Not Disturb’ note on the front door
6. Be consistent, communicate well with your customers and be collaborative with your Primalista Sistas and Bros.
7. Acknowledge that speed bumps, bad days, things going wrong are all small but inevitable parts of doing business
8. Celebrate your successes – gratitude = magnitude

No guarantees

Primal Alternative does not make any earnings guarantees.

Now what?

If you made it this far down the page you will be feeling a HELL YES or a erm no!  If it is a HELL YES I want to hear from you!  Let’s get together on ZOOM to discuss how this could look in your life and take it from there.

Book your time in my diary now CLICK HERE.