Help Support Primitive Choice

What a wild year it has been for all of us. It has been 17 weeks since my accident and you guys haven’t heard much from me. Here is a much-needed update as of December 18th, 2020.
 

What happened, why does Primitive Choice not have any raw meat in stock?

Short answer: I am currently closed on the raw side of things due to a major car accident and selling our home.

Long answer: The year stated out great for Primitive Choice, then came March/April and Covid was in full swing. Certain proteins sky rocketed; while others were just impossible to even source. That meant more stress on me to figure out a solution so that I could continue to supply my wonderful customers. I put in the long hours and I figured out a solution; and by May I was totally swamped with orders. I was so thankful for this splurge in my business and I was doing everything I could to keep my inventory stocked just to restock it again the following week.


July then rolled around and Zack and I listed our house for sale. Within a week it was under contract and the very next day Zack started his new job 2.5 hours North of me. So now on top of just trying to stay afloat with running Primitive Choice, I now had literally everything on my shoulders. That meant no help with our daily house duties and that I had an entire house, raw business and dog training business to pack up practically on my own within 30 days. Zack would travel home on the weekends and we would pull long hours to take what I had already packed up, to our storage unit.


Fast forward to 2 days before we closed on our house. I had the house about 90% packed and done. I woke up Wednesday morning ready to make another dent into the moving duties which included taking my remaining inventory to the cold storage facility. I packed my entire walk-in freezer into my trailer by myself and texted Zack to tell him I was on the way to the cold storage facility to drop it off. I was in my truck about 4-5 minutes, not even 2 miles from our house, when the trailer hit a pot hole on the interstate and fishtailed so badly and quickly that it flipped my truck and trailer. Before I knew it was hanging upside down in my 4Runner, only hanging by the seatbelt. I was screaming for help when I saw 3 men running to my truck to help get me out. They got me out and the first thing that crossed my mind was to thank the Lord that I made Krueger stay home this trip. Krueger is in my car with me 99.99% of the time, but for some reason when I went to load him into his kennel that morning, I looked at him and said, “No buddy you stay home today.” I just stood there shaking, I had no clue what just happened. I was in absolute shock. My 4runner and my cargo trailer were absolutely totaled. On top of that, I practically lost all of my inventory I had for Primitive Choice. I was in total shock that I was even still alive.
 

I called Zack from the side of the interstate and he rushed home from his brand-new job he just started, ugh. My neighbor came to pick me up and take me home. When Zack got to me, we had to go straight to the wrecker lot to get all the meat out of the trailer. Nothing was thawed, but some of the packaging was dusty. So, I decided instead of wasting it totally, that I would pay to put it in storage and use it for my own animals. We had to make two trips from the wrecker lot to the cold storage facility before they closed. Mind you, this entire time I’m just trembling by just being in a car. Once we left cold storage, I got a call back from insurance saying that we in fact did not have full coverage like we thought we did which means they did not cover a single penny. Well, that was just another blow to things. Now I was really out of everything. Plus, we still needed the trailer in order to continue to move our things out of our house. Man, what a day.


Two days later, I had to drive all my animals by myself in Zacks 4Runer, behind my mom who was in her truck while pulling a trailer and Zack was in a moving truck. I was shaking the entire drive. We moved into my mom’s house that Saturday and have been here ever since. Now simply being in a car is an absolute nightmare for me. And to think that was just the beginning of this chapter of our lives.


The plan was to be at my mom’s house for a month or two, then we would purchase our new home and get back to normal. Well, Covid has so badly affected the housing market that either nothing comes up to purchase or when it does its 100k more than it’s worth. So then we started looking into building a house. We are currently waiting for land to purchase, but so are a lot of other people in Colorado. Once we can find the land and get building, then hopefully things can start falling back into place. It is still a lot to figure out and its extremely stressful on us, but we will make it work.


So, since August 14th, I have been without a car, my raw business and my own house. Things have just been downright hard. I am ready to get building and get my business back up and running!





Is Primitive Choice going out of business?

Short answer: No!

Long answer: No, I have just been put in an unthinkable situation and am trying to figure out the solution. Once we find land to start building our new house, my shop will also be built. The huge hope is that my shop will be allowed to be completed first, so that I can get moved in and get back to operating. Unfortunately, we have no real time line as of right now. Between Covid effecting the entire process and so many people wanting to buy land, it is just unknown. The build process is predicted to take 6 - 8 months, but that is once we have found and purchased the land. That said, we could be looking at May if we find the land very soon and my building is able to be occupied before the house, or we could be looking at the end of 2021. I am praying that is not the case but I want to be open and transparent with you guys on the timeline.





What is Primitive Choice doing now?

Short answer: Selling dry goods!

Long answer: My only choice to continue running my business is to sell dry goods. That means freeze dried and dehydrated treats and chews, collars, leashes, toys etc. I am working a lot on behind-the-scenes things like my website, logo, shipping rates etc. I have been nothing but busy even though I am not selling raw items.

 



Does Primitive Choice need your help?

Short answer: Yes

Long answer: I have never been one to ask for help, no matter how small or large the help needed is. I have always been a go getter, so instead of finding reasons or excuses of why I can’t do something myself, I figure out a way to get it done. I have busted my butt for my company since day one and it makes me so proud to see what I have accomplished, but I am at a point where I have to admit that I do need help, and I need help in various ways. 


1. Are you local to Colorado? Are you interested in buying any of my raw goods inventory that was involved in my accident? Everything would be 50% off. Again, the meat did NOT thaw at all, it did not come in contact with any oil, gas etc. The only thing that happened to it was that it got thrown around inside the trailer while I was flipping over on the interstate. Some bags have tiny holes in the plastic and some of the labels on the packages are a little dusty but the food itself is not tampered. I will not sell this as my inventory when I reopen. I will start fresh as everything is out of stock. However, if you are interested in what I have sitting at storage then please contact me.

I do have a list of the items I have that are in the 2 or 5 pound bags and I also have a ton of bulk Lamb cases as well. It is located in Colorado Springs. I would love to set up a day or two for you guys to meet at the facility and buy what you want.


2. While Primitive Choice is down with the raw goods, I ask that if you are buying your pets any dry goods that you consider purchasing from Primitive Choice. I would greatly appreciate the continued support and it will help me be able to keep items in stock for you guys.


3. Are you a graphic designer? A web designer? A web developer? A photoshop expert? A social media expert? An excel expert? A CPA? Someone that would just like to give their honest feedback? I have a lot of projects that I am currently working on by myself, and would be interested in talking to anyone about hiring them for some of these jobs.


4. Do you want to give back in a super simple yet totally effective way? If you can spare just a few minutes and leave a Google or Facebook shop review about your experience with Primitive Choice, that would be great! You can also leave individual product reviews.

Google – In the search bar type in “Primitive Choice”. On the right side of the screen, you will see the google reviews. Click on this and then on “write a review”.

Facebook – In the search bar type in “Primitive Choice”. Under the profile picture you will see the tabs “Home” “About” “Reviews”. Click on the “Reviews” tab. You will see “Do you recommend Primitive Choice”, choose your response. A new window will then pop up where you can write your actual review.

Product reviews – Go to Primitivechoice.com – Search for the item you wish to review. Scroll down towards the bottom of the page. You will see a section called “Customer Reviews”. Here, on the right side of the screen you will see a button “Write a review”. A new window will then pop up where you can rate the item and write your review.


5. Another simple way to show your support is to “like, comment, share and follow” Primitive Choice on social media. We are currently on Facebook and Instagram mostly, but do have accounts on Twitter and TikTok that may get used one day!

You can also subscribe to our newsletter by going to our website and scrolling to the bottom of the page. I do not send out constant emails, I promise!


6. Do you want to help support Primitive Choice get back up and running? This is the hardest thing for me to do, but I have had a lot of people tell me that I should just ask. If you would be willing to donate to Primitive Choice, your contribution would help fund the new shop, inventory start up and business vehicle. Any contributions would be more than appreciated!

I will be using GoFundMe for the fundraiser to securely collect your generous contributions. If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to ask.
 

I appreciate each and every one of you for your continued support and belief in Primitive Choice. Thank you for trusting my products and what my company is all about. You are the reason Primitive Choice continues to grow! Thank you for your patience and understanding through these very stressful and difficult times. Primitive Choice will be stronger than ever and will be ready to meet all your raw feeding needs.


Have a happy and safe holiday season with your friends and family! 

Shea-la and Krueger