Weekly Sync — 2025-11-24
Attendees: [1], [2]
Source: Fathom Recording
Overview
Weekly sync covering four main areas: a new inventory liquidation project proposal for [3], urgent SEO and Google Ads setup tasks for [4], an escalating overdue invoice situation with [5], and an internal Salesforce email template fix.
Doodla Farms — Inventory Liquidation Project
Doodla Farms is facing a building financing gap after a bank loan shortfall. They have committed to a new building and have already drawn on grant funds, but cannot cover the remaining balance.
Proposed approach: A dedicated sales project to liquidate ~1 million lbs of white popcorn inventory, targeting buyers who can purchase in bulk. This is framed as a sales project with marketing support (positioning materials, outreach), not a traditional marketing engagement.
Key details:
- At $0.50/lb, 1M lbs = $500,000 — a significant portion of the financing gap
- Mark believes the inventory can sell for better than $0.50/lb
- A new popcorn-specific grant (~$250k) is available to fund the project work; Mark intends to draw project fees from this grant rather than the existing retainer
- Selling family land (~800 acres, in the family for three generations) is the emotionally charged last resort; the client wants to exhaust all other options first
- Fundraising/donations were considered and ruled out — Doodla Farms is a commercial enterprise
Timeline: Mark to draft the project proposal this week or next (before or just after Thanksgiving).
Old World — SEO & Google Ads Setup
Several urgent operational tasks are blocking Old World's marketing progress.
Domain Rating (DR)
- Old World's DR is currently 0 — critically low for a new site
- The DR improvement service has been approved by the client but not yet started
- Doodla Farms (the parent brand) is at DR 33 and climbing after their service was initiated
Google Merchant Center & Google Ads
- Google Ads cannot run without a Google Merchant Center account and a connected shopping feed
- Mark estimates ~3–4 hours of setup work
- Mark will investigate whether Old World's feed can be added to the existing Doodla Farms Merchant Center (Old World is a Doodla Farms brand, so this may be feasible without branding conflicts — campaign targeting controls which products appear)
Inventory & Production Planning
- Lucy is working on new bag/label designs and a production run, but no timeline has been confirmed
- Proactive follow-up is critical — running out of inventory is a real risk
- Jason needs to prepare current inventory for shipping
Email Setup
- Old World email address setup is pending; target date is December 4
- Karly to follow up with Lucy
Cora Italia — Invoice Escalation
The first Cora Italia invoice is 100 days past due.
Current stance: All work and new proposals are on hold until payment is received. This is a matter of principle, not just cash flow — the invoice amount is not large.
Immediate action: Lincoln (client-side contact) is in Italy this week. A call is scheduled for the following day with Lincoln and the Cora Italia team to force a resolution. Melissa will walk through the website work completed to date; payment will be addressed directly.
Account risk: The account has been relatively hands-off, which creates a risk of client detachment — they may begin to feel they aren't getting value and look to cut costs. Mitigation strategy is to maintain high-frequency communication (2–3 emails/week) and continue website updates.
Internal note: Matthew (a Cora Italia contact) has been requesting a quote for a separate project but appears unaware of the outstanding invoice situation — suggesting limited internal communication on their side. Lincoln has been unresponsive to recent emails.
Internal — Salesforce Email Template Fix
An HTML email template built by Raphael is blocked from use due to a broken unsubscribe footer.
Root cause: The template uses a static href link for the unsubscribe action. Salesforce requires a platform-specific unsubscribe variable (not a hardcoded URL). Because the variable is missing, Salesforce appends its own default footer — which is visually messy and inconsistent with the template design.
Resolution path:
1. Mark has contacted Jessica for assistance
2. Goal: fix the template and have Jessica record a short video tutorial so the team can handle this independently going forward
3. Once fixed, Raphael will own all email creation and automation in Salesforce
Key Decisions
| Decision | Detail |
|---|---|
| Doodla Farms inventory project | Mark to propose a new paid sales project funded by the popcorn grant |
| Cora Italia work hold | No new work or proposals until first invoice is paid |
| Old World GMC | Mark to set up Merchant Center + shopping feed (~3–4 hrs) |
| Salesforce template | Engage Jessica to fix unsubscribe variable; Raphael to own email creation after |
Action Items
Karly
- [ ] Call Lucy — confirm Old World bag/label designs and production run timeline
- [ ] Follow up with Jason — ensure current Old World inventory is ready to ship
- [ ] Initiate Old World Domain Rating service
- [ ] Create Salesforce tasks for Mark: (1) GMC account setup, (2) shopping feed build
- [ ] Follow up with Lucy on Old World email address setup (target: Dec 4)
- [ ] Call Lauren re: Cora Italia — check in on Lincoln status and account engagement
- [ ] Coordinate with Jessica re: Salesforce unsubscribe footer fix
Mark
- [ ] Draft Doodla Farms inventory liquidation project proposal
- [ ] Complete Old World Google Merchant Center and shopping feed setup
- [ ] Coordinate with Jessica on Salesforce email template fix; get video tutorial
Team
- [ ] Attend Cora Italia call (2025-11-25) — resolve overdue invoice with Lincoln present
Related
- [3]
- [4]
- [5]
- [6]
- [7]