What It’s Like to be a Small Tobacco Company

“Bigger is Better” is often used as a measurement of success. At Cheyenne, we strongly disagree with that notion…at least when it comes to the size of tobacco companies. Sure, a few huge players dominate our industry, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for the small tobacco companies to make an impact and have their voices heard. In fact, we’d argue that small tobacco companies are better for a myriad of reasons. We’ll walk you through a day in the life of a small tobacco company and discuss our challenges, our solutions, and what it’s like to walk a mile in our shoes.

While most days go smoothly, not every day is a 10. We won’t sugar coat it. Sometimes working in the tobacco industry is hard. Especially in our early days, it seemed we were constantly facing hurdles. Everything from machinery to transportation to distribution was a challenge in those early days. But as with any small startup, perseverance and persistence paid off and before long, the stretches between hurdles became longer. That’s not to say that our days now are all perfect tens. As a small tobacco company, we’re constantly facing legislative regulations or market shifts that change the way we do business.

Change seems to be what our world revolves around these days. As a small business, we know that change is inherently a part of our everyday, which is why we focus on being proactive and not reactive. As a proactive enterprise, we’re able to serve our customers in a more efficient way. Tailoring our business to accommodate their needs and address their concerns has always proven to be beneficial for us. So while change is always a constant, our constant is a great industry reputation and a healthy relationship with our wholesale and retail partners.

You see, relationships and reputation are everything to us. The “personal touch” mindset is critical, so our company culture is to foster the entrepreneurial spirit in each of our employees and allow them to implement personal touches in all facets of the business from top to bottom. It’s that spirit that has made us what we are today. That spirit has solidified the great retail and wholesale partnerships that have proven to be mutually successful. Being a privately-held company also means that we answer to our customers, and that is what drives our decision making.

Let’s face it: the tobacco industry has changed and while profits are undeniably important, you need more. We recognize that and as a small business, we fight hard to ensure that being small remains an advantage in this industry. The path isn’t always easy but it’s one worth forging.