Welcome back! And a hello to those just joining this exclusive Steemit series!
Previous Parts of This Series:
🌱to💰- Growing Money In Your Yard Series - {Introduction & Synopsis}
🌱to💰• Growing Money In Your Yard Series • {pt1} • Learn the Laws, Plan & Prepare
All content (text & media) provided in this article are original works, with the exception of a few stock images from Pexels.com & are open license/ no attribution required images. Pic responsibly 😉.
Hold up, 
... What qualifies you?
I know it can be hard to take advice from a stranger, especially not knowing what qualifies them to give advice in the first place. So, I'd like to share a brief summary of what qualifies me to do this series before getting into part 3. A recent Steemit article I read by a friend, 
My content is no different; read it and interpret it for yourself. You decide what is good advice or not. I am simply sharing my knowledge to the best of my ability. I hope my readers can appreciate that. This article will only be on Steemit and is nearly 20 pages typed of text alone. Yes, it took a lot of time, but this information will travel far beyond the payout of this post. It might help more people become less dependent on commercial agriculture and in turn supporting local their community. That's worth every minute if it actually helps people.
About Me
My name is Brandon Holsey and I am 32 years old. I live in Maryland (U.S.), member and comrad of the #libertyprofessionals of Steemit and I'm currently a full-time stay home father of two beautiful children. I have a company that provides creative business solutions to local businesses and I am in my first year operating a small scale Tomato farm on property that my wife & I purchased last year. Considering that my first full-time job (raising my two toddlers) is my highest priority and there is only so much time in the day - I have to choose to do things that allow for the highest possible return for my time. It comes down to using your strengths, achieving unique skill sets, and creatively solving problems. If you can do that, you can do anything.
Over the course of my landscape experience, I worked under horticultural experts and have worked with thousands of plant varieties. I have grown and planted hundreds of thousands of plants (flowers, shrubs, trees) all over the state of Maryland. It is something I truly enjoy and I am passionate about. Having a background also in design, vast marketing knowledge, and many unique work experiences to draw from, I decided to start a tomato business. I love to create things from scratch and businesses are always a fun challenge. And...not always fun challenge. Anyhow, I want to share a bit about how I got started.
So, I started a little more than 100 heirloom tomato plants this year. We are aiming to produce 2,000 lbs of tomatoes this season from those 100 plants. We sell tomatoes at $3.25 to $4 / lb., so I am quite literally growing money in my yard! We grow enough to sell, eat, and donate locally. It's absolutely rewarding & profitable.
This part III of the series will be a very in-depth look at what I do, how I do it, and how I creatively solve common problems, hurdles, and challenges associated with growing for profit.
I would like to thank 
, 
, 
, 
, , 
for taking their time to engage and created a wonderful conversation [in the comments] on the previous part of this series,🌱to💰• Growing Money In Your Yard Series • {pt2} • Grow What You Know & How to Find Profitable Opportunities.
I would also like to say THANK YOU to 
, 
, and all involved with that wonderful CURIE project for the #curie vote - it's an honor!
Ok, Let's Grow!
Ok, so here's a quick summary for those that have skimmed to this point:
I am a small-scale tomato farmer in my first season selling to market. I have grown many types of tomatoes and it is a plant that I know very well. However, it is a constant learning experience, so it's important to choose a plant that you are interested in learning about - constantly! I chose tomatoes because I grow them like a boss, as millennials might say. Not to toot my own horn or anything (toot, toot!), but I have studied hard to attain knowledge that many will never care to seek out. I'm talking about commercial techniques that the home gardeners hardly pay any attention to. I want more gardeners to take note that commercial practices have a simple purpose: to maximize yield in the most efficient way!
Do your homework
At first, I researched commercial tomato farming for almost a year and learned as much as I could about it. I have nearly 100,000 pages of literature at my fingertips on the subject. I've networked with professionals in my community, my state, and all over the Earth in order to 'dig up' as much as I could. But, I still dig. It's a constant process of input and output. It's beautiful and chaotic all at once.
Whatever it is that you choose to grow, never treat it like you already know everything you need to know. Always continue to add to your well of knowledge. The internet contains more than enough to fill up your mental registry.
I have spent a tremendous amount of time interacting with gardeners, commercial growers, and horticulture experts; many of them refuse new information for whatever reason. It is astounding that people that claim to love a craft would be unwilling to acknowledge new techniques, but it happens more than you think. Another reason I came to Steemit. There are a million ways to grow plants, but some refuse that there's any other way but their own. Don't be fooled.
Just because you have done something one way for a decade does not mean it is the best way to do it. I have proven my abilities to many professionals and results are the only thing that matters in any 'pissing contest'. I am always learning and evaluating. Dynamic is going to outperform the static every time in this game, so remember that.
I am willing to learn from everyone that is willing to share. Be that way, not the alternative. Always seek information, try new things for yourself, and see them your own way. Rather than bomb this article with a list of my bookmarks, feel free to message me if you have trouble finding relevant information on what you plan to grow for market - I'll do my best to help!
Now, with all that in mind - don't take my advice as 'this is the only way' type of advice. I'm merely sharing my experiences and insight on how I do what I do AND how others might replicate my results. You might find that taking parts of what I share and formulating your own strategy will work better for your application. That's the goal here: to encourage, inspire, and educate. If that sounds like something you are interested in, please read on.
How I Set It All In Motion
Last year, 2016, my wife and I moved our family into a property we bought in March. I started a few small garden beds and began growing corn, tomatoes, pumpkins, beans, eggplant, peppers, and all sorts of shrubs, flowers, and trees. All from seed. I thought it would be cool to landscape my property with plants that I grew myself, so that's what I did. My garden did very well last year and I gave out an incredible amount of produce. People thoroughly enjoyed the food we grew and many insisted that we start selling it. I didn't hesitate!
Having a pretty vast spectrum of experience, I grabbed some seed catalogs in the fall of 2016 and decided then that I was going to start a tomato business. I studied everything I could get my hands on about growing tomatoes and commercial agriculture. I wanted to do it organically and identify the responsible practices involved if I was going to do it at all. I studied procedures and protocols of large scale operations and tried to extract as much as I could to apply it to my own operation.
I began designing trellis systems to test for the 2017 season and researching materials and manufacturers that provided equipment and supplies that I would need. I won't lie, It took hundreds of hours. I focused on absorbing as much as I could and I was absolutely willing to spend hours on end to do that. It takes time to understand everything this endeavor will entail, but worth it nonetheless.
When January of 2017 came, we were loaded up with information and resources. We had a plan and we were ready to put it in motion. All of the time I had spent researching was starting to show its tremendous value already. I knew my market and what they, my prospective customers, wanted - before I ever ordered a seed to plant! I was confident because I was prepared. Knowing what you're growing - it pays to know when you are growing for market because it only pays when it sells.
Tips to help you prepare (cost-efficient tips)
• Search the web for free PDF's - I downloaded virtually every free PDF that I could find about tomato growing, so I could carry it with me on my tablet.
• Source seed from various companies - there are many, but you need to identify the trustworthy ones. The goal is to know as much about the seed as possible, before you grow it. Read reviews, ask fellow gardeners, and see what grows best around your area. Something that doesn't grow well isn't going to make much money.
• Strategize! Think about what you will grow, how you will grow it, where you'll store it, how long can you store it, who will buy it, how will people get access to your produce, where will you sell it, how much will you charge, how much are your competitors charging, what is the quality of your product compared to others in the market - these will help you to strategize, but realize this is a tiny glimpse of the questioning you'll need to do in order to develop a great strategy.
My Strategy & Creative Problem Solving
I started a tomato business with limited time, myself and my wife, and less working capital than the amount we'd spend at the grocery store feeding our family. It isn't hard to do, but it does require a good strategy. That's something I consider one of my strengths; the ability to think ahead.
I gave out so much produce in 2016 that I had already established a presence in the community. I gave pumpkins to a local nursery school class that my son was in, so all the children could have a pumpkin. We spread the fruits of our labor around and that attracted other people. People that appreciated what I was doing and offered me their support. Best form of advertising and it's free!
I found more support than I ever would've imagined when I started. I had neighbors and friends come to me and offer all sorts of help - it was incredible! When I started this year, all I had: a plan and about $250 in the budget for this business venture.
I knew it would take careful planning and some math to ensure success with such great odds of failure. Let's be honest, even the best farmers lose crops. You have to be dynamic in this business. Creativity will also propel you to a level that's all your own.
You can start something incredibly profitable with limited capital investment, but you have to be smart & get creative!
Fill a void to gain market share, don't fight for it
You have probably heard the term "niche market" tossed around the web. That's what you need to focus on. Find your niche. Study the markets - local to you, around the country that you live in and even globally. This is how you will identify gaps in your market and then you fill them - it's that simple.
I saw an opportunity in my community to become the 'heirloom tomato guy' because there were many, many people that love heirloom tomatoes and very limited supply (if any at all!). People kept saying how hard it is to find quality heirloom tomatoes and that's when I knew I had a lucrative opportunity. I decided to start a business because the numbers made sense to me.
Here's an excerpt from an article I read, previously to starting, called
How to Make $40,000 Growing Heirloom Tomatoes
How to Make $40,000 Growing Heirloom Tomatoes
So let’s do the math. Most commercial growers allow about 6 square feet per plant. Productive heirloom tomato varieties will produce 20 pounds or more of salable tomatoes, worth about $80 at retail prices. That’s a return of $13 per square foot of growing area. Planting about 3,000 square feet with 500 plants (that’s only 1/15th of an acre.) could bring $40,000.
If that's 1/15th of an acre, I'm in!
Strategy is even more vital in a small community
In the previous part of this series, I was chatting with
Networking is the key to operating in small communities. Often times, everybody knows one another in smaller communities. So, if you can network with one, you can network with them all. One thing to remember: don't step on anybody's toes. What I mean is: make friends, not enemies. Do good for the community and the community will recognize it. When you do bad things, the community tends not to forget easily. So, focus on ways that you can help your local surroundings and you'll be surprised at how fast the community responds to those that help.
By filling a void in the market, you won't be taking away from other local businesses - you're adding to them.
I grow heirloom tomatoes and I source the seed from all over the world. There are a few other companies in Maryland that offer heirloom tomatoes, but we all grow different varieties. I try not to on other fellow growers. That allows the consumer a wider variety and allows us, the growers, to know what the consumers like best. Nobody fights over customers, we are happy to support each other and share business. There are many ways to partner and cooperate when it comes to growing food!
Restaurants love to source fresh, quality produce and ingredients. If you show quality produce to a chef, there's a good chance they are going to want to use it. It's all about networking and helping where you can. If you can grow excellent tasting food, then local culinary creators will certainly take interest.
When you make the right moves, you can make it rain!
Synergy - unlock greater success
One of our neighbors is friends with the owner of a Gold's Gym & CrossFit in a busier area of the county. We all take care of our neighbors here and we love each other like a giant family. She asked the owner if we could setup a table outside of his establishment if we offered him complimentary produce - he said yes!
He was happy to have us selling fresh produce outside of his establishment. He is in the business of making people healthy, getting people fit and feeling better about themselves. Our goals align nicely because they are essentially the same! That is synergy and synergy is power in the world of business. ⚡️
When we work with others to align our goals, we can achieve greater success. When two smart business people collaborate, it usually means there is a shared value that benefits both parties. We setup at the gym once or twice a week and we're invited to do it during a peak time when classes are letting out and there is a greater flow of traffic.
Think about how perfect this relationship is for everyone involved. We contact our reservation list 24-48 hours in advance and announce we will be at the gym for 1 hour on whichever day we specify. It is a first come, first serve basis and it also keeps us from sitting outside for hours on end. We channel our customers to this establishment. Then our consumer has a choice to also become a patron of the gym if they choose. We all win and that is a beautiful way to support local business if you ask me.
I Create Smiles for Miles and it Pays For Days!
I'm just getting started, so get comfortable
Never underestimate the power of exclusivity
People are naturally attracted to rarity. It is a little secret that many large brands use to create demand for their product. I come from a design background and have worked on logos and branding projects across the United States. I have a healthy portfolio of work, which I might share in another post, but I digress from my point. Rare and exclusive things make people feel special. Similar to how nightclubs use the VIP section to 'upsell' guests. Nightclubs know all about he power of exclusivity and that's why they make more money making their customers wait in line. That is the power of exclusivity at work my friends.
If you make your product harder to get, sometimes that can demand high value. You might be surprised to find that you can make a lot more money this way if your supply is not enormous. If you are just starting, you might find the a reservation list is the best tool for young business. Get an idea of who your client base is and what they want. You'll get an idea of what level of demand you are dealing with and can grow accordingly. You don't want to have more food than you know what to do with. I'll get into how I avoid these mishaps later in this article. Let's look at the "reservation/exclusivity" tactic, shall we?
The Reservation List and FOMO😱
It rewards those early supporters and those that hesitate will risk not getting any product. When "FOMO" (fear of missing out) sets in, people will climb over one another like Black Friday sales just popped off in Walmart. People fear being left out. Especially in small communities, this strategy works very well. That's what Black Friday heavily relies on - retailers prey on the fear of missing out.
We aren't mass marketing and using psychological tactics to sell people a bunch of shit they don't need. We are selling people healthy, homegrown food. They should fear missing out on that when you consider the junk that passes as food in this world today. What we are doing is rare - marketing in a friendly and healthy way that isn't entirely self-serving. We wanted a way to reach our customers and have the ability to offer them rewards for supporting our business.
This reservation list is going to tell you what you need to produce and also who your most loyal customers are.
Reward those that help to sustain your business
Your customers are the key to your longevity in this business. They are your business. Always reward loyalty because it is absolutely priceless.
We reward and incentivize our repeat customers because they are the backbone of our business and we appreciate that support. We make it a point to give generously to those who families with more mouths to feed. We have kids and we know it can be costly to feed them. It's important that people have access to healthy food, so we give food away to help reduce the strain on families that want to feed their family real food.
We give out different goodies from our personal garden that pair perfectly with our tomatoes. We take a bin full of 'giveaways' to customers to share with friends and family. That is a great way to help the community, share the 'fruits of your labor' and generate conversation. People talk!
Word of mouth is all the advertising you'll ever really need. We give delicious food away to many different people and they do not hesitate to brag to everyone about it. I love seeing social media posts from happy customers or 'satisfied samplers' with soaring reviews of our tomatoes. Generosity goes full circle.
Use the Power of Social Media
We give out produce to people that are willing to share their thoughts on it and introduce us to their social circles. We use one of these social circles that we have been welcomed into to create a reservation list. We advertised what we were planning to do early this year, starting around February. We created a list and took contact info, but also offered people that were first on the list a discounted price for being kind enough to support us. That started a frenzy! People wanted to support us and they told everyone about it - we ended up with over 75 people by May. Many folks even offered to prepay to ensure their order.
STEEMIT IS A TREASURECHEST OF GARDENERING KNOWLEDGE
Just in the 2 months I've been on Steemit, I have to say that I have never seen a place where so much garden related knowledge is being shared. It is truly remarkable. I came to this platform, all thanks to
, to share what knowledge and experience I have to help contribute to this growing pool of information. It is liberating to be a part of something so capable of changing the world for the better - we all eat. I believe the entire world should be empowered with the knowledge to feed themselves and those they care for. Last part of the series, in the comments, I had a great discussion with about and this one statement really made me smile "We need to become less reliant on commercial agriculture and more self sufficient ... We have our own best interest in mind when we grow our own food, not to mention our friends, family, & neighbors." ~ . That's exactly how I feel, too!
I highly recommend you search the #garden & #gardening tag on SteemIt.
There are so many incredibly knowledgable people already here - we just need to network a little better!
CALLING ALL STEEMIT GARDENERS!
WHEN THIS INFORMATION BECOMES MORE ABUNDANT = FRESH FOOD BECOMES MORE ABUNDANT
Grow & Go
We wanted to ensure that we weren't growing a ton (literally) of food that without having places to sell it or donate it. We like to network with local companies and organizations, so we contacted local food pantries, food kitchens that offer free meals to the community, churches, farmer's markets, retailers, and private list for reservations. We have not yet had to worry about what to do with tomatoes when we pick them. We do not store them for longer than 3 days off the vine. That way, when they're picked they can get to where they need to go in a hurry.
Most of the time, the tomatoes that we sell on Saturday morning is on a plate or in a belly by night. It comes off the vine and off it goes. That is fresh food and that is what I encourage YOU to provide if you have the skills to do so. It is tremendously rewarding.
Be Dynamic
Be prepared. That will make you more dynamic. Think of problems that might arise and prepare a solution for them in advance.
PAYMENT is important, right? Of course it is! It's *vital*, so **get paid!! Be versatile and accept multiple forms of payment whenever possible. We accept cash and all major credit cards, so that our customers that do not carry cash, can use their card.
We use SquareUp to take credit cards. There is a small fee for doing a credit transaction, so we charge a small amount more to compensate. We have found that the majority of customers are happy to pay extra for the convenience of swiping a card. It also shows that your business is aware of the customer's needs.
CRYPTO COMING NEXT SEASON
Although, credit cards make up less than 10% of our sales, we still believe that versatility is 'good business'. "Go with the flow" is the cliché, but every good trader (yes, you, crypto-maniacs!) knows the trend is your friend. And the crypto market is getting notice around the globe.
I plan to accept crypto payment next season, 2018.
Power UP!
I started small because my working capital was small. However, I used some creative problem solving to grow my tomato business. If you can start making small amounts of money from the start, you can grow your business as that money begins to add up. This is the method I am using here on Steemit as well. I have not taken a single cent from this platform, rather I have reinvested my earnings back into Steemit by POWERING UP
You can use this strategy in your produce business. I bought seeds for my tomatoes this year and I also purchased several other types of seed for my own personal garden. That got me thinking - what if I sold the plants to cover the costs of the tomato growing?
So, that's exactly what I did! I started germinating all kinds of seed in February and made plans to participate in a plant sale on May 4, 2017. By the time the plant sale had come, I had grown over 1,500 plants. Not all were for sale, many were for my produce business. The plant sale we attended was to benefit the Women's Auxiliary at Springfield Hospital, so we were raising money for a charitable cause. They took care of the advertising because it was their event, so we were happy to help them raise money!
I sold my tomato plants for $12 per plant
My tomato plants were 3 feet tall by the time we got to the plant sale. Not lanky, sad little plants - HUGE. We sold almost everything we brought to the sale. Many consumers are able to spot value when they see it. It was no surprise that people lined up to reserve them, but I was blown away that we had people reserving plants for 2018 in May of 2017!! That says something.
The kind lady that was running the event has sold flowers for the past few years, but she did not do as well as she had hoped. In fact, she did not make her break-even mark. She offered to sell us plants at cost just to try to recoup her money. We had already given a nice percentage of our profits to the organization, but still felt that we could help a bit more - and that's what we did. I decided to buy as many plants as she needed to break even and loaded up the two SUV's we brought. She was so happy to have us and there is no question that we'll be invited back again next year. It ended up being a great day for everyone. I sold the flowers to some friends and family, made a few bucks, and even got a few freebies for my own yard. I'm a hustler, baby!
What a great time to break out those Reservation Lists we talked about earlier
We were able to generate a list for our produce before we had any plants in the ground!
We put out a produce sign up and a plant sign up. The plant sign up was intended to sell some second and third batch tomato plants in the following weeks, but we had people wanting to reserve a whole list for next year! We had people offering to pay in advance to secure plants. That's a product that sells itself, but only if you know you can grow it well! Which brings us back to: Growing What You Know, but followers of this series are already well aware.😉
How to demand a higher price for your product
• Know your competitor's product - Make a Better One. Sounds simple, but many will fail because they think they know. Do you know how to make a better product? If not, you do not know your 'realm' well enough. Study up.
• Provide Better Service - Go Above & Beyond What Others Are Willing To! It is pretty easy because many businesses are lazy in the service department and consumers know it. I can back that statement because I've done branding, marketing, and creative business solutions consulting for dozens of companies. The truth is that maybe 1/3 of businesses are even willing to do the bare minimum. Most will cut and 'reduce' to squeak by on the minimal requirements. It's almost 2018 - good luck with that much longer. When you give a little more than what is 'standard', you set the bar a little higher. If your competitors are selling tomatoes for $4, then you should sell them for $4 AND give some fresh cut basil or oregano with each purchase. I'll bet you attract more customers by going just a small step beyond your competition. Provide service and/or products or package products that sets you apart. Pretty packaging alone won't do it. I have seen people do sauce bundles with tomatoes, peppers, basil, oregano, and rosemary cuttings. That is creative and will usually do very well. Even if you are simply providing service with a smile - is still doing more than some companies. It's unfortunate, but use that to your advantage.
• Take Pride in What You Do - When you take pride in your efforts, it shows. People tend to buy great products and great products usually come from passionate creators that took pride in making the product. Whatever you do, take pride in it. It really shows more than you know. Many savvy consumers spot it immediately when they see my produce and plants - I take great pride in what I'm doing.
• Be Kind & Help Others Whenever Possible - You will find that when you support the efforts of others, others tend to support your efforts, too. Be genuine. Help with no expectations. That's when it seems the return is far greater than you'd ever imagine.
• Hustle, Baby! MAKE IT WORK - Go into it with the mindset that you will make it work. That you'll see it through to the end, no matter what. Decide if it is really something you want. If it is what you want - get it!! You choose whether or not you succeed. I want everyone to know how possible it is to achieve success by growing fresh food and this series won't end until I feel my readers have the best odds going into their first year of business.
Building genuine relationships will get you much further than burning bridges.
If you extend your skills, services, wealth, knowledge, or even a simple 'hello' to a person — you might find a friend. They might have a special skill or talent or something that they might now offer to you. Sometimes this can lead to a strong relationship because of the synergy created. We already went over synergy and how powerful it can be, so just think about that the next time you are short with someone that was extending a genuine hand to you - did you ignore them? Were you nice to them?
I grow specialty heirloom tomato plants; something the local nurseries do not. I didn't take away from their business and now I have one that potentially will carry my product next year. They want to buy plants from me to sell because I have shown the ability to produce large numbers, very consistently. I can produce plants for far less than a nursery can because I'm a one-man-band and I improvise and create efficiencies that traditional thinkers just do not. That's another reason I like to share my thoughts and experiences, I understand that there is a need for what I'm doing. I'm filling a void. I hope this is all coming together now.
BE REAL
And not the dude from Cypress Hill, but they had it right with: "Dr. Greenthumb". If you truly want to build solid relationships, you need to put yourself out there. Yes, you are basically placing yourself out there to be judged, so be mindful that it's easier to just be yourself. Be real.
Synergy is Power & It Helped Me Succeed
I know everyone is curious to know why I'm still driving this point, so I'll give you a few examples:
☞ We had an opportunity of a lifetime to buy the property that we bought just last year - solely due to a friend of ours being the neighbor (which is now our neighbor!) - we bought a house that was never on the market for sale. But that's a really long, crazy, awesome story maybe for another lengthy post later on.
☞ This year we put out the word that we were going to sell plants and produce. We received nursery pots from 5 or 6 people, plant cages, stakes, seed, fencing, irrigation pipe, weed fabric, and even equipment! Given to us by people that we have great relationships with and want to see us succeed. We do a lot to help people, but I'm not sure we've done enough after this year. It's astounding at the level of support that we have had from the start and all thanks to a few very supportive friends.
☞ I was invited here by one of my long time friends & fellow #libertyprofessionals, 
☞ Our friends in our community have been just as a contributor to our success as our own efforts. We have people actively spreading our reach and giving us access to their networks. People are literally selling tomatoes for us. That's a blessing!
☞ Helping others has made it almost unnecessary to advertise the traditional way, which saves time and money. In fact, a charity event we participated in at the start of spring - they actually advertised for us. Like I said, generosity really goes full circle.
☞ Our neighbors offered us use of more than 4 acres that backs directly to my property if I ever need the room. I've got 2 acres of my own, but have two neighbors that have offered use to land should we ever need it. They know I'll compensate them fairly and I know they love what I'm doing! That's fine example of synergy if you ask me. Synergy is POWER.
More Food for Thought
Start Early - get a jump start on the season and start your seeds early. I start my seeds inside and I get my plants out and hardened off very early - which takes careful observation and an eye on the weather/climate. You want an optimal environment, so that can get tricky. Improvise the best you can! I use hot house tents outside to help get my plants out earlier. They stay humid and warm and it cost me about $50. It's 4'x4'x5.5'h and allows about ~75% light transmission (which is good for younger plants). If you have big mature plants ready, you will be picking sooner. That means you can beat many others to market. Learn what is done locally to achieve this - find someone that does and does it well. Observe them and learn as much about the process as you can. Being early gets you paid in the farm industry. If you're late and everyone else is early... "S.O.L." as we say.
Network - this is especially true in smaller communities and absolutely vital to your success. I hope I have got your mind racing with everything I've shared thus far; you'll need it all. When you live in a rural area, you must establish a presence in a meaningful way. Offer something to help and you'll find help being offered to you. Smart business professionals in large cities use networking tactically and it brings them great success often times. Why not do that if you live in a rural area? You need it more than they do! Your network is your lifeline and you're about to dive in the ocean. In a tiny community it is sink or swim for your tomato business unless you get creative and hustle your ass to the finish line. When people in small, rural areas see others struggling (but applying great effort!!) they tend to help and support them. I know because I live in a place surrounded by farm land; cows and corn county. People around here are like family and we all make sure that those of us that work hard - get rewarded and supported. Without our network we would have fallen short of success, I'm positive of that.
Break Out of Traditional Thinking
Break Tradition When It Makes Sense - sometimes doing it 'standard' gets you only a 'standard' return. Think outside of tradition; If the traditional thinking is to grow produce, set up a stand on the side of the road, and wait for cars to stop; do something way different. I hate to say it, but until you're very established within a community, many will find this is very difficult to achieve any success. You will burn more time and make less money (not the objective of this series).
While others sit and wait for customers - GO TO CUSTOMERS FIRST. Then they won't need to come find you. Offer delivery over $20 for orders nearby (set your own parameters, but mindful of time/distance/fuel/costs).
If you think applying a strategy that worked for decades is gonna work for you, think again! We are in an era that is like no other. The Internet age is how more things are done now and that old traditional thinking is obsolete. Farming and agriculture are changing rapidly due to the technological age that we exist in. If you plan to keep existing, you'd better bet with the times, friend! That means unorthodox methods and out-of-the-box mentality will prevail. Creativity is now more powerful than any textbook marketing tactic ever invented. If you are not using the power of technology as a new age farmer, you might go extinct if you haven't already. The commodities markets and prices rely on the internet, farmers rely on that information, and the ones to get the information first - will earn the most!
Avoid Farmer's Markets When First Starting Out
Nothing against the farmer's markets, I love them. However, they are not beginner friendly at all! Depending on where you live, this might vastly differ. Where I live, it can cost $1,000 per season to reserve a table and if you miss a certain amount of days, they bump you off the list and keep your money. That sounds shady and it is.
Also, I was made aware that the market, which is a permanent county structure at an agricultural center, requires liability insurance for vendors - this can get costly! If you do not have insurance and a person gets injured in any way for any reason within your designated space - you are entirely liable for all of their medical bills. You can see how it might not be economical for a business just starting out. It would cost me to get a license, a table spot, insurance - then I still have costs of business associated like travel expense, etc. No thanks.
Some markets around here (there are many), do not charge as much and understandably do not get as much traffic. Some people simply setup a roadside stand and prefer to do it that way, but it takes times to build that 'presence' in the community, unless you get creative and use the tools and tips I've shared. If you are already well known in your community, this is going to be much easier. Either way, social media is powerful and smart business makes money. It doesn't necessarily have to cost money to make money if you strategize, use the tools at your disposal and plan. You can establish your own market with little more than a smartphone. 📲
Presentation is Everything
No different from how you'd perceive this same content if I simple left it unformatted and didn't add my own originality to it. How you present your produce can determine if it sells. Go into any market, grocery store, or even roadside stand - is the produce arranged nicely or piled carelessly?
How you present your goods will determine many things, like: how much you will be able to charge, how much you are able to sell, and how many people will return to buy.
It's ALL About The Experience
No different from Steemit! The user experience determines how many monthly users will use the platform. If the general experience sucks, the platform will languish. If it great, more people will use it and that's what we want.
If you customer has a pleasant experience and enjoys your product, they will likely repeat business with you. If not, they have alternative choices and you've lost a customer (most times for good). Make sure you aim to please. People like to buy from those that provide the best service.
Customer service is one grossly underpaid profession, in my opinion. Good luck functioning without it. No amount of soulless marketing tactics will win people back when they can more easily go elsewhere for better service. People that think service should be automated - I disagree. There is nothing better than personable customer service. Robots are nowhere near coming close. I'll gladly pay more to speak with a human if that's what it takes. It really is all about experience. In an increasingly web savvy world, I think many businesses could benefit from heeding this advice. Hopefully, it'll be your business.
An Overview of How I Operate My Business
For those of you that skipped down and missed a ton valuable information in the 20 pages of text that I wrote above, I'll toss this olive branch out there as a further gesture 😋
✓ I grow very vigorous plants from seed and it covers my costs of seed and supplies that I need to grow my business, without requiring hardly any upfront liquid capital to start.
✓I grow plants that I grow very well - tomatoes. When people that have grown tomatoes for 50 years tell you grow them well - listen! Grow what you know and you'll do well. Experts usually do.
✓ Quality is my main objective. I grade my tomatoes for quality and price them accordingly. When I donate food, I donate the best quality product that I have (not the worst). I take the ugliest ones and turn them to sauce because sauce cares not about aesthetics! I reduce waste and focus on quality products for the community.
✓ We go above and beyond - if a person buys "1 lb. of tomatoes", they'll get more. I give anywhere from 20% to 30% more because people love my product and many return every week. I can ask $4 a pound because people know that I'm going to give them more than enough to substantiate the price I ask. Just be mindful of how much you give away because you are in the business to make money, not lose it. Be generous, just don't be foolish.
✓ We use reservation lists and social media to our advantage. Generate interest and if you have a quality product, interest can turn into demand. Work smarter, not harder. We don't burn our weekends up trying to sit somewhere selling produce, we make moves! Minimize input and maximizing output. We sell over 100 pounds of food a week in less than 3 hours of total dedicated 'selling time'. We line up our sales with our current schedule and location and make it happen. When we go grocery shopping, we call local clients and have them meet us there. That's crazy efficient, I know. We run a pop-up stand for 1 hour on Saturdays and never any longer than 2. We sell everything!
✓ I grow thousands of pounds of food and we sell it. I do nearly 99% of the outdoor work on my own. One man. I'm also watching toddlers for 9-10 hours per day. So this should prove that it is very possible for anyone to replicate these results because I'm already so busy that I'm not even sure how I find time to enjoy this platform - But I do. There's always a way. I'm running after two kids under age 4 all day, maintaining networks, building a business and running another, while remodeling my house and upkeep on my 2+ acres of land. Not to sound like an asshole, but unless you work more than 100 hours per week, this is still possible for you. I'm currently using 1/10 of my property and I'm just getting started. I plan to be producing over $1 Million dollars of food in the near future, annually. Stay tuned.
✓ Reinvest in your business and never stop investing in yourself. That's what I do anyhow. Always learn from anyone willing to give you the time of day. Appreciate that time and do something to benefit yourself and others with the value derived from that time. I am always looking for ways to maximize outputs and minimize input because I don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars laying around to invest. Even if I did - my humble experiences have already shown me there is tremendous value in being resourceful. It will save you money, but it can also make a bunch.
I hope that every reader takes something valuable away from reading this article. I have so much more to share and I hope that you will support this series if you have found it helpful & inspiring. There is much more of this series to come!
What to expect in the upcoming up in the future parts of this
🌱to💰- Growing Money In Your Yard Series:
• Setting up your business, covering costs, how I improvise, establishing a market, sustainability-renewability
• Strategy, strategic partnerships, offsetting costs, time efficiency, creating demand, fail-safes & why you need them, + more
• Marketing: Pricing, advertising creatively, using media, social networks, selling your products - where to sell and how, +more
• Commercial Growing, scaling your operation, how it's different and what you need to know as a hobby gardener before going commercial, maximizing yields, resources for commercial growing, risk/reward, benefits to community, + more
• An Overview and reader questions - where I will support all that have followed along in beginning their own operation. I will be answering any questions and will help to network and provide resources that will aid in more people actually making money from reading this series. I am growing, grow with me!