Alloway Creek Gardens & Herb Farm
Owners:  Barb & Roger Steele

Founded:  1976

Location:  Littlestown, PA

Employees:  self

Annual Sales (if you’re willing) Not enough!  But we pay our bills and the bottom line this past year was a profit!

Q: How did you start (or become owner) of the business?  The business started out as a partnership with a neighbor in 1976.  The original name was Alloway Gardens; when the partnership dissolved, I added the Creek to the name to show that our business had changed. We originally were open about 6 weeks in the Spring and participated in a Farmer’s Market in the Fall and Winter.

Q:  What made you choose this type of business? I had young children and wanted to have a business that would enable me to “stay at home” on the farm. I enjoyed gardening and as a teenager worked with my father raising plants for sale.

Q:  What is your background? I have a B.F.A. from the Maryland Institute, College of Art and taught middle and high school art as well as substitute teaching.

Q:  What are your biggest challenges as an herb business? Growing plants is just another form of farming and the weather (particularly this year) has to be  the biggest challenge.

Q:  What are the biggest rewards of being an herb business? Self employment enables you to be where you want to be and the herb business has allowed me to meet and communicate with some  great people and travel to herb and horticultural symposiums in different areas of the country.

Q:  What is your philosophy of customer service?  I worked in retail at a garden center and also a large department store where we were taught that “the customer is always right”.  Anyway that’s what we were taught!  I guess  I have tried to follow the “do unto others” philosophy even if the customer is difficult.  Difficult people present a challenge to me and I like to utilize humor and  “down home” type advice that seems to work.

Q:  What makes you stand out from your competitors? We are always trying “to educate” and provide a good gardening experience.  Our best advertising is a satisfied customer who brings a friend back for a visit.  The log cabin and the chairs around the sales/garden area are provided to encourage visitors to stay awhile and makes them feel like they are family.

Q:  What plans do you have for your business? My husband and I would like to have more time to travel and wander around so I am trying to make the business somewhat “smaller and condensed”.  We only do pre-arranged classes for groups, we close the business at the end of June and are open by appointment or chance..  We still do a winter Farmer’s Market but we have dropped some away shows that have become less profitable.  In other words, we are trying to lighten the load and choose what is most profitable for the energy expended!  I would like to put together all of the papers, handouts, that I have written and illustrated in some kind of journal book and have it published.

Q:  Is your family supportive of your business? I usually can rely on family help and friends too if I let them know far enough ahead. My daughter and a couple of her friends will do the herbal food for our annual Alloway Garden Faire in June and my daughter-in-law helps with shows and sales when she is able.  My husband pots plants, loads trucks, drives trucks, etc. and puts up with me!

Q:  What do you wish you’d done differently with the business? I think I would have not been involved in a partnership for the amount of time that I was.  I wish I would have had a larger start-up loan to get better facilities.  I would have  a greenhouse that had better automated systems and a heated workshop that was not in my home.

Q: What do you think people starting out should know about getting into your type of business? You do not make a larger sum of money!  If you need health insurance you should work for someone else and if you are still determined to go into the horticulture business you need to work with related business to get experience and of course education certainly helps. 

Q:  How has the internet helped/hurt your business? The internet has helped my business by allowing easy access to my customers.  The website has arrived late in my business life and it has been harder to change from the printed mailings.  You have to realize that your customer base doesn’t stay the same and that they age (as well as you)! Getting all of my information on the web is a goal  and I am considering a blog as well.

Q: How long has it taken for your website to pay off? It paid off the first year that I had it in the form of new customers.  I don’t sell on the website because I really don’t have the facilities to run a shipping department. (And I really do not want to!)

Q: What things have you done to promote your website? I have the website on all of my printed material including handouts when I give an herbal presentation.  I have also encouraged other business that are close by to develop a website and link to mine. I have placed my site on local town, gardening, travel,  and state ag-related sites.

Q:  Is there anything else you’d like to tell people about your business, growth, or plans?
Sometimes bigger is not always better.  At one time our business (when it was a partnership) grossed a lot more money than it does now.  But the amount of cash flow out was quite large and there was not the profitability there was when the business was smaller.