HerbNet....for
everything herbal
|
|
|
Possum Creek Herb Farm
Annual Sales:
$30,000 and growing Q: What made you choose this type of business? In 1986 I read the book The Pleasures of Herbs by Phyllis Shaudys. I was intrigued by what could be accomplished in a month’s time and in a small garden. The seeds of the business took when I married and moved to Soddy Daisy where there was a few acres to spread out. The business ideas were written in a notebook until it was time to begin. I didn’t choose this type of business because I thought it would be an easy way to make some money. Far from it, actually as the business began as a teaching operation. There was such an interest in herbs in the early 90s that has waned and flowered over the years. This ebb and flow has helped and hindered the business but with adaptation it still works. Q: What is your background? Actually herbs didn’t play into my background until the mid-80s. I was a college graduate in Business Management and worked in the sales department of a local textile manufacturing plant. However, farming was in the blood since my mother kept incredible vegetable and flower gardens most of my life. I learned by watching and working with her over the years. I am a self-taught herb gardener with many years of classes and correspondence courses under my belt. And soon I will receive my Master Herbalist diploma. Q: What are your biggest challenges as an herb business? Actually, there are two challenges that we have here. One is driving local business to the farm. Over the past two years we have seen a substantial drop in drive up retail business. New home construction and road work in the area may have been an initial cause but since then we have thoughts that we have saturated our small home town market. To combat that issue we have sent press releases to newspapers several hundred miles away and have begun writing for several magazines enticing people to travel to Soddy Daisy to see an herb farm. Plans are in the works for several herbal weekend events beginning next year. Similar to an herb festival but more on an educational level, these weekend events may entice more people to come and spend quality time learning about herbs while at the same time purchasing plants and herbal products. We do not have a schedule or an event listing at this time. This is a project in the talking stages for the moment. Another challenge is the ability to spread ourselves over a wide range of plans throughout the year. This year we have participated in several shows or events, participated at the local farmers market, kept retail hours, shipped and delivered wholesale orders and shipped retail orders. With only two people actually doing all of this most of the time we’re finding that we’re missing some of the bigger and more lucrative events. A possible solution is to have a year-long schedule for shows, events, speaking engagements and market participation all written down so nothing is missed. It sounds good anyway. Q: What are the biggest rewards of being an herb business? Without a doubt, one of the biggest rewards being in this business is to watch someone understand how easy it is to grow and use herbs. We are visited by so many people who have never grown an herb let a lone used one in their daily lives. Turning them on to herbs is like turning on a light and watching the glow spread. We usually find we have a customer and friend for life. Q: What is your philosophy of customer service? If the customers aren’t happy then neither are we. This business is tough to compete in as it is and having good customer service is paramount to having a successful business. Shipping plants is extremely hard which is why few do it. Each year we try to better ourselves over the prior year. This past year, I can happily say, was our best for plants arriving undamaged and to the customer’s satisfaction. We sweat over every box that leaves here and we prune every plant that a customer has in their hands to purchase before they take them home. Q: What makes you stand out from your competitors? I don’t think we stand out from our competition because there are some really great herb businesses out there. Every business is different fulfilling their niche in the herb world. I do feel, however, that our ability to react to a customer’s special request makes us stand out over our competition. Because we are still a fairly small company we can stop what we are doing and help out in the community, do a speaking engagement at the last minute, create a product or find that favorite plant for someone even if it means shopping away from the farm. Q: What plans do you have for your business? To continue expansion of the wholesale operation, increase public appearances through classes in other venues, shows, and markets. Complete the process for commercial kitchen certification to enable our product line to grow. On a more basic level re-organize the greenhouses to increase production, create a shipping department and destruct and construct new garden areas. Q: Is your family supportive of your business? Yes. They’re my best “employees”. Q: What do you wish you’d done differently with the business? I wish I would have listened to the advice of expanding into the wholesale market years ago instead of growing the business for drive up traffic. I have wasted several years and am catching up to fill that niche. Q: What do you think people starting out should know about getting into your type of business? The one thing I can tell people is that you cannot do it all overnight, in one year, in five years, or even in ten. This type of business is an evolving thing that has no end. It can go as far as your imagination will take you. A large notebook will be your best tool. Write down every plan and read back over it often. Write a one year plan, then a five year plan always looking ahead. Be prepared to change your plans often and spend a lot of time marketing your name, your business and your brand. Q: How has the internet helped/hurt your business? Having people find us, especially wholesale inquiries, through the internet has really helped the business. Most of the inquiries, whether retail or wholesale, are from email and through our website. The internet has hurt our business because I have spent way too much time on it and should be in the greenhouses. Q: How long has it taken for your website to pay off? It paid for itself almost immediately and continues to do so. Q: What things have you done to promote your website? Our website address is on every outbound email in our signature. It is on every piece of paper related to the business such as business cards, stationery, tags, and magnets. We promote our website through every organization we are affiliate ourselves with.
|
||||
|
The Herb Growing & Marketing Network |
||||
