Microgreens Business: Best 5 TIPS FOR STARTING OUT
Okay, so you're thinking about starting a microgreens business or maybe you already have and you're looking for some advice. Lucky for you, I'm going give you my best five tips for first starting out right here in this post.
I've been growing microgreens commercially for over three years and laugh when I think about some of the mistakes I made when I was first starting out in my parents' basement. I've learned a ton of information over the years by experimenting and improving and I'm happy to share some of this with you right here in this post so you can start off on a better foot than I did when I was first starting. Keep reading because you're about to hear my best five tips for first starting out so you can implement these techniques in your business!
Tip #1 Take action and start small
Remember, every single microgreens business starts with zero customers and one microgreens rack. You can't expect to have a microgreens business if you've never grown micro greens before! So buy yourself some basic equipment and try growing a few trays. I recommend starting as a hobby first - you will not only improve your growing skills, but also improve your knowledge on how to USE the microgreens. This skill alone is probably the best asset you can have because if you know how to eat your products, you can help your customers to eat the products. The result will be customers who stay on their weekly subscriptions (because they can actually finish it) and maybe even increasing your sales.
Tip #2 Keep it simple
There are dozens of microgreens varieties to grow that you can buy over time, but pick a few in the beginning so you don't get overwhelmed. I recommend growing varieties that are easier to grow in the beginning and then moving on to more difficult varieties as time goes on and your skills improve. Remember, growing microgreens is only one aspect of this business. You will have a ton of other things to do and a ton of other things to learn besides just growing. So don't complicate things in the beginning by trying to grow too many varieties, or varieties that are too difficult and will give you problems.
Tip #3 Focus on efficiency and procedures
You are going to need proper systems in place to make sure your business runs smoothly and efficiently. Additionally, you will have to create a procedure that you will follow in order to make sure that you can add new customers in quickly and efficiently. Ask yourself: if somebody signed up for a weekly order right now, would you know exactly how to put that customer in and exactly how to grow their order? These systems are the core of your business, so you have to be sure to have them dialed in so that your business runs with ease and efficiency. If not, you will create a bottleneck in your business which will make you overwhelmed and bogged down, so make sure to have these systems dialed in!
Tip #4 Grow slow
It's important to take things day by day and grow at the right pace for you and your business. It's easy to get overwhelmed and growing a business can be very stressful. Take your time and don't be so hard on yourself because that can easily take the fun out of the amazing experience of microgreens farming. Furthermore, growing too fast can actually hurt your business. You are inevitably going to be making mistakes and learning from them. If you make big mistakes by trying to grow too fast, you can lose the trust of your customers and actually damage your brand and reputation. If you try to take on a big client and then can't successfully grow their order, they might not want to work with you in the future. Wait until you're actually ready to take on a client like that... You have plenty of time to grow your business, so do it right and don't be greedy. Make small mistakes as you progress and earn your way to these bigger opportunities.
Tip #5 Learn from the best
Make sure you're taking advice from other microgreens growers who have actually put in the work and gained the experience. Anyone can talk and give advice, but that doesn't mean it's good advice or the right advice for you. The best way to learn is by making your own mistakes because they are then catered to your progress in your business. That being said, you can learn a tremendous amount of information from others and their experiences & mistakes. Just make sure you're learning from people you want to be learning from. Ask yourself some questions that will help you gauge if this person is qualified to be giving the advice that they're giving. For instance, if somebody is giving business advice, ask yourself, how long has this person been in business? Do they have a successful business? Is their business model similar to the one that you want to pursue or create? You can learn a tremendous amount of information from others, but just make sure you're taking advice from qualified educators.
Now, you know my top five tips for starting out as a microgreens farmer, but there's always more to learn. If you've already watched all my YouTube videos, be sure to join my Microgreen Support Group on Facebook, that way when a random question pops up, you can get help. If you liked hearing my tips for starting out, be sure to share with any other growers that you know that you think this might help!
Link to this video: https://youtu.be/j1NvgLy7XLw