FSFS110: Starting Your Own Farm by Selling Someone Else's Vegetables First with Max Beecher

Today we are going to Ojai California to talk to a farmer who's more than just a farmer.

Max Beecher was inspired into farming by Joel Salatin and Joel's entrepreneurial spirit inspired Max to get created when ti came to his farm based businesses.  

Max started out his farm journey in 2013 with wife.  At the time they weren't farmers though, they started out as aggregators...
 
He describes the experience as "one where we sold produce from a few different local farms to a local customer base we were working on building.  This started by selling #2 produce from a local farm I was volunteering at, and the farmer let me split the gross with him, since he would have thrown the product away otherwise.  Our idea was to make money up front by selling other people's produce, and to build a customer base so one day we could sell our own product through it.  We have continued to grow that webstore business, and it remains a core feature of our business, with a list of almost 300 customers, generating over 100 orders per week.  We now source from around 15 local farms, and have a ready market for our own products, including the micro greens.  Because of building this webstore before we started farming, marketing what we grow has never been a problem, and we throw little to no product away due to over production."

That business has continued and evolved today to become a full-fledged online store generate over $100,000 a year in sales at a decent profit.  

It's a thriving business and an integral part of Max's farm, and it's one that started by selling someone else's waste.

Learn more at http://www.permaculturevoices.com/farmsmallfarmsmart