You Reap What We Grow - Cross Keys Farm

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Mary Stickley-Godinez, Co-Founder of Cross Keys Farm, located in Harrisonburg, VA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

We have two businesses. The first is a wholesale fruit tree nursery selling to commercial orchardists across the eastern seaboard. The second is a retail produce stand and u-pick orchard providing fruit and vegetables to local residents as well as tourists to the area.

Tell us about yourself

Raul started picking fruit and vegetables as a child in Washington State. As a teen, he worked for a nursery where he learned grafting and decided to open his own nursery and grafting business. I grew up on fresh homegrown vegetables. After a short stint in the restaurant industry, I switched to the landscape industry. But I have always had a passion for healthy food and eating well. Both of us love giving everyday people a glimpse of farm life while teaching them about plants, nature, and the wonders of fresh, locally picked food.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Most orchards that we work with have been in business for multiple generations. We started from zero. We rented land for our first nursery trees and worked full-time day jobs while caring for the nursery in the evenings and weekends. We saved up and bought our first farm in Jan 2014, and from there, we built our business literally from the ground up. We now have 3 farms and employ 6 full-time workers. We make about 200,000 trees a year in the nursery and sell produce to local restaurants and schools, cideries, and other produce share programs.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

The responsibility. There is really no time off during the season. We work 7 days a week from dawn till dark. We must constantly be aware of weather conditions, watering needs, and disease and pest prevention. Plants don't really care if its Sunday and I want a day off. We have employees that depend on us for their livelihood, and any mistakes we make affect them as well. Also, we chose to do this as debt free as possible. We have a loan for one farm. But that's it. There are ways we would like to expand and equipment we need to purchase. But until we can pay cash for it, we do without. It makes expansion slower, but it certainly reduces a lot of the risk.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

1. Go debt free. As I said above, it reduces a lot of the risk. It does slow things down. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It allows us to learn as we grow. And most of our mistakes happen on a smaller scale.
2. Be the expert in your field. Learn everything you can about it, and never think you know everything you need to know.
3. Control your destiny. Try to have control over what you can control- both in your business and also regarding outside forces as well. We put up high tunnels to help with adverse weather conditions. We have irrigation systems, so we don't have to depend on rain to fall at the right time. Labor is a problem for many companies now. So, we keep ours all year instead of laying them off in winter. We also pay at the high end of the pay scale and provide housing to encourage them to stay. We try to look at anything that might cause difficulty for our business and try to solve it in-house before it becomes a problem.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.crosskeysfarmmarket.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaryandRaulGodinez/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crosskeysfarminc/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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