Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Greg Gerrits, owner of Elmridge Farm Limited, located in Centreville, NS, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are a small acreage (175 acres of vegetables) high-intensity fresh vegetable farm with nearly 50 employees. We have been on a 30-year mission to reduce our environmental footprint and eliminate unnatural chemical use but at the same time, remaining competitive with industrially produced food practicality is key. We were concerned with environmental footprint, ecosystems, and pesticide reduction long before it was widely popular. In so doing, we have found many on-farm solutions that other farmers have been able to adopt.
We sell at farmer's markets, have an online store, and sell wholesale to over 100 small independent retailers. By design, we do not sell to the mega-retailers. We are very diversified in the crops we grow (over 50) and on the sales end with literally thousands of customers. Diversity is stability.
Our latest endeavor will hopefully further improve stability and simultaneously reduce environmental footprint. We hope to start dehydrating cull and surplus vegetables into powders, ingredients, and pet treats this May. The real beauty of this project is that we can increase our food output by 15-20% without growing a single extra acre just by using what is now wasted. Our best footprint-reducing move yet!
Tell us about yourself
I am the 3rd generation to farm this land. My grandparents came from the Netherlands in 1953. My parents took over the farm in 1968, and my wife and I bought them out in 2003. I have worked continuously on the farm since the age of four with some small chores. The farm is who I am, and now both of our children (now young adults) aspire to continue the business. That is the best nod of approval we could ever get, to know they are inspired to farm when very few are.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
When, after ten years of financial struggle, we sought advice from financial experts on how feasible it was to buy the farm from my parents, we were told it just simply could not be done. So, 20 years later, to be considered one of the most prosperous, innovative farms in our region, I guess we could say we've done the impossible.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
If you are the owner, there is no one there to catch you ion you fall. Generally, small business and, in this case, agriculture, is touted as the backbone of the economy, but yet we are used as a means to political ends. After 30 years of farming, I am very much aware that survival is completely up to me and only me.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- If you don't love it, don't do it. It'll take a lot of dedication.
- Make sure your family is on board. Without their backing, the price of success will be too high.
- Do your homework like you are the 'teacher's pet.' Take the time to really research every number you use in your business plan and budget, and then cut your estimated returns in half. Only then, if there's still a profit, would I consider the business plan a good idea. Too many plans get skewed toward the desired outcome and cause a lot of grief.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://elmridgefarm.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elmridgefarm
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elmridge_farm/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
Feel inspired to start, run or grow your own subscription business? Check out subkit.com and learn how you can turn "one day" into day one.
