Brian Kowalski’s startup story is a familiar one, except he didn’t have to start up a farm. He already had one. Turns out that was a blessing and a curse. If you missed his Member Meetup on May 26, you can learn how he’s building a $75k business by becoming a Backyard Riches member and viewing the replay.
When Brian made the career switch to farming in 2011 with the help of SPIN, he didn’t know it would lead him to Newfoundland. But the lure of his partner’s 200-year-old farmstead was irresistible. Its days as a working farm were a distant memory, and its fields lay fallow. In 2012 Brian and Evan Murray dug in. It was rough going. The rocks ate tillers for breakfast. The wind turned greenhouses into kites. The growing season barely lasted half a year. Brian was working the fields in long underwear – in July.
But he and Evan disked, picked rocks, harrowed, picked rocks, and finally got 36,000 sq. ft. in SPIN production. In 2013 they opened for business. Then the going really got tough. Fresh, high quality, locally grown food? No one in Portugal Cove wanted it. But a different market actually came in search of him.
You can hear all about Brian’s rocky start, profitable finish and how his competition is now pressuring him to raise his prices by becoming a Backyard Riches member now. As an extra bonus, you’ll be connected with thousands of other accomplished growers who are using the Backyard Riches learning programs to turn their gardens into cash machines.
