- Don't get me wrong.
It is awesome making money doing what you love
but there is so much more
to running a microgreens business than just the money.
There's a ton of catchy videos here on YouTube.
Even I have a few that talk about making money fast,
but in this video I wanna show you the real benefits
that you gain from running a microgreens business
including the growth that comes with it
not just the financial growth, but the personal growth.
So by the end of this video
you will know the exact things
that I'm most proud about in my microgreens business.
And probably some of the things
I'm most proud about in my life.
So that way you can be inspired
and excited about your own microgreens business
and journey outside of just making money.
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Five years of doing something every single day
results in tons of experience
and unique opportunities for growth.
In my last video,
I talked about the top mistakes
that I've made in my microgreens business.
That way you can avoid them, but in this video,
I'm gonna be talking about the things
that I'm most proud of.
I think it's important to share both sides of this story.
That way you can see the true transformation
that can happen to you
by starting and running a microgreens business.
So let me share with you right now
what I'm most proud of in the past five years
of running my microgreens business,.
Starting my business in the first place
is something I'm incredibly proud of.
Starting is often the hardest part
of accomplishing anything.
And it's especially intimidating
when you're doing something for the first time
and especially something like a business.
Now this was the first business
that I ever attempted to start.
And in a way microgreens business actually
acted as like a gateway business for me
into entrepreneurship but it would've been really easy
for me to let the fear of trying something new,
keep me from following my goals and dreams,
but I was extremely dedicated to breaking down this wall
and diving into the world of an entrepreneurship.
So I made it happen.
When I first started this whole journey
all I knew was that I wanted to be an entrepreneur
working for myself
and I wanted to do something in agriculture
'cause some of those passions were starting to come out.
And when the videos started posting on YouTube
saying that you can start a business
growing microgreens from your home.
I knew that this was the right opportunity for me
and my opportunity to put my foot
into the door of entrepreneurship
and get started with a business in the field of agriculture.
And I have to say,
this was the number one most best decision
I've ever made in my life.
Hands down.
Someone asked me recently when I became successful
and it took me a second to answer
'cause it was a weird question.
I had to think about it.
I think it's important for you to define for yourself
what it means to be successful
because this is something that's very individual.
It's gonna be different for every different person.
The answer that I gave her was that I was successful
from the moment I started my business
because that was the defining moment
where I crossed over into the world of entrepreneurship
which had been a lifelong dream for me.
I knew I was going to be able to make something work
and it was really microgreens business
that gave me the opportunity, that chance to become a farmer
and entrepreneur, the journey had started for me.
And that's what I consider success.
Taking action on your dreams and desires.
Most people think about money
when it comes to being successful.
And although that can be a decent indicator
it is definitely not the end all be all.
Nevertheless, this brings me to the next thing
that I'm most proud of which is being able to sustain
my own lifestyle on my own terms.
I'm in charge and I'm taking care of myself
and that's a very good feeling.
In my second year of my microgreens farming
I sold over $100,000 worth of produce
which was a big milestone
that I was not expecting to hit so fast.
Now this was my gross revenue, not my total profit.
So my total profit was probably about half of that
but still I was making money on my own terms,
working for myself, doing what I love.
And it was totally enough to sustain myself
and my modest lifestyle.
I love being self-sufficient in that way
working for myself and not relying on somebody else
to make my income or working for the man.
The nine to five lifestyle is just not for me.
And I'm so proud
that I've been able to create something from scratch.
That's been able to actually not only sustain me
but sustain me and my partner.
Speaking of starting my business from scratch
I'm also super proud of the business model that I created
by sticking true to what I believed in.
When I first learned about the microgreens business
I was being told to sell microgreens to chefs.
And while that can be a great business model
and it totally works.
I knew that the deeper value of these products
were really in their health benefits,
not to mention, I also had a deeper passion
of helping people to live healthier lifestyles
rather than just utilizing these little petite crops
on a plate as a garnish.
By sticking true to what I believed in,
even though it wasn't like the norm or the mainstream
I ended up accidentally pioneering
the microgreens business model that became
the most sought after business model in the industry
which is the home delivery subscription model.
This is something that I never imagined would've happened
for me just doing my own thing, but this did happen.
And it's something I'm extremely, extremely proud of.
Not only am I proud for like pioneering
this type of business model
but it was this business model
that also helped me to establish myself
as a leader in this industry
which is something I'm very grateful for
and something I've been able to build upon
to help so many more people
outside of just the customers that I was growing for.
It really goes to show
that by sticking to what you believe in
and following your truth
you can create something new and beautiful
even if it isn't the mainstream.
I think sometimes in business
we get really busy and carried away
and sometimes we forget about all the amazing things
that we're getting done.
You know, it's easy to focus on the future
and all these other things that you wanna get done
and improve upon.
But sometimes it's important just to take a step back
look at what you've done
and sit in your own self-created astonishment.
I know this is something
that I struggled with over the years
is pushing myself too hard,
always looking forward to the next thing
and not just being okay with what I have accomplished.
So take a minute right now just to pause this video
go down to the comments
and drop something in there that you're super proud of.
All right, I think this can be a very powerful exercise
that promotes gratitude and improves self-image.
So seriously guys, pause this video, go down to the comments
and type out something that you're proud of.
How often do we do this?
Just take a second right now and do it.
I wanna hear what you're proud of accomplishing.
All right, I hope you left to comment with
what you're most proud of.
All right, so another thing that I'm very proud of
in my business is never raising my prices.
This is something I never did in all of the five years
I was running my business.
It's something I'm proud of.
And from the start, it was the same prices
and I've always offered free delivery.
The purpose of my business was really to make it as easy
and convenient as possible
for people to get these nutrient dense foods
into their diets.
And because I was working directly with the consumers
that were eating these foods
it was also important for me
to make it as affordable as possible for them as well.
This ended up working out
because I had over 100 customers at my peak
and I ended up helping people like for real, for real.
This is another aspect of this business
that I wasn't really expecting or foreseeing
to the degree it happened.
But I ended up growing food for some pretty sick people.
One of my customers had cancer and we both knew
about the powerful health benefits of broccoli microgreens
especially because of their sulforaphane content
which is cancer fighting phytochemical.
Well, a few months after sticking to her protocols
and adding in the broccoli microgreens
her cancer went into remission
and we both felt that the broccoli microgreens
played a big role in helping this to happen.
You know, this is like really powerful stuff.
Making real impacts on people's lives.
Like it feels like I'm literally out here
as a firefighter saving lives over here.
Like what else could be more badass, working for yourself
growing food for your local community and saving lives.
Like it's just awesome.
Although these situations can be a little bit intense.
It's literally a person's life you're dealing with.
I hope that you do get to experience the joy
that can come out of a relationship like this in business.
All right, the last proudest moment
of running my microgreens business for the past five years
is sticking up to my abusive landlord.
It's easy to get taken advantage of
from people who seemingly have power over you.
And sometimes it could feel like there's nothing you can do.
That's how I felt.
I felt like there was nothing I could do
about this situation.
And eventually I was like,
all right, well the only power I really have here
is the money that I pay him every month.
So I actually decided to stop paying him
in the beginning of January, 2022.
So I paid him nothing in 2022.
And it turned out to be the right decision
after having to go to court and have this case settle.
After doing the calculations
depending on how you look at it.
I saved myself between $6,000 and $9,000.
That's kind of a big deal by sticking up for myself
and doing something that was very uncomfortable
in not paying my rent.
I not only saved myself a big chunk of money
but I got to stand up for what was right
and let justice be served and that feels great.
All right, now, you know what I'm most proud of
in my microgreens journey for the past five years
but what if you have something you're proud of
that you not only wanted to share in the comments below
but with the microgreens community at large.
I created a Facebook group a few years ago
that actually has grown to the biggest
and best microgreens community on the internet.
We love sharing business wins
and things that we're proud of in there.
That way we can be inspiring other people
and helping everybody to learn.
Not to mention it feels great when you go in the group
post something that you're proud of or a big win,
and everybody else is congratulating you,
like that's great.
It feels great.
And it's just the exact type of community
I wanted to create online.
So thank you for everybody who's a part of that group.
It really means a lot to be sharing this business
and industry and community with you.
So I called this group,
the Microgreens Support Group for a reason.
So go join it.
It's on Facebook.
You should be able to find it
by typing in Microgreens Support Group,
but as always the links to this stuff
is in the description of this video.
Check out these videos below
to learn what my biggest mistakes were
in my past five years as a microgreens farmer,
or use the other video
to see what supplies you need to get started.
If you like this video hit that like button below
subscribe to my channel and be sure to share this video
with anybody you think it may help.
Thanks again and I'll see you next time.