Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Zach & Ilana Richards, owners of Levity Farms, located in Madison, GA, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are the family behind Levity Farms, a small-scale vegetable, cut flower, and herb farm in beautiful Morgan County, GA. We offer responsibly-raised produce and eggs to our local community. We utilize organic practices to provide our friends and neighbors with high-quality food while focusing on building and maintaining healthy soil. We also provide a space for folks to gather, learn, share skills, and have fun on the farm. Our workshops and events are geared toward building a strong, resilient community, primarily focused on providing a healthy future for our children. We work with local restaurants and markets to keep folks fed with fresh, seasonal food, free of undesirable chemicals, and dense with nutrients.
Tell us about yourself
We have been close friends since 2009 until we started our own farm and family in 2016. Since then, we've gotten married, purchased our farm, and begun to raise children on our own piece of land. Our kids are the beginning, middle, and end of why we do what we do. As first-generation farmers, we want to start something meaningful and healthful to feed our kin and pass it down to them when our time is up. Our ultimate goal is to build an entire landscape, complete with annual-produce gardening space, perennial fruit & nut orchards, and regenerative, rotating animal systems, all part of a self-regenerating system that will become healthier and more resilient with time.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
Every day that our children are happy & our bills are paid is a huge accomplishment. Purchasing the property was a big accomplishment, and we owe that to the wonderful programs offered by the FSA (Farm Services Agency) department of the USDA. Previously, we ran the business on rented farmland, which offered us a great opportunity to start and build the business. However, we always knew our future would include living onsite on land we owned. We purchased this property in 2020, right before the pandemic hit, and we got the new farm set up while still running the old one. We only missed a single week of sales that year!
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Owning a business means being responsible for every aspect of the business. This means maintaining proper licensing and insurance, determining pricing and wages, running everything in the field, and making sure all the "back of house" work is properly managed. There are really two parts to owning a farm business: farming (field) and business (office). Generally, farmers just want to farm, be outside, and work with the soil. Even hiring help with taxes and other administrative arenas doesn't always mitigate the time farmers need to spend away from the field, though it can help a lot. All-in-all, I'd say the hardest part of owning a farm business, and likely with any business, is maintaining a healthy balance between the work (in our case, farming) and running the business itself.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Take your business seriously from Day 1! Get your books & marketing ready to go (branding/logo, website, QuickBooks, etc.) from the beginning so that you don't scramble to play "catch-up" when needed.
- Choose your market & business strategy based on your goals and personality. Are you a good salesperson? Do you like spending more time communicating with clients online or in person? In which areas, if any, will you be hiring help? (Don't be afraid to contact out for help!)
- Prepare for the first few years to be a struggle while you get everything set up and build your business. Remember that there is always a period of transformation and growth, and become comfortable with the mantra, "It won't always be like this!" because it won't! Have faith in yourself and your goals.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.levityfarms.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/levityfarmsga
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/levityfarmsga/
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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