business owners!
 

I want to hear your story.






that is all.

Vegetable seed, both in retail packets and larger quantities (1/4 lb., 1/2 lb., 1 lb. +), is going very well. On the retail packet side we are about 30% above last year for total number of packets shipped out the door to dealers (how that relates to actual sales won't be known until July/Aug/early Sept. when the packets get inventoried and picked up/sent back for credit-all go out on consignment). Bulk quantity-wise we had to stop selling some items just to ensure we have seed to package for spring 2010, we start that in October. We surpassed our total yearly wholesale sales from last year (to other seed companies and bulk seed dealers) by mid-April. Some items are completely sold out and will be until new crop is in late Nov-Dec so some of those early shipments will be sent with lower counts with the remainder shipped as soon as it's packaged. Historically we tried to have a 1/2 year supply on hand of every variety at the end of the season, we've increased this year's contracts to cover a full year carry-over.

Golf and sports turf maintenance are comparatively quiet, off about 17%. Not too many customers took advantage of the major manufacturers' early order programs or even our own EO program. Most are taking the buy it as I need it stance so they don't have their budgets tied up. Smart thinking. It'll depend on the weather this summer. If it's hot and humid the disease and irrigation pressure will be there.

OTOH foliar fertilizers (and the soil & tissue samples that go along with them) to those same markets are up. With tight budgets they still want the turf to look good and wear well and can really dial their nutrient needs in to only apply what they need and don't spend money on the things they don't.

Lawn seed sales on the construction/landscape side are down about 15% but our private label sales (we do a lot of mixing for garden centers and hardware stores with their name on the bags) and retail package sales are up considerably, numbers seem to be about 22.5%. It seems as though our customer's who deal with retail/homeowners are doing quite well. Instead of hiring the landscaper/lawncare service to take care of their lawns, they're doing it themselves.

It will be interesting to see how the lawn seed sales to municipalities go once we get into the summer months. Most are restricted from using any pesticides or synthetic fertilizers around elementary and middle schools as well as any fields that those age groups would routinely use. It appears that some are taking a "seed the hell out of it" approach to the sportsfields and hoping that chokes out the weeds and any new growth will cover up the insect and disease damage. It's too early to see how that will pan out. Once again, weather will dictate much of that.

Wetlands, conservation and wildflower seed mixtures continue to grow every year and are starting to become a significant portion of our business. Same holds true for organic fertilizers and biological controls.

We'll undoubtedly end up with decrease in total gross sales from last year (which was one of the best in our history, fiscal year ends Sept. 30) but the profit margin on the items that are up is much better so it might not be bad at all when it comes to the bottom line. We're fairly lucky we have the product diversity that we do, many of our competitors (most of them friendly) are either in garden seed or turf, which can make for some unpleasant times if they're on the wrong side of the cycle.

Boring as hell, but you asked! :D

I was hoping for a story based on business startup and why your in the business your in....




Glad to hear things are not falling to far back in this economy.

I can't complain to much on the RE front. I have my first new construction sold, it should be closing in three weeks. I'll be starting the second soon and hope that one sells at some point. My goal is to sell 2-3 this year, and I should meet it.

Right now I'm looking at the satellite photos for some building lots, hoping to pick up one or two cheap. The problem is that the market is so messed up a lot of deals I would love to do I can't because they won't sell. So a lot of the stuff I find I can't touch until things start to look a bit better. Right now the bottom end of the market is where you have to be. Cheap, cheap, cheap. Cheap lots, cheap houses, cheap prices.

A couple things I need to get done over the next year or so:
1. Build up more capital.
2. Get the company in my name.
3. Secure another source of funding.


I need to get my ducks in a row for when this market starts to turn. I want to start building higher end homes and condo projects. I'm drooling over a parcel now I could put 45 units on, but NFW in this market. Further down the road I would also like to partner with some big apartment investors I know to take on larger deals. Good money can be made in value plays on 500-1k unit apartment buildings, but you need vast amounts of capital and an experianced hand.

D'oh! My bad. :o Let's see, my great-great-great grandfather started the business in his home kitchen in 1892... :D

My brother and I were never pressured into the business, in fact we were told to go work elsewhere (or be self-employed) first. But we both ended up here, he on the retail side and me on the wholesale side. I went to school for landscape architecture and hated it, but did some landscape contracting/construction for awhile when my current position opened up and I've been here ever since. It's less hands-on than the contracting work that I enjoyed but thanks to the seasonal nature things change a lot as we move from one season to the next and I still do field trials and consulting with my salespeople. There's a lot of satisfaction in helping people out with their problems, in a golf superintendents case it might mean keeping their job.

I can't take any credit for the startup but there is a lot of pressure to NOT be the generation to drop the ball!

Turning 24 this August.

Your business sounds pretty damn cool.


Not to go off topic, but since you own a P51:
http://www.collingsfoundation.org/cf_schedule-wof.htm
Ever hear of these guys? Are they any good. Flying in some of these warbirds is on my bucket list.

I am new to the real estate development business, but it seems to me that there is more profit in commercial development, just based on the higher rental rates for commercial property. Even in this lousy market, good commercial office space around here goes for about $30 per square foot, full service. I don't know what residential property is going for, but it's a lot less than $30 per foot. It's much easier to get a building to carry itself at the commercial rate.

Around here commercial is so over built that its going to be years before any new construction will be profitable. My friend does site research for big grocery chains and developers, he is like its dead for a few years. Now its all repositioning. I was talking to CCIM broker's two years ago that were saying your nuts to buy anything, they saw what was coming.

Its been so long since I looked into office space I couldn't tell you what the going rate is around here. But the problem is you have such a glut of empty office space you would have to get leases in place before you could even build new.

Triple net deals on existing properties can be profitable, but the cap rates are still very low, the market needs to adjust. I'd think a NNN deal on say a CVS with a long lease would be a nice place to park some money for a long time.


I don't usualy do stuff by sq ft anymore, but I'm looking at a 2 family with my friend tomarrow they want $390k for. Its worth probably $325k. Its roughly $150 a sf to buy, rent should be about $2,500 a month.

As you can see its a bad deal, but multi's are rare around here so you pay. Its far more profitable to build your own, for say $200k, enjoy the cash flow for a few years than sell for a nice profit.

I'm more comfortable with residential so maybe thats why I like it more. The guys I know buying the bigger apartment buildings are paying very roughly $35kish a unit and getting very roughly $600ish a month out of them. But the real money they make is in repositioning them. One bought a building about 9 years ago for $25m, that appraised for $52m last year. It took a bit to get their, but its like that with anything.

What kind of development do you do?

I started my business in 1989 out of necessity. the company I was working for all the sudden shut down and left town, like overnight. I had to keep a roof over my families head. So I prayed about it and the next day I rounded up all the equipment I needed for almost nothing and started my Printing and Sign business. this November I will have been in business for 20 years. I was 26 when I started. Hope this inspires you. Also having friends in the industry helped alot. :D

Hats off to you. Clk Man. Good job.

I think Hatt will make it if he keeps his focus and paces himself. I love hearing that sort of drive from the younger crowd.



Hatt – That’s a great organization. Ride with any and all with confidence.

Thanks. It has been pretty cool.
Less the numerous near death experiences of course. :eek:

It took a hell of a lot of hard work, risks and sacrifices to get here. But, we do consider ourselves a bit lucky as well. ;)

Keep your eye on the prize. And don't try to win it tomorrow.

Exactly what I want.


I'm starting a small Sound Company here. Lots of equipment I bought with my own cash, just no truck and no paperwork as of yet. Few free gigs to get the name out.



I'm contemplating LLC or sole, before I get into licensing....

So what are you waiting for? JUST DO IT. I did.
:D

Check w/U-Haul...they're selling off their fleet of Diesels due to idiot renters that didn't know a D-pump from a G-pump...(Not the Diesels that were idiotically gassed!)...

They're upgrading their fleet to all automatics and gas-only...so the older trucks are available for very reasonable prices...in the $2K to $3.5K range, depending on size and such...you could get a well maintained starter truck or two... :cool:

Good luck, Monomer. I have gone into business for myself, I guess you would say. I am an independent rep for a company that provides very inexpensive, yet effective collections services. It's a great product, and the company is terrific.

The harsh part, I'm currently un-employed (Obama left me with some change, atleast)

I'd love a diesel, but e-350 or chevy 2500 work vans (pedophile vans...) go for CHEAP around here (as most business are liquidating the from bankruptcy.)

I wont need more then a van.



I'm interested in the paperwork side of things. I'm still constantly doing research about everything.



My sisters just finishing her degree in graphic design, I'll post my logo when it's finished here...