Transcript

Start with the end in mind

Starting with the end in mind means that you should get clear about what you want out of this endeavor before you choose to go all-in.

What should it look like at the end of the day?

Do you want to grow mushrooms for fun, meaning just keep it as a hobby, or do you want to grow mushrooms to have an income?

There is nothing wrong with just growing mushrooms as a hobby and keep it this way. I even urge you to think twice if you want to convert your hobby into a business. Especially if it starts to go in this direction.

Ask yourself, are I am really in for it?

The outcome of this decision is tightly linked to the next point of know how much time you can spare.

Do you have only 5 hours a week or 20 hours per week?

If it is closer to 5 hours, focus on learning and start growing small amounts of mushrooms. Get good at what you are doing. Be patient. But there will be a point you will be confronted with the first question, “hobby or business?”

If you opt for business, then think about what has to happen to increase the time you spent in your business? Because it will take time. More than you think.

This brings us to the next point of don’t spread yourself too thin. This point comes in several facets.

The first is when you are first starting out with your business. Meaning, you just started to make the transition from hobby to becoming a serious mushroom farmer. But there is too little time after a hard-working day in your current job left. If you reach this point, ask yourself what other things I am doing right now which do not serve my goal of becoming a full-time mushroom farmer?

Next, ask yourself what has to happen if I reduce or cancel other activities in the first place? Then make the decision.

The second facet comes in the middle of your journey as a mushroom farmer. Especially if you jumped into this endeavor by doing all steps by yourself. Meaning you make your own culture, your own spawn, your own substrate.

You do so because that is what you learned in one of the courses you took or because it seems that everybody around you does it.

Do they?

Doing everything felt good in the beginning, but it seems you do not make any progress any more.

The third one comes after you have become an established mushroom farmer. The business seems to stop growing, but there is not enough money coming in to stop what you are doing. Therefore, you decide to sell not only mushrooms but also cultures, spawn and even substrate blocks to mushroom beginners. You start to give courses first on the weekends and later during the evenings. Which keeps you away from running your mushroom farm.

But your income increases.

However, shuffling all these different income sources in parallel starts to take a toll on you. It may right now just be a subtle feeling. But if you pause and think about it, you feel that you almost lost your drive. You start thinking, what had I in mind to begin growing and selling mushrooms?

All facets will lead you to realize that it takes longer than you thought.

It takes longer to learn all the necessary steps about making high-quality cultures, high-quality spawn, and finally growing high-quality mushrooms consistently. It takes longer to find new customers and selling to them.

It takes longer to have a decent income. It takes longer because you have to be willing to make mistakes.

Because you will learn more from your mistakes then from your successes and you will make many mistakes along the way.

Are you ready?

If yes, you realize that you have to be willing to learn.

Learning all about the cultivation of mushrooms.

Learning all about running a business.

Learning all about hiring.

Learning all about managing.

Learning all about leadership.

Learning all about finances.

Learning all about marketing.

Learning all about selling.

There are so many things about running a mushroom farm that nobody told you before you. You, therefore, ask yourself, what got me here in the first place?

And even if you become successful in growing mushrooms, your business will fail sooner or later if you can not sell what you are growing.

You have to think about to whom you want to sell.

You have to think about how much they want to buy?

You have to think about how often do they buy?

You have to think about what price

they are willing to pay?

You have to think about how you can

effectively deliver your mushrooms?

This lead to the next point of treat it like a business. The saying goes: “If you cannot sell your mushrooms, you have no business.” But even if you can sell them, you have to make a profit.

Besides, treating it like a business means that you will spend all day long thinking about your business.

Thinking about how to find the next customer.

How to treat your customer better.

How to grow more efficiently.

How to increase yield.

And so on.

Do you think about your business all day long?

Because you will realize that there will be parts of the business you don’t want to do, but you have to do them. At least right now.

It could be selling.

It could be hiring and training.

It could be cleaning your equipment.

It could be accounting.

It could be managing.

It could be leading.

Or other things.

It comes all down to you.

Your success as a mushroom farmer depends on your ability to learn and grow as a person. If you do not then your business will stop growing and eventually, fail.

At this point, you may ask yourself, what is the way out?

Talk to you in the following video.