The best decision I ever made in my microgreens business
As a business owner you need to make lots of different decisions almost daily. You’re now your own boss, so it’s all up to you! Some of you might relish the idea of this, some of you might go into a blind panic just reading it, but whichever camp you’re in, in today’s blog post, I wanted to share with you the best business decision I’ve ever made for my microgreens farm.
It was - the decision to continue to run my microgreens farm from home in the longer term.
But it wasn’t an easy decison!
Once my tiny business was up and running back in 2017 and had started making profit (after a couple of months), I was adament that I was going to run this thing on a shoestring. And I did, for the first 3 and a half years! I started growing all my microgreens on the windowsills in our conservatory. Then I got my first (cheap!) grow rack, which lived in the conservatory and meant I could expand the window sill space onto the rack. As my microgreens sales increased week on week, I then got a second rack in there, then a third. By the time it got to May in that first year, I moved all my microgreens outside into the greenhouse at the bottom of our garden. I bought a couple more racks. Then it all moved back into the conservatory by October and for the whole winter. Then I bought a few cheap LED lights to hang on the growing shelves. Throughout this first year all I was buying was seed, compost, packaging, a few fans, lights and racks. I didn’t pay myself until I left my job and started running my microgreens farm full time. My business was turning a healthy 80% profit.
I got to the point that I was at capacity growing in the house. It took me the best part of 2 years (leading up to this point) though to decide whether to keep the whole operation at home, or to rent larger premises somewhere.
I viewed around 5 or 6 different commercial properties in and around Leeds. I just couldn't find anything suitable. All smaller spaces that were well insulated were office spaces and landlords didn’t want a ‘farm’ in their fancy carpeted office (fair enough). Then the larger, more warehouse-y places were mostly just old and draughty OR ridiculously expensive. Sometimes both! It made my head spin and I could just see my buisness haemorrhaging cash from the second I signed a lease.
It’s also worth sharing at this point, that it was never my goal to have a huge microgreens farm. One that employs several people, produces upwards of 1000 punnets of greens a week, sells further afield than just locally. If that is your goal for your microgreens business, then by all means explore expanding into premises. I would always recommend though, no matter how big you want to go with this, still start at home. Become established first in your local area, get good at the growing, secure some regular customers, gain a strong inclination that your business could upscale in your area successfully AND that you actually enjoy doing it all!
Anyway, I realised quite quickly, that this wasn’t an option for me. I knew I’d hate paying a landlord every month too! And probably extortionate energy bills.
So I decided to keep my microgreens business at home in the longer term, which I felt really good about once I’d made that final decision.
My 3 different grow spaces over the years - outdoor glass greenhoues (no electricity!), indoor conservatory, purpose built Grow House on the footprint of our old garage!
When anyone's starting out on this amazing journey, I always advise the same thing:
1. Start small and keep your overheads as low as possible.
2. Build sales gradually, then invest the revenue back into your business.
3. Keep your business at home for as long as you can! (Or better still, forever!)
Keeping your overheads low will maximise your profits and help you grow your business without the added pressure of having to sell loads of produce just to cover rent.
My settled forever home for my microgreens business is pictured above and sits happily in our back garden. I literally walk two paces to work everyday.
I had it built in 2020 (using the profits from the previous 3 years of the business to pay for it). It’s timber framed and super insulated. It's just 6 metres long X 3 metres wide X 2 metres high and at capacity can comfortably produce £1200 of microgreens a week. That's what I wanted from my business and was my ultimate goal. The most produce and profit possible, in the least time and space, using resources and energy as efficiently as possible.
But you don't need a fancy new building. A spare room in your house works great! Put a de-humidifier in there to suck out the extra moisture, make sure it gets to at least 20C during the day and your microgreens will be happy. I built my business over three years from growing in our house during the winter and our greenhouse in the summer, before making any significant financial investment at all. My new Grow House is a luxury, not a necessity, to have a thriving, profitable microgreens business.
Ultimately, having a space to run an enjoyable, profitable business from, where you don’t have to pay a recurring rent to someone else whether you’re using the space or not, is a winning situation. And that’s why deciding to keep my microgreens business at home in the longer term was the best business decision I ever made.
If you want to start your own microgreens business from home, nail your first crop grows and sell them to actual customers, then my 14-page Mini UK Microgreens Business Guide is exactly what you need!
Download now to get it sent straight to your inbox!
In the guide, you’ll get:
5 great reasons for starting a microgreens business in the UK right now
A basic equipment list
A step-by-step guide to growing and harvesting radish shoots and pea shoots, including UK pricing suggestions for these and profit margins.
A how-to guide to selling your microgreens to chefs, restaurants and your local community.