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Entrepreneurship:  My Competition: The Amish  |
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Rosenwalt
True Blue Farmgirl
77 Posts
Rose Marie
NY
77 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 10 2006 : 4:23:44 PM
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Yep....they live all around my soon to be One Cow Farm. I'm thinking I need a gimmick to get them to come to my farm and buy rather than the Amish. People go for that "oh look at the Amish" kind of thing.
Maybe I'll just buy me a bonnet.
Rose in NY |
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Libbie
Farmgirl Connection Cultivator
3579 Posts
Anne E.
Elsinore
Utah
USA
3579 Posts |
Posted - Feb 11 2006 : 12:42:22 PM
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What about thinking about your neighbors as your "market?" Are there things that people who live close to you purchase elsewhere that maybe you could produce on One Cow Farm? ...just an idea...
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Feb 11 2006 : 3:35:59 PM
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good idea! I have been pondering this thread since the Amish seem like they WOULD be stiff competition...bettter to think of a thing THEY need..wonderful idea!
Jenny in Utah
It's astonishing how short a time it takes for very wonderful things to happen...Frances Burnette
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
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Horseyrider
True Blue Farmgirl
1045 Posts
Mary Ann
Illinois
1045 Posts |
Posted - Feb 12 2006 : 05:16:04 AM
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It's a great idea, but it'd be best to first discreetly inquire as to their local Ordnung--- the rules by which their community lives by. Some Ordnungs allow telephones on the property, but not in the house, where others forbid them altogether. Some allow some color in their clothing, others are more strict and say only black. Since vanity is considered a sin, much of our needlework is not allowed, as well as buttons, zippers, etc.
And most every Amish kitchen produces it's own breads, canned goods, garden produce, etc.
Amish communities tend to be very closed and self sufficient. That could be a tough one. Perhaps you could buy herbs you can't grow in your area from someplace like herbalcom.com, and repackage them in smaller, more manageable amounts for home kitchens. I buy large amounts of paprika to add to my black Friesian stallion's feed. (It keeps his coat from fading in the sun, no kidding!) I pay $4.60 a pound. Most people don't need a pound at a time for kitchen use, so if you divided it into four ounce packages, you could sell them for $2 or $2.50 apiece. They get a better-than-grocery store price, and you get a small profit for your labor. Frontier herbs also sells stuff by the pound in big foil and plastic bags, and can be repackaged. You could be very popular at canning time if you have lots of pickling spices, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, etc.
Of course, you'd have to check your local health department laws and find out what you can and cannot do with food for resale.
Also, you could put a heavy slant on your home grown stuff as being totally organic or using all butter, etc. Amish don't necessarily grow organically, and have been known to buy a can of Crisco or two.
My grandmother was Amish, and I grew up close to an Amish community. She never spoke of her past, but I learned a lot by reading between the lines. (She left her community to marry my grandfather, and people who leave like that, especially back in the thirties when she did it, were shunned. All family ties are severed forever.)
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Jana
True Blue Farmgirl
482 Posts
Jana
Eau Claire
Wisconsin
USA
482 Posts |
Posted - Feb 12 2006 : 6:05:35 PM
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I feel your pain! We are also in an area heavy with Amish who make furniture, quilts and sell baked goods. In all honesty, and not to be mean, the products are not necessarily as good as non-Amish. (I really don't know what your religious beliefs have to do with what kind of cook you are, sheesh!)
Anyway, another angle you could try is your ethnic heritage. For instance, I am Danish and German. I grew up in an area where a German or Danish bakery was no big deal. However, where I live now, something like that would probably do well, if I were so inclined.
The Amish generally prefer to do business amongst their own. I rarely see them in stores, except the "big box" stores, as they can have someone drive them into town.
As far as doing a food thing in your home, your city or county will have its own ordinances but I know that here you must prepare your food on a stainless steel surface, have separate refrigeration for your personal food vs. your "for sale" food and no animals allowed in the food prep area. Good luck!
Jana |
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psouper
True Blue Farmgirl
50 Posts
50 Posts |
Posted - Feb 14 2006 : 3:15:28 PM
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Yes, this is a problem. We had a farmer's market in our little town square for several years. One plain dressing couple arrived with their baked goods. Folk would flock to their tailgate and form a line - just because "if it's Amish ( or Mennonite) it's got to be good!"
Personally, I'm not a big fan of the Amish pies I"ve purchased - lots of cornstarch, not much fruit.
I do like the idea of capitalizing on your heritage.
Are you selling at a market, or from your home?
What about a community supported agricuture program?
Can you appeal to the affluent healthfood crowd - advertise at healthfood stores, coffee shops, bookstores, La Leche League, etc?
For myself, I"ve often thought of a delivery service for my eggs - an egg route once a week. That would keep them from having to make the trip, and would help me manage my egg supply. It seems like no one will come for days, and then everyone comes at once.
Also would prevent those unfortunate incidents when an egg customer arrives at 7:30 am while I'm in the shower.
Polly
http://favoriteapron.blogspot.com |
Edited by - psouper on Feb 14 2006 3:16:19 PM |
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abbasgurl
True Blue Farmgirl
1262 Posts
Rhonda
USA
1262 Posts |
Posted - Feb 14 2006 : 7:22:26 PM
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I say get a bonnet, hang some drab clothing on the line & yer in biz-nass Rose! 
...and I will sing at the top of my lungs, and I will dance, even if I'm the only one! |
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Jana
True Blue Farmgirl
482 Posts
Jana
Eau Claire
Wisconsin
USA
482 Posts |
Posted - Feb 14 2006 : 8:55:56 PM
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Oh I love the egg route idea! When I was a kid we used to drive out to a farm on Saturdays to get eggs. Finally when I was a teen we had an "egg lady", Dorcas Kuchenbecker (told you I was from a German area)who came to us every week. It was great!
Jana |
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Shirley
True Blue Farmgirl
734 Posts
Shirley
Olympia
Wa
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - Feb 14 2006 : 11:48:40 PM
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Rhonda, Im rolling out of my chair laughing at that one
shirley |
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brightmeadow
True Blue Farmgirl
2045 Posts
Brenda
Lucas
Ohio
USA
2045 Posts |
Posted - Feb 15 2006 : 6:26:51 PM
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"Personally, I'm not a big fan of the Amish pies I"ve purchased - lots of cornstarch, not much fruit. "
LOL! My father laughed at me for weeks for stopping along the road and buying a peach pie from a barefoot Amish girl -- it had TWO SLICES of peach in it!
He still brings it up occasionally.
Seriously - have you considered selling on Sundays? In our area none of the Amish are open on Sunday -- but it's a big tourism day. You could even cooperate with the Amish instead of competing with them buy buying at wholesale for your Sunday sales and reselling to tourists!
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
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jenny louise
True Blue Farmgirl
166 Posts
jennifer
cass city
MI
USA
166 Posts |
Posted - Feb 17 2006 : 05:47:05 AM
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Good luck, Rose Marie...I too am surrounded by amish, and i still sold stuff from my gardens at their produce auction. What I sold were flowers, since they don't grow them...I cannot compete with them when it comes to green beans,or some other produce, when it is just one of me picking, and they have ten little ones out there picking. So, I decided on some old fashioned sweet peas that speak to people's hearts and then easy zinnia and cosmos bouquets. They were pretty popular and the sweet peas, although more time intensive were always sold first. Now, it sure wasn't enough to pay the farm payment, but it helped out.
I used to be certified organic, and also had a little health food store, and through those venues, discovered that only 30% of the amish growers are organic and the rest just have a team of horses pull the chemical sprayers. And the amish bakeries around here were ordering vast amounts of lard, flour and big commercial cans of fruit from me; the cheaper, the better. I would never purchase the baked goods, hard to get the grease out of your mouth. But with their lifestyle comes the assumption of purity, great marketing tool, eh?
Another product that sold well were heirloom squash and pumpkins. That is something that will keep well if it doesn't sell right away, so you aren't losing so much, and they are pretty easy to grow and pick. If you are in a rocky area, rocks sell really well to gardeners. Just get the word out through a local gardening chapter, where you could also bag and sell composted manure!
Can you tell I am always trying something new? I wish you all the luckand have a fun journey, Jenny in MI |
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Entrepreneurship: My Competition: The Amish |
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My Competition: The Amish
