We were lucky to catch up with Matt ` Croghan recently and have shared our conversation below.
Matt `, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
Resilience is really important as a small business owner. My first introduction to resilience was probably during my basketball career in middle and high school. I was never the best player on the court, but I had height on my side. I am 6’6″ tall, so i was naturally drawn to basketball! I was cut from the team on my first year of try outs which gave me plenty of encouragement to try harder. Over the next year I played a ton of basketball, focused on eating everything I could and worked out to get bigger. The following year I not only made the team but I was in the running for a starting position. It was an early insight to the fact that hard work always pays off!
The other area of my life that has fostered resilience has been in my role as a stay at home parent. I was able to not only fill that role for my family, but also start a side hustle growing microgreens in my small mountain community. I have a flexible schedule that allows lots of time with family as well as providing a little on the side. While my wife is the main bread-winner, I am able to supplement and have fun with my kids too. It’s fun, but its also demanding. In order to meet my goals, I have early mornings and late evenings when the rest of my family is sleeping. Over time, that can get somewhat demanding, but being a small business owner you have to wear all of the hats.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
We’re a small town family farm in Salida Colorado. Our main focus is producing highly nutritious microgreens on a year round basis. Microgreens are one of the most nutrient dense foods available and were proud to produce them for our family, friends, and community.
Our business is always changing, and this year is no different. The last few years have been challenging for us attending the local farmers market. In fact, we took the year off from the market in order to focus on our family during the summer months while the kids are on school break. Over the last year we have been working on a new farmstore on our property and were close to wrapping up construction! Soon, we will have a fully stocked farmst0re with all of our regular goodies that you would find at the farmers market….only at our place. We hope to be fully up and running by fall!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Attention to detail. – Growing food is a challenging business to run. In order to grow a quality product, its important to pay attention to all factors. That means taking good notes and making adjustments on the fly. It also is important to set standards and procedures to ensure consistent outcomes.
2. Don’t be afraid to fail. – Ive learned more from my failures than my wins. They hurt, but give great chances to make change for the better. And you’ll win from time to time too…but you won’t if you don’t try!
3. Have long term and short term goals. Owning a business is a long game. Ive found it helpful to have both long term and short term goals. Meeting goals along the way towards big goals will help grow your confidence and keep you on your path.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
Long term growth in our niche market is challenging. We absolutely love our small mountain community, but it has its limitations when it comes to growing a business. We have been meeting and exceeding our short term goals and would love to bet big on the future. However, much of our revenue is associated with ever changing grant funding. Were putting quite a bit of time and efforts towards furthering those programs and keeping our fingers crossed that they will continue into the future.
Either way, our future is bright. We are investing in our direct to consumer base and our community by opening up our farm store. By diversifying our business, our goal is to be here for the long run!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ponchacreekgardens.com
- Instagram: @ponchacreekgardens
- Facebook: @ponchacreekgardens
Image Credits
Myself
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