Microgreens?

[OneFootForward]

So we recently moved into a house and have quite a bit of extra space. Might as well do something useful with it.

I have a decently sized basement and been thinking about getting into the "microgreen" business. If you haven't seen any videos check out "curtis stone urban farming". I'm always skeptical of anyone trying to sell a business idea, so here I am, asking for some thoughts.

I've enjoyed growing things in the past and think its a pretty good activity from a QOL perspective, could be fun teaching the kid about plants ect... Can this be a decent source of secondary income?

[Smokystache]

I'm not in the microgreens business, but have been following Nate Dodson (Microgreens Farmer) for over a year because he was profiled on a podcast (entrepreneurs/online courses) that I like. I know he's got a free webinar (which, of course, is designed to sell you his online course/program) - but it might be something else to check out. Nate has focused on microgreens from the beginning. As an aside, he's killing it in terms of income.

[tralfamadorian]

Evidently it can be a profitable way to earn some money on the side but I would be concerned about the low barrier to entry. How much demand is there for microgreens in your area? And how much competition?

[HipGnosis]

I read a few web articles about micogreening.
It's pretty time intensive -  you're either delivering it to multiple restaurants or spending a day a week at the farmers market.
It's also a commitment - you can't take even a few days off unless you're only growing one kind.

[Versatile]

So we recently moved into a house and have quite a bit of extra space. Might as well do something useful with it.

I have a decently sized basement and been thinking about getting into the "microgreen" business. If you haven't seen any videos check out "curtis stone urban farming". I'm always skeptical of anyone trying to sell a business idea, so here I am, asking for some thoughts.

I've enjoyed growing things in the past and think its a pretty good activity from a QOL perspective, could be fun teaching the kid about plants ect... Can this be a decent source of secondary income?

I like Curtis Stone and have watched a lot of his videos but I would caution you on the profitability. The people that do well have steady customers that pay high end prices. There is actually a lot of parallels with growing mushrooms so check them out too.

I think you can make money as long as the market is large enough and the competition is low. But you have to realistically evaluate how many people are going to buy micro greens as well as the effort it is going to take to develop customers.

[Rick Imby]

The good part is the equipment is not very expensive so if you don't do well you are not out much.  The bad thing is the equipment is not very expensive so competition will pile in quickly if there really is good money in it.

How good are you at courting customers?  Are there a lot of high end eateries around? 

[TheGadfly]

This is a VERY profitable business and the process of growing microgreens is super quick and easy (I also learned from Curtis Stone).

The hard part is finding a regular buyer. Ideal scenario: sell to a restaurant or grocery store. but unless you know someone, this can be difficult.

If you sell microgreens directly to consumers (like at a farmers market), that's a different story. I tried this years ago hoping the farmers market route would at least help me build the business and get established, with the ultimate goal of selling to a restaurant or small grocery store. Long story short, I didn't have the time or resources to make it happen. PM me if you want more info.