Anna Jane Kocon of Little State Flower Co - Growing and selling flowers year round, tracking crop expenses, employees, and more (SFFF14)

(The Six Figure Flower Farming Podcast, Episode #14)

Episode Summary:

Anna Jane of Little State Flower Co discusses her experience with year-round flower farming and the challenges and benefits it brings, and explains how the unique microclimate of her region allows her to push the boundaries of the growing season

Anna Jane also shares the story of starting the Farm and Flora Collective and the decision to grow flowers year round. She emphasizes the importance of innovation and experimentation in flower farming and the need to adapt to market changes. Anna Jane discusses the stress levels of flower farming and the importance of pricing and profitability.

She also shares her approach to record keeping and using QuickBooks to track expenses and income. Anna Jane highlights the significance of setting up retail products for success and tracking the profitability of individual flower crops.

In this conversation, Anna Jane Kocon shares insights on streamlining and simplifying operations, tracking labor hours and expenses, analyzing yield and sales, considering wholesale and profitability, analyzing expenses and net profit, managing complexity and farm size, simplifying the business model, effective employee management, challenges and preferences with specific crops, and concludes with the understanding that flower farming is both rewarding and challenging.

Key Takeaways:

  • The microclimate of a region can allow for year-round flower farming by pushing the boundaries of the growing season.

  • Innovation and experimentation are key in flower farming, as there are no industry standards for many aspects of the business.

  • Proximity to wealth can greatly impact the success of a flower farm, as it determines the market demand and pricing.

  • Year-round growing spreads out the workload and reduces pressure during peak seasons, but it requires careful pricing and profitability tracking.

  • Using tools like QuickBooks and having a bookkeeper or accountant can help with record keeping and financial management in flower farming.

Chapters of Interest:

01:25 Creating an Environment for Year-Round Growing

06:12 Taking the Risk to Grow Year Round

09:06 Considerations for Year-Round Growing

10:03 Innovation and Experimentation in Flower Farming

12:01 The Importance of Proximity to Wealth in Flower Farming

15:17 The Benefits and Challenges of Year-Round Growing

19:20 The Stress Levels of Flower Farming

23:27 The Impact of Market Changes on Flower Farming

25:21 Spreading Out the Workload and Reducing Pressure

27:17 The Importance of Tracking Numbers and Pricing

31:08 The Psychology of Pricing and Profitability

32:33 Record Keeping and Using QuickBooks

36:45 Pricing for Retail and DIY Bulk Flower Buckets

38:12 Setting Up Retail Products for Success

39:11 Tracking Profitability of Individual Crops

39:39 Streamline and simplify your operations

41:10 Tracking labor hours and expenses

45:54 Tracking yield and sales

47:14 Consider wholesale and profitability

51:22 Analyze expenses and net profit

53:20 Complexity of crops and farm size

57:38 Simplify business model

01:04:44 Effective employee management

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Alex Peschell of Coram Deo Farm - Building a profitable flower farm from the start (SFFF12)

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Earning Potential: Six Figures On A Small-Scale Farm (My Story) (SFFF1)